TAGGED AS MEDIA

Advocates debate paying for educational works in various digital formats

Media | 01/26/2011 6:52 pm EST

OTTAWA--At a copyright forum at the University of Ottawa Tuesday, advocates argued the question of whether students and universities should have to pay once or multiple times for the use of digital works in various formats. The forum, hosted by the by the Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA), focused on the educational exception in the Conservative government’s copyright reform legislation, Bill C-32. The bill, now before a House of Commons committee, proposes to expand fair dealing to cover education. “I fear the educational system will use my material because now it’s fair. [If this happens], I will have to go, after the fact … and challenge the...

Anti-spam bill to change mobile marketing practices, experts say

Media | 01/25/2011 9:22 pm EST

TORONTO—Canada’s new anti-spam legislation, which will require companies to pay close attention to securing consent from customers before sending commercial messages, is poised to push firms to tread lightly when advertising via mobile, experts said at a conference last week. The federal government's anti-spam legislation, which received royal assent in December, is expected to come into force within six-to-eight months. Several speakers at a conference on advertising and marketing law, hosted by the Canadian Institute in Toronto, noted that the anti-spam act is aimed at deterring deceptive forms of spam and disclosing the senders of digital marketing information. And this covers all sorts of mobile marketing. The legislation also involves an amendment to the...

Heritage briefing note for Moore plays up consumer interests, questions CRTC data

Media | 01/24/2011 10:35 pm EST

The Heritage Department emphasized the interests of consumers and questioned CRTC data about the health of the over-the-air television industry in a politically sensitive cabinet memo about fee for carriage last year. The Wire Report obtained the memo, for Heritage Minister James Moore and dated April 9, 2010, through an...

Broadcasters spending more on individual Cancon projects, but producing less

Media | 01/21/2011 9:58 pm EST

Canadian broadcasters are taking a “quality over quantity” approach to producing Canadian content in an effort to compete with American programming, industry experts say. “We're trying to have a product that will go get the audience that's watching the neighbour,” Richard J. Paradis, an instructor...

Under public pressure, CRTC requests review of CBSC’s Dire Straits decision

Media | 01/21/2011 9:39 pm EST

In a nod to public pressure, the CRTC on Friday asked the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) to review its Jan. 12 decision that said the word “faggot” in a Dire Straits song breaches the council’s code of ethics. The CRTC said it received 250 letters from across Canada about the council’s...

Broadcasters, groups, at odds over education campaign for digital transition

Media | 01/18/2011 11:13 pm EST

Broadcasters and advocacy groups are at loggerheads over the need for widespread public service announcements (PSAs) to inform the public about the upcoming transition to digital television broadcasting—and it’s not clear where the two sides might agree. Broadcasting advocacy groups say the CRTC should create a...

Independent BDUs cite fears over exclusivity, confidentiality in BCE-CTV deal

Media | 01/17/2011 8:50 pm EST

Television distributors are calling on the CRTC to establish confidentiality protection measures and safeguards against exclusivity for BCE Inc.'s acquisition of CTVglobemedia. “As a vertically integrated company, BCE would gain access to very detailed and highly sensitive information about its competitors in the BDU market that it would not otherwise have,” Cogeco Cable Inc. wrote in its submission to the commission's hearing on the deal. Tuesday marked the deadline for interventions on BCE’s application to acquire control of CTV for $3.2 billion. The comments are a preview of what the commission may hear in its upcoming hearing on vertical integration in June....

Portion of vertical integration benefits should go to accessibility, says Access 2020

Media | 01/14/2011 9:48 pm EST

Accessibility in Canadian broadcasting is being hampered by a lack of quality control, poor funding and a mindset of charity rather than opportunity, says Beverley Milligan, president and CEO of Media Access Canada and newly formed accessibility group Access 2020. “Some of the high-level...

BCE’s tangible benefits proposal prompts sea of interventions

Media | 01/14/2011 12:22 am EST

BCE Inc.’s public benefits proposal as part of its acquisition of CTVglobemedia Inc. is “self-serving” and doesn’t benefit Canadian broadcasters, industry players and advocacy groups say. “Our concern is that quite a bit of the benefits policy is doing things that are self-serving, that...

Cogeco surprised by Astral move to bring CRTC ruling on Corus deal to court

Media | 01/12/2011 12:22 am EST

Cogeco Inc. says it will fight a motion filed by Astral Media Radio Inc. Tuesday with the Federal Court of Appeal that seeks leave to appeal the CRTC's decision to grant Cogeco an exception to its common ownership policy. “We're very surprised by Astral's undertaking, particularly considering Astral's...

Industry groups oppose drop in Cancon exhibition requirement

Media | 01/11/2011 10:23 pm EST

Decreasing Canadian content exhibition requirements by a mere five per cent will have a negative long-term impact on the broadcasting industry, Stornoway Communications president and CEO Martha Fusca says. “It's a lot more significant than people realize ... This is really only the first step. We've been reducing it...

