GATINEAU, Que. — Rogers Communications Inc. said it understands the irony of asking for mandatory carriage for its proposed new regional OMNI service, but that it’s the only way forward. The company started off the CRTC’s four-day public hearing on TV licence renewals for English-language groups Monday in front of a five-person panel of commissioners, who questioned the company on its proposal for a new national ethnic programming service. The proposal has faced criticism from other ethnic broadcasters as well as...
CBC/Radio-Canada is asking the federal government for an increase in its funding so that it can eliminate advertising on its platforms. In a submission made as part of a government review of Canadian content in a digital age, CBC asked for an increase of $12 per person in funding, to $46. “This would enable CBC/Radio-Canada to remove advertising from its services, complete its transformation, and strengthen Canada's creative economy,” the public broadcaster said in a press release Monday, noting that figure is “still well below comparable public...
Rogers Communications Inc. is proposing a tax credit-based federal program to support Canadian content of all types and on all platforms. In a submission to the Heritage Minister Mélanie...
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is asking the government to rescind the digital media exemption order (DMEO) as part of its review of Canadian content in a digital age. The DMEO,...
BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron are asking a federal court judge to dismiss an appeal of an injunction banning sales of “pre-loaded”...
Former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan is alleging that Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly and the governor-in-council (GIC) have effectively participated in a “witch hunt” against him by...
The move this week by BCE Inc. flanker brand Virgin Mobile Canada to expand its home Internet into Quebec could put pressure on Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, Desjardins analyst Maher Yaghi said in a note Friday. “In our view, the launch of Virgin’s home Internet service in Quebec could slightly hamper Videotron’s broadband service growth in the province,” the note read. “We estimate this launch is designed both to create confusion among customers and to fill the market ahead of what ISPs could do with the new tariffs that...
Rogers Communications Inc. is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to turn down Voltage Pictures LLC’s case to have the Internet service provider (ISP) pay for its own costs associated with retrieving subscriber...
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) is asking the federal government to “modernize” and require both over-the-top (OTT) services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to contribute to the CanCon system....
Unlike his fellow candidates for leadership of the Conservative Party, Alberta MP Deepak Obhrai said he won’t wade into the debate about the future of CBC/Radio-Canada. “Why are...
OTTAWA — The CRTC has transformed over the past few years to become less binary — with outcomes that were strictly either pro-business or pro-consumer — in its decision making and more into an organization that finds the balance that best serves the public interest, according to chairman...
Canada is one of Netflix Inc.’s top three locations for original productions, and while the company doesn’t play a part in the official Canadian content system, the dollars invested...
Conservative Party leadership candidate and Ontario MP Kellie Leitch said she has put CBC/Radio-Canada “on notice” and that if selected to lead her party and form government, she...
Tuesday’s Major League Soccer (MLS) game between the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC was Canada’s most-watched MLS game ever, BCE Inc. said in a press release. The game, part of the...
CBC/Radio-Canada is selling the building that houses its headquarters in Montreal and will move into a new building on the same site. The public broadcaster said in a press release Wednesday that it has accepted a...
Anglophone viewers of Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top (OTT) service now spend 67 per cent of their time on the platform watching TV shows and 33 per cent watching movies and other content, MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, reported Wednesday. In comparison, three years ago, viewers’ time on Netflix was evenly split between TV and movies. Netflix is also by far the most popular way to binge-watch, MTM said, with 82 per cent of respondents reporting using the platform...
MONTREAL — Facebook Inc. is increasing opportunities for the news media to monetize content, the company’s Canadian head of public policy said Wednesday, citing initiatives...
OTTAWA — Conservative MP Maxime Bernier said Wednesday that if he is selected as the next leader of the federal Conservative Party and the next Canadian prime minister, he would move...
VMedia Inc. is permanently prohibited from broadcasting BCE Inc.’s CTV channels on its over-the-top skinny basic service, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Frederick...
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has appointed Erin Finlay as its new chief legal officer to provide legal advice and strategic direction. Her areas of expertise include entertainment litigation, policy...
