DHX purchases Cookie Jar Entertainment

Media | 08/20/2012 9:13 pm EDT

Canadian television production and distribution company DHX Media Ltd. has entered into a $111-million agreement to acquire Cookie Jar Entertainment to create Canada’s “largest children’s entertainment company,” DHX said Monday. DHX said in the release that the combined companies would create an extensive independent...

Canadian advertisers buying more mobile, targeted ads

Media | 08/20/2012 8:13 pm EDT

Canada's advertisers are placing more ads on mobile and “advanced TV” than their counterparts in the United States, digital video advertising company Videology Inc. said Monday. In the second quarter ended in June 2012, Videology said, more than half of video ad impressions were placed online in Canada with 22 per cent to mobile devices...

Canadians spending less time on mobile devices: poll

Media | 08/20/2012 8:05 pm EDT

Canadians spent less time using their smartphones, tablets and e-readers this spring than they did a year earlier, according to a new poll by Ipsos Reid. In a spring 2012 report for the firm’s ongoing study on mobile use, Ipsos said research collected in March and April of this year found the average Canadian smartphone user spent 2.8 hours per...

Blue Ant to acquire CBC’s Bold

Media | 08/20/2012 7:41 pm EDT

Blue Ant Media Inc. reached an agreement to acquire CBC/Radio-Canada’s digital specialty channel Bold, the broadcasters said Friday. The broadcasters said in a release that the transaction for Bold, a channel that focuses...

CRTC approves multiplexing request

Media | 08/17/2012 8:21 pm EDT

The CRTC has given independent broadcaster Southshore Broadcasting Inc. permission to multicast four digital signals of its CFTV Leamington over-the-air station, the commission said Friday. In its decision, the commission said it approved Southshore’s request to add a digital transmitter to its Leamington station, as well as its request for permission to multiplex its digital signal in order to provide four distinct, local programming services. Those services, the commission said, will include CFTV’s current local community programming on one portion of the channel; French-language and Spanish-language services on another portion; programs “specifically produced for people with intellectual, mobility, hearing and visual disabilities, as well as Aboriginal...

Multi-platform viewing key to Olympic broadcasting success: Hendren

Media | 08/17/2012 7:45 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada should model its coverage of the Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games on the successful multi-platform efforts of this year’s London Summer Olympics, but may still have a hard...

New specialty channel would cater to Quebec diversity

Media | 08/17/2012 6:20 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved a licence for a French-language, Category B specialty channel that would cater to Quebec’s diverse communities, the commission said Thursday. In its decision, the commission said it awarded a licence...

Distributors raise alarm over BCE-Astral interventions

Media | 08/16/2012 9:38 pm EDT

Quebecor Media Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc. and Eastlink, a Bragg Communications Inc. subsidiary, asked Heritage Minister James Moore to throw out CRTC interventions from Telefilm Canada and an RCMP...

CRTC clears MLSE deal, orders increased benefits to sports programming

Media | 08/16/2012 8:47 pm EDT

The CRTC has ordered BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. to spend $7.5 million over the next seven years to help finance independent sports-related programming, nearly doubling the value of...

CBC, Rogers team up on FIFA World Cup coverage

Media | 08/15/2012 9:30 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada and Rogers Communications Inc.-owned Sportsnet have put their assets together across all platforms to provide coverage for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, CBC said Tuesday. In an announcement on CBC Sports, the...

Bell says Astral deal will benefit Quebec

Media | 08/15/2012 9:01 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s $3.38 billion bid to acquire Astral Media Inc., will drive broadcasting investment, innovation and choice in the province of Quebec, Bell said in a press release Wednesday. In its release, Bell said the TV, radio...

Social TV functions don’t change broadcast signal: Mainville-Neeson

Media | 08/15/2012 8:54 pm EDT

The CRTC should back off its demand that broadcast distributors apply for the commission’s approval to run social media functions on top of traditional TV programming, Ann Mainville-Neeson,...

7.5m Canadians watched Olympic closing ceremony: consortium

Media | 08/14/2012 8:26 pm EDT

The closing ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games was the “most-watched” Summer Olympics broadcast in Canadian history, Canada’s Olympic Media Broadcast Consortium said Monday....