CAB retains membership, reduces mandate to focus on copyright

Media | 01/11/2011 10:13 pm EST

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) may have retracted its plans to shut its doors, but will no longer advocate on regulatory policy. “[The CAB] is going to stay out of policy and regulatory debates. That’s very telling that they’ve really realized as an industry that they don’t share the...

New record label agreement lays groundwork for mechanical royalties payments

Media | 01/11/2011 12:54 pm EST

A new framework for the payment of “mechanical royalties” to music rights holders has emerged from an agreement Monday for Canadian record labels to pay songwriters and music publishers $47.53 million for outstanding uncompensated use of reproductions of their works. “It's very important, we've been...

Rogers’ shift towards access programming good for community TV, CACTUS says

Media | 01/07/2011 9:47 pm EST

New access programming that will rise from the ashes of Rogers Television’s cancelled news show First Local will ultimately benefit community television, the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) says. “The result should be that their staff resources are employed more...

New CRC technology will help promote 3D television in Canada

Media | 01/06/2011 11:32 pm EST

A new conversion technology developed by a federal research centre will facilitate the move towards 3D television broadcasting in Canada. “We turned to 2D-to-3D conversion because when you are doing [our type of] research, you try to figure out what kind of problems the broadcasting industry will have and then try to...

CBC says Bold channel rebrand facing $3-million hike in production costs

Media | 12/21/2010 10:41 pm EST

The CBC says Canadian programming costs for specialty services have been increasing annually by 7.1 per cent, and estimates that a rebrand of its Bold channel, which will require the production of more Canadian content, will cost an additional $3 million per year. The CRTC opened a consultation in November on a CBC application to amend the broadcasting licence for its Category 1 specialty channel Bold. The CBC has been looking for a new direction for the channel, but is searching to rebrand it in a way that does not directly compete with other Canadian specialty services. The public broadcaster had originally sought to rebrand Bold—whose licence is now defined as within the...

Companies moving to mobile advertising campaigns, budgets

Media | 12/20/2010 10:01 pm EST

Next year is expected to be a big one for mobile advertising as companies set aside budgets and plan mobile advertising campaigns, industry insiders say. “Mobile is no longer that test or that experimental phase in a campaign. It’s now become the real thing. It’s arrived. Clients are really trying to...

Low-power TV stations face uncertain future after digital transition

Media | 12/20/2010 6:23 pm EST

The future of low-power television (LPTV) stations operating in the 700 MHz band remains unclear as Industry Canada consults on their possible displacement following the digital transition next year. “The continued operation of existing LPTV systems in remote and rural areas will be permitted if it does not prevent...

CRTC approves Cogeco acquisition of Corus stations

Media | 12/17/2010 6:07 pm EST

The CRTC announced Friday it has approved Cogeco Inc.’s acquisition of Corus Entertainment Inc.’s 11 Quebec radio stations and agreed to an exception to operate a third FM station in the Montreal market. “The Commission is of the view that Cogeco’s proposal, together with the arguments raised by the parties, forms a...

Liberal amendment bad news for radio station fight for reproduction exception

Media | 12/16/2010 11:16 pm EST

Following the release of new Liberal party amendments to copyright reform Bill C-32 Thursday, radio broadcasters could see history repeated and again lose the fight to avoid paying digital reproduction fees. “We thought they understood this issue and we’re really surprised and disappointed that they decided to...

Wavefront commercialization services expanding to developers nationally

Media | 12/16/2010 7:41 pm EST

New federal government funding for British Columbia’s Wavefront Wireless Commercialization Centre will now help Canadian developers across the country market their products overseas. “Some of the major hurdles for Canadian developers are access to the resources needed to get products to market, getting them noticed and getting them into the hands of people who want to use them,” Marc Choma, director of communications at the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Associations (CWTA), said in an interview. “If you can’t do that, your products won’t serve you very well.” On Dec. 6, Industry Minister Tony Clement announced that the federal...

APTN says it’s moved too often, asking for secure position on the dial

Media | 12/15/2010 10:31 pm EST

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) is often bumped around on the dial, which is leading to the loss of viewers and posing challenges for marketing, Jean LaRose, CEO of APTN Inc., said in an interview. “In Vancouver, as an example, we’ve been bounced all over the place,” LaRose said. He...

Liberal support for iPod levy ‘a total fabrication,’ Garneau says

Media | 12/15/2010 12:23 am EST

OTTAWA—Responding to a Conservative government news conference Tuesday, Liberal MP and industry critic Marc Garneau said they party does not support extending the private copying levy to digital devices and that the government’s claims are a “total fabrication.” “That is a total...

Draft EU trade agreement proposes fee-for-carriage-style retransmission right

Media | 12/13/2010 10:35 pm EST

If the Federal Court of Appeal quashes the CRTC’s proposed value-for-signal regime, broadcasters may have something of a backup. Canada is now negotiating a trade agreement with the European Union, and an October version of the agreement, leaked last month, shows that the EU is proposing a new signal right for...

