Lazaridis launches quantum tech fund

Media | 03/20/2013 9:32 pm EDT

BlackBerry co-founder Mike Lazaridis launched a new $100-million investment fund to foster innovation in quantum technologies. The fund, called Quantum Valley Investments, said in a release Tuesday that it “will provide...

Nearly 100 communities get TVO towers

Media | 03/20/2013 9:25 pm EDT

TVO gave away “close to” 100 of its analog broadcasting towers to communities in Ontario, the Canadian Association for Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) said. In a release Tuesday, CACTUS said nearly...

Esperanza TV cleared for Canadian distribution

Media | 03/20/2013 7:39 pm EDT

The CRTC added Esperanza TV to the list of foreign channels that can be carried on TV systems in Canada. In a decision Wednesday, the CRTC said it approved a request by CityWest Cable & Telephone Corp. to allow the distribution of Esperanza, a U.S.-based Spanish-language station, that offers “inspirational and educational programming to the...

Competition Bureau clears Corus acquisitions

Media | 03/20/2013 7:18 pm EDT

The federal Competition Bureau cleared Corus Entertainment Inc.'s plan to acquire full ownership of specialty channels it jointly owns with Astral Media Inc., Corus said Monday. The purchase is related to BCE Inc.'s...

Must carry licences important for Cancon in consolidated market: Sun News

Media | 03/19/2013 10:19 pm EDT

A must carry licence for all-Canadian news channel Sun News Network is necessary as a consolidated media and telecom market makes it more difficult to secure channel carriage, Sun News Network told the regulator in a filing Monday. “It is unfortunate that we have come to the point where the only way to rectify this situation is for the CRTC to exercise its power in granting 9(1)(h) status to Sun News for a period of 5 years,” the all-news channel, owned by Quebecor Media Inc., said...

Tories provide $100,000 for Waterloo investment network

Media | 03/18/2013 10:04 pm EDT

A $100,000 federal government investment in the Golden Triangle Angel Network will help new startup businesses in the Waterloo, Ont., region, Gary Goodyear, the federal minister of state for FedDev Ontario said. In a release Monday, FedDev Ontario said the investment will help the angel network expand as it seeks to...

CBC approved for FM station

Media | 03/18/2013 9:52 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada was granted permission to operate a French-language FM radio station in Winnipeg, Man. In a decision Monday, the CRTC said it approved an application from the public broadcaster to replace AM French-language station CKSB St. Boniface, or La Première Chaîne, with FM rebroadcasting transmitter CKSB-10-FM Winnipeg. The CRTC said in the decision that CKSB FM would operate at the 88.1 MHz FM...

CRTC licenses Tamil, Hindi news channels

Media | 03/18/2013 9:24 pm EDT

Varietas Media Group Tamil and Hindi News, two new Category B services, were approved by the CRTC on Monday. In one decision, the commission said it approved an application from numbered company 2329785 Ontario Inc., owned by Pras Kayilasanathan, to operate Varietas Media Group Tamil, a service for Tamil Canadians. The CRTC said the company would...

Interactive Ontario supports OSC crowdfunding proposal

Media | 03/18/2013 9:18 pm EDT

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) should “quickly” approve crowdfunding exemptions to help the province’s digital media companies, not-for-profit organization Interactive Ontario said. In a release on March 14, Interactive Ontario said it supports the exemptions as a means to increase the available...

Quebec government emphasizes open source

Media | 03/18/2013 8:46 pm EDT

The Quebec government will look at more government contracts with open source software and platforms, Quebec Treasury Board President Stéphane Bédard said. In an interview with Les Affaires published Feb. 28, Bédard, a cabinet member of the governing Parti Québécois, said the provincial government is looking at...

Z10 sales beat expectations, analyst says

Media | 03/15/2013 7:39 pm EDT

Early sales of BlackBerry’s new Z10 smartphone appear to have beat investor expectations in three countries though early indications suggest lower presale levels in the United States, RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Sue...

CRTC orders OWN to abide by licence conditions

Media | 03/15/2013 7:25 pm EDT

Corus Entertainment Inc.’s OWN specialty channel must do a better job of fulfilling its educational mandate or risk losing its broadcast licence, the CRTC said. In a decision Friday, the CRTC said OWN Inc., a Corus channel that operates OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, must diversify its educational programming and reduce the amount of content it...

NHL playoffs may generate higher revenues, analyst says

Media | 03/15/2013 7:20 pm EDT

Higher NHL audience ratings resulting from a shortened NHL season could lead broadcasters to generate better advertising revenues during the NHL playoffs this spring despite viewers’ lingering...

