TAGGED AS CBC/RADIO-CANADA
Broadcasting regulation debate at electoral standstill as advocates, industry react
Media | 09/14/2021 7:16 pm EDT
According to an advocacy group opposing restrictions on the internet, although the Conservative government has a better approach when it comes to the question on what to do...
Singh says he’ll oppose Rogers-Shaw merger
Media | 09/10/2021 2:46 pm EDT
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh is the first party leader to explicitly oppose the proposed acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc. by Rogers Communications Inc., saying that telecommunication giants are already “exploiting people.”
His comments came at a Friday morning...
TekSavvy takes GoldTV site-blocking fight to Supreme Court
Media | 08/26/2021 6:11 pm EDT
After Canada's first-ever site-blocking court order survived an appeal from...
CRTC dismisses Quebecor complaint of CBC undue preference
Media | 08/03/2021 5:22 pm EDT
The CRTC has ruled that the CBC/Radio-Canada is not giving itself an...
CRTC reports drop in broadcast revenue for 2020
Media | 07/16/2021 5:38 pm EDT
With advertising revenues battered by the pandemic -- particularly the second half of the year -- the...
Feds boost Universal Broadband Fund by another $1B, propose Digital Services Tax
telecom | 04/19/2021 4:06 pm EDT
As part of its 2021 budget, the federal government is plowing another $1 billion dollars into its Universal Broadband Fund over the next five years, bringing the total fund up to $2.75 billion. ...
Feds considering site-blocking proposal
Media | 04/14/2021 6:20 pm EDT
The federal government has launched a consultation document to solicit feedback on whether or not it should allow internet service providers to unilaterally block certain websites from users in order to protect copyright holders.
In a Wednesday release, Heritage...
CRTC report floats idea of Indigenous content quotas
Media | 03/25/2021 7:43 pm EDT
The CRTC has released the findings from its first phase in the development of a new Indigenous...
CBC seeks local content exemptions for Olympics
Media | 03/25/2021 5:09 pm EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada is once again asking the CRTC to temporarily relieve it of its local programming and described video obligations for the period of this year’s Tokyo Olympics. In its part 1 application to the CRTC, posted...
Local news funding needed in C-10: Bell
Media | 03/22/2021 6:07 pm EDT
As the House of Commons Heritage committee hearings on the government's proposed update to the...
Tait again calls for digital flexibility
Media | 02/09/2021 4:30 pm EST
CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tait doubled down on its request for greater flexibility to spend on...
CMPA wants CRTC to stand firm on terms of trade with CBC
Media | 01/27/2021 6:13 pm EST
The Canadian Media Producers Association has called on the CRTC to force...
PIAC, CMG criticize CBC’s request for digital flexibility
Media | 01/26/2021 6:13 pm EST
The new digital initiatives from CBC/Radio-Canada like the English-language Gem and its French counterpart ICI Tou.tv have not yet shown themselves to be good enough to fulfill the broadcaster's...
Directors, writers demand CBC transparency on digital spending
Media | 01/25/2021 6:18 pm EST
To begin the third and final week of the CRTC's hearings on CBC/Radio-Canada's license renewal, organizations representing the directors and writers for Canada's film and television industry have...
COVID impact on CBC not as significant as expected, Tait says
Media | 01/11/2021 6:20 pm EST
The COVID-19 pandemic dropped CBC/Radio-Canada’s revenues by 11 per cent,...
CBC refuses to provide CRTC information about diversity of production staff
Media | 12/18/2020 2:59 pm EST
In the lead up to its license renewal hearings in January, CBC/Radio-Canada has declined to provide the CRTC with statistics about the diversity of its in-house production staff. Following a procedural request from the non-profit Community Media Advocacy Centre in November, the regulator requested details about the numbers of women, Indigenous people, people from racialized groups, LGBTQ2 people, and people with disabilities working on CBC/Radio-Canada productions in key roles, including...
CBC employees pen open letter, petition gov. seeking CRTC investigation of branded content
Media | 12/09/2020 5:38 pm EST
Impatient with the progress of a month-old Part 1...
