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Janelle Roberts has left VisionTV to return to school to complete her film studies. The company says it will name a replacement by the end of the month.

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The CRTC has held fast to its position on Part III cablecos, and not changed its original conditions for the exemption of cable systems of between 2,000 and 6,000 subscribers (Broadcasting Public Notice 2004-39). In its decision the CRTC notes that the larger Part III cablecos "operate under considerably different financial circumstances" than smaller Class 3 cablecos exempted under the small cable exemption order, many of which serve only a few hundred subscribers or fewer. "In fact, larger (Part III) cable BDU (broadcast distribution undertakings), on average, had lower expenses, including programming-related expenses, and greater revenues and profitability than Class 2 cable BDUs and, in certain cases, even than Class 1 BDUs," notes the CRTC. "Accordingly, the commission found no financial reason to warrant the exemption of these larger Class 3 cable BDUs under relatively lighter conditions than those under which Class 2 cable BDUs would be exempted. Accordingly, the commission has not made any changes to the proposed exemption order with respect to this issue."

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Bell ExpressVu LP has applied for a video-on-demand (VOD) licence primarily to ensure that its sister company Bell Canada’s proposed TV broadcast service is competitive with the incumbent cablecos. "They (the VOD and the Class 1 cable licence applications) are two independent applications. But once we obtain the cable licence, we intend to be out in the market with our wireline cable service as soon as we can thereafter," Bell Canada VP of regulatory affairs Mirko Bibic tells Canadian Communications Reports. "The objective here is to be as competitive as possible and to offer as much choice as we can. Video-on-demand is a nice feature to have to be competitive."

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The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) is urging the CRTC to hold an oral hearing on Bell Canada’s application for two regional broadcast distribution licences and to extend the deadline for written reply by two months. In a June 18 letter to the commission, the cable association "submits that the potential impact of this application and the need for clarity on policy and regulatory issues are as significant as similar issues raised by Bell in respect to the Voice-over-IP telephony proceeding. In that case, the commission granted a four-month extension and established an oral public hearing."

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The VP of regulatory affairs at Bell Canada says that its proposed wireline cable TV offering won’t be competing for subscribers with sister company Bell ExpressVu but indicates it’s "designed to be competitive with all broadcast distribution undertakings in the marketplace, including the satellite operators."

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The film and TV production world is suffering a skills shortage, says a study released at the Banff Television Festival last week by Women in Film and Television – Toronto (WIFT-T). About 40% of production companies surveyed stated they had difficulty in finding people with the skills they need in key job categories, according to Frame Work: Employment in Canadian Screen-Based Media – A National Profile. The report also notes that 74.9% of film and TV distribution firms reported shortages in finding people skilled in acquisitions, and 37% of new media companies indicated difficulty in finding key positions, including in creative/design and technical/programming positions.

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