Vevo TV plans to expand to television

Media | 03/15/2013 4:38 pm EDT

Vivendi SA’s Universal Music and Sony Corp. announced the launch of a new Vevo TV online service offering music videos, concerts and interviews from artists around the world. The 24-hour service, announced Tuesday, will be accessible through Vevo.com, Apple Inc.’s iOS platform, Google Inc.’s Android, Roku Inc.’s streaming platform, and Microsoft Inc.’s Windows phones and Xbox 360 gaming consoles in Canada and the United States, the companies said. Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Vevo also plans to offer the service on pay TV “later this year.” It's not clear whether the company will apply for a licence or regulatory authorization to air the channel in Canada. Rio Caraeff, president and CEO of Vevo, told Bloomberg in an interview this week...

Starlight would cost TV viewers $775M over seven years, VMedia says

Media | 03/14/2013 9:35 pm EDT

A channel dedicated to Canadian film is a “terrific” idea though Canadians should not have to take on the risk or the $775-million cost of supporting it, said George Burger, a partner at VMedia, an IPTV provider in Ontario. In an interview with Macleans published on its website Thursday, Burger said Starlight,...

Peladeau to focus on strategy as Depatie to lead Quebecor

Media | 03/14/2013 9:05 pm EDT

Pierre Karl Péladeau, the 14-year president and CEO of Québecor Media Inc., will relinquish his role as the company’s chief executive and be replaced by Robert Dépatie, now serving as head of Québecor’s telecom subsidiary Videotron Ltd. In a release Thursday, Québecor said...

CKLX-FM denied request to become talk radio

Media | 03/14/2013 8:07 pm EDT

The CRTC denied a request from RNC Media Inc. to convert French-language Montreal jazz and blues station CKLX-FM to a spoken word format. In a decision Thursday, the CRTC said RNC requested to change its licence conditions and delete requirements for minimum amounts of jazz and blues, popular music, and special interest music. RNC argued CKLX is...

Telus again leads 2012 TV customer additions as overall TV growth tumbles

Media | 03/14/2013 7:21 pm EDT

Telus Corp. added more subscribers to its TV, Internet and wireless services than any other Canadian company in the 2012 fiscal year as cable companies faced accelerated TV subscriber losses, according to data compiled by The Wire Report. The Wire Report compiled subscriber figures for Canada's largest, publicly traded...

Number of Canadians without TV doubles in three years: Survey

Media | 03/13/2013 7:48 pm EDT

The number of people in Canada who do not have a subscription or over-the-air TV service has doubled over past three years, Media Technology Monitor (MTM) said in new survey results. The survey said nearly 10 per cent of anglophones and four per cent of francophones in Canada don't subscribe to a TV service or receive free, over-the-air television. Nationally, that percentage has risen from 4 per cent in 2010 to 7 per cent in 2011 and now to 8 per cent in 2012. “The internet is now a practical alternative to regular TV for light viewers of television,” said the report, referring to people without TV as “tuned out.” “Tuned-Out Canadians watch less than half as much TV (on all platforms) as TV subscribers and 50% less than off-air TV viewers,” the...

Blue Ant calls on CRTC to review framework for small broadcasters

Media | 03/13/2013 6:23 pm EDT

Blue Ant Media Inc. is calling on the CRTC to revise its regulatory framework for independent broadcasters and to give them more flexibility to compete against vertically integrated players on a more “fair and equitable” basis. In a regulatory filing with the CRTC last month, Blue Ant proposed a 12-point plan...

FM conversion of three Manitoba stations approved

Media | 03/12/2013 9:01 pm EDT

The CRTC approved three AM radio stations' conversions to the FM band in Thompson, The Pas and Flin Flon, Man. In three separate decisions Tuesday, the commission approved applications from Arctic Radio Ltd. to convert AM stations CHTM in Thompson, CJAR-AM in The Pas and CFAR-AM in Flin Flon to the FM band. In its decision for CHTM, the CRTC said...

Projects, films, benefit from Quebecor fund

Media | 03/12/2013 8:54 pm EDT

Two theatre event projects and five film projects will receive funding from Quebecor Media Inc.’s Event and Film Production Assistance Program, the company said Tuesday. In a release, Quebecor said a total of $1,155,000 will go to selected producers and distributors, including Juste Pour Rire TV Inc., Productions Select TV Inc., Corporation ACPAV...

Canada in TPP talks this week

Media | 03/12/2013 6:26 pm EDT

Canadian officials will finish up a round of trade talks in Singapore this week for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. Meetings are taking place March 4-13 with negotiators from member countries Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam, as well as 300...

Canipre aims for ‘speculative invoicing’ in Canada: Report

Media | 03/12/2013 6:07 pm EDT

Forensic copyright firm Canipre Inc. engages in online file “spoofing,” copyright takedown requests, and investigations to support “speculative invoicing” of filesharers through out-of-court copyright settlements, Canadian Business reported. In an article published March 8, the magazine reported...