Journalistic exemption under PIPEDA should apply to Google: CBC
Media | 11/26/2020 6:16 pm EST
In a case that could determine whether a "right to be forgotten" exists in...
Former CBC employees ask CRTC to investigate branded content
Media | 11/13/2020 5:44 pm EST
A group of former CBC employees have asked the CRTC to look into CBC/Radio-Canada sponsored content program Tandem. The Friday Part 1 application, which is not yet available on the regulator’s...
CRTC asks CBC to provide info about diversity of its production staff
Media | 11/11/2020 4:39 pm EST
In anticipation of CBC/Radio-Canada’s January license renewal hearings, the CRTC has requested that the broadcaster collect file information about staff diversity on its productions. In a letter...
CBC putting branded content initiative on ‘pause’
Media | 10/07/2020 11:08 am EDT
The branded content initiative launched by CBC/Radio-Canada last month has been put on hiatus while the public broadcaster reviews the project, a CBC spokesperson told The Wire Report.
“We feel there are more insights to be gained on this initiative and to that end, we...
Broadcasters sign up to BIPOC hiring directory
telecom | 10/05/2020 6:41 pm EDT
Canada’s largest broadcasters have committed to making the use of a Black, Indigenous, and people of colour (BIPOC) hiring database a prerequisite to giving original productions the green light. The broadcasters are...
Back to Parliament: your (pandemic) preview
Media | 09/22/2020 12:43 pm EDT
Given the precarious situation around the now-escalating COVID-19 pandemic, what will actually be...
Change CAVCO system to highlight Canadian culture, former CBC VP says
Media | 05/28/2020 5:22 pm EDT
Canada should follow Britain’s lead and change the system it uses to classify productions as Canadian content, Richard Stursberg, former head of CBC/Radio-Canada’s English services, said at a...
CRTC postpones CBC licence renewal, sets new deadlines in other proceedings
telecom | 04/08/2020 2:50 pm EDT
The CRTC said Wednesday that, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is...
CBC suspends local newscasts during COVID-19 pandemic
Media | 03/19/2020 4:28 pm EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada has temporarily suspended its English-language local TV newscasts in all locations bar the North, as it opts to consolidate programming into one national news program during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a...
O’Toole calls for deep CBC cuts
Media | 02/14/2020 5:54 pm EST
Conservative Party leadership hopeful Erin O’Toole has called for CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding for its digital and english-language television department to be slashed, declaring the national broadcaster is “stuck in the...
BTLR panelist ‘optimistic’ about CBC funding
Media | 01/30/2020 6:12 pm EST
OTTAWA — Whether or not CBC/Radio-Canada can move away from advertising revenue is a “political...
Quebecor accuses Radio-Canada of undue preference over Tou.tv
Media | 01/17/2020 2:11 pm EST
Quebecor Inc. wants CBC/Radio-Canada to shut down its subscription streaming service ICI Tou.tv Extra, and has filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC. In a Friday morning press release, Quebecor...
Broadcasters opposed to STB measurement system proposal
Media | 12/18/2019 6:12 pm EST
Several independent broadcasters have written to the CRTC to say the regulator shouldn’t grant a request by TV providers to change a rule forcing cable and IPTV services to hand over viewership data. Currently, TV service providers are working on a set-top box viewership measurement system, the implementation date of which has been delayed due to factors including an attempt by Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron to withdraw from the group. There is currently both an active and a suspended condition of licence on the implementation of the system. The active COL requires the system -- which...
Plurality of Canadians think CRTC should monitor fake news
Media | 12/11/2019 11:16 am EST
When asked who should be most responsible for monitoring the spread of fake...
Donald Lizotte moves to CBC from Quebecor
Media | 11/04/2019 12:25 pm EST
Starting in February 2020, Donald Lizotte will take over as CBC/Radio-Canada’s general manager and...
OECD seeks unified tax regime for web giants
telecom | 10/10/2019 5:49 pm EDT
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will host a public consultation next month on its proposed “unified approach” to the taxation of the world’s biggest tech companies. A document released by the...