CBC/Radio-Canada CEO Hubert Lacroix has responded to recent statements by the heads of some Canadian newspapers about the public broadcaster competing in the digital advertising space, writing that “limiting what public broadcasting does will only mean fewer services for Canadians.” Last week, the House of Commons standing committee on Canadian Heritage, as part of its study on media and local communities, heard criticism that the public broadcaster and foreign...
Jeffrey Eisenach has been named to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s “landing team,” with responsibility for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to a Monday press release. Mark Jamison,...
The best practices for TV service providers offering skinny-basic cable packages announced by the CRTC Monday don’t amount to much more than lip service, with no real consequences for...
Shaw Communications Inc.’s Wind Mobile will be rebranded as Freedom Mobile and its LTE roll-out will come sooner than expected in two cities, the company’s CEO said Monday. The move comes despite some analyst...
Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. are near the top of this year’s list of the 100 companies in Canada that spend the most on research and development. The...
Amazon.com Inc. will be bringing its new automotive-based reality show, The Grand Tour, to more than 200 countries next month, the company announced this week. In a video and post on the company website featuring the stars...
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron said in a press release Thursday it’s now making all of its TV channels available on a pick-and-pay basis. The move means the company is “fully meeting the new CRTC...
An industry association representing Canadian distributors and exporters of TV and digital content has been formed, with the intention of helping develop content at home and export it abroad. The Canadian Association of...
OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday that imposing a tax on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to fund cultural content remains a possible outcome of her sweeping review of Canadian...
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said Thursday that subscribers of its infiNET maxTV set-top box will now have access to Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top service (OTT). “SaskTel is excited to be the first television provider in the province to be able to bring this level of integration to our customers,” Ron Styles, SaskTel’s president and CEO, said in a press release. “The way our customers consume content is continuously evolving, and many of our customers already subscribe to Netflix.” The announcement comes a day...
OTTAWA — With more than six months left in his term as CRTC chairman, Jean-Pierre Blais isn’t ready to start using the word “legacy” in relation to his term as head of the Canadian regulator, but in a...
OTTAWA — Creating the oft-asked-for level playing field by making foreign digital services subject to Canadian sales tax would hurt smaller companies trying to break into the country’s market, a House of Commons...
An organization representing four-dozen major online-based companies has reached out to president-elect Donald Trump, congratulating him on his victory while proposing digital policy planks for his administration to consider....
Momentum that Canadian telecoms saw in their wireless divisions over the previous two quarters is expected to continue into 2017, according to an analyst note by RBC Capital Markets. The high levels of overall activations reported by wireless operators that began in the second quarter and exceeded analyst expectations were driven by lower churn and...
Rogers Communications Inc. has introduced a new feature that will give customers a better idea of what time technicians are expected to arrive at their homes. Customers will be able to use their phones to track when a technician will arrive for an installation or service call, the company announced in a Monday press release, saying the service is the first of its kind. After booking the appointment, customers will get an estimated time of arrival on the day of the appointment and will be able to see in real-time on a map where the technician is. A link with the technician’s...
Blue Ant Media Inc. has sold four reality shows to Discovery Communications Inc., which will be broadcast on Discovery’s channels airing in the United States and Latin America. Blue Ant said in...
The CRTC has named Judith LaRocque its new vice-chairwoman of broadcasting, a year after the position was left open following the departure of Tom Pentefountas. According to an email sent to...
Multi-channel networks (MCNs) have carved out a space in the online video ecosystem in recent years, leading traditional broadcasters to move into MCNs as a relatively low-risk way to reach younger...
The Community Radio Fund of Canada, a national independent not-for-profit organization supporting campus and community radio stations, has appointed a new executive director. Amély Friolet-O’Neil will officially...
The Federal Court of Canada dismissed a copyright lawsuit Thursday involving the sharing of news articles without purchase or consent because the content was used for “proper research” purposes. The case...
Canadian anglophones between the ages of 35 and 49 are, more than other generations, drawn to tablets and TV-enhancing technologies, according to a Media Technology Monitor (MTM) report released Tuesday. In its second...
