Afrotainment not competitive with AMET-TV: Soundview

Media | 04/26/2013 4:38 pm EDT

Four American “Afrotainment” specialty channels would benefit, not hinder, Afromedia Communications Inc.’s African Movies and Entertainment Television (AMET TV) service if they are allowed to launch in Canada, the company applying to bring the channels to Canada said. In regulatory documents filed with the CRTC this week, Soundview...

Bell Media launches accelerator program

Media | 04/25/2013 8:59 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division launched a new apprenticeship program designed to help develop the “next generation” of TV producers in Canada, the company said. In a release Wednesday, Bell Media said it will provide up to $1 million a year to the Producer Accelerator Lab program, which will provide hands-on training in both the...

Starlight says ‘market failure’ warrants the public paying for better access, content

Media | 04/25/2013 8:53 pm EDT

Filmmakers and producers backing a proposed all-Canadian film channel faced questions from CRTC commissioners about why the Canadian public should fund their channel and whether they considered launching the service on an online platform. A 19-member panel of backers for the service, called...

CRTC approves new CBC FM stations

Media | 04/25/2013 6:46 pm EDT

A Waterloo-region CBC/Radio-Canada radio program that was pulled this week due to a regulatory hurdle will be back on the air Friday after the CRTC approved an FM radio application for Paris, Ont., CBC said. CBC said Tuesday that...

CRTC consulting on broadcast applications

Media | 04/25/2013 6:32 pm EDT

The CRTC opened consultations on seven broadcasting applications, including one renewal and six requests to operate new services. In a notice posted on the commission’s website Tuesday, the commission said it is seeking comments on Canadian Teen Television Network Inc.’s application to renew its specialty channel licence, which is set to expire Aug. 31. The commission said it is also consulting on applications by Bathurst Radio Inc., Saugeen Community Radio Inc., and Golden West Broadcasting Inc. to operate new FM radio stations in Bathurst, N.B., Mount Forest and Wellington West, Ont., and Portage La Prairie, Man., respectively. Three other applications by Beanfield Technologies Inc., The Westport Telephone Company Ltd., and Wightman Telecom Ltd. relate to requests to...

New TV standard prevents forwarding through ads

Media | 04/25/2013 6:31 pm EDT

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) published a new standard designed to give broadcasters, TV providers and cable operators greater control over when users can fast-forward through on-demand content and advertising, the group said. In a release Tuesday, SCTE said the new standard, called SCTE 130-10 and published in a document...

MTS to expand fibre to Stonewall

Media | 04/25/2013 6:26 pm EDT

MTS Inc. will begin deploying its fibre-to-the-home FiON network in Stonewall, Man., this summer and expects the service to be available in the area later this year, the company said. In a release Thursday, MTS said its rollout...

Illico.tv app now on Android

Media | 04/24/2013 10:08 pm EDT

Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Videotron Ltd. released an illico.tv on-demand TV application for Google Inc.'s Android platform. In a release Wednesday, Videotron said the launch of the illico.tv Android app follows that...

CPAC, airing more content online, questioned on need for 9(1)(h)

Media | 04/24/2013 9:48 pm EDT

The Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc. faced questions Wednesday about what it would do if it lost its 9(1)(h) mandatory carriage fee as the channel puts more programming free online and sees TV...

Analysis: They are all ‘exceptional’ channels. Well, not quite

Media | 04/24/2013 9:17 pm EDT

The CRTC launched into two weeks of hearings Tuesday to consider a number of “exceptional” channels applying for mandatory carriage on basic TV packages. At least that's how the applicants for the special licences describe their proposed or existing channels. They would make exceptional contributions to...

Sun News asks CRTC for ‘new entrant’ access to the broadcasting system

Media | 04/23/2013 10:19 pm EDT

Quebecor Media Inc.’s Sun News Network should receive regulatory protection as a “new entrant” in Canada’s broadcasting market, said Kory Teneycke, vice-president of the specialty channel. “What we’re asking for is very similar with what happened in the wireless spectrum auction, which...

Toronto filming revenues up in 2012

Media | 04/23/2013 9:05 pm EDT

Production companies spent $1.2 billion in on-location filming in Toronto in 2012, up 5.9 per cent from $1.13 billion a year earlier, a new report by the city said. In a “Film, Television & Digital Media: 2012 Year in Review” report presented to the city’s Economic Development Committee on Tuesday, Toronto’s economic...

Newcap gets new FM station in Wainwright

Media | 04/23/2013 8:56 pm EDT

The CRTC approved an application by Newfoundland Capital Corp. Ltd. subsidiary Newcap Inc. to operate a commercial English-language FM station in Wainwright, Alta., the commission said. In a decision Tuesday, the CRTC said it approved Newcap’s request to open a new FM station to replace its CKKY Wainwright AM station. The commission noted Newcap...