CanCon producers silent on CBC-Netflix rift
Media | 10/09/2019 7:14 pm EDT
Organizations that represent important stakeholders in the field of Canadian content are staying...
Broadcasters announce gender parity action plans after CRTC summit
Media | 10/01/2019 5:35 pm EDT
The CRTC Tuesday released the results of its summit on gender parity in the Canadian broadcasting world, featuring “action plans” documents from some of Canada’s largest broadcasters. BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Corus Entertainment Inc., Quebecor Inc.’s TVA Group, and CBC/Radio-Canada, among others, have all released policy documents focused on increasing the amount of women they employ. The summit itself was held on December 18, 2018, and in March 2019 the CRTC...
1 in 7 Canadians have cut the cord
Media | 09/27/2019 3:52 pm EDT
According to a report out this week from Media Technology Monitor (MTM), one out of every seven Canadians has gotten rid of their paid traditional TV subscriptions. According to an MTM spokesperson, the one in seven figure --...
DHX rebranding as WildBrain
Media | 09/23/2019 4:22 pm EDT
Three weeks after announcing a new CEO with a background in developing family-based entertainment products, DHX Media Ltd. announced Monday -- alongside its 2019 fourth quarter results -- that it would rebrand as WildBrain and reorganize itself around family-entertainment. On August 30, the...
Unclear who owns set-top box data, broadcasters argue
telecom | 08/21/2019 5:48 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc. hasn’t established that it actually owns the set-top box data at the centre of a new...
CRTC commissioning research on global public broadcasters
Media | 07/29/2019 12:54 pm EDT
Ahead of its renewal of CBC/Radio-Canada’s broadcasting licences, the...
Bell to buy French-language conventional TV network
Media | 07/24/2019 3:10 pm EDT
BCE Inc. will purchase Groupe V Media Inc.’s conventional TV network V, Bell said in a press release Wednesday. The deal, which must still be approved by the CRTC, also includes “related digital assets including the...
Videotron must give data to STB working group: CRTC
Media | 07/02/2019 5:13 pm EDT
The CRTC has ruled that Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron must continue to participate in an industry-wide working group charged with creating a set-top box (STB) data measurement system. In April, Videotron walked away from the group, saying it didn’t want to provide any of its data to the STB working group. In an April letter to the CRTC, Shaw...
Few surprises in BTLR ‘what we heard’ report
Media | 06/26/2019 10:30 am EDT
The blue ribbon panel in charge of reviewing Canada’s communications legislation has released its...
Broadcast, TV service revenues down again: CRTC
Media | 06/20/2019 8:26 pm EDT
New data released by the CRTC Thursday shows the industry-wide trend of tumbling broadcast sector revenue...
Without independence, CBC would be ‘state broadcaster’: Tait
Media | 05/31/2019 2:36 pm EDT
OTTAWA — The spectre of past Conservative government cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada and potential future policy to force changes to CBC news coverage was the undercurrent at the House heritage committee Thursday afternoon during an appearance by CBC president Catherine Tait....
No broadcaster compensation for 600 MHz move, ISED confirms
Media | 05/28/2019 1:48 pm EDT
Broadcasters have lobbied the government for years to reimburse them for...
Keep satellite OTA replacement program in place, CRTC hears
Media | 05/17/2019 11:47 am EDT
Users of a program that provides free access to conventional TV stations in areas where they’re not available over-the-air are asking the CRTC not to allow Shaw Communications Inc. to shut down the...
Re:Sound seeks to double CBC radio royalties to $3M a year
Media | 05/14/2019 5:54 pm EDT
An organization representing sound recording rights holders wants to...
Canadians want more money for CBC, don’t trust OTTs to support CanCon: Poll
Media | 05/13/2019 5:18 pm EDT
Almost 60 per cent of Canadians have “low trust and confidence” in Netflix Inc. to “protect Canadian culture and identity on television”; half of Canadians don't trust cable companies to do...