BCE argues for no benefits payment on CTV transaction

Media | 12/10/2010 10:22 pm EST

BCE Inc. is telling the CRTC that its purchase of CTVglobemedia Inc. is a simple “reversal” of its 2006 divestment of ownership from CTV and that the company should not be required to pay any new benefits into the broadcasting system as a result of the transaction. Bell now holds 15 per cent of the voting shares in CTV, but has reached an...

CRTC lacks data to make informed decisions on vertical integration: CEP

Media | 12/10/2010 1:17 am EST

OTTAWA—The CRTC must take an evidence-based approach to the impacts of cross-media ownership as it looks into vertical integration, the Communications, Energy and Paperworks Union of Canada (CEP) says. “We have learned that the CRTC has spent $2.7 million on consultants and research since 2007,” Peter...

Targeted advertising trial to make local TV advertising more attractive, affordable

Media | 12/09/2010 11:15 pm EST

Cogeco Cable Inc.’s new trial for targeted ads will make television advertising more attractive and affordable for local businesses, Tom McCutcheon, the company’s vice-president of product development and project planning, said in an interview. “How many small businesses in your footprint don’t...

‘The perfect is the enemy of the good,’ Manley advises copyright committee

Media | 12/09/2010 1:32 am EST

OTTAWA—Former industry minister John Manley, who served under prime minister Jean Chrétien when the former Liberal government passed omnibus copyright reform legislation in 1997, offered some advice to members of the House legislative committee on Bill C-32 Wednesday. “I bear the...

Del Mastro fires at CBC over transparency; Lacroix says a ‘campaign’ against it

Media | 12/08/2010 1:03 am EST

OTTAWA—The CBC is “fuelling the attacks” against it by continuing a court dispute over access to information requests, Dean Del Mastro, Conservative MP and parliamentary secretary to the heritage minister, said Tuesday at the House heritage committee. “I think it looks very...

Hyperlinks as ‘publications’ would threaten digital publishing, media companies say

Media | 12/08/2010 12:11 am EST

OTTAWA—Defining hyperlinks as publications would set a dangerous precedent that could impact competition in the digital media sector, interveners told the Supreme Court at a hearing Tuesday. “If hyperlinking is publication, it will have a serious impact on the ability of [digital news] industries to bring content to its readership and to maintain its economic survival,” Robert Anderson, counsel with Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP, told a full bench of Supreme Court justices Tuesday. Anderson appeared on behalf of the Canadian Newspaper Association, the Canadian Media Lawyers Association, Magazines Canada, and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. He...

Private copying collective supports narrow levy limited to players, not phones

Media | 12/07/2010 1:03 am EST

OTTAWA—The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) is prepared to support a limited private copying amendment to Bill C-32, the Conservative government’s copyright reform bill, that would remain limited to digital audio players like the iPod Nano or Shuffle, Annie Morin, chair of the board at the CPCC, said...

Shaw says it’s losing online, VOD rights to American online distributor

Media | 12/03/2010 12:46 am EST

OTTAWA—An American broadcast network is refusing to sell Shaw Communications Inc. the online rights to its content for 2011, the company told the House heritage committee Thursday. “We were told last week by a broadcaster in the U.S. that they would not sell us broadband rights. Somebody with deeper pockets is...

Faced with spectre of cord-cutting, broadcasting industry needs to innovate, experts say

Media | 12/02/2010 9:46 pm EST

Cable companies need to offer more time-shifting and place-shifting options to consumers to remain competitive against disintermediation and the trend of cord-cutting, experts say. “I think we as an industry have to really ramp up our efforts to meet customer expectations around time shifting...

Tories say slow C-32 committee process puts legislation in jeopardy

Media | 12/02/2010 1:33 am EST

OTTAWA—At the current rate of study, the Conservative government’s copyright reform legislation is in danger of not passing Parliament and MPs could see the bill remaining at committee stage by summer 2011, Mike Lake, the parliamentary secretary to the industry minister, said Wednesday. “There’s...

Lack of funding, complex rights system, technical issues hampering online, wireless video

Media | 12/01/2010 6:24 pm EST

TORONTO—The delivery of video over broadband and wireless is growing exponentially in Canada but is being hampered by technical issues, a complex rights system and a lack of funding, a panel of broadcast and technology experts said at the nextMedia conference in Toronto Tuesday. The panel, titled “Harnessing the Value of Video and Content on New Platforms,” focused on the benefits and drawbacks of viewing video on a variety of different formats. The spread of new distribution channels means content providers face challenges getting their products on different platforms, said John Barrack, chief operating officer at the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA)....

The disintermediated world where no one pays ‘is more or less going away’: Michael Wolff

Media | 11/30/2010 3:26 pm EST

TORONTO—The fragmentation of consumer audiences across a variety of platforms is the top problem facing today's media companies, Michael Wolff, author and editorial director of Adweek, said Monday at the first day of the nextMedia conference in Toronto. In a talk entitled “The...

CTV stands by fee for carriage, Bell hesitates

Media | 11/26/2010 9:42 pm EST

OTTAWA—Bell Canada told the House of Commons heritage committee Thursday it cannot clarify its position on fee for carriage in light of its acquisition of CTVglobemedia Inc. “We don’t have the answer today,” Mirko Bibic, Bell’s senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs, said. The Federal Court of Appeal...