Focus on brand, innovation, Pentefountas tells radio stations

Media | 04/23/2013 7:11 pm EDT

Radio broadcasters should build their brands and be willing to innovate to maintain listeners in a changing media environment in which traditional broadcasters “no longer rule the roost,” said Tom Pentefountas, the CRTC’s vice-chair of broadcasting.  Online radio, portable music players, and “connected cars” that will deliver online, on-demand entertainment to drivers and passengers are “changing the rules of the game for traditional broadcasters,” Pentefountas said in a March 21 address at the International Radio Summit, according to a...

Blais warns 9(1)(h) applicants that consumers want more choice, affordability

Media | 04/23/2013 3:29 pm EDT

GATINEAU, Que.—CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais opened the regulator’s hearing on mandatory distribution applications by warning broadcast companies applying for the special licences that consumers are concerned about affordability in their TV services and that they want more choice in the channels they receive....

Stoddart looking at Bill C-475

Media | 04/23/2013 12:37 am EDT

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is looking at Bill C-475, a private members bill put forward by NDP MP Charmaine Borg that amends the Privacy Act. The private members bill was read a first time in the House of Commons on Feb. 26, and would require organizations to notify the federal privacy commissioner of any incident where there was...

Smartphones power Rogers Q1 earnings

Media | 04/23/2013 12:19 am EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. reported higher first-quarter revenues and profits as the company’s wireless data revenues rose on smartphone customer additions, Rogers said in a quarterly financial statement Monday. In a...

ATN launches new Hindi and Bengali channels

Media | 04/22/2013 8:58 pm EDT

Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) launched Star Network-India channels Star Utsav and Star Jalsha, the company said Monday. In a release Monday, ATN said it signed licensing agreements under which it has been granted exclusive rights to the two channels that are part of Star Network-India, affiliated with Fox International Channels, a...

Southshore plans multiplexing, says it’s a more efficient use of spectrum for local TV

Media | 04/22/2013 8:49 pm EDT

Southshore Broadcasting Inc., which plans to become Canada’s first “multiplex” TV broadcaster later this year, says other local, over-the-air TV stations can use the technology to save spectrum, money and better serve viewers in their communities. Multiplexing, a practice widely used in countries ranging from Kenya to the United States, allows broadcasters to transmit multiple digital channels and sub-channels over a single, 6 MHz block of spectrum previously used to broadcast a single, analog channel. Multiplexing became possible in Canada after most broadcasters converted analog signals to digital on Sept. 1, 2011. “From a technical perspective, it’s not...

Rogers’ Anyplace TV available on smart TV

Media | 04/19/2013 7:52 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. expanded its Anyplace TV service with an app that works on smart TVs made by LG Electronics, Rogers said. In a release Friday, Rogers said the application is the “first on demand video app of its kind in Canada” to work with smart TVs. The Anyplace TV service, which is also available through personal computers,...

Arris completes Motorola Home acquisition

Media | 04/19/2013 7:40 pm EDT

Arris Group Inc. completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility LLC’s “Motorola Home” business from Google Inc., the company said. In a release Wednesday, Arris said it paid Google $2.2 billion US and issued the company 10.6 million Arris shares to complete the deal, which was first announced in December. The deal, the release said,...

Canadian YouTube users increase: survey

Media | 04/19/2013 7:38 pm EDT

Four out of five online Canadians watch YouTube each month, said a new study by Solutions Research Group Consultants Inc. (SRG). In an entry on SRG’s blog last month, the Toronto research firm said its most recent Digital Life Canada study found that 80 per cent of “online Canadians” watch YouTube each month. According to the study,...

Twitter launches keywords advertising tool

Media | 04/19/2013 7:26 pm EDT

Twitter Inc. launched a new tool that will allow advertisers to analyze users’ Tweets for keywords to better target their ads. In a post on the company’s advertising blog Wednesday, Nipoon Malhotra, Twitter’s product manager for revenue, said the company’s new “keyword targeting in timelines” product will allow...

Astral seeks CRTC arbitration in dispute with Videotron over fees, multiplatform rights

Media | 04/19/2013 7:24 pm EDT

The CRTC is encouraging Quebecor Media Inc. and Astral Media Inc. to find commercial terms in a content rights dispute after Astral asked the commission to arbitrate a disagreement over the wholesale prices for its pay and specialty and TV content, including The Movie Network and HBO. In a letter...

Bell Mobile TV puts CBC content on demand

Media | 04/19/2013 6:58 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada TV programming will now be available live and on-demand on Bell Mobile TV, BCE Inc. division Bell Media said Friday. In a release, Bell said content from CBC’s over-the-air network will now be available on its mobile platform in addition to CBC News Network and Radio-Canada’s Réseau de l’information (RDI) news...