Facebook sets higher standards in guidelines than laws: Chan
Media | 05/10/2019 6:09 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Facebook Inc.’s head of public policy in Canada said Friday the platform’s community guidelines, “in many respects,” go above what is currently prescribed in Canadian law, as the company works on making those guidelines more transparent. “We need to respect the laws of the country, but then beyond that, we have our community standards, which actually have a higher standard,” Kevin Chan said at a communications law conference hosted by the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications. Chan said Facebook doesn’t want and bans hate speech, terrorism, and...
Ahead of next alert test, cities group says texts lack specificity
telecom | 04/26/2019 5:13 pm EDT
Before a second wireless emergency alert test went out in November, a group...
OTT subs set to overtake traditional TV by 2020: report
Media | 04/23/2019 4:53 pm EDT
The number of Canadians who opt for over-the-top services is set to surpass the number of Canadians who subscribe to traditional television providers next year, according to a report released...
Court rejects Google motion to expand scope of deindexing case
Media | 04/17/2019 6:31 pm EDT
A chief Federal Court clerk has rejected Alphabet Inc.’s request to expand to constitutional questions the scope of a legal reference that seeks to determine whether Canada’s private sector...
Google would be regulating media under PIPEDA: counsel
Media | 03/21/2019 6:28 pm EDT
OTTAWA — If a court determines Google’s search engine falls under the country’s private sector privacy law, then that would effectively make the internet company a media regulator, counsel to...
Accessibility groups ask BTLR for legislative changes, new advisory office
Media | 03/07/2019 4:31 pm EST
Canada’s broadcasting and telecommunications legislation should be...
Distributors ask for Canadian film exhibition quotas on broadcast, OTT
Media | 03/01/2019 12:11 pm EST
Both over-the-top services and broadcasters should be required to show a certain amount of Canadian feature films, the Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters is asking the panel...
Monique Marcotte retiring from CBC
Media | 02/28/2019 2:25 pm EST
Marco Dubé will take over the vice-president of people and culture position at CBC/Radio-Canada when...
OTT video revenues comparable to conventional TV in 2017: CMR
telecom | 02/27/2019 7:23 pm EST
Internet-based video services generated enough revenue in Canada in 2017 to rival the total revenues of private and CBC conventional television stations combined, according to the CRTC’s...
Double CBC funding, CMG tells communications review
Media | 02/22/2019 3:59 pm EST
The real value of the funding CBC/Radio-Canada receives has slipped significantly due to inflation, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) said in its submission to the federal government’s expert panel review of communications legislation.
“If CBC/Radio-Canada were to be...
OPC’s deindexing position ‘indirect attack’ on CBC, lawyer says
Media | 02/11/2019 6:33 pm EST
OTTAWA — A lawyer for CBC/Radio-Canada who is asking the Federal Court to...
Trish Williams joins CBC
Media | 02/11/2019 3:21 pm EST
Trish Williams is moving from Temple Street Productions to CBC/Radio-Canada, where she will be CBC’s new executive director of scripted content.
Starting this week, she...
Barbara Williams joins CBC
Media | 02/06/2019 4:46 pm EST
Corus Entertainment Inc.’s former chief operating officer, Barbara Williams, will be CBC/Radio-Canada’s new executive vice-president of CBC.
Williams, who retired from Corus last year, will start the Toronto-based job on May 1, CBC said in a press release Wednesday.
Michel Bissonnette,...
Former CBC president Lacroix joins law firm
Media | 02/04/2019 12:59 pm EST
Former CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix has joined the business law firm Blake, Cassels &...
CBC president likens Netflix to colonialism
Media | 01/31/2019 4:27 pm EST
OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada’s president Catherine Tait compared Netflix Inc.’s worldwide presence to the damage done by European colonialism, comments she made at a high-profile industry event Thursday where representatives from every sector of Canadian...
New Broadcast Act should ‘unambiguously exclude’ OTT: Netflix
Media | 01/25/2019 4:51 pm EST
Netflix Inc. is defending against calls to rope foreign over-the-top...
Daniel Boudreau moves from TVA to CBC
Media | 01/21/2019 2:54 pm EST
Daniel Boudreau, previously vice-president of TVA productions, operations and technology, is leaving the Quebecor Inc. broadcasting division to become executive vice-president of media technology and infrastructure services at...