Vertical integration hearing should look at unregulated online competitors, Rogers says

Media | 11/26/2010 1:02 am EST

OTTAWA—Vertical integration may help Canadian producers and distributors compete against unregulated online providers like Netflix Inc. and Apple Inc., Ken Engelhart, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Rogers Communications Inc., said Tuesday. “The competition between the...

Liberal party preparing amendments to Bill C-32

Media | 11/25/2010 10:53 pm EST

OTTAWA—The Liberal party is planning to propose amendments to Bill C-32, the Conservative government’s copyright reform bill, to permit the breaking of digital locks for consumer uses and to better define the ways in which fair dealing uses can be challenged in court, Marc Garneau, the Liberal party’s industry critic and a member of...

Federal government should open up advertising deduction to digital media: Corus

Media | 11/24/2010 12:58 am EST

OTTAWA—The federal government should amend the Income Tax Act to encourage Canadian advertising dollars to flow to Canadian-owned digital media properties, Gary Maavara, executive vice-president and corporate general counsel at Corus Entertainment Inc., told the House of Commons heritage committee Tuesday. “One...

Canada shouldn’t follow ‘broken’ U.S. value-for-signal system, U.S. analyst says

Media | 11/22/2010 8:01 pm EST

A U.S. analyst is warning the Canadian broadcasting industry not to follow in the footsteps of the U.S. retransmission consent regime following a carriage dispute and signal blackout between News Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp. “If Canada is following the broken U.S. model, they should...

Tories on C-32 legislative committee looking for ‘intense’ work schedule

Media | 11/19/2010 10:24 pm EST

MPs on the new legislative committee on Bill C-32 are already disagreeing about how much the committee can accomplish before the Christmas break. The Conservatives say it’s possible to conduct an intensive study of the bill, make any necessary amendments and report it back to the House before Christmas. The House...

CRTC maintains protection for Super Ecran but opens consultation

Media | 11/19/2010 9:39 pm EST

The CRTC issued a broadcasting decision Friday that maintained regulatory protection for the only French-language pay TV service in Canada but at the same time called for new applications in the French-language market “with special conditions.” In January, the commission received an application from TVA Group...

CRTC looking at deregulating AM radio

Media | 11/19/2010 8:37 pm EST

OTTAWA—The CRTC is considering the deregulation of the AM radio market, industry insiders say. The news comes after CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein, in an appearance before the House of Commons heritage committee Thursday, questioned whether the declining AM market should be exempted from regulation. “AM is losing market share and it’s been a long time since we’ve had a single application for an AM licence,” von Finckenstein told the committee. “The question arises, should we still be regulating the AM market? Is there a case to be made for letting it go by way of exemption?” In a brief interview following the meeting, von Finckenstein said the CRTC could deregulate the market by issuing an exemption order. “We say, these are...

Online gaming industry fighting new trend of ‘server piracy’

Media | 11/19/2010 4:09 pm EST

Server-based, online gaming piracy is emerging as a new trend that could cost the video game industry billions of dollars in revenues, according to the Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC). “It is a new and emerging form of piracy that has particularly emerged in Asia, but is actually now migrating to...

Distributors, CBC quarrel over efficacy of partial, ‘omnibus’ channel solutions

Media | 11/18/2010 11:49 pm EST

GATINEAU—Offering local programming on partial or “omnibus” satellite channels could serve as an interim solution to capacity shortages, Bell Canada and Shaw Communications Inc. told the CRTC Thursday. “We certainly recognize it’s imperfect. Unfortunately it’s...

CRTC’s satellite carriage rules an ‘incomplete tool’ for Quebec, says CBC

Media | 11/17/2010 10:15 pm EST

GATINEAU—The CRTC’s proposed guidelines for satellite television distribution come up short in the French-language, Quebec market, CBC/Radio-Canada told the commission Wednesday. The CBC told the commission that its satellite television policy does not require the distribution of enough...

Shaw plans transition to new satellite technology; Bell says it’s ‘impractical’

Media | 11/16/2010 9:41 pm EST

GATINEAU—Shaw Communications Inc. said Tuesday it plans to move to a new, more efficient compression technology for its satellite distribution services, but Bell Canada said high costs are holding it back from making its own transition. On Tuesday the CRTC opened a hearing to review its...

Expenditure requirements to be key issue at ‘huge’ group licence renewal hearing

Media | 11/15/2010 10:30 pm EST

Industry insiders expect Canadian content expenditure requirements to be one of the top issues at the CRTC’s upcoming group-licence renewal hearing. “The entire conversation is about how much broadcasters will be spending on overall Canadian content as a group licence condition,” Maureen Parker, executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), said in an interview. In March, the CRTC announced a new regulatory policy for a group-based approach to the licensing of large English-language, private television groups. The commission now regulates programming services in large broadcasting groups individually, but the group-based approach will allow Rogers...