CBC Music doesn’t benefit from undue preference: CRTC

Media | 08/14/2012 8:23 pm EDT

Public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada did not grant itself an unfair advantage by using both public funding and advertising revenues to support its new CBC Music service, the CRTC said in a decision Tuesday. In its decision, the CRTC said it rejected an “undue preference” complaint filed against the CBC this April by Stingray Digital Group Inc. The commission said Stingray failed to prove CBC gave itself an unfair competitive advantage over other digital music providers by using public funds to help operate CBC Music. It said the CBC’s public funding is “set by...

Satellite service continues to provide free APTN signal to northern residents

Media | 08/14/2012 7:03 pm EDT

A free satellite service offered by the federal government, BCE Inc. and the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is allowing northern residents to continue receiving APTN despite the loss of...

Rogers, Telus ask for ‘safeguards’ in Bell-Astral deal

Media | 08/13/2012 9:03 pm EDT

The CRTC should require BCE Inc. to sell off the English-language pay and specialty channels it would receive through its proposed purchase of Astral Media Inc. in order for that deal to be approved, Rogers Communications Inc. said in regulatory documents filed with the commission Thursday. In July, the commission kicked...

CRTC consulting on standards for distributor audits

Media | 08/10/2012 7:33 pm EDT

The CRTC issued a call for comments Friday on proposed standards for non-disclosure agreements and provisions on the conduct of audits. In a release, the commission said it is seeking to establish standards to help in...

Broadcasters partner in digital ad exchange to take on Facebook, Google

Media | 08/10/2012 7:20 pm EDT

A new real-time, online advertising bidding service allows Canadian broadcasters to offer unsold display space, receive bids and display the ads in a process that takes about 100 milliseconds, said...

CRTC approves B.C. radio licence

Media | 08/10/2012 4:49 pm EDT

The CRTC approved an application Thursday from the Cowichan Valley Community Radio Society to operate a low-power FM community radio station in British Columbia. In the decision, the CRTC said the low-power station would operate at 97.5 FM with an effective radiated power of 50 watts. The commission said the not-for-profit group plans to offer 38 hours of spoken word programming per broadcast week, which would feature a community calendar, public service announcements and interviews. “The station would devote 90% of its news time to local news, with the remaining 10% being devoted to regional news,” the CRTC said. The group will promote local talent, encouraging entertainers to visit the station and perform live, as well as broadcast a program featuring local artists, the commission said. ...

Mobile devices connecting to Olympics coverage

Media | 08/08/2012 9:03 pm EDT

Sixty-one per cent of the traffic connecting to Canada’s Olympic broadcast consortium’s digital platforms came from mobile devices during the first week of the 2012 London Olympic Games, the consortium said Wednesday....

Bell competitors launch online campaign against Astral acquisition

Media | 08/07/2012 10:22 pm EDT

Quebecor Media Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc.and Eastlink launched an online campaign Tuesday to generate public opposition to BCE Inc.’s proposed $3.38-billion agreement to acquire Astral...

Broadcasting Accessibility Fund approved

Media | 08/07/2012 8:37 pm EDT

The CRTC approved BCE Inc.’s proposal to establish a Broadcasting Accessibility Fund. The commission said in a decision Tuesday that the new fund, resulting from BCE’s benefits package from the purchase of...

TVA profits rise on sale of specialty channels

Media | 08/07/2012 8:25 pm EDT

Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Group TVA Inc. reported profits of $23.7 million for the second quarter of 2012, the company said in a release Tuesday. TVA said in a release the number was up from $13.8 million in the same quarter...

CRTC expected to revisit value-for-signal in new environment, experts say

Media | 08/07/2012 7:04 pm EDT

The CRTC is expected to rethink its proposed value-for-signal regime given different marketplace conditions, a change at the top of the commission and a new regulatory environment, industry observers and an insider said. The commission’s proposed value-for-signal regime, released in March 2010, sought to help find an...

AOL launches online Canadian music service

Media | 08/02/2012 8:50 pm EDT

AOL Inc. launched a new service in Canada called Huffington Post Canada Music. AOL Canada and the Huffington Post Media Group said in a release Thursday that the new music service combines HuffPost’s blogging platform with music content. The site will feature original one-on-one interviews, exclusive videos and exclusive performances, the...

Rogers says radio station websites most viewed

Media | 08/02/2012 8:43 pm EDT

The online websites of radio stations owned by Rogers Communications Inc. attracted more visits and more unique visitors than a comparable fleet of Canadian radio station websites in the first two quarters of 2012, Rogers said...