QMI appoints Contenu directors

Media | 04/19/2013 6:52 pm EDT

Quebecor Media Inc. division Contenu QMI announced four new appointments in its brands and multiplatform strategies sector on Friday. In a release, Contenu QMI said Suzanne Laverdiere, who has more than 25 years of experience in the communications industry, was appointed to the position of director, drama and documentaries, brands and multiplatform...

CRTC approves VMedia expansion

Media | 04/18/2013 9:43 pm EDT

The CRTC approved a VMedia application to expand its IPTV business into new areas of Southern Ontario, the commission said. In a decision Thursday, the CRTC said it approved VMedia’s application to serve as a broadcast...

ATN launching Sikh, Punjabi channels

Media | 04/18/2013 9:01 pm EDT

Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) is launching two new Sikh and Punjabi channels, ATN said Thursday. In a release, ATN said ATN-SIKH would be Canada’s first 24-hour Sikh spiritual channel and the ATN-BRIT Asia channel would be Canada’s first South Asian youth-oriented Punjabi music channel. The two new channels bring ATN’s total of Punjabi channels to six, the release said. ATN said in the release that the Sikh spiritual channel would feature religious and cultural shows focused on the Sikh faith, while the Brit Asia channel would offer music, news, reality TV shows and other content geared towards Asian audiences between 18 and 34 years old. ATN did not say when the new channels will launch....

VoIP, OTT services to challenge incumbents: ITU report

Media | 04/18/2013 8:58 pm EDT

Traditional broadcast distribution and telecom operators will “lose ground” to over-the-top content providers and voice over IP services over the next four years, a new report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) said Thursday. The ITU said in its “Trends in Telecommunication 2013”...

La Presse launches free app, focuses on advertising

Media | 04/18/2013 8:57 pm EDT

Quebec newspaper La Presse, owned by Power Corporation of Canada, launched a new, free iPad app, the company said, following three years of research and a $40-million investment. La Presse said in a release Thursday that readers can sign up for free access to its new digital edition, which will be added to the newspaper's existing print, website,...

CRTC centralizes decisions, disputes teams

Media | 04/18/2013 3:33 am EDT

A new CRTC “decisions group” will harmonize the look and feel of commission decisions across the broadcasting and telecom sectors and a new alternative dispute resolution and processes group will strengthen its broadcasting dispute resolution team, CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais said in an internal email. In an email Monday, Blais said...

Cliff to lead CRTC comms team

Media | 04/18/2013 3:28 am EDT

Amanda Cliff, director general of Heritage Canada’s broadcasting and digital communications division, will become the CRTC’s new executive director of communications and external relations, CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais told staff in an internal email Monday. Cliff, who will assume the position on April 22, will oversee the...

Rangtel gets IPTV service approved

Media | 04/17/2013 8:56 pm EDT

The CRTC approved an application by Rangtel Inc. to operate an IPTV broadcast distribution service in the Greater Toronto Area. In a decision Wednesday, the commission said Rangtel will be allowed to offer its IPTV service in the areas of Ajax, Aurora, Brampton, Brock, Burlington, Caledon, Clarington, Halton Hills, King, Markham, Milton, Mississauga, Newmarket, Oakville, Oshawa, Pickering, Scugog, Uxbridge, Vaughan, Whitby and Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ont. The CRTC said the service must be operational within 24-months to maintain its licence, and that licence will expire on Aug. 31, 2019....

CRTC approves Greek Cinema

Media | 04/17/2013 8:48 pm EDT

The CRTC approved an application from Odyssey Television Network Inc. to add Greek Cinema, a 100 per cent Greek-language niche channel, to the list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution in Canada. In a decision Wednesday, the CRTC said Greek Cinema would offer new Greek-language movie releases as well as classics from the 1960s to 1990s....

Canadian companies slow to adopt big data: Google, IDC

Media | 04/17/2013 8:31 pm EDT

OTTAWA—Canadian companies are slow to adopt “big data” technologies that can help them extract large amounts of consumer and business information to better improve their corporate strategies and operations, industry experts said. Colin McKay, global public policy manager at Google Inc.’s Canadian...

Competitors using Bell-Astral hearing to push for better distribution rates, BCE says

Media | 04/17/2013 8:19 pm EDT

Broadcast distributors turned down BCE Inc.'s proposed deals to carry its content on online, mobile and video-on-demand platforms, Bell said, as the company accused...

Afromedia urges carriage support for unlaunched channels facing competition

Media | 04/17/2013 8:17 pm EDT

The CRTC should help existing Canadian specialty channels secure carriage agreements before allowing competing, foreign channels into the country, Brampton, Ont.-based broadcaster Afromedia...

Telesat launches Anik G1 satellite

Media | 04/16/2013 8:13 pm EDT

Telesat said it launched its new Anik G1 satellite. In a release, Telesat said the new satellite would be located at 107.3 degrees West and would provide direct-to-home (DTH) TV services in Canada, as well as C-band and Ku-band...

