The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is opposing an application by Star Choice and Cancom to offer six omnibus channels providing high-definition (HD) programming from various Canadian and non-Canadian sources. On the other hand, the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association (CCTA) sees value in the proposal, particularly for small cablecos. Below are excerpts from the two organizations filings to the CRTC.

Mark Prior has been named as president of Comweb Group Inc. He is the founding partner of Entertainment Partners Canada (EP Canada) and its predecessor company Bulloch Systems. He maintains his role as president of Comweb Film Capital Corp. As well, Kevin Gordon has been appointed as president of EP Canada. He has been with the company since 1979, most recently serving as senior VP. Robert Bruce has been appointed as CFO of both the Comweb Group and William F. White International. Most recently, Bruce was special financial adviser to Atlas Cold Storage Income Trust.

Rajotte calls for carriage of FOX News in Canada
Edmonton-Leduc MP James Rajotte on November 1 during Question Period in the House of Commons called on the Liberal government to allow all Canadians access to the FOX News Network. Rajotte said it’s a "blatant double standard" that MPs can watch the channel at any time on the Parliamentary closed circuit television system, but ordinary Canadians cannot see it. The CRTC has not yet ruled on the application to have FOX News added to the list of channels eligible for carriage in Canada (CCR, Sept. 10/04). A CRTC source said that FOX News decision would be released before the end of November. "What the Liberals fail to understand is that choice and competition are beneficial for the industry and for consumers," said Rajotte. "The Conservative Party of Canada believes that Canadians are capable of making their own choices about what to watch on television or listen to on the radio. The Liberals need to set aside their archaic views and allow for greater access to foreign programming in Canada."

Questions arose of possibly merging with the science producers’ conference as Achilles Media attempted to set the stage for the formation of an advisory board to oversee the next World Congress of History Producers. Achilles Media principal Robert Montgomery said that organizing the history congress provides a "symbiotic relationship" with the Banff Television Festival, which it also hosts since taking over from the bankrupt Banff Television Foundation (BTF) last April (CCR, April 22/04). BTF had a contract with the science producers’ association to run its conference as well but the contract terminated with the bankruptcy, and this year the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival took over running the World Congress of Science Producers.

Achilles Media principal Robert Montgomery plans to focus the upcoming Banff Television Festival on international cooperation and coproduction, as well as connecting the Canadian industry. "I’ve been in Los Angeles twice in the last month. We know it’s important to have a lot of international people who do business with the Canadian industry (at the festival). We’re trying to orient the way we structure it toward creating opportunities for Canadians," he told Canadian Communications Reports at last week’s World Congress of History Producers. "Banff is the most important event in the television industry in Canada that relates to content. There is no other event that is as well attended or as sizable. And it happens here in Canada, so we will try to take advantage of that by confirming Banff as the pre-eminent world event for cooperation and international coproductions."