Williams named IAB Canada president

Media | 08/02/2012 8:37 pm EDT

Chris Williams has been named the new president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada). IAB Canada said in a release that Williams assumed the position after Paula Gignac announced her departure from the organization in April. Williams, who previously held the position of managing director and senior vice-president at Media...

Blue Ant finalizes purchase of High Fidelity HDTV

Media | 08/01/2012 8:52 pm EDT

Blue Ant Media Inc. has added four additional specialty channels to its roster after completing its acquisition of High Fidelity HDTV Inc., the company said Wednesday. In a release, Blue Ant said it has added High Fidelity HDTV’s Oasis HD, eqhd, radX and HIFI HD channels to its broadcast holdings, which include Bite, AUX, and Travel+Escape. Blue Ant acquired them through its purchase of GlassBox Television Inc. last year. The company said the addition “further strengthens the Company as an up and coming independent media company in Canada.” The estimated $90.5 million deal received CRTC approval last month. Also Wednesday, the CRTC approved Blue Ant’s application to assume control of Glassbox Television’s remaining assets, as well as those of a...

CBC says it will ‘break even or be profitable’ with Olympics rights

Media | 08/01/2012 8:25 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada will “either break even or be profitable” with its exclusive Canadian broadcast rights to the Sochi 2014 and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Jeffrey Orridge, executive director of CBC sports properties, said in an interview. In a release Wednesday, CBC and the International Olympic Committee (IOC)...

Streaming to be 66.6% of peak traffic in 2015: Sandvine

Media | 08/01/2012 7:58 pm EDT

Online video streaming will account for two-thirds of peak bandwidth usage in in the United States in 2015, Internet technology company Sandvine Corp. predicted. The company released an analytics...

Competition Bureau investigating Bell Media carriage agreements: court documents

Media | 08/01/2012 5:03 pm EDT

The federal Competition Bureau is investigating whether BCE Inc. is using its stable of “high-demand television” channels to place “anti-competitive” restrictions on competing...

TVO offering 105 analog transmitters to local communities

Media | 07/31/2012 8:03 pm EDT

One hundred and five low-powered TVO analog TV transmitters scheduled for decommission this week are being offered to local communities to use at no cost, the Ontario Educational Communications...

Church joins Google’s communications team

Media | 07/30/2012 8:10 pm EDT

Google Inc.’s Toronto office has added Leslie Church, Michael Ignatieff’s former communications director, as a senior manager on its communications and public affairs team. Church—who served as the former federal Liberal Party leader’s director of communications during his 2006 leadership bid and again from late 2008 until May, 2011—joined Google in June as the company’s senior manager of global communications and public affairs in Canada, she confirmed in a telephone interview Friday. She said she will serve primarily in a communications role, and will...

TVO, TFO approved for analog shutdown

Media | 07/30/2012 8:00 pm EDT

Ontario’s French and English-language public broadcasters will begin decommissioning some of their 123 analog TV transmitters across the province on Tuesday after receiving the CRTC’s permission last week. In a pair...

CRTC amends regs for vertical integration, new media

Media | 07/27/2012 6:48 pm EDT

The CRTC issued amendments to its rules for vertically integrated companies, small broadcast distributors and new media services, and in the process maintained a contested English-language “linkage” rule for vertically...

Miller appointed Interactive Ontario chair

Media | 07/27/2012 6:38 pm EDT

The Interactive Ontario (IO) board of directors appointed Peter Miller as its new chair, the organization said. Interactive Ontario said in a notice on its website that Miller will take over the role for Mark Bishop, who was a board member for 10 years and held the chair position since 2009. Interactive Ontario said Miller was elected at the...

Communities say CBC asking too much in $4,800 analog transmitter rental fee

Media | 07/26/2012 8:09 pm EDT

CBC/Radio Canada will rent out its decommissioned analog transmitters for the lower-end fee of $4,800 per year, which community groups said they cannot afford. CBC plans to shut down 607 analog...

WIPO copyright committee agrees to broadcast treaty ‘working document’

Media | 07/26/2012 3:31 pm EDT

The World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) copyright committee concluded two weeks of meetings early Thursday and adopted a working document for a broadcasting treaty. WIPO said in a concluding text that the committee “reaffirmed its commitment to continue work, on a signal based approach, consistent...

