Movieola picks up 8 million UK viewers; US and Caribbean markets next

Media | 09/24/2008 3:39 pm EDT

The market for Canadian short films is about to get a lot bigger. Toronto-based Movieola, a small Toronto-based Category 2 digital channel, will now be available to eight million new subscribers following its majority purchase of PropellerTV, US/European-wide satellite channel distributed by British Sky Broadcasting Group....

Bill C-61 critic says new government must ensure fair copyright bill

Media | 09/22/2008 6:30 pm EDT

The political party that wins this October’s federal election should enact copyright legislation that ensures basic user-rights are not totally wiped out, says Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa professor who has been a vocal critic of the now defunct Bill C-61.  “I would like to see an approach modelled from...

Lack of advertising hampers progress of online animation

Media | 09/19/2008 6:13 pm EDT

Launching animation online will continue to face economic uncertainties until producers come up with business models that can attract advertisers, said a panel at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. In the meantime, producers would be well advised not to abandon traditional broadcast media anytime soon. “It’s...

Roadblocks stifle co-production between Canadian and Chinese animation producers

Media | 09/19/2008 12:06 am EDT

Canadian animation producers say economic barriers and restrictions on co-production ventures are restricting their access to China's rapidly growing animation industry.Canada and China signed a film agreement in 1987 that mostly deals with feature films, which Canadian producers are reluctant to invest in because they do...

Brazilian TV producers encourage Canada to strengthen co-production ties

Media | 09/17/2008 7:15 pm EDT

Brazilian television producers say they're anxious to tap into Canada's half century of experience in animation and its international reputation in the sector to expand the number of co-production agreements between the two countries. EU co-production limitations, combined with the launch of a new investment tax credit this fall, could provide additional incentives to partner with Latin America.For the last four years, Canadian and Brazilian animation companies have invested more than $30 million in joint productions. These ventures are helping expand market access and easing the financial burden for producers from both countries, says Eliana Russi, a manager representing an association of...

Majority oppose public support for Canadian content: CRTC survey

Media | 09/15/2008 7:45 pm EDT

A majority of participants in an online survey commissioned by the CRTC oppose public support for Canadian content, while nearly half say the CRTC should play no role in regulating Canadian content.The CRTC New Media Broadcasting econsultation Report was conducted by Nanos Research between May 15 and June 15 this year to...

Telecom union blasts Harper for lack of clarity on telecom foreign ownership

Media | 09/15/2008 7:29 pm EDT

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's announcement last Friday to maintain limits on foreign ownership of Canadian telecom companies isn't winning any praise from the country's biggest communications union which warns things could change quickly if the Conservatives win a majority government this fall.At a campaign stop in...

Carriers likely to bear brunt of content regulation in future: CRTC-commissioned report

Media | 09/12/2008 9:24 pm EDT

Content providers in Canada could see a future with stable public subsidies and little or no regulation, while telephone, cable, ISPs and other carriers are likely to become established “tax collectors” for content production. It’s a prediction infrastructure providers won’t like, but a...

CRTC and government need to fine-tune high definition plans for OTA

Media | 09/11/2008 6:04 pm EDT

Echoing a long-held apprehension about the financial feasibility of converting over-the-air (OTA) signals to digital, the president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters says plans for high definition OTA need to be clarified and fine-tuned as the 2011 deadline for the switch to digital approaches.  In an interview...

Busy summer of lobbying precedes federal election call

Media | 09/08/2008 8:35 pm EDT

As rumours of a fall election swirled this summer, some of Canada’s biggest communications companies were busy lobbying senior government officials on a range of issues including hot-button items, such as copyright reform.The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, in particular, has been knocking on more Parliamentary...

Make new media, wireless, broadband and telecom top research priorities: national body urges

Media | 09/08/2008 7:15 pm EDT

New media, wireless, broadband and telecom equipment could see more federal funding for research and development if Industry Canada acts on recommendations released last week by a government advisory body. However, boosting R&D spending for ICT will not be enough to save Canada's struggling IT...

Future of Bell’s IPTV offering unclear

Media | 09/08/2008 2:58 pm EDT

Bell Canada's announcement last month to deploy fibre to the neighbourhood (FTTN) in new suburban multiple dwelling units has raised questions about the future of the telecom giant's Internet TV service. Touted as the next-generation in TV viewing by former president and CEO Michael Sabia nearly two years ago, Bell's IPTV offering now appears sidelined...

Funding and copyright issues top concerns as election looms

Media | 09/03/2008 7:44 pm EDT

With a federal election looming, stakeholders in the broadcast industry are ramping up lobby efforts to ensure that their top priorities are on the radar of the three main political parties. While individual stakeholders have different interests, the common concerns regard funding, copyright issues, and the protection of...