Independent distributors say Bell-Astral would receive 37% of their carriage fees

Media | 04/15/2013 8:50 pm EDT

Independent broadcast distributors say BCE Inc. has not addressed the CRTC's concerns about market power resulting from an acquisition of Astral Media Inc. and that BCE's share of all carriage...

Consumer groups oppose TVtropolis transaction

Media | 04/15/2013 8:29 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and a consortium of consumer groups said they oppose Shaw Communications Inc.’s bid to acquire the remaining share of the TVtropolis specialty channel. In regulatory documents...

Shaw profits rise; TV subs decline

Media | 04/12/2013 8:53 pm EDT

Profits for Shaw Communications Inc. reached $182 million in the second quarter of 2013, up from $178 million in the same period of 2012, the company said Friday. In a financial earnings statement, Shaw said consolidated revenue...

Half of Canadians own game console: poll

Media | 04/11/2013 9:10 pm EDT

About half of Canadian households, or 45 per cent, own a gaming console, said a new survey by Media Technology Monitor (MTM), adding that many people use them to watch streaming content on their TVs. The MTM, a joint research project between CBC/Radio-Canada and BBM Analytics, said in polling results released Thursday that the Nintendo Co. Ltd. Wii console is the leader in Canada with 27 per cent market share, followed by Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox at 20 per cent and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 at 18 per cent. The report said nearly one in three gaming console owners access the Internet on their device and one in five use it to play games online. “18% of game console owners stream video on their console, but for most console owners, watching Netflix is the primary...

Profits tumble at Corus

Media | 04/11/2013 9:01 pm EDT

Profits attributable to shareholders for Corus Entertainment Inc. fell to $5.9 million in the second quarter of 2013, down from $31.6 million in the same period a year earlier, the company said Thursday. In a financial earnings report, Corus said revenues were $183.7 million in the second quarter, down from $205.7 million in the same period of 2012. TV revenues, Corus said, were down 12 per cent during the quarter to...

TV revenues, profits, rise at Astral

Media | 04/11/2013 8:52 pm EDT

Profits for Astral Media Inc. totalled $41.2 million in the second quarter of 2013, up eight per cent from $38.2 million in the same period a year earlier, the company said Thursday. In a quarterly earnings statement, Astral said consolidated revenues also rose in the second quarter to $237.1 million, from $233.5 million in the same period a year...

TSN’s, Sportsnet’s expenses surge, profits tumble: CRTC data

Media | 04/11/2013 8:21 pm EDT

Canada's most popular sports specialty channels reported millions of dollars in additional expenses as profits dropped during the 2012 broadcast year, according to new specialty channel data released by the CRTC. The regulator released data for the broadcasting year ended Aug. 31, 2012, showing that BCE Inc.'s TSN...

CBC, Microsoft launch NHL app

Media | 04/10/2013 8:47 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada reached a deal with Microsoft Corp.'s Canadian division to distribute Hockey Night in Canada content on Microsoft platforms MSN.ca, Xbox, Windows 8, and Windows 8 mobile phones, a release said. CBC and Microsoft said in a release Wednesday that they launched an new app for live broadcasts of Hockey Night In Canada available for...

Quebecor to appear on first day of 9(1)(h) hearing

Media | 04/10/2013 6:32 pm EDT

Quebecor Media Inc. officials are scheduled to appear on the first day of the CRTC's public hearing to review applications for mandatory carriage under Section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act. The Quebecor officials are scheduled to answer questions from commissioners on April 23 about the company's request for mandatory carriage for its Sun News specialty channel. The CRTC released an agenda for the hearing that says it will run from April 23 through May 2. The commission will discuss 22 applications for mandatory carriage, some of them renewals. The Cable Public Affairs Channel is scheduled to appear April 24, and CBC/Radio-Canada, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Inc., and officials representing Starlight: The Canadian Movie Channel, are slated for April 25. Four days...

Quebec gaming industry grew 9% in 2012

Media | 04/10/2013 5:59 pm EDT

Quebec's electronic gaming industry grew by nine per cent in 2012, Quebec tech industry workforce group TechnoCompétence said. “Despite a flurry of layoffs and studio closures during the year, the industry experienced a 9 per cent growth rate. The expansion in job creation is spectacular when compared to the 0.8 per cent overall job...

Total TV subscriber growth slows to 1%, will be negative this year, analyst says

Media | 04/09/2013 10:47 pm EDT

Total TV subscriber growth for cable, IPTV, and satellite TV services in Canada slowed to one per cent in the 2011-2012 broadcast year, reaching a total of 11.5 million subscribers, according to new data released by the CRTC. Annual TV subscriber growth in 2012 has fallen by more than half from previous years, when annual...