Selvadurai says he was not involved in Calandra donations

Media | 07/26/2012 3:05 pm EDT

Conservative MP Paul Calandra, parliamentary secretary to Heritage Minister James Moore, received $22,000 in political donations at a fundraising party attended by people connected to WorldBand Media Inc., whose radio licence bid is under consideration by the CRTC, The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday. Family, friends and...

Three positions cut in CBC scripted content division

Media | 07/26/2012 2:43 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada’s English services will cut three positions from its commissioned and scripted programming division, the public broadcaster said in a release Wednesday. The positions will be cut as the broadcaster merges...

PlayBook ‘Video Store’ launches

Media | 07/25/2012 8:32 pm EDT

Five months after the service launched in the United States, Research In Motion Ltd. has made its PlayBook Video Store application available to Canadian users of its tablet, a company spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday. Kiyomi Rutledge, a RIM spokeswoman, said in a telephone interview that the PlayBook Video Store became available to Canadian consumers...

U.S. TV subscribers should be refunded for channel blackouts: Rockefeller

Media | 07/25/2012 5:32 pm EDT

American cable and satellite TV subscribers should receive refunds for channels they lose access to during blackouts related to retransmission negotiations, the chair of the U.S. Senate’s commerce and science committee said Tuesday. “Overheated rhetoric alleging greed and bad faith is of little comfort to someone paying for services they are not getting,” Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller said during a meeting of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee to...

Critics focus on ‘inter-corporate transfer’ and telecom funding in BCE-Astral benefits package

Media | 07/25/2012 4:03 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s proposal to spend $40 million in broadcasting benefits on the rollout of mobile broadband services by its subsidiary NorthwestTel Inc. in remote northern communities does not benefit the broadcasting system and is an improper use of the funding, a screenwriters group and a telecom...

Netflix grows Canadian subs in quarter

Media | 07/24/2012 9:38 pm EDT

Netflix Inc. continues to expand its Canadian subscriber base as customers watch more programs on Netflix, the U.S.-based over-the-top service provider said in a quarterly financial statement Tuesday. In a letter to shareholders, Netflix said its Canadian service added subscribers in the three-month period ending June 30 and that the “median...

Quebecor says Bell seeks ‘virtual monopoly’ in Quebec

Media | 07/24/2012 9:22 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s deal to purchase of Astral Media Inc. for $3.38 billion is part of an effort for a “virtual monopoly” in Canada’s French-language specialty channel market and should be stopped by the CRTC, Quebecor Media Inc. said Tuesday. In a release, Quebecor said the acquisition would give Bell eight...

Bell loses satellite piracy lawsuit to Quebecor, must pay $600,000 in damages

Media | 07/24/2012 9:02 pm EDT

The Quebec Superior Court ordered BCE Inc. to pay nearly $1 million in damages and costs to Quebecor Media Inc. as part of a civil lawsuit between the companies related to satellite piracy. Quebecor...

Serdy files complaint over similar CBC specialty channel

Media | 07/23/2012 8:59 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada-owned specialty channel Explora is not respecting its broadcasting licence, Serdy Media Inc. said in a complaint filed with the CRTC. In a 10-page complaint filed with the CRTC July 17, 2012, Serdy said the programming on French-language channel Explora is similar to programming from Serdy’s Category A Évasion specialty channel, and that this violates the regulatory framework concerning specialized services. “Radio-Canada also uses airtime on its public radio services to promote Explora, in contravention to rules that do not allow advertising or promotion on public radio,” Serdy said. Serdy added in its complaint that Explora’s current adventure programming goes against the licence approved by the commission in decision 2011-114, which...

FCC issues report on state of subscription TV

Media | 07/23/2012 8:51 pm EDT

U.S. cablecos have successfully used “advanced services” like digital cable and Internet access to prop up their revenues amid declining TV subscriptions, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Friday in a report on the country’s video distribution industry. In its fourteenth report on Status of Competition in the...

Bell to showcase Olympics on mobile TV with exclusive rights

Media | 07/23/2012 7:06 pm EDT

BCE Inc.'s exclusive mobile rights for this year's Summer Olympics in London are more of an opportunity to showcase the company’s brand and technology with consumers than to seek direct...

Stornoway appoints new sales director

Media | 07/20/2012 8:43 pm EDT

Stornoway Communications appointed Kate Tinnerman as its director of sales and affiliate relations. In a release Friday, Stornoway said Tinnerman’s primary focus will be to support all aspects of the company’s broadcast partners and develop new partnering opportunities. Tinnerman will also oversee the direction and management of sales...