Starlight lobbying on 9(1)(h) application

Media | 03/11/2013 10:02 pm EDT

Proposed new specialty channel, Starlight: The Canadian Movie Channel, hired a consultant to lobby the CRTC and the federal government to support its application for mandatory distribution, according to federal lobbying registry. A registration posted on the lobbying commissioner’s website last week showed government relations consultant Jennifer...

Community FM station approved in Quebec

Media | 03/11/2013 9:54 pm EDT

The CRTC approved a new developmental French-language FM radio station in Val-des-Lacs, Que. In a decision Monday, the CRTC said it approved Radio Vallacquoise Inc.'s application to operate a low-power developmental community...

‘Watch-Canada’ platform not likely due to licensing

Media | 03/08/2013 10:11 pm EST

A stand-alone “Watch-Canada” platform to make premium Canadian content available online is not the best way to promote and distribute Canadian content due to problems with content licensing, said Valerie Creighton, president and CEO of the Canada Media Fund (CMF). “It appears that a standalone portal is...

Consultation opens on Shaw takeover of TVtropolis

Media | 03/08/2013 9:35 pm EST

The CRTC opened a consultation and set a public hearing for Shaw Communications Inc.’s proposed acquisition of specialty channel TVtropolis General Partnership. In a notice of consultation posted on the commission’s website Wednesday, the CRTC said Shaw’s application to acquire TVtropolis, currently jointly-owned by Shaw and Rogers Communications Inc., would be considered at a public hearing starting in Montreal on May 6, along with BCE Inc.’s re-application to acquire Astral Media Inc. Shaw’s proposed acquisition of TVtropolis is part of the company’s $700 million deal with Rogers to acquire Shaw’s Hamilton, Ont.-based cableco subsidiary Mountain Cablevision Ltd. and for an option to purchase unused AWS mobile spectrum in Western Canada and...

Canada implements new policy on co-productions

Media | 03/08/2013 9:28 pm EST

The Conservative government implemented its new policy on international co-productions for film and television shows, said Paul Calandra, parliamentary secretary to the minister of Canadian Heritage. In a speech Thursday at the Canadian Media Production Association’s (CMPA) Prime Time conference in Ottawa, delivered on behalf of Heritage Minister...

Canadians big on Netflix’s House of Cards: Poll

Media | 03/08/2013 8:59 pm EST

Twenty-seven per cent of Canadian Netflix subscribers watched House of Cards, a Netflix Inc. original series, within the first 27 days of its release, Solutions Research Group said in a research note Thursday. SRG said the number of House of Cards viewers could double in the future with 34 per cent of Netflix viewers saying they heard of the show and...

CRTC licenses new religious FM radio station

Media | 03/08/2013 8:50 pm EST

The CRTC said it approved a licence application from Fabrique de la Paroisse de Saint-Gérard to operate a French-language religious FM radio station in Weedon, Que. In a decision Friday, the commission said the new station...

CMF encourages broadcasters to tap into social TV

Media | 03/08/2013 8:48 pm EST

Broadcasters should tap into social media conversations about TV shows as an “effective promotional apparatus,” a new report commissioned by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) said. The report, released Thursday and called “The Second Screen and Television: Benefits & Impacts,” co-published by the CMF and Evolumedia Group, said...

50% of TV viewing happens outside Canadian system: Crull

Media | 03/08/2013 8:34 pm EST

About 50 per cent of Canadian TV viewing happens outside the Canadian broadcast system and cannot be monetized by Canadian broadcasters, said Kevin Crull, president of BCE Inc. division Bell Media. In a panel discussion Friday at the Canadian Media Production Association’s Prime Time conference in Ottawa, Crull said Canada’s broadcasters must address “leakage” of viewers and advertisers from the Canadian broadcasting system. “The expansion of digital cable, and also with all the plethora of new ways to watch content, we now find that Canadians are only watching half of what they watch in the Canadian system,” he said. Crull said distant signal viewing removes local advertising opportunities and that foreign, over-the-top services like Netflix Inc. is...

Bell-Astral benefits producers, consumers, Riley says

Media | 03/07/2013 10:00 pm EST

Astral Media Inc.'s acquisition by BCE Inc. will benefit independent producers by providing them with more opportunity and funding to create Canadian content, Astral president John Riley said. At the Prime Time Conference in...

New BitTorrent Box a ‘pirater’s dream’: Tercek

Media | 03/07/2013 7:44 pm EST

The future of all television growth will be on mobile and the television industry must embrace digital technologies as opposed to fighting innovative Internet companies, media expert Robert Tercek said. In a keynote speech Thursday at the Prime Time conference in Ottawa hosted by the Canadian Media Production Association...