Canadian new media companies on Red Herring’s top 50 list

Media | 08/29/2008 7:56 pm EDT

More than a dozen new media companies have been short-listed for the top 50 Canadian companies compiled by Red Herring, an influential California-based weekly business and technology magazine. The top 50 winners will be announced at an event taking place from September 15 to 17 in Mont-Tremblant, Quebec.This is the first time that the magazine has compiled such a list for Canadian companies. The move follows the success of annual listings for North America, Europe and other parts of the world. For instance, the magazine compiles North America 100, Europe 100, and Global 100, which profiles top companies in these locations. In a statement on its website, Red Herring says nominees on Canada Top 50 were selected after a rigid evaluation of criteria on technological innovation, financial...

JumpTV broadens service to Arabic speakers

Media | 08/27/2008 8:09 pm EDT

Looking to expand its reach to the estimated 500,000 to one million Arabic speakers in Canada, JumpTV. Inc. has launched a new online service that will stream more than 35 new channels of different genres.  Talfazat.com, was launched two weeks ago, but was officially announced this week. Coming just a week before the start of the Muslim holy month of...

Report outlines how Ontario should maintain edge in digital game industry

Media | 08/23/2008 5:29 pm EDT

Ontario's digital game industry has established strong roots in the province, but with technology constantly evolving, a collaborative effort by public and private partners is required to maintain a competitive edge, says a report from the Ontario Media Development Corporation.Titled Ontario 2012: Stimulating Growth in...

Time to modernize closed captioning and audio description

Media | 08/21/2008 7:29 pm EDT

With organizations representing the blind and the deaf raising concerns about closed captioning (CC) and audio description (AD), researchers from Ryerson University are calling for a review of current policies at the CRTC hearing in November."Closed captioning has been around for a long time, the technology for it was...

Regulating terminal devices likely to feature at CRTC hearing

Media | 08/19/2008 5:43 pm EDT

The lack of universal design and the absence of regulation for terminal equipment are among some of the top concerns that are likely to dominate a CRTC hearing on access to broadcasting services for persons with disabilities.The hearing, which is scheduled to take place in November, will also explore the same concerns for...

Guild urges feds to aid film industry as budget consultations begin

Media | 08/13/2008 7:22 pm EDT

As the August 15 deadline for input into the 2008 pre-budget consultations approaches this week, the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is urging the federal government to bolster film production in Canada by reviewing current funding policies for the industry.“We have made great progress in the last two or three decades but given the current state of the industry, due to external factors, things are not good,” Brian Anthony, CEO for DGC told Canadian Communications Reports.“We feel this is the time to strengthen federal methods to ensure a healthy industry in the future.”In its submission to the Finance committee, the DGC cited a litany of woes—among them a weak Canadian dollar and...

CBC revamps mobile site to sell multi-platform advertising

Media | 08/12/2008 5:47 pm EDT

With mobile penetration on the upswing, the CBC is poised to overhaul its mobile site to optimize a multi-platform approach to selling targeted advertising and offering better user experience with content tailored to local needs.The news was announced at the end of July after the public broadcaster signed a deal with...

Government shutting down cultural podcasts site

Media | 08/07/2008 4:20 pm EDT

The future of the federal government’s first directory of cultural podcasts—including a portal showcasing Canadian culture— is in jeopardy following a “strategic review” conducted after the delivery of the 2008 budget. Podcasts.culture.ca, together with its host, culture.ca, will be yanked off the Internet as early as this fall, according to...

Time is ripe for large companies to tap into social networking: Info Tech

Media | 08/07/2008 2:14 pm EDT

Your next Facebook friend request may be from a company, and that's good news for business. While small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), artists and self-employed individuals have learned to harness the networking and promotional benefits of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, the opportunities are now...

IDC identifies Canadian leaders in web 2.0

Media | 08/04/2008 7:20 pm EDT

Ten companies from Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia are shaking up the Internet landscape. A new study released at the end of July by IDC Canada Ltd. says these are the companies to watch when it comes to exploiting new opportunities in designing user-friendly solutions for web 2.0.Web 2.0 solutions is a broad term applied to a number of...

Allegations of racism, human rights violations abound in unusual case of Harmony station

Media | 07/30/2008 7:25 pm EDT

Board members of a Winnipeg radio station who were dismissed by a corporation tied to David Asper, executive VP CanWest Global Communications, say they are planning a federal court appeal of a CRTC decision in a bid to overturn their dismissal and regain control of the dormant station.The move comes...

MediaScrape takes on conventional broadcasters for slice of the global news market

Media | 07/30/2008 2:13 pm EDT

A Montreal-based online broadcaster - which bills itself as the "CNN of the Internet" - is finalizing negotiations with 16 global syndication partners for a new technology that allows media companies to deliver video news from anywhere, anytime and on any Internet platform. But don't count on the company's...

CRTC re-org will make application processes faster and easier: Morin

Media | 07/29/2008 7:23 pm EDT

For the second time in three years, advances in technology have pushed the CRTC to realign its organizational structure to keep up with the times. The commission’s secretary general, Robert Morin, says the changes include a revamped policy development and research (PDR) sector with more functions that are common to both...