Fast-track OTT review, clock ticking on CMF ‘top-up’: CMPA
Media | 01/18/2019 10:41 am EST
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) wants the government to...
Big telecoms fight calls for an ‘ISP tax’, pitch new OTT rules
telecom | 01/16/2019 5:55 pm EST
Some of Canada’s biggest telecom companies rejected calls to force ISPs...
Platforms could pull out of Canadian market if regulated: Google
Media | 01/16/2019 2:17 pm EST
Alphabet Inc.’s Google already contributes to the Canadian creative...
CBC calls for site-blocking provisions for ‘manipulated content’
Media | 01/11/2019 4:09 pm EST
CBC/Radio-Canada wants the federal government to grant the CRTC the ability...
CRTC dismisses bias complaint against Bell Fund
Media | 01/08/2019 5:37 pm EST
The CRTC has dismissed in part a complaint lodged against BCE Inc.’s Bell Fund earlier this year by a...
CBC’s head of sports Greg Stremlaw to leave
telecom | 01/08/2019 12:37 pm EST
CBC/Radio-Canada’s head of sports Greg Stremlaw is leaving the public broadcaster at the end of the...
CBC hires Torstar’s Claude Galipeau
Media | 12/18/2018 3:32 pm EST
Canada’s public broadcaster has hired Torstar Corp.’s Claude Galipeau as its executive vice-president of corporate development.
The chief revenue officer of Torstar will join CBC/Radio-Canada on Jan. 7, 2019, the broadcaster said Tuesday. In 2002, he was the CBC’s executive director of digital programming and business development, according to his LinkedIn profile, and has since held digital media roles at BCE Inc.-owned Astral Media between 2008 and 2009 and...
Telecoms argue extending workplace safety to third-party locations ‘absurd’
telecom | 12/10/2018 3:14 pm EST
OTTAWA -- Two of Canada’s largest telecoms and CBC/Radio-Canada told the Supreme Court on Monday that it’s “absurd” and “illogical” for a court to force them to ensure the safety of an...
Michel Bissonnette to be interim CBC vice-president
Media | 11/28/2018 5:02 pm EST
Michel Bissonnette, the executive vice-president of Radio-Canada, has been named interim head of CBC,...
Bell emphasizes original, ‘boots on the ground’ content for ethnic licence
telecom | 11/27/2018 8:35 pm EST
GATINEAU, QUE. -- Seeking to differentiate itself from other applicants,...
Most content pirates have TV subscriptions: MTM
Media | 11/15/2018 5:19 pm EST
More than half, or 59 per cent, of Canadians who pirate TV and movie content also have a TV subscription, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM). “This likely indicates that pirating content has to do...
Broadcasters ‘perfectly positioned’ to leverage podcast boom
Media | 11/08/2018 6:43 pm EST
TORONTO — Broadcasters should think about renting out their own studios to fledgling podcasters as a way of getting involved in the massive growth of podcasts over the years.
That was one of a number of business models proposed by Paul Jacobs, general manager of United...
Heather Conway leaving CBC
Media | 11/05/2018 1:18 pm EST
CBC/Radio-Canada’s executive vice-president of English-language services, Heather Conway, is leaving the public broadcaster next month, the Crown corporation announced...
CBC names new ombudsman
Media | 11/02/2018 5:22 pm EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada has named Jack Nagler its new English services ombudsman.
Nagler, who is currently CBC’s senior director of journalism, replaces Esther Enkin in the...
Most Canadians concerned with ‘fake news’ in next election: MTM
Media | 10/30/2018 5:55 pm EDT
A year away from the next federal election, a majority of Canadians are...
Steve Ladurantaye leaving CBC for Scottish broadcaster STV
Media | 10/15/2018 12:52 pm EDT
Steve Ladurantaye is leaving CBC/Radio-Canada after two and a half years at...