Bell, distributors, resolve carriage dispute; CRTC decision introduces more channel package flexibility

Media | 07/20/2012 8:36 pm EDT

The CRTC issued a “precedent-setting” decision that will afford Telus Corp. and other broadcast distributors more channel packaging flexibility and give consumers...

WIPO copyright committee meets, U.S., South Africa push for online signal protections

Media | 07/20/2012 7:56 pm EDT

The United States and South Africa continued to push for protections against online signal piracy as part of the proposed World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)...

DirecTV, Viacom, end carriage blackout

Media | 07/20/2012 5:48 pm EDT

DirecTV has reached a “long-term agreement” with Viacom Inc. for carriage of 17 Viacom channels, ending a dispute that caused DirecTV customers to lose access to a popular specialty channels for more than a week, the U.S. satellite TV distributor said Friday. In a release, DirecTV said the deal ensures its subscribers will have access to...

Corus Eur-Asian specialty channel approved

Media | 07/20/2012 5:44 pm EDT

The CRTC approved an application from Corus Entertainment Inc.'s Telelatino Network Inc. to operate specialty channel Eur-Asian Television Network Inc. The commission said Friday that Telelatino proposed that the new service...

Shaw approved for B.C. news channel

Media | 07/20/2012 5:42 pm EDT

The CRTC approved an application from Shaw Communications Inc. to operate a specialty channel called Global News Plus BC. In the decision Friday, the commission said the regional English-language specialty service would feature a...

Google disappointed with French ‘Autocomplete’ decision

Media | 07/20/2012 5:41 pm EDT

Google Inc. said it is disappointed with a decision of France's Supreme Court that ordered the company to prevent automated search term suggestions that could lead to online downloading from unauthorized sources. The court said in a decision July 12 that Google must delete "Torrent," "Megaupload" and "Rapidshare" as search suggestions and prevent search term suggestions that combine those words with artist names, music albums or song titles. The court referred the decision to the Court of Appeal of Versailles for a final ruling. “Google is disappointed in the court's ruling,” Google's public relations department said in an emailed...

CBC to decommission 607 analog transmitters, not 620

Media | 07/19/2012 9:22 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada corrected the number of analog transmitters to be shut down on July 31, 2012, revising that number from 620 to 607. In details accompanying an April 4, 2012 release on CBC’s website, the broadcaster...

CBC says it’s ‘back to the drawing board’ following LPIF decision

Media | 07/19/2012 9:03 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada will re-evaluate whether its small-market, local stations can continue to cover regional sports and elections following a CRTC decision to phase out a $100 million fund for conventional TV stations, Steven Guiton, vice-president and chief regulatory officer at CBC, said in an interview. The CRTC said...

Supernatural TV approved

Media | 07/19/2012 7:14 pm EDT

The CRTC approved an Alberta numbered company's application for a new specialty channel licence called Supernatural TV. In a decision Thursday, the commission said the national, English-language channel is licensed to feature TV series, movies and documentaries focusing on the paranormal realm,...

CRTC rejects campus and community radio code

Media | 07/19/2012 7:09 pm EDT

The CRTC rejected proposed codes of conduct and guidelines from the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA). In a decision Thursday, the commission said it rejected the proposed codes of conduct because they...

CBC to be unavailable on antennas in 604 communities

Media | 07/19/2012 3:15 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada's programming, including local news shows, will become unavailable using TV antennas in 604 communities across Canada under the broadcaster's plan to shut down its analog transmitters, according to a count by The Wire Report. In total, CBC will shut down about 607 analog retransmitters, causing 604 communities to lose access to local CBC or Radio-Canada signals over TV antennas, according to a list of affected communities provided in the CRTC's approval of the shutdown. The broadcaster says the analog shutdown will provide annual savings of nearly $10 million...

End of local TV fund may cause ‘huge’ losses for small market stations: CHEK

Media | 07/18/2012 8:53 pm EDT

A CRTC decision to phase out the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF) could lead to “huge” financial losses at small- and medium-market local television stations, said John Pollard, president of independent broadcaster CHEK Media Group. In a divided decision Wednesday, the CRTC...