Toronto company beefs up anti-censorship software in time for Chinese Olympics

Media | 07/28/2008 7:45 pm EDT

A Toronto-based company has developed a way for major media companies and individuals to sneak images through China's powerful Internet firewall - and just in time for this month's Olympic games.Psiphon Inc. has released an upgrade to its circumvention technology software that allows the safe transmission of images. The...

The Fight Network takes global expansion to Francophone Canadians

Media | 07/23/2008 8:46 pm EDT

A shrinking pool of advertising dollars, the always tough battle for distribution, and competition from the Internet hasn't deterred three broadcasters from applying to launch two French-language services and yet another news channel in Toronto. The public hearing begins September 24 in Gatineau, Que.Toronto-based The Fight Network Inc. hopes to expand its popular English-language service, which is seen in nearly 10 million homes in Canada and the UK, to even more viewers with the launch of a new national French language specialty channel. Le Réseau des Combats would serve primarily Quebec, New Brunswick and Manitoba and broadcast news, fights (live or archived), variety shows and movies,...

Investors sought for new multimedia production centre in Ottawa

Media | 07/21/2008 9:09 pm EDT

A corporation representing the film and television industry in Ottawa is looking for investors to fund a new multimedia production centre in the capital region, following the release of a study confirming that there’s a “significant” demand for such a facility.If built, players in Ottawa’s film and TV sector say it...

Professor launches YouTube video to protest copyright bill

Media | 07/18/2008 2:34 pm EDT

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist is taking his campaign for a fair copyright law to new levels with the launch of a national video competition channel on YouTube. The channel, a pun on Bill C-61, the copyright bill tabled by Industry Minister Jim Prentice in June, is dubbed C61 in 61 seconds. It contains a...

Broadcast content producers propose levy on ISPs

Media | 07/16/2008 7:09 pm EDT

As the CRTC reviews submissions on regulating new media, broadcast content producers are calling on the Commission to impose a levy—similar to what BDUs contribute to the Canadian Television Fund—to support Canadian content on the Internet. As the CRTC reviews submissions on regulating new media, broadcast content producers are calling on the...

Stakeholders differ on regulating new media

Media | 07/14/2008 4:59 pm EDT

Canadian broadcasters and other industry stakeholders don’t see eye to eye on whether the time has come for the CRTC to regulate Internet content. Friday’s deadline for comments on the future of Canadian broadcasting in new media garnered 59 submissions, including a call from private media to keep new media unregulated. Canadian broadcasters and...

Commentary: It’s time to tame the Wild West of online broadcasting

Media | 07/14/2008 3:14 pm EDT

The line between traditional television and new media is getting blurrier every day. Broadcasters, TV producers and Internet providers are all trying to figure out how to navigate this changing landscape. And now the CRTC is pondering whether to get into the act. As well it should. Watched The Sopranos on your cell phone lately? Streamed last week’s Coronation Street on your home computer? Or bought an episode of Corner Gas from iTunes? For a growing number of Canadians, the answer is yes.Until now, new media broadcasting has been a bit like the Wild West: a new frontier colonized without much in the way of government interference. But with more Canadians watching TV programming on their...

Broadcasters appeal $100 million “illegal” tax to Supreme Court

Media | 07/10/2008 3:34 pm EDT

After winning one court battle and then losing another in April, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is now asking the Supreme Court of Canada to rule whether—in effect—the CRTC is a de facto tax collector for the federal government.On June 27, the CAB filed leave with the Supreme Court to appeal an April 28...

Lack of opposition from Shaw surprises TBayTel in bid to enter cable TV market

Media | 07/07/2008 7:19 pm EDT

It's taken over three years, an amendment to the Broadcasting Act and an 11th hour change to their distribution system, but it finally looks as though the City of Thunder Bay will be getting into the cable TV business. Even TBayTel's nemesis, Shaw Communications Inc., isn't throwing up any major roadblocks.TBayTel...

Hearing starts today: Competitors oppose new channels for CBC, High Fidelity

Media | 07/07/2008 5:41 pm EDT

Launching a new television channel, it seems, is far more contentious than starting a new cable company. Or so it would seem by the opposition to applications by CBC and High Fidelity for new specialty channels.An agenda-packed CRTC hearing gets underway today in Gatineau QC that could result in the arrival of new...

Ooober makes launching a mobile marketing campaign as easy as dialing a phone

Media | 07/06/2008 4:16 pm EDT

A Toronto company that's making waves internationally for its low-cost, easy-to-use mobile marketing platform has now launched in Canada."Democratizing mobile marketing" is how Ooober Inc. chair and CEO Kashif Hassan likes to describe his company's onSMS services. Its plug-and-play platform that enables companies,...

Gov’t orders CRTC to review minority language broadcasting; hearing expected this fall

Media | 07/03/2008 8:52 pm EDT

Can Canada's broadcast industry be enticed to offer more and better services to minority English- and French-speaking communities? Can new digital technologies help? Those are among the questions Canadian Heritage has put to the CRTC, which expects to hold a major hearing by December to examine the...