Only 3% of anglophones subscribe to sports streaming: MTM
Media | 10/11/2018 5:42 pm EDT
While services like Perform Group’s Dazn and Rogers Communications Inc.’s Sportsnet Now have been emerging in recent years, they “haven’t yet caught on in the Anglophone market,” Media...
Ad sales up 6%, but CBC still wants out of ‘softening’ ad market
Media | 10/11/2018 4:14 pm EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada saw a nearly six per cent boost in its total ad revenue...
Court reversal of Wholesale Code to have little effect: CCSA
Media | 10/02/2018 5:09 pm EDT
The Federal Court of Appeal said in a Monday decision that the CRTC lacks the jurisdiction to implement its Wholesale Code -- governing the business relationships between TV service providers and...
Big telecoms ask MPs for beefed up anti-piracy measures
Media | 09/27/2018 12:37 pm EDT
Some of the battles taking place before the CRTC related to site-blocking...
Feds paid $190,000 in late-fees to telecoms: documents
telecom | 09/21/2018 6:31 pm EDT
The federal government spent at least $190,600 on late-payment fees and interest charges to telecom companies since September 2016, according to documents tabled recently in Parliament.
The bulk of the payments went to BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., who made at...
Senators asked to champion net neutrality in comms laws review
Media | 09/18/2018 6:38 pm EDT
OTTAWA -- Lawmakers need to make net neutrality a major priority and...
CBC appoints new OTT content director
Media | 08/24/2018 4:08 pm EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada has appointed Gave Lindo to lead the public broadcaster’s over-the-top (OTT) content...
A quarter of English-speaking Canadians listen to podcasts
Media | 08/21/2018 4:35 pm EDT
The latest report from CBC/Radio-Canada’s Media Technology Monitor (MTM) project outlined 24 per cent of anglophone Canadians said they have listened to a podcast in the last month. Interest in...
Telecoms ask to intervene in SCC workplace safety case
telecom | 08/10/2018 4:56 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. are among a number of organizations...
OPC to look into face-scanning mall kiosks
telecom | 08/07/2018 2:27 pm EDT
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC) will join Alberta’s provincial privacy watchdog and launch an investigation into the use of facial recognition technology in shopping malls owned by Cadillac Fairview.
“The investigation was initiated by...
CPC Heritage critic Van Loan leaving politics
Media | 07/30/2018 2:25 pm EDT
Heritage shadow minister Peter Van Loan will no longer be an MP as of Sept. 30, according to a statement...
Joly out at Heritage as Pablo Rodriguez named new minister
Media | 07/18/2018 5:00 pm EDT
Former chief government whip Pablo Rodriguez is the new heritage minister,...
Smart speaker adoption rate at 8% in Canada: MTM
telecom | 07/13/2018 2:12 pm EDT
Eight per cent of Canadians own a smart speaker, which is about in line with adoption of other early...
OTT co-productions trending up: study
Media | 06/26/2018 12:41 pm EDT
Domestic and international content producers and over-the-top (OTT) services are continuing to partner...
Industry should know Canadians concerned about sales practices: Bains
telecom | 06/14/2018 1:35 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said Thursday afternoon that...
Canadians using multiple devices, but adoption leveling off: MTM
Media | 06/08/2018 6:29 pm EDT
According to the latest data from CBC/Radio-Canada’s Media Technology Monitoring (MTM) project, 35 per cent of English-speaking internet users in Canada continue to own four types of electronic...
Nantel accuses Joly of holding cultural sector ‘hostage’
Media | 06/07/2018 1:23 pm EDT
NDP Heritage critic Pierre Nantel took Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to...
Media sector, senator back change to ad tax exemption
Media | 06/06/2018 3:47 pm EDT
OTTAWA — A proposal to eliminate a tax exemption for advertising on foreign digital media received...
Luce Julien named executive director of Radio-Canada news
Media | 05/25/2018 3:24 pm EDT
Luce Julien, a 23-year veteran of CBC/Radio-Canada, will become Radio-Canada's executive director of news and current affairs, following Michel Cormier’s retirement in July.
The editor-in-chief of Montreal daily newspaper Le Devoir since February 2016, Julien will be...