CCR Short Takes

Broadcasters granted right to intervene in JumpTV processThe Copyright Board has granted both the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and the National Association of Broadcasters the right to intervene "with full participatory rights" in copyright hearings regarding JumpTV’s request to retransmit local television signals over the Internet. JumpTV went live just over a week ago with eight television channels from around the world, but none from Canada. The unresolved dispute over whether or not JumpTV can act like a cable operator by picking up local TV signals and retransmitting them through its portal has limited the broadcast streamer to channels for which it has licence deals. (CCR April 26/01, April 11/01). Pelmorex: Foreign services will harm existing Canadian servicesPelmorex Communications Inc senior VP of corporate development Paul Temple says the company is concerned the granting of authorized carriage to new foreign digital specialty channels will come at the expense of existing Canadian services, not just the new Category 1 and 2 channels (CCR April 11/01). "Pelmorex remains concerned that there be sufficient bandwidth available to duplicate existing Canadian services in digital and to support interactive features on those services," he says. He points out that the ability of established Canadian channels to offer interactive programming will significantly enhance the attractiveness of digital cable and satellite services. "This opportunity (to strengthen the Canadian first policy) will be lost if capacity is ill spent by BDUs adding foreign services at the expense of bandwidth that might otherwise be used to duplicate existing Canadian analog services on digital, broaden the distribution of licensed Canadian services, or allocate bandwidth to support interactivity," the company says in its brief to the CRTC. Pelmorex operates The Weather Network and MétéoMédia. Regional acquires twomore Ontario cable systemsRegional Cablesystems Inc has agreed to buy two Ontario-based cable systems, Constance Bay Cable Television Ltd and Hometown Cablesystems Inc, for about $2.735 million. The Constance Bay system serves 850 customers and Hometown Cablesystems has about 1,150 customers. RDS wants its condition of licence on codes suspendedThe French-language sports specialty channel le Réseau des Sports (RDS) is asking the CRTC to suspend its conditions of licence related to industry codes on gender portrayal and the depiction of violence. RDS has pledged to remain a member in good standing of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, the self-regulating body that enforces the codes. (PN 2001-48). CanWest employee union hopes to bargain nationallyThe union for 1,000 unionized employees working at Global Television stations across the country have applied for a single bargaining certificate to allow it to bargain nationally, rather than on a station-by-station basis. The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada says the certificate would cover 12 union locals from Halifax to Victoria. "It is time we recognized the reality that these members are working for the same employer, not individual stations," said CEP VP Media Peter Murdoch. The union said its members were 93% in favor of the common approach based on separate votes held nationwide. Chum’s 1050 Toronto radio station converts to play-by-playChum Ltd’s 1050 radio station in Toronto switched from Oldies to 24-hour sports on May 7. The station becomes part of its national sports radio network. The station’s existing music format will move to the Internet. Shaw unloads Astral shares, other assets to pay down debtShaw Communications Inc on Monday sold 2.029 million Class A non-voting shares and 145,600 Class B subordinate voting shares held in Astral Media Inc to raise $110 million to help pay down its debt. The shares were picked up by Shaw family-owned Corus Entertainment Inc, fueling speculation that Corus will make a bid for the rest of Astral. Shaw also sold its shares in a Nova Scotia-based cable system to EastLink, a company owned by Bragg Communications, for about $220 million. The sale of the cable system, which has about 80,000 subscribers, is subject to CRTC approval. The sale of the Astral shares along with other non-core assets, such as the N.S. cable system, will enable Shaw to reduce its debt by about $600 million. Quebecor sells Protectron Inc to reduce its heavy debtQuebecor Media is selling Protectron Inc to New York City-based Wellspring Capital Partners for $61.5 million. The proceeds of the sale of the monitoring and security systems company, which was acquired by Quebecor as part of its takeover of Groupe Vidéotron ltée, will be used to reduce Quebecor Media’s bank debt. Vidéotron’s Internet access, cable and broadcasting subsidiaries are under the control of trustees pending CRTC approval of Quebecor’s $4.9-billion takeover. Canadian content requirements unchanged as Bravo! renewedThe CRTC has renewed the licence of Chum Ltd’s specialty channel Bravo! until Aug. 31, 2007. But it has denied a request to lower its Canadian content requirement to 50% of the broadcast year, while expanding the definition of "broadcast day" to encompass 24 hours per day. Its current requirement is 60% of the broadcast year, calculated between 6 a.m. and midnight (D 2001-231). Chum seeking exemption to run Victoria, Vancouver stationsChum Television will ask the CRTC to grant it an exemption that would allow it to own CIVI, its newly licensed station in Victoria that is expected to go on-air this fall, and CKVU in Vancouver, which it recently agreed to buy from CanWest Global for $125 million. There is a longstanding regulatory policy that forbids one company from owning two stations in the same market. But the CRTC has made exceptions, and Chum plans to use one of these exemptions – the regulator’s decision to allow Global to own BCTV in Vancouver and CHEK in Victoria – as a precedent to back up its case. Intellectual property will be hottest practice area in lawIntellectual property will be the hottest area of legal practice over the next 10 years, according to 48% of lawyers surveyed by The Affiliates. One hundred lawyers from 500 different Canadian law firms were polled. "The evolution of technology together with issues such as patents and licensing litigation will continue to drive casework among law firms and corporate legal departments this decade," says Sheron Hindley-Smith, regional manager at The Affiliates.

CCR Short Takes

Broadcast | May 10, 2001

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