CRTC says new website will emphasize consumer access

Media | 04/09/2013 9:21 pm EDT

The CRTC's efforts to revamp its website will focus on consumer access over concerns from industry, Paulette Leclair, the commission’s director of public affairs, said in an interview. Home to the public records for...

Value for signal ruling may come into play at 9(1)(h) hearing

Media | 04/09/2013 7:46 pm EDT

The Supreme Court's broadcasting decision last December, which quashed the CRTC's value for signal regime and which industry sources say reduced the commission's powers, may be raised during the regulator's upcoming hearing on mandatory carriage. The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in December, called...

Telus says Shaw refused its TV advertising

Media | 04/09/2013 7:11 pm EDT

Telus Corp. said a competing broadcast distributor refused an advertisement about its TV service, suggesting the move was done for competitive reasons. In a regulatory filing with the CRTC for its consultation on BCE Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Astral Media Inc. for $3.38 billion, Telus said western competitor Shaw Communications Inc. rejected a...

Sports broadcaster Esaw dies

Media | 04/09/2013 3:07 pm EDT

Canadian sports broadcaster Johnny Esaw passed away at his home in Toronto on April 7, CTV said Monday. In a statement, Phil King, president of CTV programming and sports at Bell Media, a division of BCE Inc., said the broadcaster is “deeply saddened” by the passing of Esaw, who died at age 87 and was a “true legend” in sports...

CFEQ-FM changed to classical format

Media | 04/09/2013 3:03 pm EDT

The CRTC approved an application from Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. to change the format of CFEQ-FM Winnipeg from Christian programming to classical music. In a decision Monday, the commission said Golden West submitted the new...

Banff Centre urges comments to CRTC

Media | 04/09/2013 2:55 pm EDT

The Banff Centre is encouraging public comments on its radio applications with the CRTC, the local arts and culture organization said Monday. In a release, The Banff Centre referred to applications it filed with the commission to maintain two Banff National Park radio stations that offer local tourism information in both official languages and to...

PIAC, consumer groups, oppose Bell-Astral deal

Media | 04/09/2013 2:49 pm EDT

Five consumer and public interest groups told the CRTC they oppose BCE Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Astral Media Inc. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), which advocates for consumers and acts as counsel for the Consumers’ Association of Canada, Council of Senior Citizens’ Organization of British Columbia, National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation, and Option consommateurs, filed an intervention with the regulator that said the merger should be denied because it is not in the public interest. The groups said the proposed transaction would increase media...

Bell’s competitors question Competition Bureau approval of Astral deal

Media | 04/08/2013 9:45 pm EDT

Cogeco Cable Inc. and Quebecor Media Inc. criticized the Competition Bureau's closed-door approval of BCE Inc.'s $3.38-billion acquisition of Astral Media Inc. in advance of a public hearing on the acquisition to be held by Canada's broadcast regulator. Quebecor chief executive Pierre Karl Péladeau said...

Nielsen brings online campaign ratings to Canada

Media | 04/05/2013 8:00 pm EDT

Nielsen is bringing its online advertising measurement service to Canada, the consumer research group said. In a release Wednesday, the New York-based ratings company said its Nielsen Online Campaign Ratings product, which is currently available in the U.S. and the U.K., will expand to four new markets “in the coming weeks,” including...

Canadians avoiding apps, online services, citing privacy: poll

Media | 04/05/2013 7:57 pm EDT

Canadians are avoiding some mobile applications, websites and online services due to privacy concerns, said a new survey commissioned by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. In a release Thursday, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said a telephone survey of 1,513 Canadians conducted from Oct. 25 to Nov....

Facebook unveils Home app

Media | 04/05/2013 7:56 pm EDT

Facebook Inc. launched a new mobile application, called “Home,” that is designed to replace a smartphone’s locked screen and home screen with a Facebook “cover feed” that features photos and status updates from the phone user’s friends. In a release, Facebook said the app, which works on phones running Google Inc.’s Android operating system, is designed to be “a window into...

CBC push for daytime ‘branded entertainment’ removes creative power, producer says

Media | 04/05/2013 7:30 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada’s new plan to air more branded entertainment during the day will draw advertising and sponsorship dollars to the public broadcaster at the cost of quality daytime programming and producers’ creative talent, said Richard Nielsen, president of Toronto-based Norflicks Productions Ltd. CBC announced an initiative last week for more branded entertainment in new programming for CBC’s daytime schedule. The plan aims to bring together marketers and independent producers who would collaborate on new projects connected to Canadian brands or new Canadian products. “The real problem is what’s lost here, it's the power of the creator,” Nielsen...