Students hope media attention will hasten Facebook investigations

Media | 06/27/2008 2:23 pm EDT

A group of Canadian law students who recently launched a complaint against Facebook are hoping media interest in the story will spur a quick investigation by the privacy commissioner.The 35-page complaint to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, lodged late last month by students at the Canadian Internet Policy and Public...

Strict conditions imposed on TQS acquisition

Media | 06/26/2008 9:39 pm EDT

The controversial acquisition of Quebec-based broadcaster TQS Inc. by Remstar Inc. has been approved by the CRTC but with strict conditions.  In April, Remstar put forward a proposal that would abolish the news department and cut down on local news in TQS jurisdictions in Montreal, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, and Saguenay.  Under the CRTC...

Let foreign telecom firms in, says Competition Review Panel

Media | 06/26/2008 6:37 pm EDT

The Competition Policy Review Panel (CPRP) says Canada should allow foreign telecommunications firms to establish Canadian beachheads or acquire smaller service providers - those with less than 10% market share - as a first step to easing restrictions on foreign direct investment in Canada's communications sector.In its...

Silverback Media partners with Toronto retailers to create a mobile-enabled downtown

Media | 06/26/2008 2:08 pm EDT

Silverback Media and the Downtown Yonge Business Improvement Area have embarked on an ambitious plan to create a mobile-enabled downtown core, where customers use their mobile phones to choose a favourite restaurant, view menus, access coupons and follow an onscreen map to their destination. The first 25 retailers are expected to be on board by July.Making your way through the crowds in Toronto's downtown core, you reach for your mobile phone. You're passing by the popular Springrolls restaurant and scan a QR (Quick Response) code in their window, and save it to your device. You'll need that later.You activate the Wayfinder navigation system in your phone and navigate the streets to get to...

Broadcast industry defends itself against CRTC chair’s criticism

Media | 06/25/2008 7:08 pm EDT

Following CRTC Chair Konrad von Finkenstein’s stinging rebuke that Canada’s biggest networks are dragging their feet on making the transition to digital television, the broadcast industry says it is doing its best, given that the deadline is still two years away.Echoing an earlier statement by Glen O’Farrell,...

Ontario universities partner with ORION to launch IPTV channel

Media | 06/24/2008 7:23 pm EDT

Several Ontario universities and colleges are joining forces to launch a common IPTV channel over ORION, Ontario's ultra high-speed optical network, which will showcase the best of student-generated content.Dubbed ORION-TV, the new IPTV channel would be delivered over a shared digital platform linking all participating...

CRTC chair worries Canada will not meet digital TV transition deadline

Media | 06/23/2008 6:59 pm EDT

CRTC chair Konrad von Finkenstein says he is “very concerned” that Canada’s broadcast industry is dragging its heals in preparing for the transition to over-the-air (OTA) digital television and will be ill-prepared for the switch on August 31, 2011 – a deadline he warned “is carved in stone”. CRTC chair...

TVO inks new deal for Internet distribution

Media | 06/20/2008 7:40 pm EDT

Six months after TVOntario announced it was going digital, the Ontario public broadcaster has signed another deal to broaden distribution of its programs via the Internet. The agreement with Joost, a Netherlands-based company that provides Internet-based television, is expected to kick off in three weeks. Jill Javet, TVO's director of corporate...

As profit margins rise for BDUs, calls for carriage fees persist

Media | 06/19/2008 5:00 pm EDT

In the wake of a CRTC report showing strong growth in revenues for the broadcast distribution industry, conventional broadcasters have renewed calls for a restructuring of broadcast regulations, including the implementation of a fee-for-carriage regime.On Wednesday, the CRTC announced "substantial growth" in revenues for the direct-to-home satellite TV (DTH) and multipoint distribution systems (MDS) companies. DTH and MDS companies increased their revenues from $1.7 billion to $1.85 billion between 2006 and 2007, an 11.4% growth, according to the CRTC. However, the number of DTH and MDS subscribers increased only slightly-0.1%-to 2.6 million.Cablecos generated a total of $7.1 billion for 2007 - a $1-billion increase over 2006, or 16.1%. As revenues rise, so has the number of...

Technical problems in US spell further delays for digital radio in Canada

Media | 06/19/2008 2:10 pm EDT

An application filed with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week has given broadcasters on this side of the border another reason to take a go-slow approach to hybrid digital (HD) radio. On June 10, 18 radio broadcasters and major vendors asked the FCC to allow digital FM stations to boost their...

Advocates call for more discussions on proposed copyright bill

Media | 06/18/2008 1:45 pm EDT

A week after Industry Minister Jim Prentice tabled copyright legislation to combat online piracy, calls have emerged for more discussion on the proposed bill to ensure balance for the rights of consumers  and content providers."There's very little for the consumer in the bill," says Jeremy de Beer, a University...

Game On! International game show formats offer broadcasters another Cancon option

Media | 06/16/2008 5:22 pm EDT

More and more broadcasters are turning to pre-existing television show formats (think Canadian Idol) to fill their programming schedules, and the trend seems to be on the rise. Why not? International formats are often fun, innovative, and almost a sure bet to draw viewers. "Broadcasters want shows that resonate with...