Péladeau’s quest for exclusive Nordiques content

Media | 11/15/2010 4:06 pm EST

When Quebec City Mayor Régis Labeaume announced plans to build a $400-million hockey stadium in the city in September, Pierre Karl Péladeau looked on, the NHL on his mind. It’s hard to know precisely what competitive strategies Péladeau has been thinking about lately. But to take an educated...

Corus expanding its international audience through children’s programming

Media | 11/11/2010 10:38 pm EST

Corus Entertainment Inc.'s children’s programming is available in more than 150 countries worldwide, leading some experts to say it's setting the standard for exporting Canadian content. Corus, which is best known domestically for its 48 radio stations and 19 television services, also produces and...

Telus to propose communication right amendment at C-32 copyright committee

Media | 11/11/2010 10:29 pm EST

OTTAWA—Telus Corp. plans to propose amendments at the legislative committee on Bill C-32 so that the bill’s new “making available right” for the digital communication of works does not add to the “layering of rights” on digital music. Copyright reform Bill C-32 includes a making...

Exclusive collection of set-top box data is undue preference, Pelmorex says

Media | 11/10/2010 10:59 pm EST

OTTAWA—Vertically integrated distribution companies act with undue preference when they use exclusive viewing data collected from set-top boxes to inform their own broadcasting services, Pelmorex Communications Inc. says. And the company intends to raise the issue at the CRTC’s hearing on industry consolidation...

CRTC opens production funds, ‘recognizes the validity of new media content’

Media | 11/10/2010 4:21 pm EST

The CRTC issued a new regulatory policy Tuesday that gives independent production funds the option to put up to 10 per cent of their dollars toward stand-alone new media projects—a move that observers are calling an important recognition of new media content. “This is the first step in...

CRTC issues Shaw a shortened distribution licence, starts ‘campaign’ for monetary penalties

Media | 11/08/2010 11:18 pm EST

The CRTC’s decision Friday to grant Shaw Communications Inc. a shorter-term distribution licence is furthering a debate about whether the commission should have the power to administer monetary penalties for non-compliance with regulations. Mark Goldberg, head of telecom consultancy...

CRTC calls for administrative monetary penalties at House committee

Media | 11/03/2010 6:16 pm EDT

OTTAWA—CRTC officials appeared before the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Tuesday where they called for the power to impose administrative monetary penalties across all of its regulated sectors. “This would allow the commission to adopt a less restrictive approach to regulation and ensure a level...

Apple TV faces uphill battle in Canada

Media | 10/29/2010 7:55 pm EDT

Apple Inc. might not shine as brightly in the video-content world as it does in mobile, industry observers say. They say the company’s latest version of Apple TV is facing significant challenges in the Canadian market. About the size of a stack of five drink coasters, the Apple TV device connects to a television set and wirelessly streams...

Content industries must adjust to new paradigm, says Jumpwire president

Media | 10/29/2010 7:41 pm EDT

OTTAWA—The House of Commons heritage committee got a lesson Thursday in how Canada can be a better “laboratory for the world” in the digital music and YouTube spaces. At a committee meeting Thursday about the music business in the digital age, Gavin McGarry, president of Jumpwire Media, told MPs the government should stop focusing on how to repair broken business models and embrace technological innovations like online video and file sharing applications. His appearance before the committee came just following testimony from music industry representatives, which focused on the possibility of surcharges applied to Internet service bills or digital media recorders to...

Distributors asking for VOD regulatory flexibility to compete with over-the-top TV

Media | 10/28/2010 7:02 pm EDT

Canada’s incumbent television distributors are telling the CRTC they need more regulatory flexibility for their video-on-demand (VOD) services to better compete with over-the-top video providers such as Netflix and Apple TV. “Our goal is to ensure that the rules that govern our video-on-demand service are...

Canada’s slow granting processes pushing companies abroad, researcher says

Media | 10/27/2010 9:28 pm EDT

OTTAWA—Canada’s slow granting processes for digital media are slowing down the country’s ability to compete internationally and encouraging Canadians to look abroad, Ken Coates, dean of the faculty of arts at the University of Waterloo, told the House heritage committee at a hearing Tuesday. Coates said...

Predicting the fate of Bill C-32 is like predicting the next election, says Geist

Media | 10/26/2010 2:16 pm EDT

Michael Geist isn’t shy about engaging in a “copyfight.” The very title of his new book alludes to his last public fight—waged on Twitter, blogs, and in the news media—with Heritage Minister James Moore. Last June, Moore made comments about “radical extremists” in the copyright...

Speed, transparency to be top issues in new vertical integration proceeding

Media | 10/25/2010 9:47 pm EDT

The CRTC’s capacity to quickly and transparently deal with broadcasting disputes will be at the forefront in a new proceeding to review the commission’s powers to regulate vertically integrated companies, industry observers tell The Wire Report. “It’s not helpful if you have to fight over access to...

CRTC approves Shaw-Canwest transaction, launches review of vertical integration

Media | 10/22/2010 10:13 pm EDT

The CRTC approved on Friday Shaw Communications Inc.'s acquisition of the broadcasting assets of Canwest Global Communications Corp.—but at the same time announced a new proceeding to study vertical integration in the Canadian communications industry. “As a regulator, it is only prudent that we study the implications to ensure we have the right tools to deal with competitive concerns as they arise,” CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said in a release. “Transactions will continue to be considered under the existing rules until we have completed our review.” That means Bell Canada Enterprises Inc.’s agreement to wholly purchase...