Kapatid TV approved for distribution

Media | 04/05/2013 3:30 pm EDT

The CRTC approved a request from Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. to add Kapatid TV5 to the list of non-Canadian channels authorized for broadcast distribution in Canada. In a decision Thursday, the CRTC said Philippines-based Kapatid...

iTV to go on sale this year: report

Media | 04/05/2013 3:22 pm EDT

Apple Inc.’s iTV will go on sale later this year with a price range of $1,500 US to $2,500 US, The Associated Press reported Wednesday. In a research note obtained by AP, New York-based Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian J. White said the iTV will measure 60 inches diagonally, though it could also come in 50- and 55-inch versions. White did not...

Quebecor gets French-language World Cup coverage

Media | 04/05/2013 3:20 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada signed an agreement with Quebecor Media Inc. broadcast property TVA Sports for French-language coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. CBC said in a release Thursday that, as a result of the new agreement, 46...

Q&A: Local broadcasters get 6 MHz of prized spectrum, so use it, Taylor says

Media | 04/04/2013 9:50 pm EDT

Gregory Taylor, a broadcasting expert and post-doctoral fellow at Ryerson University, says a lack of regulatory guidance during Canada’s switch to over-the-air, digital TV has left Canadians...

BBM Music to shut down in June

Media | 04/04/2013 9:42 pm EDT

BlackBerry’s BBM Music service will shut down on June 2, the company said in an email to users Wednesday. The email, posted on forum site Crackberry.com, informed customers that the music service will be “discontinued” in June. “For paying customers, April is the last month that you will be billed,” the email said....

Thunderbird appoints Fecan as chairman

Media | 04/04/2013 9:17 pm EDT

Thunderbird Films Inc. appointed Ivan Fecan as the chairman of its board, the company said Tuesday. In a release, Thunderbird said Fecan, who will also serve as a consultant to the company, has “extensive” experience in the industry. He previous held the positions of vice-president of creative affairs at NBC, head of English Television at...

Tories say there’s no tariff on music players

Media | 04/04/2013 8:57 pm EDT

The Conservative government said there is no new tariff on digital music players, as economics professor Mike Moffatt said he discovered in the government's 2013 federal budget. "I want to clarify that there is no ipod tax," Kathleen Perchaluk, a spokeswoman for Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, said in an emailed statement Friday....

Netflix’s Arrested Development available May 26

Media | 04/04/2013 8:56 pm EDT

Netflix Inc. will premiere its fourth season of Arrested Development on May 26, 2013, in Canada, the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Brazil and the Nordic countries. The online TV service will instantly make available all 15 episodes of the new season about the dysfunctional Bluth family, created by executive producer Mitchell...

EU regulators taking action against Google privacy policy

Media | 04/03/2013 8:32 pm EDT

Privacy regulators in six European countries said they are preparing to take legal action against Google Inc. over the company’s consolidated online privacy policy launched last year. In a release, French privacy regulator the Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés (CNIL) said regulators in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.K. “launched actions” against Google on Tuesday after the company did not update its online privacy policy to address concerns raised by a regulatory working group last year. The CNIL said that the working group told Google in October that the company’s consolidated privacy policy, announced in January 2012, failed to meet privacy requirements under the European Data Protection Directive. The...

CBC renews 21 TV shows, expanded seasons

Media | 04/03/2013 8:23 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada announced the renewal of 21 TV shows and expanded seasons of Republic of Doyle and Murdoch Mysteries as the public broadcaster deals with budget cuts totalling $115 million by 2014-2015. Republic of Doyle will be renewed with an expanded 16 episodes and Murdoch Mysteries with 18 episodes, CBC said in a release Wednesday. It said the...

Cineflix appoints Akman as COO

Media | 04/03/2013 7:43 pm EDT

Cineflix Media Inc. appointed Andrew Akman as its chief operating officer, the company said Wednesday. In a release, Cineflix, a content creator, producer and distributor, said Akman, based in Toronto, would be responsible for overseeing the company’s corporate operations, information technology and post-production, as well partnerships and...

NFB, CBC launch ‘Hyperlocal’ website

Media | 04/03/2013 7:41 pm EDT

The National Film Board and CBC/Radio-Canada launched Hyperlocal, an online website of six interactive stories about changes in Canada’s neighbourhoods. In a release Wednesday, the Film Board said Hyperlocal, which was commissioned by CBC Canada Writes, the public broadcaster’s literature division, will provide a collection of six personal...

TSN, Sportsnet wholesale rates to reach $3: report

Media | 04/03/2013 2:35 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc.'s ownership of Toronto sports teams and control of their broadcasting rights positions the company to profit from team successes, BMO analyst Tim Casey said in a research note. In a note dated March 27, Casey said Rogers' ownership of the teams could help offset the rising costs of acquiring other sports content for...

