CCR Short Takes

Northwestel Cable to acquire Fort Nelson Cable-VisionNorthwestel Cable has finalized an agreement to purchase Fort Nelson Cable-Vision Ltd. for an undisclosed sum. Northwestel Cable said it plans to upgrade Fort Nelson’s existing cable television infrastructure to expand channel capacity and to enable two-way services, such as high-speed Internet. "This change is a step forward for current and future customers," said Jack Sime, general manager of Fort Nelson Cable-Vision. "We are very pleased with Northwestel Cable’s plans to offer expanded services, and their willingness to keep the Fort Nelson office open and retain the present staff. Along with the rest of my partners, we would like to thank all our customers for 27 years of support in this community." Founded in 1978, Fort Nelson Cable-Vision is a privately owned company that provides analog and digital cable TV programming to just over 1,000 customers in Fort Nelson BC and surrounding area. TMN to launch HD channel The Movie Network announced April 4 that it will launch a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week high definition (HD) channel, The Movie Network HD (TMNHD), on May 1. It will be available free of charge to subscribers of The Movie Network. "Following the launch of our SVOD (subscription video-on-demand) channel last year, The Movie Network’s offering of a new HD channel is an important next step in responding to viewer demand for a superior viewing experience. TMNHD will have the highest HD content of any Canadian movie service in eastern Canada and will provide subscribers with the ultimate theatrical environment at home," said Astral Television senior VP of marketing and sales Domenic Vivolo. CHUM launching podcast of Toronto’s morning showCHUM Ltd.’s Toronto radio station, 104.5 CHUM FM, is planning to launch a daily podcast of its morning show on May 2. CHUM will offer a special downloadable version of the show for MP3 users, meaning that viewers can watch it anywhere, anytime. "Podcasting will allow us to extend our reach to listeners at times of the day when they are not near a radio," said CHUM FM program director Rob Farina. CHUM said it was the first of series of downloadable radio exclusives to be intoduced by CHUM FM. CTF changes eligibility rules for documentariesThe Canadian Television Fund (CTF) has broadened its eligibility requirements for documentaries to allow it to finance a wider range of productions, the fund’s board announced March 31. As part of the new provisions, the CTF will adopt the CRTC’s definition of long-form documentary programming, and broadcasters will be permitted to spend up to 40% of their documentary envelopes on projects that meet two of the CTF’s four essential requirements. The two essential requirements are that the project be certified as 10/10 Canadian by the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office and that its underlying rights be owned and meaningfully developed by Canadians. At least 60% of a broadcaster’s documentary envelope must be used on projects that meet all four essential requirements, as previously defined by the CTF. "(The) announcement responds to concerns from Canadian producers and broadcasters that the CTF’s documentary definition has been too restrictive," said CTF president and CEO Sandra Macdonald. "A committee of our board of directors was recently struck to examine the issue and, based on the committee’s recommendations, we are now pleased to be able to open our doors to a greater range of documentary productions while remaining true to the fund’s core mandate." CanWest’s New Zealand operations on the riseCanWest Global Communications Corp. announced April 3 that its 70%-owned New Zealand media operations, CanWest MediaWorks (NX) Ltd., reported consolidated earnings before interest, income tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of NZ$37.9 million for the six months ended February 28. The amount is a 12% improvement compared with pro forma results for the same period last year. Brent Impey, CanWest MediaWorks (NZ)’s CEO noted that TVWorks experienced a 27% increase in EBITDA for the first half of the fiscal year compared to the same period a year earlier. "A NZ$3.6-million increase in EBITDA for TVWorks to NZ$20.2 million confirms the strength of the television operations," he said. The company’s radio operations, known as RadioWorks, recorded a 7% increase in EBITDA to NZ$19 million for the six months ended February 28. MusiquePlus seeks carriage terms of modified dual statusMusiquePlus has applied to the CRTC to have its distribution status changed to modified dual status from dual status (Broadcasting Public Notice 2005-28). The CRTC has already changed the status of The Sports Network Inc. (TSN), Le Réseau des sports (RDS) and Country Music Television Ltd. (CMT) to "modified dual status" from "dual status." That decision was challenged by the cable industry, with the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association, the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance and Cogeco Cable Inc. seeking leave from the Federal Court of Appeal to appeal it (CCR, Oct. 22/04). However, the court did not grant the leave to appeal. The change in status means that TSN, RDS, CMT can demand to be distributed on a discretionary tier at a negotiated wholesale price, which normally tends to be higher than the wholesale rate on basic. The deadline for intervening in the MusiquePlus process is May 5. CBC disaffiliating with Global Television in RevelstokeThe Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) is proposing to add a low-power TV transmitter in Revelstoke BC to broadcast there the programming of its CBUT Vancouver station (Broadcasting Public Notice 2005-7). The move is being made as the CBC doesn’t plan to renew its affiliation agreement with Global Television when it expires on August 31. A CBC affiliated service is currently provided by Global through its transmitter CHRP-TV-2 Revelstoke. The CBC intends to provide the full CBC English Television Network to residents of Revelstoke. Comments are due on May 5. CRTC gives French nets okay to move on adsThe CRTC has approved licence amendments for Groupe TVA inc., Télé Inter-Rives ltée, Radio Nord Communications inc., (Broadcasting Decision 2005-111), as well as TQS inc., Télévison MBS inc., and Radio Nord Communications (Broadcasting Decision 2005-117) that will allow the broadasters to take advantage of the ads-based incentive program for French-language Canadian television drama. The stations will be allowed to air extra advertising minutes in exchange for producing more Canadian TV drama. CBC planning to enhance production centre in HamiltonThe Canadian Broadcasting Corp./Radio-Canada has applied for a preliminary development permit from the City of Vancouver so that it can redevelop its production centre at 700 Hamilton Street. To offset the costs of the project, the CBC will sell surplus density on its property. "This redevelopment project is still at the proposal stage and remains subject to final internal and external approvals," reads a CBC media release. The public broadcaster indicates that the proposed development would increase CBC’s visibility in the city, allow for even greater interaction between the people of Vancouver, and itself.

CCR Short Takes

News | 04/08/2005 4:00 am EDT

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