Media, cultural groups support 9(1)(h) carriage for APTN, Starlight

Media | 03/07/2013 12:47 pm EST

Organizations that represent the Canadian television and film industry said they support some specialty channel applications for “must carry” mandatory distribution.  The CRTC launched a public consultation in January on more than 20 broadcasting applications filed under section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting...

BCE buying ‘mature’ broadcast assets from Astral, companies tell CRTC

Media | 03/06/2013 8:22 pm EST

BCE Inc. aims to purchase “mature” broadcasting assets from Astral Media Inc. that operate in a fragmented media market where it is increasingly challenging to sell more TV subscriptions and raise prices, Astral said in regulatory filings with the CRTC. Bell seeks to purchase the broadcast company in a...

Community stations available on Bell satellite TV

Media | 03/06/2013 8:21 pm EST

Rural BCE Inc. satellite TV subscribers in five provinces and the Northwest Territories now have access to community television stations for the first time, the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) said. In a release Tuesday, CACTUS said Bell TV satellite subscribers in British Columbia, Manitoba, the Northwest...

Cable pioneer Omer Girard dies

Media | 03/06/2013 8:20 pm EST

Cable TV “pioneer” Omer Girard, who co-founded the Canadian Cable Television Association and fought for cablecos’ right to access telcos’ poles, has died. In a release Tuesday, Girard’s family said the cable executive founded Transvision Magog in 1957 and went on to launch five cable businesses over the next 10 years. In...

Google developing online music service: Reports

Media | 03/06/2013 8:19 pm EST

Google Inc. is working on a new subscription-based music service to compete with Spotify Ltd., Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal reported in late February. In news reports on Feb. 22 and Feb. 25, the news agencies said Google was in negotiations with major record labels to licence music for a new online service. The company is targeting a...

Paradis mum on ‘ACTA’ bill

Media | 03/06/2013 8:17 pm EST

Industry Minister Christian Paradis is not referring to Bill C-56 as legislation to implement the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). In question period debate in the House of Commons Monday, NDP MP Chairmaine Borg said the federal government’s new, anti-counterfeiting bill was a “back door” move to ratify ACTA....

CBC defends itself as ‘safe and comfortable’ workplace

Media | 03/05/2013 10:55 pm EST

CBC/Radio-Canada provides a “safe and comfortable” work environment for its employees, Hubert T. Lacroix, president and CEO of the public broadcaster, said at a committee meeting to discuss how to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace. Lacroix appeared as a witness Tuesday before the House of Commons status of women committee, where he discussed a Jan. 30 article from Quebecor Media Inc.-owned QMI news agency, which reported on CBC's release of 1,454 documents related to “harassment or inappropriate behaviour.” According to speaking notes, Lacroix told the committee that most of the details surrounding the documents were blacked out because they related...

Bell asks for fewer licence requirements, less Cancon, for five specialty channels

Media | 03/05/2013 10:00 pm EST

BCE Inc. division Bell Media asked the CRTC to expand its programming categories for five of the company's specialty channels, according to regulatory filings. In four applications filed with the...

CRTC expedites Astral complaint

Media | 03/05/2013 3:43 pm EST

The CRTC will expedite its consideration of an Astral Media Inc. complaint against Quebecor Media Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. subsidiary and its new on-demand video service, the commission said. In a complaint filed with the commission last week, Astral said Videotron’s new illico Club Unlimited subscription service violates the...

Rogers reaches deal with AMC

Media | 03/05/2013 2:05 am EST

Rogers Communications Inc. reached a new multi-year distribution agreement with AMC Networks Inc. and will continue offering the American broadcaster's flagship AMC station to its digital cable customers, the company said. The agreement, which Rogers announced in a release Friday, comes less than a week after AMC took its carriage dispute with...

Bell to divest 12 Astral channels under Competition Bureau deal

Media | 03/04/2013 11:35 pm EST

BCE Inc.’s agreement with the Competition Bureau to sell off 12 pay and specialty channels as part of its proposed $3.38-billion acquisition of Astral Media Inc. is a “big step...

Anti-counterfeiting bill clears path for ACTA ratification, experts say

Media | 03/04/2013 9:29 pm EST

Government legislation tabled in the House of Commons Friday will position Canada to ratify the controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) as other countries back away from the deal, the bill’s critics said.  Tabled in the House on Friday, Bill C-56, officially called the Combating Counterfeit Products Act, would amend Canada’s copyright and trademark statutes to include new civil and criminal charges for offences and give border agents new powers to seize...