Optik to use Ericsson technology

Media | 04/03/2013 2:24 pm EDT

Telus Corp. will use Ericsson's compression technology to improve HD video quality for its IPTV service, Ericsson said Thursday. In a release, Ericsson said it is supplying Telus with its MPEG-4 AVC HD “compression solution” to improve the efficiency of Telus' Internet-protocol TV service, called Optik TV. The technology, Ericsson said, will improve HD video quality and still allow Telus to stay within CRTC rules limiting the volume of TV commercials. “At the heart of the solution are Ericsson’s Video Processors, which extract the maximum efficiency possible from the MPEG-4 AVC specification,” Ericsson said. “This efficiency gain typically allows operators to get more HDTV channels into their transmission bandwidth. The solution also delivers operational flexibility for operations today and simple upgrading for evolving future needs.” Telus' fibre-based Optik TV service had 678,000 subscribers at the end of 2012, up 169,000 from a year earlier.  ...

Canadian TV cord cutters to reach 3.2% this year: report

Media | 04/03/2013 12:17 pm EDT

More than two per cent of Canadian TV subscribers cancelled their subscriptions in the past two years, a report by the Convergence Consulting Group Ltd. said. In a report released this week, Convergence estimated that 178,000 subscribers cancelled their television subscriptions in 2012 and that 250,000 have cancelled since...

Proposed new securities rules would help Canadian tech startups, insiders say

Media | 04/02/2013 8:47 pm EDT

Consultations on new securities rules from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) would help Canadian startups find additional capital through crowdfunding and give them more power to stop hostile takeovers, tech industry insiders say. In December, the OSC launched a...

Ericsson in talks for Microsoft IPTV platform: Bloomberg

Media | 03/28/2013 9:24 pm EDT

Ericsson is in talks to purchase Microsoft Corp.’s MediaRoom IPTV technology, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Bloomberg cited sources with knowledge of the talks, reporting that Cross Research said the deal could total more than $1 billion US and may be announced in the next few weeks. Bloomberg reported that...

CBC’s Cracked sold to U.S. and France

Media | 03/28/2013 9:13 pm EDT

Toronto-based White Pine Pictures, which is behind CBC/Radio-Canada’s police drama show Cracked, sold the program to the U.S. and France, White Pine said Wednesday. In a release, White Pine said the rights were acquired by U.S. cable and satellite network ReelzChannel after Cracked averaged about 750,000 viewers in Canada. “The acquisition...

CBC transparency bill passes vote in House

Media | 03/28/2013 6:34 pm EDT

Conservative MP Brent Rathgeber’s private members' bill on CBC transparency, Bill C-461, passed a vote at second reading in the House of Commons with support from the Conservative government. The bill was first tabled by Rathgeber in November and aims to prevent CBC/Radio-Canada from denying access-to-information requests based on an...

Mobile audio streaming rose 77% in 2012: poll

Media | 03/27/2013 8:30 pm EDT

Sixteen per cent of anglophone Canadians stream audio content on their smartphones and 14 per cent stream online video, Media Technology Monitor (MTM) said in a new report. In a report called “Streaming Media on Smartphones” released Wednesday, MTM said the number of anglophones who stream audio content on their phones rose 77 per cent in...

CRTC consulting on video sign language service for phone users

Media | 03/27/2013 8:22 pm EDT

The CRTC opened a consultation on whether video sign language services should be available to telephone users who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired. In a notice Wednesday, the commission...

Bell Aliant cannot shift community television online, CRTC says

Media | 03/27/2013 8:18 pm EDT

Bell Aliant Inc. cannot spend some of its community TV contributions on Internet programming, the CRTC said. In a decision Wednesday to renew a Bell Aliant broadcast distribution licence, the commission said the company, a 40 per cent-owned subsidiary of BCE Inc., had asked to allocate some of its community television...

Astral warns of changing genre protection rules

Media | 03/27/2013 7:50 pm EDT

The CRTC would effectively change its genre exclusivity policy if it allowed Videotron Ltd. to continue offering its illico Club Unlimited service on TV, Astral Media Inc. said. In a complaint filed with the commission this month, Astral said the Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary’s Club Unlimited video on-demand service, available on set-top boxes, competes directly with Astral’s Super Écran Category A specialty channel, violating commission rules that protect it from competition. In final comments filed with the CRTC Monday, Astral said that if the regulator allows Videotron to continue its television Club Unlimited offering, “it will result in a change of policy without a public process.” It said allowing Videotron to continue offering Club Unlimited over...

CRTC consulting on broadcast applications

Media | 03/27/2013 1:19 pm EDT

The CRTC said it opened a consultation on 10 new broadcasting applications. In a notice of consultation issued Tuesday, the CRTC said it is considering two applications by Hollywood Suites Inc. for two Category B specialty TV channels, as well as applications by Evan Kosinar for two new audio programming channels. It is also consulting on six...

