CCR Update

Friday, December 10, 2004 Third-language policy notice expected this week from CRTCThe CRTC is expected to release a notice outlining its proposed new policy for foreign-owned third-language specialty channels as early as this Thursday. The CRTC is under considerable pressure from the government, including Canadian Heritage minister Liza Frulla, to allow more foreign-owned third-language broadcasters into Canada (CCR, Dec. 8/04). Political pressure was stepped up after the CRTC, using current regulations, denied Italian public broadcaster RAI International eligibility for carriage in Canada. Frulla has come out in support of RAI distribution here. Cogeco, Super Écran launch subscription video-on-demandCogeco Cable Inc. and Astral Media Inc.’s Super Écran have launched a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service free of charge to the cableco’s digital TV subscribers in Ontario who get the movie channel. Super Écran sur demande gives subscribers unlimited access to a library of 70 movies and TV shows on channel 208. New movies will be added each week. Super Écran sur demand is available to Vidéotron illico digital cable TV subscribers in Quebec and is priced there at $5.99 for Super Écran subscribers (CCR, May 21/04). Telefilm Canada releases winners of film fund scriptwriting Telefilm Canada has announced that it will support the script writing of 16 English-language and 11 French-language projects. The screenwriting assistance program is complementary to the Canada Feature Film Fund.CTV announces production of SARS television movieCTV and Slanted Wheel Entertainment Inc. announced last week production on Plague City: SARS in Toronto. It is the next production in the CTV Signature Series of movies. Filming is underway in Hamilton and Toronto until December 22. “We started developing this project in the middle of the SARS crisis,” said executive producer Jon Slan. “For me, it was the first time Toronto appeared on the world stage, albeit infamously. We developed a compelling script and have been fortunate to have successfully assembled a group of first rate Canadian performers.”Rogers to exchange Cogeco Cable shares for Cogeco Inc. sharesRogers Communications Inc. has announced it has entered into an agreement with an unnamed third-party to exchange 658,125 of its subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Cable for 675,000 of the third party’s subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Inc. The shares in Cogeco Inc. represent about 4% of the issued and outstanding subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Inc., and will increase Rogers’ stake in Cogeco Inc. to about 23% of such class of shares and about 21% of all classes of common shares. Under the deal, Rogers will decrease its stake in Cogeco Cable by about 3% to 27% of subordinate voting shares. Rogers notes in a media release that it is acquiring the shares for investment and “has no current intention of acquiring ownership of or control or direction over any additional Cogeco Inc. or Cogeco Cable Inc. shares but reserves the right to acquire such additional shares of such companies…” Rogers Communications president and CEO Ted Rogers on December 9 stated there were three options for Rogers to be able to offer all services on a national basis. One option was through consolidation in the cable industry. The other two options were using its wireless company to partner with other cablecos, such as it has with EastLink, and using Inukshuk Internet Inc.’s new national wireless network to offer wireless and telephony services. Rogers made the comments during a speech at the UBS 32nd Annual Media Conference in New York. Cogeco announces normal course issuer bidCogeco Cable Inc. is issuing a normal course issuer bid in respect to its subordinate voting shares, with purchases not commencing prior to December 13, 2004 and not continuing beyond December 12, 2005. The notice will enable Cogeco Cable to acquire up to 250,000 subordinate voting shares for cancellation. That represents 1.03% of the 24,263,956 outstanding shares of such class as at December 8, 2004.Cable sector buoys Cogeco Inc.’s fiscal 2004The number of digital TV customers at Cogeco grew 28% in fiscal 2004 from fiscal 2003 to 208,436, while digital terminals numbered about 240,071, a 31% increase over the previous year, according to financial results released December 9 by Cogeco. Revenues from the cable section of Cogeco Inc. rose 8% to $526.5 million, in the fiscal year, as a result of rising revenues, stricter cost control and effective marketing, according to the company. The cable sector saw improved retention and acquisition of basic service customers. After a loss of 15,711 basic cable TV customers in 2003, Cogeco Cable grew its cable TV customer base by 3,198 in 2004. ACTRA optimistic Ontario will make favourable announcement on provincial tax creditsIn notes of a meeting held December 8 with the Ontario government, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) – Toronto says it is optimistic that the government is seriously considering a favourable announcement on provincial tax credits in the near future. Ontario creators and producers are asking the government to implement the domestic film and TV commitments set out in the 2003 Liberal platform that would increase domestic TV incentives to 33% and film incentives to 40%, subject to certain caps. Ontario is also being asked to match the federal service rate, increasing Ontario’s incentive from 11% to 16%. SaskTel inks VOD agreement with Twentieth Century FoxSaskTel has signed a long-term agreement with Twentieth Century Fox, which will provide the telco with movies for its Max Front Row video-on-demand (VOD) service offered in conjunction with its TV offering. Fox will supply SaskTel with an extensive lineup of current releases, including Man on Fire, The Girl Next Door, Johnson Family Vacation and Garfield: The Movie, The Day After Tomorrow and The Clearing. “Fox’s impressive lineup of current feature films and existing library of motion pictures is a valuable addition to our Max Front Row product offering,” said SaskTel president and CEO Robert Watson. Banff Festival announces international collaboration, coproduction as major themes“The future of television” and “international collaboration and co-production” are the key themes of the 2005 Banff Television Festival, the organizer announced this month. “As a result of comprehensive input from industry players around the world, we found overwhelmingly that what the industry wanted most was to focus on the increasing importance of international collaboration and co-production given the rapid changes occurring in the television industry. Therefore, Banff’s specific goal for 2005 is to facilitate dialogue and create new opportunities for producers and broadcasters, whether within a co-production treaty or simply based upon creative, technical or financial logic,” said Robert Montgomery, CEO of Achilles Media, the company that now operates the festival. Montgomery revealed similar intentions early last month in an interview with Canadian Communications Reports (CCR, Nov. 8/04). INTERNATIONALDigital satellite TV platforms gain subscribers, profits on the riseDigital satellite pay TV platforms continue to grow in many areas of the world, and worldwide subscription revenues are projected to grow to $70 billion in 2008, according to a report by In-Stat/MDR. One of the fastest growing countries will be Japan due to a conversion of a large number of analog satellite TV subscribers to the digital broadcast satellite service, the report notes. India is also expected to experience fast growth as the country’s first satellite pay-TV service was launched in 2003 and a second one is expected in 2005.Brandenburg Telecom acquires software capable of inserting local ads into national cable network programmingBrandenburg Telecom LLC, of Kentucky, has purchased software that enables it to insert local advertising spots during the national programming of the largest cable TV networks. ETI Software Solutions Inc.’s VideoDirect software will allow the provider of Internet, local and long distance telephone service to perform the inserts. Major networks, such as CNN, ESPN and The Weather Channel, permit the insertion of two or three minutes of locally produced material for each hour of programming. “In addition to providing our local businesses with new advertising opportunities and Brandenburg Telecom with additional revenue streams, it also has inherent scalability, reliability and flexibility required as we expand our subscriber and client advertising base,” said Randall Bradley, controller at Brandenburg Telecom LLC, in a December 8 media release.

CCR Update

Broadcast | December 10, 2004

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