TVA revenues fall in Q4

Media | 03/01/2013 10:17 pm EST

Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Group TVA Inc. recorded a net income of $9.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2012, TVA said Thursday. In a financial report, the company said net income for the period ended Dec. 31, 2012, was lower than the fourth quarter of 2011, which totalled $11.5 million. Operating income for its television segment in the fourth quarter, TVA said, was up by 5.6 per cent to reach $19.1 million. TVA...

Channel Zero loses out on U.K. broadcast licences

Media | 03/01/2013 10:16 pm EST

Canadian broadcaster Channel Zero Inc. was shut out in its efforts to secure licences to run a series of over-the-air, local broadcast stations in the United Kingdom. In May 2012, U.K. broadcast and telecom regulator Ofcom said it would accept applications for 21 over-the-air broadcast licences to foster the creation of local television stations in...

Ontario productions top $1.2B in 2012

Media | 03/01/2013 10:15 pm EST

Ontario's film and television industry contributed $1.28 billion to the provincial economy and 29,00 full-time jobs in 2012, the provincial Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport said. In a release Friday, the ministry said Ontario’s domestic film and television production accounted for 68 per cent, or $871.9 million, of the provincial...

‘Impossible’ to identify file sharers by IP address, expert says

Media | 03/01/2013 10:13 pm EST

The identification of an IP address associated with movie file sharing is not enough to pinpoint an individual file sharer, says a new affidavit filed on behalf of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) as part of Voltage Pictures LLP’s legal request for the names of 1,100 TekSavvy...

Cable bill increases due to more 9(1)(h) orders would trigger cord-cutting, distributors say

Media | 03/01/2013 9:09 pm EST

A $2 monthly price hike is enough to push TV subscribers away from the regulated broadcast system if the CRTC forces broadcast distributors to carry more channels on basic service, the country’s largest broadcast distributors said, citing new national polling data.  In comments filed...

Astral files competition complaint over Videotron’s on-demand TV service

Media | 03/01/2013 12:43 am EST

Astral Media Inc. filed a complaint against Quebecor Media Inc.’s new illico Club Unlimited on-demand video service, arguing that it violates CRTC regulations by competing directly with Astral’s pay TV channel Super Écran. In a six-page complaint filed with the CRTC Wednesday, Astral said the new...

Astral launches TMN Go video app

Media | 02/27/2013 9:49 pm EST

Astral Media Inc. launched a new iOS mobile application with content from channels The Movie Network, HBO Canada and TMN Encore, the company said. In a release Wednesday, Astral said the mobile app, called TMN Go, will offer more than 1,500 hours of content from those channels at no additional charge to customers who subscribe to them through TV...

Producers need ‘discoverability’ strategies: Report

Media | 02/27/2013 9:03 pm EST

Canadian media producers operate in a global market and must have strategies for “discoverability” to be successful, the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) said in a new report Wednesday. The report, called “Discoverability: Strategies for Canadian Content Producers in a Global Online...

Auditor general gives CBC ‘clean audit’

Media | 02/27/2013 8:46 pm EST

There are no “significant deficiencies” in CBC/Radio-Canada’s practices governing its operations and resources, the Office of the Auditor General said in a report released Wednesday. The “Special Examination Report,” covering the period October 2011 to June 2012, said that CBC can improve on its human resources management though “its resources are managed efficiently and economically, and its operations are carried out effectively.” Auditor General Michael Ferguson's 48-page report said the Crown corporation has a clearly defined strategic direction and “has taken into account government priorities, and has specific measurable goals and objectives aimed at achieving its mandate.” The report said CBC has “clearly...

Sportsnet gets rights to IndyCar

Media | 02/27/2013 8:37 pm EST

Sportsnet, owned by Rogers Communications Inc., secured the Canadian multiplatform rights to IZOD IndyCar Series, a release said Tuesday. Rogers said in a release that it secured a five-year agreement for the exclusive Canadian...

Telus wins Bell’s court challenge of CRTC vertical integration ruling

Media | 02/27/2013 6:13 pm EST

The Federal Court of Appeal ruled from the bench at a hearing in Toronto Tuesday, dismissing BCE Inc.'s challenge of the CRTC's use of a “reverse onus” rule in its process for complaints about anti-competitive practices. Bell had challenged a CRTC order issued in December 2011, which the commission...

Rogers says independent producers getting too much from terms of trade deal

Media | 02/27/2013 2:44 pm EST

TORONTO—Rogers Communications Inc.'s broadcast division is unhappy with the industry's terms of trade agreement with independent producers and will seek a bigger share of production...

AMC, Rogers carriage dispute goes public

Media | 02/26/2013 8:48 pm EST

AMC Networks Inc. launched an online campaign encouraging Canadians to support the broadcaster during its carriage negotiations with Rogers Communications Inc. In an advertisement posted at a new website, www.keepamccanada.com, AMC said Rogers customers are “about to lose” access to popular shows that air on its channels, including The...