Cope’s performance payout raised in 2012

Media | 03/27/2013 1:12 pm EDT

BCE Inc. president and CEO George Cope earned $11.09 million in total compensation in 2012, up 15.4 per cent from $9.62 million a year earlier, BCE said in a securities regulatory filing.  Much of the higher pay was due to “short-term incentive” payouts related to the company’s performance, BCE said in a management proxy circular...

ACTRA, CMPA oppose Bell Media request for more channel flexibility

Media | 03/26/2013 8:49 pm EDT

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) are opposing BCE Inc.’s requests for more licensing flexibility to air different types of programming on some of its specialty channels. Bell Media, BCE’s media division, applied to the...

ATN reports lower profits of $2.9m

Media | 03/25/2013 9:21 pm EDT

Profits for the Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) reached $2.9 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2012, ATN said Monday. In a release, ATN said profits for 2012 fell from $5.3 million the previous year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were also down, the company said, from $7.56 million in 2011 to $4.33...

Canadian telcos’ access to 600 MHz may rest on reluctant U.S. broadcasters

Media | 03/25/2013 9:09 pm EDT

Only about 60 of 1,200 over-the-air, American TV broadcasters have expressed an interest in auctioning off their 600 MHz spectrum, said the U.S. National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), signalling that mobile operators' access to the spectrum could be limited. Dennis Wharton, a spokesman with the NAB, a Washington D.C.-based lobby group, said in an interview that the vast majority of American broadcasters want to hang on to their 600 MHz spectrum licences, putting into question whether they intend to take part in an upcoming “incentive auction” in the United States. “If there’s a stampede of TV stations preparing to go out of the business, we have not heard...

CRTC accepting applications for Vancouver FM slot

Media | 03/25/2013 7:54 pm EDT

The CRTC opened a call for applications to fill an FM radio slot in the Vancouver market. In a notice posted on its website Monday, the commission said it received an application from South Fraser Broadcasting Inc. to operate an...

Morin joins TVA as journalist

Media | 03/22/2013 7:18 pm EDT

Michel Morin, a former CRTC commissioner, joined TVA as an investigative journalist. The TVA network, owned by Quebecor Media Inc., said in a release Friday that Morin started his carreer as a journalist and will investigate imortant issues in Quebec for the network's news programs. "I returned to journalism because it is a trade that I want...

Mobile device library to open for app testing

Media | 03/22/2013 7:07 pm EDT

Wavefront, a wireless commercialization and research centre, is teaming up with the Centre de Recherche Informatique de Montréal to launch Quebec’s first library of mobile devices, Wavefront said Thursday. A release said the Wavefront Device Library will officially open April 9 and will give mobile developers access to more than 1,000...

CMPA supports job grant program

Media | 03/22/2013 6:26 pm EDT

The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) said it supports the Conservative government's creation of the Canada Job Grant initiative in its 2013 federal budget plan. In a release Thursday, the CMPA said it supports the grant program, which would provide $15,000 per-person grants to help workers get into workplaces and develop their skills....

Canadian musicians should partner to boost online presence, Music Canada says

Media | 03/22/2013 6:01 pm EDT

Canadian musicians and music companies should better partner with technology companies to make it easier to find and buy Canadian music online, a new report by Music Canada said. In the report, titled “The Next Big Bang: A New Direction for Music in Canada,” the music industry association said players in the...

Hindi Music TV approved

Media | 03/22/2013 5:49 pm EDT

The CRTC said it approved a licence to Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. to operate Hindi Music TV. In a decision Friday, the CRTC said the Category B specialty channel would be devoted to airing Hindi-language music and music programming, and could air up to six minutes of local and regional programming...

Copyright Board, Federal Court, reviewing C-11 ‘making available right’

Media | 03/22/2013 5:16 pm EDT

Legal fights are under way in Ottawa over whether the Conservative government's new copyright bill creates a new right for the collection of online music royalties. In separate legal proceedings involving the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), the copyright collective that would...

Bell Aliant approved for TV in Sault Ste. Marie

Media | 03/21/2013 9:08 pm EDT

The CRTC said it approved Bell Aliant Inc.’s request to offer broadcast distribution services Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. In a decision Thursday, the commission said Bell Aliant can expand its broadcast distribution business to...

CRTC denies radio requests for more flexibility

Media | 03/21/2013 9:02 pm EDT

The CRTC denied requests from two local radio broadcasters that had asked for eased restrictions on the type of music their stations can play. In two decisions Thursday, the CRTC said it renewed the broadcasting licences of Ottawa Media Inc.’s CJWL-FM station in Ottawa and HFX Broadcasting Inc.’s CKHZ-FM station in Halifax, though it rejected both broadcasters’ requests for increased musical programming flexibility. In one decision, the commission said it denied Ottawa Media’s request for an exemption from CRTC rules that limit the amount of “hit” music...