Weighing the pros and cons of a single Communications Act

Media | 06/12/2008 4:47 pm EDT

A former CRTC vice-chair and a veteran communications lawyer agree that Canada should consider the merits of merging current broadcasting and telecom legislation into a single, unified Communications Act. But they caution that such a move will require some serious soul searching in terms of policy objectives, and a...

CTF begins assessing financial implications of CRTC recommendations

Media | 06/11/2008 7:35 pm EDT

The Canadian Television Fund's (CTF) new chair wants to calculate the bottom line impact before passing judgement on a CRTC report recommending changes to how most Canadian television programs are financed. And while there's no word on when the Department of Canadian Heritage will respond to the report, Paul Gratton said...

CRTC chair defends private-public split for CTF; reveals next steps to bolster Canadian programming

Media | 06/10/2008 3:45 pm EDT

In his first 16 months as chair of the CRTC, Konrad von Finckenstein has overseen hearings into the acquisitions of major broadcast groups CHUM and Alliance Atlantis, as well as the ‘mother of all hearings' BDU and specialty review. But in his address to the delegates and the Banff World...

TV executives turn to social networking to shape programming

Media | 06/10/2008 1:50 pm EDT

Social networking - not letters from viewers - is emerging as a powerful new medium for persuading TV network executives when to replace a TV host or revamp programming. That was the message from some of North America's top media players speaking at the Banff World Television Festival yesterday. One company that relies on...

Executives share ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ for making money from online content

Media | 06/08/2008 7:48 pm EDT

There's a lot of money in Banff, and nowhere is this more apparent than at the opulent Fairmont Banff Springs hotel. Here, NextMEDIA delegates are learning first hand - from online content providers and ad agencies - how to get their hands on some of this money, particularly in exchange for their...

Media rivals need to work together on digital content initiatives

Media | 06/07/2008 8:20 pm EDT

Within the next year, some of Canada's fiercest media competitors will be working together on new media distribution strategies to maximize the benefits of digital content, said CBC's executive director of digital programming and business development Steve Billinger on day one of the NextMEDIA conference in Banff AB."If we put content on Sympatico and Canwest puts content on Sympatico, we're competing against each other on that service but Sympatico is building its business off of our content," he tells Canadian New Media. While partnering with competitors is rare among broadcasters, Billinger says "co-opetition" builds business and keeps revenues in the hands of the...

CIAIC Comment: CRTC’s new media initiative a vital opportunity to put Canada back on course

Media | 06/05/2008 3:51 pm EDT

In 1998, the CRTC took a close look at the Internet in Canada and decided it did not merit their oversight at that time. Issuing a New Media Exemption Order in 1999, they did however, promise to revisit the issue in 2004. Now, nine years later instead of five, the CRTC has reopened the file and is...

The Bell Fund is trying to help make new media pay

Media | 06/03/2008 1:58 pm EDT

Over the course of the next year the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund hopes to identify the best revenue-generating business opportunities for Canadian interactive content on a global scale. Launched in April, the Marketing and Business Development Initiative will look at 12 Bell Fund recipients from the past with plans to share the findings of the...

Much at stake in TQS acquisition hearing

Media | 05/30/2008 1:47 pm EDT

On Monday June 2, the CRTC will begin its hearing into the acquisition of TQS Inc. by Remstar Broadcasting Inc. from  Cogeco Radio-Television Inc. and CTV Television Inc. Unlike past ownership hearings, the commission's determination may set off a battle to drastically change Canada's broadcasting regulatory structure. When Remstar announced its...

Ultimate Indie gets Everything approved; BDU carriage still up in air

Media | 05/29/2008 12:07 pm EDT

The CRTC yesterday approved four applications for Category 2 services from Toronto-based Ultimate Indie Productions Inc., including two for pay services, Everything Weddings and Everything Expecting. However, the company is still waiting to launch Ultimate Indie TV, the all-Canadian independent music channel it was licensed...

NDP announces Net Neutrality Bill at Parliament Hill rally

Media | 05/28/2008 2:38 pm EDT

The fight for net neutrality hit the streets yesterday when about 300 protestors descended on Parliament Hill to take part in a rally calling for legislative or regulatory action preventing ISPs from interfering with Internet traffic. The crowd partially got their wish when federal MP Charlie Angus announced the New Democratic Party will introduce a bill today entrenching the principle of net neutrality. "You are not hackers. You are not criminals. You are not couch potatoes," said Angus from the steps of the hill. He added traffic shaping and throttling by ISPs are not only issues of access, but practices that stifle innovation. As such, the NDP private member's bill would guard against throttling by ISPs. "You are citizens of a digital realm and you have rights,"...