New Quebec TV distributor Colba.Net plans pricing attack

Media | 10/22/2010 8:15 pm EDT

Calling itself ‘the Wal-Mart’ of communications services, Colba.Net Telecom Inc. plans to battle Videotron Ltd. and Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. on pricing with its new IPTV service in Montreal. On Oct. 13, the CRTC approved Colba.Net’s application to operate a Class 1 wireline television...

Lacroix most commonly asked: When will the CBC broadcast Canadiens games?

Media | 10/21/2010 9:38 pm EDT

The single most popular question put to CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix is whether he has plans to obtain the broadcasting rights to Montreal Canadiens games, he says. Lacroix noted the public’s concern about CBC rights to Canadiens’ games during the public broadcaster’s annual public...

Satellite distribution policy more important in face of vertical integration, says CBC’s Lacroix

Media | 10/20/2010 10:13 pm EDT

OTTAWA—Regulators must ensure Canadians can access all of the CBC’s services on satellite now that it is poised to be the only major broadcaster not controlled by a broadcasting distributor, CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix said Wednesday. “It is clear to me that the...

Google TV could face fight for content rights in Canada

Media | 10/20/2010 10:11 pm EDT

Google Inc. launched its latest product, Google TV, in the U.S. this month in a bid to integrate keyword search, aggregation and Internet access into television viewing—a move that is expected to set new precedents for the television user experience. But the new service is also expected to set up a fight over...

Canadian groups preparing for WIPO meeting on audio-visual treaty

Media | 10/18/2010 9:52 pm EDT

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) are preparing for an upcoming World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) meeting in Geneva next month to discuss an audiovisual treaty. In 1996, WIPO began work on a possible treaty for the...

Vertically integrated companies not under immediate pressure to compete with over-the-top TV

Media | 10/18/2010 8:21 pm EDT

Vertically integrated communications companies like Rogers Communications Inc., BCE Inc. and Quebecor Inc. are not under pressure to modify their online content offerings as they face competition from new service Netflix, Duncan Stewart, director of research for technology, media and telecom at...

CRTC decision on Super Ecran competition expected in next few weeks

Media | 10/15/2010 9:36 pm EDT

The CRTC is expected to issue a decision in the next few of weeks on whether Astral Media Inc.’s Super Écran pay television channel should face competition in the French-language market. Quebecor Media Inc. has wanted to launch a pay TV movie channel for a number of years, but Astral’s Super...

Digital could be the answer to a declining AM radio market

Media | 10/15/2010 12:01 am EDT

Radio industry hopefuls aren’t jumping at AM radio these days. CRTC statistics may paint a picture of a dwindling sector, but it’s far too soon to say whether business on the AM dial is for naught. Experts say that the declining AM radio industry, if it can hold on another 10 to 15 years, may be saved by the...

Local1 network to produce 10 local newscasts updated three times daily: Corus

Media | 10/13/2010 8:07 pm EDT

Corus Entertainment Inc.’s proposed all-news network Local1 will produce 48 hosted segments each day, including 10 separate local newscasts updated three times daily, the company said last week in new information filed with the CRTC. Corus filed the information as part of its appearance at a public hearing in Saskatoon, Sask., last week. As a result of the new information, the CRTC said in a notice Tuesday it is now giving parties until Oct. 18 to comment on the new information. Corus will have until the end of day on Oct. 21 to reply. Corus said the all-news channel—which will take a “hyper-local” approach to news, weather and community information in 64...

CRTC closes debate on Canadian content regulatory relief, for now

Media | 10/07/2010 9:54 pm EDT

The CRTC denied applications Thursday from CTVglobemedia Inc. and Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. for early regulatory relief from their Canadian content requirements, but industry observers say the matter will re-emerge when the broadcasters’ group licence renewals begin next year. “I think the broadcasters...

New official ACTA draft reveals watered down copyright provisions

Media | 10/06/2010 9:26 pm EDT

Parties to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) released a new draft Wednesday that shows the negotiating partners have moved away from intellectual copyright provisions describing what signatories shall do to what they “may” do. The new consolidated text, dated Oct. 2, is considered a watered down...

Quebecor snuffs Sun TV News controversy, to apply for regular Cat 2 licence

Media | 10/05/2010 9:31 pm EDT

OTTAWA—Quebecor Media Inc. plans to drop a three-year, mandatory carriage condition for its Sun TV News channel and instead apply for a regular Category 2 licence, Serge Sasseville, Quebecor’s vice-president of corporate and institutional affairs, told The Wire Report. Sasseville confirmed the decision...

CRTC flooded with more than 21,000 individual letters on Sun TV News application

Media | 10/05/2010 2:50 am EDT

CRTC officials are scrambling to sort through tens of thousands of submissions in response to Quebecor Media’s application to operate Sun TV News. Last week, international advocacy group Avaaz delivered more than 21,000 hard copy letters to the CRTC’s offices in Gatineau, Que., opposing the licence application...