CRTC clears CBC to shut down transmitters, communities to lose CBC

Media | 07/17/2012 9:39 pm EDT

The CRTC approved CBC/Radio-Canada’s plan to shut down all of its analog transmitters that support 23 English and French-language television stations across Canada. In broadcasting decision...

Bell releases multi-platform Olympics coverage

Media | 07/17/2012 8:02 pm EDT

BCE Inc. released details of its plan for multi-platform coverage of the Summer Olympics in London. Users of the Bell Mobile TV app will get coverage of the Olympics on their smartphones or tablets, Bell said in a release Tuesday. This includes live feeds from channels owned by Bell and Rogers Communications Inc.—the companies with the rights to...

Golden West replaces Manitoba AM station with FM

Media | 07/16/2012 9:00 pm EDT

The CRTC said Monday it has approved an application from Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. to operate an English-language commercial FM radio station in Winkler, Man., which will replace its AM station CKMW. The commission said in a...

Blue Ant acquisition of High Fidelity approved

Media | 07/16/2012 8:57 pm EDT

The CRTC said Monday it has approved an application from High Fidelity HDTV Inc. to transfer control of the company and its subsidiaries to Blue Ant Media Inc. In a release, the commission said it valued the acquisition at...

Block Bell-Astral deal, Quebec consumer group says

Media | 07/16/2012 8:54 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s purchase of Astral Media Inc. could mean higher prices for consumers' cable and wireless services, Quebec advocacy group Option consommateurs says. In a release last Friday, Robert Cazelais, general manager...

Fair dealing decision a victory for users: Student Alliance

Media | 07/16/2012 8:48 pm EDT

Last week's Supreme Court decision on fair dealing shows the provision should be interpreted “broadly and liberally” and is a positive outcome for users’ rights, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) said Friday. The decision by the court in the Province of Alberta v. Access Copyright...

Thousands write to protest CBC analog shut down: CACTUS

Media | 07/13/2012 6:30 pm EDT

More than 2,200 Canadians have written to the CRTC in opposition to CBC/Radio-Canada's plan to shut down 623 analog TV transmitters, the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and...

Postmedia reports higher loss

Media | 07/13/2012 5:34 pm EDT

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. said it will take further steps to trim its operating expenses as the company reported lower revenues and more losses. Postmedia, which owns the National Post, the Ottawa Citizen, the Calgary Herald and other Canadian daily newspapers, on Tuesday reported a $12.1 million net loss in the three-month period ending May 31, up from a $2.7 million loss in the same period a year earlier. The company reported reduced quarterly operating income of $4.1 million, down from $23 million in the same period a year earlier, which it said was a result of “an increase in restructuring expenses and a decline in revenue, partially offset by lower operating costs.” Postmedia said its year-over-year third-quarter revenues fell 6.9 per cent to $212 million, from $227.6 million in the prior year. “The decrease in the current quarter was primarily due to a decrease in print advertising revenue of $14.5 million (or 10.0%) with the largest declines occurring in the national category,” the company said in a...

CRTC orders ATN to remove Canadian ads from feed

Media | 07/13/2012 4:35 pm EDT

The CRTC has given Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) until Monday to confirm that one of the foreign channels it sponsors for distribution in Canada will stop inserting Canadian advertisements into its programming. In a July 10 letter to ATN president and CEO Shan Chandrasekar, the CRTC said it received a Jan. 10 complaint from FDR...

CETA Internet provisions ‘completely’ changed since February: EU

Media | 07/13/2012 4:29 pm EDT

The leaked February draft of Canada’s trade agreement with the EU is now “completely outdated” as the current version does not contain the most contested provisions of the...

Bell to lock out TV technicians Saturday

Media | 07/12/2012 9:13 pm EDT

BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Express Vu served notice Thursday of its intention to lock out 114 television technicians on at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) of Canada said in a release. In the release, the union said Bell Express Vu plans to lock out members of CEP Local 79M, which represents technicians...

Astral reports growth, viewer losses in Q3

Media | 07/12/2012 9:12 pm EDT

Astral Media Inc. reported higher profits in its third quarter of 2012 despite declining television revenues and pay television subscribers, the company said in a quarterly earnings statement Thursday. In a release, Astral said its overall net earnings were $56.2 million in the three-month period ending May 31, up seven per cent from $52.6 million...