Adult contemporary radio station approved

Media | 02/26/2013 8:42 pm EST

The CRTC approved a new adult contemporary radio station for the Clarence-Rockland area of Ontario. In a decision Monday, the commission said it received an application from Evanov Communications Inc. subsidiary Dufferin Communications Inc. to operate an adult contemporary music station on the 92.5 MHz FM frequency. In the decision, the CRTC said the new station would broadcast 126 hours of local programming each week with 18 hours devoted to spoken word programming and six hours and 25 minutes of pure news. “The station would also feature weather, sports and special features such as health watch, agricultural reports, new music reports, marine/golf/ski/seasonal reports and a community calendar,” the decision said. The CRTC said the licence expires Aug. 31, 2019....

CBC, Bell, top recipients of local TV funding in 2012

Media | 02/22/2013 8:54 pm EST

CBC/Radio-Canada continued to be the largest recipient of assistance from the CRTC's local TV fund in 2012, receiving $47 million, followed by BCE Inc. stations with $23.7 million, according to a financial statement for the...

Italian Food and Cooking Channel approved

Media | 02/22/2013 8:06 pm EST

The CRTC approved a licence to operate Category B service called The Italian Food and Cooking Channel. In a decision Friday, the commission said it received an application from Tony Della Penta on behalf of a company to be incorporated for a service targeting Canadians aged 25-to-54 with origins in Italy. The channel, the commission said, could...

Cantonese-language channel approved

Media | 02/22/2013 7:54 pm EST

The CRTC approved an application from Fairchild Television Inc. for a licence to operate a new Category B Cantonese-language channel. In the decision Friday, the CRTC said 90 per cent of programming on Fairchild Television II can be in the Cantonese-language with the other 10 per cent dedicated to English, French, or both. The licence expires Aug. 31,...

Satellite TV revenue still growing, report says

Media | 02/22/2013 6:00 pm EST

Satellite TV revenue in Canada is expected to grow 2.1 per cent per year over the next five years, a new report from analyst firm IBISWorld says. The report released Wednesday, titled “Satellite TV Providers in Canada,” said the Canadian satellite TV industry has benefitted from a rise in consumer adoption of premium programming packages,...

Quebecor releases new online streaming service

Media | 02/22/2013 5:49 pm EST

Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Videotron Ltd. unveiled a new online video service Thursday offering mostly French-language movies and TV shows. Called the illico Club Unlimited, Videotron said in a release that the new service is available by subscription in Quebec and Ontario for $10 per month. Content is available online and within the next few days...

Bragg urges CRTC to deny Rogers’ ‘must offer’ request for The Score

Media | 02/22/2013 5:24 pm EST

Canada's broadcast regulator should remove The Score’s “must offer” licence designation given that the channel has benefitted from wide distribution for more than a decade, Bragg Communications Inc. said in a regulatory filing. “When one considers that The Score has been...

iPad is in the hands of 16% of Canadians: Report

Media | 02/20/2013 9:40 pm EST

Apple Inc.’s iPad devices dominated the Canadian tablet market in fall 2012 with 16 per cent of Canadians owning one, followed by BlackBerry’s PlayBook tablets and those running Google Inc.’s Android operating system, each in the hands of four per cent of people in Canada, a new report by Media Technology Monitor (MTM) said. In a...

Seasonal Channel approved

Media | 02/20/2013 9:10 pm EST

The CRTC approved an application by Stingray Digital Group Inc. for a new specialty channel that would air “seasonal” nature videos and images over music, the commission said. In a decision released Wednesday, the CRTC said it authorized Stingray to operate The Seasonal Channel as a “national, niche, no spoken word specialty Category B service.” It said the channel, which is not licensed to air...

Nostalgia licenced for senior’s FM station

Media | 02/20/2013 9:06 pm EST

Nostalgia Broadcasting Cooperative Inc. received a licence to run a new community FM radio station catering to Winnipeg’s senior citizen community, the CRTC said. In a decision Wednesday, the CRTC said it approved Nostalgia’s application for an English-language station that would air 126 hours of weekly programming, including 100 hours of “local, station-produced programming” and other programming syndicated from Canadian and international sources. It said the station, which would operate on the FM dial at 93.7 MHz, “would target the senior demographic community in Winnipeg” and that Nostalgia has “committed to playing musical selections from Canadian artists, and artists from Winnipeg in particular.” The licence will expire on Aug. 31,...

Google shares user data with developers: App developer

Media | 02/19/2013 9:53 pm EST

Google Inc.’s online application store is providing app developers with detailed personal information of customers who purchased their products, an Australian developer said. In a blog post...