Channels’ licence descriptions open to interpretation, broadcasters say

Media | 10/01/2010 9:03 pm EDT

In response to the CRTC’s concerns that re-branded specialty channels are broadcasting shows that don’t fit their licence descriptions, Canadian broadcasters are arguing that their nature of service definitions are open to interpretation. Broadcasting expert Martha Fusca, president and CEO of Stornoway Communications, said the CRTC is likely to consider any valid arguments from the broadcasters. “But on the other hand, if the CRTC does not believe they are valid, the CRTC will let them know and they’ll have to change what they’re doing,” Fusca said. In mid-July, the CRTC began an informal inquiry into whether broadcasters are breaking their conditions...

Moore would like to see C-32 at legislative committee by November

Media | 10/01/2010 7:31 pm EDT

Heritage Minister James Moore would like to see copyright reform Bill C-32 debated, voted at second reading and referred to committee before November, he told The Wire Report Wednesday at a Canada Media Fund (CMF) event in Ottawa. But he added: “I would like to have seen it at committee yesterday.” The real...

CMF lobbying for stable, multi-year funding renewal

Media | 09/30/2010 7:59 pm EDT

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) can count on the Conservative government’s support as the funding organization seeks a commitment in the 2011 federal budget for multi-year funding, Heritage Minister James Moore says. CMF officials were in Ottawa this week to hold meetings with officials and parliamentarians about the fund’s priorities and...

CRTC should review radio ownership policy as AM declines, Bloc MP says

Media | 09/29/2010 10:22 pm EDT

MONTREAL—The CRTC should review its common ownership policy for radio to better reflect the declining importance of AM radio, Bloc Québécois MP and party heritage critic Carole Lavallée told the commission Wednesday. “When you created your common ownership policy, why did you separate...

DirecTV seeking damages for grey-market satellite operation in Windsor

Media | 09/29/2010 8:04 pm EDT

American satellite provider DirecTV is seeking damages and a permanent injunction against a Canadian “grey market” reseller in a case that could send a strong message to grey market operators. “We have an interlocutory injunction and the action is for a permanent injunction and for damages,”...

Cogeco warns it would abandon Corus purchase if CKOI excluded

Media | 09/28/2010 11:08 pm EDT

MONTREAL—Cogeco Inc. will abandon its acquisition of Corus Entertainment Inc.’s 11 Quebec radio stations if Montreal’s popular French-language music station CKOI-FM isn’t part of the deal, Yves Mayrand, Cogeco’s vice-president of corporate affairs, told the commission Tuesday. “You...

CBC to appeal Federal Court access-to-information decision

Media | 09/27/2010 9:48 pm EDT

The CBC says it intends to appeal a Federal Court decision Friday that gives the Office of the Information Commissioner the authority to order the broadcaster to produce records. The CBC argues that Section 68.1 of the Access to Information Act permits the broadcaster to exclude some records from release. But on Friday...

Online ad budgets do not reflect online activity, says Google’s O’Neill

Media | 09/23/2010 9:26 pm EDT

TORONTO—Companies’ online advertising budgets do not reflect the increasing online activity of Canadians, suggesting there is plenty of room to grow, Google Canada country director Chris O'Neill told The Wire Report. "The thing to look at is the percentage of time that Canadians spend online versus the...

Shaw revises benefits package, offers free satellite to those affected by digital transition

Media | 09/23/2010 9:13 pm EDT

As the CRTC’s hearings on Shaw Communications Inc.’s $2-billion acquisition of Canwest Global Communications Corp.’s broadcasting assets drew to an end Thursday, Shaw responded to critics with significant revisions to its tangible benefits package, adding $72 million to its...

Production groups argue against Shaw’s carry-over of $95 million for benefits

Media | 09/22/2010 10:55 pm EDT

Production groups lined up before the CRTC Wednesday in opposition to Shaw Communications Inc.’s plan to include $95 million in past benefits in its $203 million benefits package arising from the purchase of CanWest Global Communications Corp.’s broadcasting assets. The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) and the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) all told the CRTC Wednesday that they support Shaw’s proposed purchase of CanWest if it agrees to pay out tangible benefits to the broadcasting industry worth 10 per cent of a transaction valued at $2 billion. Shaw...

Commission, Shaw, discuss how to ‘enshrine’ content-sharing

Media | 09/21/2010 10:14 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. says intends to make its Canwest Global television content available to competitors because it’s “a benefit to offer the rights to everyone.” Shaw vice-chairman and CEO Jim Shaw told the commission Tuesday that denying competitors access to content—which it will acquire...

Privacy consultations helped prep office for upcoming battles, participants say

Media | 09/21/2010 7:42 pm EDT

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner’s summer consultation on emerging technologies will help the office take pre-emptive measures to deal with technology firms, industry observers told The Wire Report. “I think [Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart] saw many issues coming down the pipe [involving]...