Corus revenues down, expects to miss profit projections

Media | 07/12/2012 9:11 pm EDT

Corus Entertainment Inc. reported lower third-quarter revenues across its broadcasting assets and warned of challenges in the months ahead. In a financial statement for the third quarter of 2012, released Thursday, Corus said revenues fell for both its television and radio segments for the three-month period ending May 31, 2012. On the television side, Corus said revenues fell by four per cent to $154.7 million during the quarter, from $161 million at the same time a year earlier. It said the drop represented an 11 per cent fall in advertising revenue and a 2 per cent decline in subscriber revenue “offset by an 8% increase in merchandise, distribution and other revenue.” “The decrease in specialty advertising revenues in the third quarter 2012 resulted from soft...

Cogeco TV subs fall, profits stable

Media | 07/12/2012 9:10 pm EDT

Cogeco Cable Inc. reported slightly higher operating profits in the third quarter of 2012 despite a fall in cable subscribers and slower growth in customers for its high-speed Internet and telephone segments. Cogeco on Thursday reported $53.2 million in profits for the three-month period ending May 31, up from $52.4 million during the same period...

Supreme Court dismisses $45M music ‘performance’ royalty for soundtracks

Media | 07/12/2012 6:46 pm EDT

The Supreme Court of Canada put to rest copyright collective Re:Sound's proposed tariff on the “performance” of music in movie and TV show soundtracks. In a unanimous decision Thursday penned by Justice Louis LeBel, the court dismissed the group’s appeal in Re:Sound v. Motion Picture Theatre...

Supreme Court emphasizes technological neutrality, throws out communication tariff on downloads

Media | 07/12/2012 6:41 pm EDT

The Supreme Court set aside a Copyright Board decision and said music rights holders cannot charge communications royalties from services like Apple Inc.'s iTunes for file downloads containing copyrighted music. In a copyright law decision on Entertainment Software Association v. SOCAN (case...

CRTC consulting on broadcast applications

Media | 07/11/2012 8:36 pm EDT

The CRTC issued a call for comments on a series of broadcasting applications that will be under consideration at hearing in Montreal starting Sept. 10. The consultation, opened Tuesday, said the hearing will consider four BCE...

Witten leaving NFB

Media | 07/11/2012 8:28 pm EDT

Cindy Witten, the National Film Board’s director general of English programming, will leave the organization in September to work as a consultant for startups and small digital companies, the government agency said Wednesday. In a release, the NFB said Witten was a part of a “core senior management team that led the NFB into the digital world, and credited her with creating the agency’s “first...

Sirius XM posts loss despite subscriber gains

Media | 07/11/2012 8:12 pm EDT

SiriusXM Canada added more than 214,000 subscribers over the past year but lost $4.2 million in its most recent quarter, parent company Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. said in a quarterly financial statement Wednesday. In a release, Sirius said the loss was lower than the combined $9 million Sirius Canada and XM Canada lost during the same...

$51M spent in tangible benefits last year: report

Media | 07/11/2012 12:53 pm EDT

Canadian broadcasters spent $51 million in tangible benefits stemming from the purchase of English-language television stations during the 2011 broadcasting year, Boon Dog Professional Services Inc. said in a new report. In a release, consulting firm Boon Dog said it found that $43 million of that money, or approximately 84 per cent, was devoted to...

With Astral, Bell to auction off 10 radio stations by Sept. 10 hearing

Media | 07/11/2012 12:45 pm EDT

As part of BCE Inc.’s acquisition of Astral Media Inc., the company plans to auction off 10 radio stations as early as this month to satisfy the CRTC’s radio ownership rules, Bell said in...

ACTA now in CETA, critics take aim at new enforcement measures

Media | 07/10/2012 6:32 pm EDT

The Canada-EU free trade agreement's provisions on intellectual property are now the same as those contained in the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), according to a leaked draft published on Michael Geist's blog.  The ACTA, which the Conservative government signed last year, is an international intellectual property trade agreement between Australia, Canada, the European Commission and the EU member states, and Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the United States. Responding in part to rallies against the ACTA across Europe in...

Pattison promotes Dorosz

Media | 07/09/2012 7:12 pm EDT

The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group promoted former sales manager Gary Dorosz to the head of its Lethbridge division, the company said last week. In a release, the company said Dorosz, who has been with the company since 2004, will assume the positions of division general manager and general...

Bell, Rogers, propose changes to Cancon overspending rules

Media | 07/06/2012 7:19 pm EDT

BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. propose to remove the CRTC's restrictions on how much Canadian content overspending can be carried over from one year to the next, the commission said...