Corus Entertainment Inc. has launched History Vault, a subscription over-the-top (OTT) service featuring programming from its History channel. The service, which costs $5.49 a month, “features hundreds of hours of...
CBC/Radio-Canada said Wednesday it is launching a $7.5 million, three-year fund to tackle the lack of diversity in film. The Breaking Barriers Film Fund is an attempt “to make a meaningful difference by...
CRTC commissioner Christopher MacDonald said radio stations must build on their strengths in order to deal with increasing competition in a speech to the Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB) conference Thursday. He noted “the growing popularity of streaming services and satellite radio among Canadians continues to erode listenership” and said the numbers of Internet-connected cars are projected to grow, according to a transcript. In response, radio stations must “must leverage the competitive advantages provided by the intimacy they foster with listeners...
Two communities in Ontario’s Hamilton-Niagara region can handle “at least” one radio station, the CRTC said as it issued a call for applications Thursday. The announcement...
TORONTO — The heritage ministry and the CRTC should engage in a more balanced discussion on what to do about taxes in support of cultural content, as both seem to be moving in...
The creation of a new federal agency to handle government funding for Canadian content could help the heritage minister’s goal of boosting exports of domestic cultural products, according to a report sponsored by Rogers...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Media has made available to its online advertisers two new services that it says will enable ”expanded and more accurate targeting against Bell Media audiences.” Advertisers will be able to use...
The CRTC has denied an application for a new radio station in Nova Scotia because its service area would have encroached that of existing stations. It said in a decision Tuesday that Atlantic Broadcasters Ltd. had applied for a broadcasting licence for a country music station in the Antigonish, N.S., market, whose contours would overlap those of three other stations in the area. One of those stations had launched in 2014 and “may therefore not be fully established in the market,” the CRTC said. “Further, given the financial situation of the stations in...
Telus Corp. announced Monday that is making Netflix Inc.’s app available on its Optik 4K set-top box, allowing subscribers to stream Netflix in 4K resolution. “4K is the ultimate way to immerse yourself...
GATINEAU, Que. — Those who innovate shouldn’t be penalized because their competitors can’t keep up, the CRTC heard Friday from representatives of the telecom company...
The CRTC is looking for comment on whether the Brampton, Ont. and St. John’s, N.L. radio markets can support additional stations. It said Friday in separate notices of consultation it has received two applications for new...
Telus Corp. reported strong wireless revenues and subscriber additions Friday, as data helped propel overall revenues up to $3.23 billion. For the three months ended September...
GATINEAU, Que. — The question of whether differential pricing practices (DPPs) can be used for socially beneficial purposes came up on the fourth day of the CRTC’s hearing on DPPs...
DHX Media Ltd. announced Thursday it received approval from the CRTC to allow broadcast advertising on its specialty Family channel, a move that one analyst describes as “clearly...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. will cut about 80 jobs to save about $7 million following a voluntary workforce reduction program “for certain employees who are not in customer-facing roles,” the company announced...
Cogeco Inc. saw a 3.2-per-cent increase in revenue to hit $572 million for the final quarter of fiscal 2016, the company reported Wednesday. In a press release, Cogeco said the growth was driven by its communications...
Quebecor Inc.’s telecommunications services boosted its third quarter, as it posted an $8.3-million loss, the company said in its quarterly financial report Thursday. The loss from the three months ended Sept. 30, compared to an $85.1 million profit the same period a year earlier, was "mainly due to $136.2 million unfavourable variance in the charge for restructuring of operations, gain on litigation and other items,” as well as “$122.1 million unfavourable variance in losses and gains on valuation and translation of financial instruments, including $119.6...
GATINEAU, Que. — While Rogers Communications Inc. said it generally does not support differential pricing practices (DPP), it suggested Wednesday that the regulator should stay flexible in its approach given...
The CRTC has issued a “working document” to guide discussion in the upcoming public hearing on the renewal of television licences by large ownership groups. “The inclusion of specific proposals in the working...