Markle appointed TC Media president

Media | 02/19/2013 9:44 pm EST

Transcontinental Inc. appointed Ted Markle as president of its media division TC Media, the company said Tuesday. In a release, Transcontinental said Markle joined the company in 1999 and held the position of vice-president of planning, production and information technology until 2004. “From 2004 to 2011, he piloted the implementation of many...

Distributel trying to ‘raise the bar’ in rightsholders’ access to ISP customer info

Media | 02/19/2013 7:29 pm EST

Internet service provider Distributel Communications Inc. is trying to “raise the bar” in the way copyright owners seek Internet subscriber information through the courts, Mel Cohen, Distributel’s president and founder, said in an interview. Distributel, an independent Internet...

CIPPIC allowed to intervene in download case

Media | 02/16/2013 1:31 am EST

The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) will be allowed to intervene in a case seeking to determine if Teksavvy Solutions Inc. must turn over 1,100 of its customers’ names to Voltage Pictures LLP, the Federal Court said Thursday. In the ruling dated Feb. 13, the court said “CIPPIC shall be permitted to produce...

Mohamed to leave Rogers as mobile, Internet businesses continue to grow

Media | 02/15/2013 11:49 pm EST

President and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., Nadir Mohamed, will retire in January 2014 to usher in a “new generation of leadership,” Rogers said Thursday. In a release, Rogers said Mohamed, who first joined the company in 2001 and who became its president and CEO in 2009, will continue on in his current role through 2013 and will work with the board to ensure a smooth transition to his successor. "Nadir is a highly regarded executive who has delivered strong results and...

Foreign 3D channel approved

Media | 02/15/2013 12:55 pm EST

The CRTC added high-definition 3D channel High TV 3D and a Chinese-language business news channel to the list of foreign services that can be distributed in Canada. In a decision released Thursday, the commission said it approved an application by Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. to allow the distribution of High TV 3D, a entertainment and lifestyle channel that broadcasts in a high-definition 3D format. The commission also...

Blue Ant appoints new production exec

Media | 02/15/2013 12:54 am EST

Blue Ant Media Inc. appointed Sam Linton as its executive in charge of production, Blue Ant said Wednesday. In a release, Blue Ant said Linton has more than 24 years of experience in production and programming. He previously held the position of vice-president executive producer at Toronto-based RTR Media Inc., the release said. Blue Ant...

CBC disclosure bill debated in House

Media | 02/13/2013 9:14 pm EST

A Conservative MP’s private members’ bill that asks for increased accountability at CBC/Radio-Canada was debated in the House of Commons during second reading on Tuesday, and could be moved to committee in the weeks...

Telco innovation threatened by delayed returns on network investment, ITU says

Media | 02/13/2013 7:25 pm EST

A “generational gap” between telcos and over-the-top service providers is threatening to stifle innovation in a “radically altered” telco sector, the International...

ACCT appoints board members

Media | 02/13/2013 3:20 pm EST

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television (ACCT) appointed Julie Bristow and Don Carmody as board members, ACCT said last week. In a release on Feb. 7, ACCT said Bristow, executive director of studio and unscripted content at CBC/Radio-Canada, and Carmody, one of Canada’s “most successful” producers, have joined its board of directors. “The addition of a box office champion and...

Commission approves Hindi Women’s channel

Media | 02/13/2013 3:16 pm EST

Hindi Women’s TV was approved as a new specialty Category B service, the CRTC said Tuesday. In a decision, the commission said it received an application from Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. to operate a national, niche, third-language ethnic service that would offer information and entertainment programming in the Hindi-language. The CRTC said the...

Télé Santé+ licence approved

Media | 02/12/2013 3:05 pm EST

Télé Santé+ was approved for a new Category B specialty channel licence, the CRTC said. In a decision Monday, the commission said it received an application from numbered company 9262-8148 Québec Inc....

Distributel fights court case for customer info

Media | 02/12/2013 1:09 am EST

Small ISP Distributel Communications Inc. is opposing a court motion by NGN Prima Productions Inc. and Riding Films Inc. for the names and addresses of Internet customers connected to the filesharing of three films through...

Brabant reappointed at Telefilm

Media | 02/09/2013 3:50 pm EST

The federal Conservative government reappointed Carolle Brabant as executive director of Telefilm Canada, Heritage Minister James Moore said Friday. In a release, Moore said Brabant, who was first appointed to the federal agency in March 2010, was reappointed for a new, three-year term. "I am very pleased to have a person of Carolle Brabant's calibre leading Telefilm Canada," Moore said. "Her expertise, vision, and leadership in the audiovisual industry have been rightfully applauded on numerous occasions, both in Canada and abroad."...