CRTC proposes licensing exemption for small specialty channels

Media | 07/06/2012 7:11 pm EDT

The CRTC opened a consultation on proposed broadcasting amendments that would allow specialty services and third-language channels to operate without licences, the commission said Friday. In a notice...

CRTC approves Crime Network

Media | 07/06/2012 7:04 pm EDT

A numbered company in Alberta has received a licence to operate a national, English-language, Category B specialty service focused on crime-related dramas, documentaries and movies, the CRTC said Friday. In its decision, the CRTC said The Crime Network would primarily offer programming from the...

Poynt filing for bankruptcy, board member resigns

Media | 07/06/2012 7:01 pm EDT

Poynt Corp., the Canadian maker of the popular Poynt mobile app, has begun the process of filing for bankruptcy under the federal Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, the company said Friday. In a release, Poynt said its creditors must wait at least 30 days before calling in any outstanding debts with the company after it filed a “Notice of Intention to File a Proposal” of bankruptcy with the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy. The company said the moratorium on debt collection could be extended by an Alberta court. “The Company is not currently in a position to meet the obligations owing to its secured and unsecured creditors and as such, has taken this action under the BIA [Bankruptcy Insolvency Act] as the most expeditious and economical manner of...

CRTC releases closed caption standards

Media | 07/05/2012 8:55 pm EDT

The CRTC approved a set of closed captioning quality standards and will require broadcasters to implement them starting Sept. 1, 2012, the commission said Thursday. In its decision, the CRTC said lag time between the audio and...

Conway to head CBC News, regional centres

Media | 07/05/2012 8:54 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada appointed Fiona Conway to the position of executive director of programming for CBC News and regional centres, the broadcaster said in a release Wednesday. In a release, CBC News said Conway is a Gemini, Emmy and Peabody award-winning news producer who began her career at CFRA Radio and most recently held the position of executive...

Rights holders expected to use ‘enabler’ provision to go after isoHunt, lawyers say

Media | 07/05/2012 8:38 pm EDT

Rights holders are expected to use Bill C-11's new “enabler” provision to target Canadian torrent search engine isoHunt.com, legal experts say. Section 27 of Bill C-11, which received royal assent last Friday, includes an “enabler” provision for rights holders to sue web...

Bell-CIDG decision by July 18, CRTC says

Media | 07/05/2012 3:17 pm EDT

The CRTC will issue a decision by June 18 on an arbitrated carriage dispute between BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media and a group of independent broadcast distributors, CRTC spokesman Denis Carmel said. “There has been no...

CAB says it ‘battled’ for a decade for copyright changes

Media | 07/04/2012 9:29 pm EDT

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is “very pleased” the government’s copyright reform bill has been passed into law with a new exemption for radio broadcasters, the industry group said in a statement Wednesday.  “After more than a decade of battling the ephemeral tax and the unfair...

Global Ottawa moving digital channel 6 to 14

Media | 07/04/2012 9:08 pm EDT

  Shaw Communications Inc. plans to move the dial position for its digital Ottawa channel that rebroadcasts the company's Toronto Global station, the CRTC said Wednesday. In a release, the commission said it has...

CBC still going for Olympics rights, if profitable, broadcaster says

Media | 07/04/2012 8:32 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada will continue to seek the broadcast rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games but will not make a money-losing bid for the sports rights, said Jeffrey Orridge, executive director of...

Paradis to introduce regs to block possible memory card levy

Media | 07/03/2012 9:28 pm EDT

OTTAWA—The Conservative government will put regulations in place to exempt microSD memory cards from a possible copyright levy, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said Tuesday. At a news...

In-app ad revenues to triple by 2017: report

Media | 07/03/2012 9:09 pm EDT

Advertisements on mobile applications will generate $7.1 billion US in revenues globally by 2015, Juniper Research said in a new report Tuesday. The report, called “Mobile Advertising Messaging, In-App and Mobile Internet Strategies 2012-2017,” said growth in “in-app ads” will be driven by a rise in rich media inside ads and the growing adoption of mobile apps. It said in-app advertising revenues will more than triple between 2012 and 2017, accounting for $2.4 billion US in revenues. The U.K.-based research firm said users are more likely to click on mobile ads when they are more engaged with the advertising material.  The firm said several brands are now experimenting with in-app advertising “to increase the interactivity of their ads.”...