CBC/Radio-Canada announced that Michel Bissonnette would be taking over as executive vice-president of French services at Radio-Canada. Bissonnette will succeed Louis Lalande, who announced his upcoming retirement...
Quebecor Inc. said Wednesday it was making cuts to its media division to “maintain its lead in news and content production and keep focusing on its flagship brands.” In a press release, the company said...
Federal Court has granted BCE Inc. leave to appeal the CRTC’s decision not to allow simultaneous substitution for the Super Bowl, though it declined to delay the implementation of the decision until the court process wrapped up. Bell had asked for a stay of that decision—which is set to take affect for the 2017 game—in September. The order, issued Tuesday, noted “applicants may bring a motion to expedite the appeal once a notice of appeal has been filed.”...
GATINEAU — The CRTC shouldn’t take the non-participation in this week’s hearing by content providers who might eventually benefit from zero-rating and other differential pricing practices as non-interest, a...
Ronnie Stanton will leave his current position as vice-president of radio programming for Corus Entertainment Inc.’s Corus Radio Network, though he will continue to consult for the company. Corus spokeswoman Samantha...
The federal government is providing interested parties additional opportunity to comment on its repurposing of 600 MHz spectrum. The department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) posted a notice on its website Monday, asking for input on its “Proposed TV Transition Objectives and...
GATINEAU — On the first day of the CRTC’s hearing on differential pricing practices, a consortium representing small telecoms asked the CRTC to allow but regulate the practice of zero-rating,...
The Competition Bureau has wrapped up a sweep of online reviews and endorsements, as part of an annual initiative it conducts with other consumer protection agencies around the world. It said in a monthly...
TVA Group Inc. reported a smaller net loss in the third quarter compared to the previous year, as revenues were lifted by the World Cup of Hockey event this fall. In the three-month period ended Sept. 30,...
A BCE Inc. application to sponsor a Spanish-language channel has been approved, the CRTC said Friday. In a notice posted to its website, the CRTC said CincoMas, described as a 24-hour general interest service,...
OTTAWA — While traditionally, government funding has been directed to boost fixed Internet service, perhaps there should be some public assistance for improving wireless coverage, a member of...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. is asking the CRTC to exempt a television service from being offered in a package to meet the commission’s basic TV mandate later this year. The telecom provider, which is in the midst of being purchased by BCE Inc., filed an application dated Oct. 21 to the CRTC asking for The Cult Movie Channel Inc. to be exempt because of the nature of its programming—"often portraying violence in a highly graphic manner,"...
Twitter Inc. announced that it is cutting nine per cent of its workforce globally in a restructuring that it estimates will make it profitable next year. The social media company announced the reduction, estimated at...
Even though the CRTC is an arms-length organization, there is “a lot this government can do directly to support artists and creators across this country,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, in response...
Groupe V Media Inc. has filed a complaint with the CRTC over BCE Inc.’s removal of Groupe V Media’s French-language music channels from its cheapest pre-assembled cable TV packages. According to the Part 1...
The broadcasting sector saw its first overall revenue decrease in the previous decade last year, while traditional TV viewership among youth continued to fall, according to numbers reported by the...
OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada has prioritized a shift to digital platforms to reach all Canadians, but ensuring they are able to access those platforms isn’t part of the public broadcaster’s mandate, CBC representatives told parliamentarians Tuesday. In response to a question from Liberal MP Dan Vandal about serving Franco-Manitoban communities that are spread across the province, Louis Lalande, executive vice-president of French services at Radio-Canada, said he knows that there are areas that don’t have “consistently reliable digital service.”...
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is suggesting Netflix Inc. be taxed, as it calls on the government to take action. Netflix is benefiting from Canadian tax exemptions and a lack of regulation, while the...
TORONTO — A panel of Federal Court of Appeal justices dismissed an application from former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan challenging the authority of chairman Jean-Pierre Blais to name commissioners to panels. Following a...
The CRTC said Monday Steven Harroun is its new chief compliance and enforcement officer, effective Nov. 14. “Steven’s extensive experience at the Commission and as our representative...
A potential merger between AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. highlights a move by United States-based companies toward vertical integration, just as developments in Canada...