New media industry set to enter regulatory arena

Media | 05/26/2008 3:48 pm EDT

Digital media may be averse to regulation, but they still want a seat at the regulatory table when federal policy impacts their business. The Canadian Interactive Alliance (CIAIC) has chosen to do just that by announcing that it will participate in the CRTC's recently-announced new media consultation on behalf of Canada's digital media community. Having...

Mobile marketing finally hits Canada; global market forecast to hit $25 billion by 2013

Media | 05/23/2008 1:56 pm EDT

Toronto's chorus of billboards and arena-sized television screens are about to face some stiff, interactive competition. Silverback Media and the Yonge Street BIA recently joined forces to quietly launch a marketing campaign with local merchants using much anticipated Japanese QR (quick response)...

nextMedia will kick start new media regulatory debate

Media | 05/21/2008 1:30 pm EDT

Already one of the premier digital media events in the country, June's nextMedia conference in Banff now has the additional cache of providing the first opportunity for Canada's interactive media heavyweights to collectively debate the CRTC's recently tabled new media agenda. First up: a panel of executives from Canada's largest broadcasters....

Commission set to take on new media

Media | 05/15/2008 6:10 pm EDT

The CRTC today launched a consultation on broadcasting in the new media environment, taking the first step in what will likely be a year-long examination of the impact of new media. The consultation seeks comments on the scope of a new media hearing that is currently tabled for early 2009. "The Commission has a responsibility to ensure that...

Nothing basic about basic package issue

Media | 05/15/2008 12:38 pm EDT

Consensus is hard to come by in the broadcasting world. Even on an issue seemingly as basic as the basic package, distributors cannot agree on a singular solution. And although all BDUs advocate the ability to respond to consumer demands, they apply this dictum to basic package regulations in many ways. "Customer choice [should] be maximized...

Sports, HD and new BDUs – broadcasting applications tabled by commission

Media | 05/13/2008 2:30 pm EDT

The CRTC tabled 17 broadcasting applications on Friday, including: requests from CBC and Rogers Broadcasting to launch new sports services; licence applications from High Fidelity HDTV Inc. for two HD and one SD programming services; and two Ontario-based BDU licence requests.   More Sports  ...

Telus union reaches out with Web 2.0

Media | 05/12/2008 4:45 pm EDT

George Doubt, president of the national Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU-STT Canada), recently announced the union's launch of its own YouTube channel. This is part of an overall membership outreach strategy and a push into other Web 2.0 phenomena, such as Facebook, in order to improve internal communication and strengthen bargaining power....

CIPPIC speaks out on privacy issues

Media | 05/12/2008 12:48 pm EDT

The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) ramped up its fight for consumer privacy last week. The advocacy group first testified before a Parliamentary Committee on May 6, calling for a number of changes to the federal Privacy Act in order to better protect Canadians against state incursions on their privacy; and three days later...

Friends tackles “BDU rhetoric” in final comments to CRTC

Media | 05/12/2008 12:42 pm EDT

The BDU's "iron control" of specialty television was confirmed multiple times during last month's BDU and specialty hearing and the CRTC should avoid rule changes that would give more control to distributors, says Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. Even Ted Rogers, notes the advocacy group in its final comments on the hearing, is satisfied with the existing rules. Referring to the hearing transcripts, Friends writes the president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc. shared some of the best observations regarding the overall review. "As for the Canadians, I don't know who is pressing for a change in the existing rules," said Rogers. "The existing rules mean...

Ontario rolls out emergency alerting service; Pelmorex expands to NB

Media | 05/07/2008 2:20 pm EDT

Canada's emergency alerting footprint just got a lot bigger, but it still isn't available everywhere. Yesterday, the Ontario government announced that its Red Alert service will begin issuing weather and industrial warnings to Ontarians through participating media outlets. Meanwhile, the owners of Weather Network and...

Broadcasters taking $100 million ‘illegal tax’ fight to Supreme Court

Media | 05/06/2008 6:25 pm EDT

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to wade into the hotly contested issues of Part II licence fees - a $100 million annual thorn in the side of broadcasters and BDUs. Earlier today, the CAB said it will seek leave to appeal an April 28th ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal...

Web giants take early lead in launching health portals

Media | 05/05/2008 3:30 pm EDT

Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. are jumping on the growing trend for consumers to manage their own healthcare by developing online portals. Community-based social networking websites dedicated to health-related issues are also springing up on the web, and according to the chief scientist for the Centre for Global eHealth...

New media turns to old media techniques for realistic advertising

Media | 05/05/2008 2:13 pm EDT

New media professionals are increasingly combining old creative techniques to meet the needs of advertisers. Although computer-animated commercials are a mainstay on TV - polar bears and penguins share sodas in the arctic, lizards weigh-in on insurance rates - creators are foregoing animation to deliver more reality-based...