Woodhead fills Hennessy vacancy at Telus

Media | 02/08/2013 7:08 pm EST

Telus Corp.'s Ted Woodhead has been promoted to the position of senior vice-president of federal government and regulatory affairs, filling the vacancy left by former Telus official Michael Hennessy.  Woodhead, formerly the vice-president of telecom policy and regulatory affairs, told The Wire Report in an email that he was promoted in...

Privacy commissioner developing website guidelines

Media | 02/08/2013 10:11 am EST

The federal privacy commissioner is developing a set of “best practices” for companies and other organizations that want to collect online user data as it works to resolve issues with a number of “leaky” websites, the commissioner’s office said. In September, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said research conducted...

CRTC orders Telus to turn down ad volume

Media | 02/08/2013 10:04 am EST

The CRTC issued letters to Telus Corp. and three smaller broadcast distributors saying they failed to meet a commission deadline for turning down the volume on TV commercials. In four separate letters dated Feb. 5, CRTC chief...

CBC broadens Olympics coverage with Bell, Rogers licensing

Media | 02/07/2013 10:21 pm EST

CBC/Radio-Canada reached licensing arrangements to share coverage of the 2014 Olympic Games with Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. CBC said in a release Thursday that it will share coverage...

BCE revenues rise on wireless, media; fibre footprint grows to 3.3M homes

Media | 02/07/2013 9:04 pm EST

BCE Inc. reported a fibre footprint of 3.3 million homes by the end of the 2012 fiscal year and higher wireless revenues driven by smartphone sales. Canada’s largest communications company on Thursday reported year-end and fourth-quarter earnings for the 12 and three-month periods ending Dec. 31, 2012. The company said it added a net 48,234 Fibe TV subscribers in the fourth quarter, up from 27,967 in the same period a year earlier, as it continued to roll out its fibre-to-the-node TV...

Lauziere appointed VP at Quebecor

Media | 02/07/2013 10:16 am EST

Quebecor Media Inc. appointed France Lauzière as senior vice-president of its new Contenu QMI division, the company said Wednesday. In a release, Quebecor said Contenu QMI is a new division that brings together the...

Twitter acquires Bluefin Labs

Media | 02/06/2013 7:30 pm EST

Twitter Inc. said it acquired Bluefin Labs, a Cambridge, Mass. company that analyses social media commentary about TV shows and advertising. “We believe that Bluefin’s data science capabilities and social TV expertise will help us create innovative new ad products and consumer experiences in the exciting intersection of Twitter and...

Google wins Australian case on advertising liability

Media | 02/06/2013 7:25 pm EST

Google Inc. won an Australian High Court case Wednesday related to the liability of online intermediaries. The case was between Google and statutory body the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which had argued that some of Google’s sponsored search results were “misleading and deceptive representations.” A panel...

Mandarin children’s channel approved

Media | 02/05/2013 10:13 pm EST

The CRTC approved Ethnic Channels Group Ltd.’s application for a licence for a new Category B specialty channel offering programming for Mandarin-speaking children and youth. In a decision Tuesday, the CRTC said the national, third-language ethnic specialty channel would bring programming to viewers in preschool to age 17. Called Mandarin...

Super Bowl ratings in Canada fall 10%

Media | 02/05/2013 9:48 pm EST

Super Bowl ratings in Canada fell ten per cent year-over-year to an average audience of 7.33 million viewers for Sunday’s game, according to BBM Canada data released by CTV Monday. In a release, the BCE Inc.-owned...

Google reaches deal with French publishers

Media | 02/04/2013 9:06 pm EST

Google Inc. reached an agreement with a group of publishers in France that involves the company creating a 60-million euro fund to support digital media publishing initiatives for French readers, Google said on its blog Feb. 1....

Tampa radio station changes format for listener control over music

Media | 02/04/2013 4:53 pm EST

Tampa Bay, Fla. radio station WSUN-FM isn’t aiming for today’s common hybrid radio model of talk content supporting music influenced by listener requests. The station is taking audience...

English-language TV pushed on-screen volume higher in 2012, report says

Media | 02/01/2013 8:49 pm EST

Sharply increased spending on English-language fictional TV helped to push production volume in the Canadian film and television industries to a new high in 2011-2012, says a new report commissioned by the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA), the Association des producteurs de films et de télévision...

Tories to phase out CRTC national commissioners, sources say

Media | 02/01/2013 2:55 pm EST

The Conservative federal government will allow the CRTC’s decision-making panel to shrink in size and has told some sitting commissioners that their expiring terms will not be renewed, industry sources said. Four people familiar with the issue spoke on a background basis to The Wire Report this week and said the government will trim the commission by allowing four national commissioner positions to remain vacant as those terms expire. “It’s a fact that they’re looking at downsizing the commission,” one person with knowledge of the process said, adding that the...