The federal government is appealing a Federal Court justice’s ruling that former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan was denied procedural fairness and that set aside an official report finding he had harassed a senior staff member....
BCE Inc.’s over-the-top (OTT) service CraveTV will be the new launching pad for Showtime programming in Canada, the company announced Monday. In a press release, Crave said new and returning shows will debut on the OTT...
Anglophone millennials spend more than 30 hours a week on the Internet, and about four-fifths of that generation watch TV online, according the latest report from Media Technology Monitor, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada. The...
Shudder, an over-the-top (OTT) service focusing on the horror genre, has launched in Canada, a year after it became available in the United States. According to a press release, the AMC Networks Inc.-owned...
OTTAWA — CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais defended the rationale and timing of the regulator’s controversial decision to change the eligibility requirements to access certified independent production funds (CIPFs) in face of pointed questions from members of Parliament Thursday morning. The Aug. 25 decision to reduce from eight to six the number of certification points a production must have — granted for each key role a Canadian fills on a production — has sparked concern from members of creative industries (such as actors and screenwriters) who...
OTTAWA — On the same day that a new report was released arguing the CRTC’s role and authority should be reduced in response to technological change, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais defended the relevance of the...
Corus Entertainment Inc. reported Wednesday a 99 per cent increase in revenues for the fourth quarter, despite a decline in radio revenues. The three-month period, which...
Corus Entertainment Inc. is adding to its culinary line up with the Cooking Channel, a new 24-hour, food-focused network launching in Canada on Dec. 12. The Cooking Channel — which will be a rebrand of...
SoundCloud has opened its subscription service, SoundCloud Go, to Canadian customers, the audio platform announced Wednesday. In a post on the company’s blog, SoundCloud said the service, which allows listeners to...
It could be mid-2017 before former Telus Corp. head Joe Natale takes over as CEO at Rogers Communications Inc., according to financial analysts, some of whom said Tuesday that the delay could have negative effects on the company. In a research note, Cannacord Genuity’s Aravinda Galappatthige wondered “whether the sudden leadership change and the period of nearly 10 months before Joe Natale steps in (not to mention the time required for the new CEO to ramp up) could potentially compromise the momentum we had been seeing at Rogers.” He...
Ontario’s French-language public broadcaster has teamed up with an American partner to distribute its educational programs in the United States, Groupe Média TFO said in a press release Monday. The...
Canadian multi-platform network (MPN) BroadbandTV Corp. (BBTV) has signed a deal to manage the Hispanic content of Univision Communications Inc. The Vancouver-based media company will provide the management services for...
In an unexpected move, Rogers Communications Inc. has announced Guy Laurence is no longer CEO of the company and will be replaced by former Telus Corp. CEO Joe Natale, a choice...
Ann Cavoukian, executive director of the Privacy and Big Data Institute at Ryerson University, is founding an international privacy organization, according to a press release Monday. The International Council on...
VMedia Inc. said in a court document it has removed BCE Inc.’s CTV channels from its over-the-top (OTT) skinny basic service pending the resolution of a legal dispute between the two...
Twitter Inc. will partner with Buzzfeed Inc. to provide live coverage of the United States presidential election next month. The Nov. 8 election night special will be streamed exclusively on Twitter, the companies...
The Sudbury, Ont. radio market can’t sustain any more stations, the CRTC said yesterday, citing high unemployment, no projected population growth in the next few years, and below-average profitability of the city’s...
The breach of millions of Yahoo Inc. email accounts revealed in late September could affect the acquisition of the company by Verizon Communications Inc., Reuters reported. The news service quoted Verizon...
Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Friday it has purchased more than 600 hours of exclusive music and documentary content from EuroArts Music International GmbH, making it Stingray’s first content distribution partner. The Montreal-based music distributor said in a press release it will receive “hundreds of exclusive pre-2013 concerts and documentaries” from Berlin-based EuroArts in the $1.3-million deal. The agreement also includes worldwide rights to not only EuroArts’ back catalogue, but an option to buy all its future content, according to the release....