Opinion: Bill C-32 heads to committee in a volatile political climate

Media | 09/21/2010 1:56 pm EDT

The process of making legislation is often compared to the manufacture of sausage. It is probably better not to see how it gets made. Copyright law is no exception. The committee process is the point where the final ingredients are added, and the recipe can change very quickly and unpredictably, for better or worse. In...

Debate heats up as commission ponders two or seven-year licence renewals for Shaw

Media | 09/20/2010 9:22 pm EDT

Debate heated up at a CRTC hearing in Calgary Monday as parties disagreed over whether the commission should renew Shaw Communications Inc.’s broadcasting licences for two or seven year periods. Michael Hennessy, Telus Corp.’s senior vice-president of regulatory affairs, told commissioners Monday that Shaw...

Distribution rules next year to introduce more a-la-carte options

Media | 09/17/2010 9:14 pm EDT

Changes coming soon to Canada’s distribution rules for cable and satellite specialty television packages are expected to result in more a-la-carte offerings for consumers. “We’re certainly going to see more a-la-carte options,” Gregory Taylor, a broadcasting expert based in Montreal, said in an interview. “But I don’t think we’ve seen exactly how these are going to be offered by the BDUs [broadcasting distribution undertakings] at this point.” Canada’s broadcasting system could soon become more fragmented with a new distribution regulatory framework announced in a 2008 CRTC decision. Right now, distributors have to carry...

Value for signal’s not dead yet—but it’s a little more complex

Media | 09/17/2010 8:40 pm EDT

Value for signal probably isn’t dead. That’s what experts and industry insiders say following Shaw Communications Inc.’s purchase of Canwest Global Communications Corp. and BCE Inc.’s recently announced agreement to buy CTV Inc. But the purchase of the major broadcasting groups makes value...

Quebecor convergence plan trumps Bell’s, analyst says

Media | 09/16/2010 11:51 am EDT

Following Videotron Ltd.’s wireless launch and BCE Inc.’s plans to acquire CTV Inc., industry observers say it’s clear convergence is back in vogue—but Bell’s version of convergence may be “a poor facsimile” of Videotron’s, Iain Grant, a communications industry analyst with...

Shaw says there ‘is no codified or statutory requirement’ for 10 per cent benefits

Media | 09/15/2010 9:15 pm EDT

Faced with industry opposition to its proposed “tangible benefits” package arising from its acquisition of Canwest Global Communications’ broadcasting assets, Shaw Communications Inc. is arguing that there “is no codified or statutory requirement” to pay 10 per cent of...

‘Will of Parliament,’ intent of Conservative government, raised in value for signal court hearings

Media | 09/15/2010 4:17 pm EDT

TORONTO—Oral arguments over the CRTC’s power to implement a value for signal regime wrapped up at the Federal Court of Appeal Tuesday as broadcasters and cable and satellite distributors argued about the “will of Parliament” on the issue. Kent Thomsom, counsel with Davies...

Corus’ Local1 channel would compete with Global stations, Canwest says

Media | 09/14/2010 11:55 pm EDT

A broadcasting application affiliated with Shaw Communications could eat into its own advertising dollars. Shaw’s soon-to-be-acquired television broadcaster, Canwest Global, says it is concerned about the impact on local television stations if the CRTC approves an application for a recently proposed local...

Distributors say CRTC value for signal regime an attempt to ‘create copyright law’

Media | 09/14/2010 10:12 am EDT

TORONTO—The CRTC’s proposed value for signal regime appears to be hanging in the balance at the Federal Court of Appeal as distributors launched into oral arguments Monday saying the proposed system overreaches the commission’s jurisdiction and creates “a new entitlement to...

Telus shouldn’t go for content, analyst says

Media | 09/14/2010 2:10 am EDT

Telus Corp. should not follow Bell Canada Enterprises’ lead in acquiring media content, National Bank Financial analyst Greg MacDonald told The Wire Report. “When I read it in the newspaper this weekend, a lot of people saying, ‘Telus is really at a disadvantage,’ but I could not disagree more. Telus is fine. It does not need to...

Industry groups call for unbiased, consumer-minded replacement for Arpin

Media | 09/10/2010 9:29 pm EDT

Speculation is mounting among industry and cultural group insiders about the kind of candidate the Conservative government will select as Michel Arpin’s replacement. Arpin left a vacancy at the 13-member commission (now 12 members) when his term expired on Aug. 30 without reappointment. Ian Morisson, spokesman for...

BCE steps headlong into media arena with purchase of CTV

Media | 09/10/2010 9:05 pm EDT

Bell Canada Enterprises announced an agreement Friday to acquire full ownership of CTV Inc., putting the telco in a better position to use media assets to compete against vertically integrated players Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc. and Quebecor Media. BCE president and CEO George Cope told news media Friday that the deal levels the playing field between itself and its big competitors. “Acquiring CTV’s range of premier video content enhances Bell’s execution of our strategic imperatives by leveraging our significant broadband network investments, accelerating Bell’s video growth across all three screens—mobile, online and TV—and achieving a competitive cost structure,” Cope said in a release. He added that 100 per cent...