“Customers” beat out “Desperate Housewives” at CRTC hearing: 18 to 1

Media | 05/02/2008 1:20 pm EDT

Cable and DTH providers wanted last month's BDU and specialty hearing to focus on their customers, and in a way they got their wish; over the 12-day hearing the word ‘customer' was heard 601 times. Mathematically speaking, that makes customers as a hot-button topic more than twice as important as ‘fee for carriage,' and 18 times hotter than ‘Desperate Housewives.' Prior to the hearing, Rogers Communications Inc. VP of regulatory affairs Pam Dinsmore told Canadian Communications Reports that fee for carriage had "hijacked" the review process, but the numbers don't entirely bear that out. Although ‘fee for carriage' was mentioned 239 times, that makes it slightly...

Union asks opposition leader to join net neutrality fight

Media | 04/30/2008 1:58 pm EDT

The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) this week urged Liberal leader Stephane Dion and his party to take a stand in support of net neutrality. The letter caps off a feverish month of net neutrality debate in Canada that was initiated by the CBC's experiment with using BitTorrent to distribute television...

Letter to the Editor: Bill Roberts, S-VOX/VisionTV

Media | 04/29/2008 7:00 pm EDT

Dear CCR Editor: The simmering feud correspondence to Prime Minister Stephen Harper seems juvenile and disrespectful of due public process. Messrs. Shaw, Asper and Fecan should know better.  Perhaps it is a tit-for-tat balancing act;  but it is not consistent with the Broadcasting Act and the latter trumps CEO rhetorical flourish we should...

FITC continues to break out

Media | 04/29/2008 1:37 pm EDT

Appropriately themed "Break It," last week's Flash in the Can (FITC) Design and Technology Festival drew a record-breaking 1200 delegates to the Toronto Hilton. And FITC knows a thing or two about breaking out; in only six years it has advanced from a home-based group celebrating all things related to Adobe Systems Inc.'s Flash graphics software to organizing conferences around the world. Founded in 2002 in...

Pay and specialty broadcasters received $1.8 billion from carriage fees in 2007

Media | 04/28/2008 3:42 pm EDT

Canada's specialty, pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand services generated $2.7 billion in revenues in 2007, with $1.8 billion via carriage fees, according to the financial summaries released by the CRTC last week. More than $900 million of this was invested in Canadian programming, compared to about $320 million spent on...

Shaw, von Finckenstein showdown in Gatineau averted

Media | 04/25/2008 1:42 am EDT

After months of name-calling through the press, the anticipated schoolyard showdown between Shaw Communications Inc. CEO Jim Shaw and CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein never materialized at the BDU and specialty hearings Thursday as Shaw was a no-show. Von Finckenstein, however, was there, and ready for a fight.  "I am somewhat disappointed...

Independents table their fixes for the broadcasting system

Media | 04/24/2008 2:34 pm EDT

A motley panel of four independent broadcasters presented the CRTC with four very different viewpoints on how to fix the broadcasting system at the BDU and specialty hearing yesterday. While the commission grouped Channel Zero Inc., The Fight Network, High Fidelity HDTV and Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment Ltd. to...

Broadcast hearings not as dry as some think

Media | 04/22/2008 2:14 pm EDT

Globe and Mail columnist John Doyle recently described the CRTC hearing room in Gatineau as a place where "the glamour of making television drama or comedy evaporates." But that's not to say the hearings aren't highly entertaining at times - like when CanWest Global head Leonard Asper and CRTC chair Konrad von Finkenstein waded in on the value...

Ontario, Quebec firms dominate first decade of Bell Fund

Media | 04/21/2008 2:49 pm EDT

Interactive media firms from Ontario and Quebec have developed more than 85% of all Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund-sponsored projects on nearly 89% of the fund's grants. The Bell Fund's 2007 annual report reflects back on its first decade of new media support and reveals the cross-platform content industry is still...

Canwest and CTV make rare, unified appearance before CRTC

Media | 04/17/2008 7:40 pm EDT

The debate over carriage fees is creating strange bedfellows. In an historic moment between competing conventional broadcasters, Canwest Global Communications Corp. and CTVglobemedia presented a joint intervention on day eight of the CRTC's BDU and specialty hearing. But before the temporary allies could get to the well-known topic du jour - fee for carriage - pride had to be swallowed and lengthy introductions made.  "Seated next to me, and I can't believe I'm going to say this...is Ivan Fecan, president and CEO of CTVglobemedia," said Fecan's Canwest counterpart Leonard Asper. And once the introduction of the full 18-member C[anwest]TVglobemedia[works] panel, which alone surpassed some of attendance figures from some of last week's hearing days, was out of the way, the...

Pelmorex sees nothing but ‘downside’ for itself in current hearing

Media | 04/15/2008 1:38 pm EDT

The removal of genre protection and must-carry rules would have a catastrophic impact on the Weather Network and MétéoMédia, their parent company told the CRTC Monday. As the first independent specialty service to appear at the BDU and specialty review, Pelmorex Communications Inc. also warned that a market-forces...

Web-dedicated content still isn’t making money

Media | 04/15/2008 1:14 pm EDT

No one is making money from dedicated online video, not even YouTube. Although the Internet is no longer a nascent video delivery platform, distributors are still experimenting with ad-supported and pay-per-use models to find ways to generate profits from web-exclusive content. "Youtube is spending more on professional content than it's...

Advertisers advocate reverse carriage fee approach

Media | 04/14/2008 2:46 pm EDT

The Association of Canadian Advertisers believes it has found the fix for Canada's carriage fee woes: reduce them for speciality channels and don't introduce them for conventional broadcasters. The result, the ACA claims, is that broadcasters will make more money from advertising and consumers will pay less for cable and satellite services....

Streaming media company provides exposure, revenue opportunities for university sports

Media | 04/10/2008 5:14 pm EDT

As Canadian Interuniversity Sports' (CIS) official broadcaster, Ottawa-based online media company Streaming Sports Network (SSN) is exposing Canadian athletics to a broader audience, creating a new revenue stream for universities and migrating more live sports viewers from TV to the Internet....

Commentary: two days in the spin cycle

Media | 04/10/2008 1:43 pm EDT

CRTC commissioners will need to brush up on their math skills to figure out how much carriage fees will actually cost consumers, as well as how much BDUs pay for distant signals and generate from local avails. For anyone attending this week's BDU and specialty hearing, it seems very few of the numbers add up. "Having a background in costing, I know one comes up with very logical but very innovative ways to derive costs," commissioner Len Katz told Bell Video Group on Wednesday. But sorting through these endless tables of self-serving figures certainly doesn't make the commissioners jobs any easier. The first and most contentions sum is the per-subscriber monthly cost of carriage fees. Rogers Communications Inc. says imposing carriage fees will increase monthly cable...

Von Finckenstein to ExpressVu: you’d have no subscribers without the OTA’s

Media | 04/09/2008 9:08 pm EDT

CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein revealed his thoughts on the value of the conventional broadcasters to BDUs Wednesday when he told the Bell Video Group its television distribution business was dependent on offering the private OTAs. "Let's take CTV and Global: if you didn't offer those...

Commentary: Searching for answers? Look to The Golf Channel

Media | 04/09/2008 1:15 pm EDT

Almost two years ago I wrote an article covering and an editorial lamenting Rogers Communications Inc.'s decision to remove the Golf Channel from the analog tier. Both articles were motivated by my personal displeasure with the move, but who knew the topic would eventually figure in one of the biggest regulatory hearings...

Rogers offers wiggle room on fee for carriage debate

Media | 04/09/2008 1:05 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. says it will fight a carriage fee for conventional over-the-air broadcast signals all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada if necessary, but during the premier intervention at the CRTC's BDU and specialty review the cableco also revealed one fee-for-carriage scenario it would accept. Ken Engelhart, Rogers' senior VP...

Songwriters, recording industry and ISPs square off over file-sharing levy

Media | 04/08/2008 10:43 pm EDT

ISPs and Canada's major record labels oppose the Songwriters Association of Canada's proposed $5-a-month Internet levy as the solution to curtail free peer-to-peer downloading. Although the ISP levy concept has gained some momentum in other jurisdictions, the resistance from Canada presents a major roadblock for the SAC....

Mother of all broadcast hearings starts tomorrow

Media | 04/07/2008 1:46 pm EDT

Fee for carriage, a la carte channel selection, genre protection, the digital transition, preponderance rules, funding allocations, priority placement, new advertising streams and much, much more will be on the table at the CRTC's BDU and specialty hearing beginning  tomorrow in Gatineau QC. With only one day left before the long-anticipated hearing...

Bell Fund production grants announced

Media | 04/04/2008 2:10 pm EDT

The latest dozen broadcast properties to the get funding from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund have been announced. Listed below are the ventures awarded production grants from the February 1, 2008 round of applications, which include two of the Bell Fund Development Grant recipients - La Cache and Forgetful Not Forgotten - from last December....

Rogers accuses BDU hearing of getting off track; wants CRTC to focus on less regulation

Media | 04/03/2008 2:11 pm EDT

The fee-for-carriage debate has hijacked the CRTC's upcoming BDU and specialty review and if the commission doesn't re-adopt its original focus on market-forces, television will soon become irrelevant, say Rogers Communications Inc. executives. "Consumers are very important, but they've...

Social networking sites pit marketers against personal privacy

Media | 04/03/2008 2:08 pm EDT

Social networking sites like Facebook have emerged as custom-made databases for targeted advertising, but legal experts warn the personal information placed on these sites puts users at risk for endless privacy violations, including identity theft. "My guess is users don't understand that they are agreeing to a...

ICE panellists reveal how to get millions of dollars flowing into new media facilities and content

Media | 04/02/2008 5:57 pm EDT

Nurturing new media projects via collaboration and partnering arrangements that leverage the cultural and economic capital of business, government and research entities was a prominent theme at the Interactive Content Exchange (ICE) conference held in Toronto last week. In the Network Effect session, panellists highlighted plans for two new media research facilities in Ontario to provide both the physical and social space needed to foster collaboration between industry, academia and government. The Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) received $9 million in the Ontario budget March 25 to build a new digital media lab in Toronto. The budget also allocated $10 million to the...