Peer-to-peer distribution will help CBC avoid oblivion

Media | 03/27/2008 4:12 pm EDT

Fans and pundits alike are lauding the CBC's experimental distribution of prime-time programming over peer-to-peer file sharing protocol Bit Torrent. In particular, an Ottawa-based Internet policy lawyer says the progressive move to unfettered online distribution fits perfectly with the public broadcaster's mandate and will...

Is PVR ownership a sucker’s deal?

Media | 03/26/2008 3:30 pm EDT

Renting a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) from your cable provider could cost as much as $1500 over five years. Unfortunately, high purchase prices and short warrantees combine to make purchasing a PVR potentially less attractive than renting. Rogers Cable rents its HD PVR for $24.95 a month, and sells the same PVR for $600. At those rates, buying...

Canadian politicos fiddle with YouTube

Media | 03/24/2008 2:43 pm EDT

As YouTube emerges as an important political channel south of the border, Canadian politicians are in dire need of more creative and strategic campaigns using social media, say two media observers. "People don't watch the news or read newspapers anymore, so YouTube is an expansion of news space," says Greg Elmer, director of the...

Canadian interactive firms continue to make their mark with kids content

Media | 03/20/2008 2:18 pm EDT

BC-based New Horizon Interactive set the gold standard for kids online entertainment when it launched the social networking site Club Penguin in 2005, which it sold to The Walt Disney Co. last August for US$350 million. Now another western-Canadian new media firm is gaining national and international recognition for what...

Advertisers lobby for better protection on the broadcasting dial

Media | 03/18/2008 1:49 pm EDT

The CRTC should allow advertising on video-on-demand programs, maintain the 12-minute per hour advertising cap on specialty shows and limit the number of discretionary services a company can own. It's a wish list the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) - often the forgotten stakeholder in the broadcasting industry - will be pitching to the CRTC at next month's BDU and specialty hearing. When it comes to regulatory proceedings, advertisers are often an afterthought behind  broadcasters, BDUs and producers. But ACA argues they are as crucial as any other piece of the system. "Though our interest in television broadcasting is essentially a commercial one, our role being somewhat like that of a silent financial partner, we feel strongly that we have made a long-term investment...

Regional telcos apply to beef up IPTV services with VOD

Media | 03/17/2008 3:03 pm EDT

South-western Ontario telecommunications providers Bruce Telecom and  Wightman Telecom Ltd. have applied to the CRTC to add video-on-demand to their IPTV services. The applications were among 40 released by the regulator Friday, which also included a request from Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. for a Category 2 specialty service...

Rogers Wireless can’t wait to offer DRM-free music

Media | 03/14/2008 5:52 pm EDT

Removing digital rights management (DRM) protections from online music is a pivotal step in growing Canada's legitimate online music market, says an executive with Rogers Wireless. While Rogers is promoting its indie music portal Redpipe.ca through an upcoming online battle of the bands, it may have to wait for record...

S-VOX president makes case for “re-regulation”, and a Cancon-heavy basic tier

Media | 03/12/2008 1:31 pm EDT

Broadcasters and BDUs advocating lighter regulation need to remember that Canada's entire broadcasting system was built on regulation that balances business concerns with cultural objectives, says S-VOX president and CEO Bill Roberts. With the CRTC's BDU and specialty review less than a month away,...

Industry heavyweights debate how to get “millennials” to pay for music

Media | 03/11/2008 11:23 am EDT

Executives from CTV, Rogers Media and Universal Music Canada were among the industry executives who appeared at last week's Rogers Canadian Music Week to tackle one of toughest challenges in commerce: how to get the generation born after 1980, a.k.a. millenials, to pay for music. Millennials are voracious consumers of...

Seven more telcos set to launch IPTV in south-western Ontario

Media | 03/10/2008 5:01 pm EDT

Seven regional telecommunications providers, extending from London and Kitchener northwest to Lake Huron, are following in the footsteps of Bruce Telecom and launching their own IPTV services by this summer. Bruce Telecom has been offering IPTV to its 15,000 home customer base in the Port Elgin, Southampton and...

Supporting foreign media ownership will cost MPs votes

Media | 03/10/2008 4:58 pm EDT

The latest poll from the Keep It Canadian coalition reminds Canada's MPs that the way to voters' hearts is by opposing foreign ownership of Canadian media companies, especially in BC. According to the Harris-Decima survey released on Friday from Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema,...

Japanese QR codes coming to Canadian advertisers this year

Media | 03/06/2008 2:36 pm EST

Two-dimensional bar codes that can be scanned and read with a camera phone to connect to information instantly will hit North America this year, offering a new marketing avenue to Canadian advertisers. The CBC already used QR (quick response) codes in a contest this January to promote its new drama series, The...

Broadcasters spent $430 million more on foreign drama than Canadian in 2007

Media | 03/05/2008 2:21 pm EST

Canada's private conventional broadcasters increased their revenues, operating income and expenditures on foreign programming in 2007, but decreased spending on home-grown content, according the financial summaries released yesterday by the CRTC. Highlights from the commission's annual Conventional Television...

Wireless telcos have power to stimulate mobile content sector

Media | 03/04/2008 3:30 pm EST

Wireless carriers are ignoring a critical market for mobile content, which not only is hindering the sector's growth but also mass adoption of new handsets. The solution, says a senior executive at Toronto-based Marblemedia, is to bring price packages in line with other countries and to recognize the value of early adopters.   "You can always point to someone else to make it work, but I would like to see the carriers put together a plan at least for the early adopters...where people can pay to have multimedia access," says Diane Williamson, Marblemedia's VP of interactive. "Be that audio and video. Even if they cap it at a size, at $100 a month that people will pay, but then they can get the media they want....The media is out there and we all want to get...

Tory opposition to funding increase takes bite out of CBC report: Morrison

Media | 03/03/2008 3:46 pm EST

The minority opinion in the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage's February 28 report on the CBC clearly shows the Conservative Party of Canada's bias against the public broadcaster and sets the CBC up to fail, says Friends of Canadian Broadcasting spokesman Ian Morrison. The 208-page CBC/Radio-Canada:...

CRTC, government and ISPs should play role in CBC’s new media future

Media | 03/03/2008 3:43 pm EST

Embracing digital media is fundamental for the CBC and Canadian culture, and requires action from the public broadcaster as well as the government, reports the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in its February 28 review of the CBC. "Traditional broadcasting is now about content delivery across as many...

New media companies losing out on millions of dollars in tax credits: KPMG

Media | 02/29/2008 4:44 pm EST

Too many new media producers aren't taking advantage of lucrative federal research and provincial tax credits, a practise that a senior consultant at KPMG warns could affect the sustainability of some companies. "They're put off by all the bureaucracy," says Michael Olivier, who works at the international...

Industry leaders take first steps in developing technology roadmap for new media

Media | 02/27/2008 6:02 pm EST

Leaders from Canada's new media sector met February 8 as part of a year-long process to define the training, legislative, regulatory, policy and funding conditions necessary to sustain and grow the sector over the next five years. One of first hurdles is deciding how new media content creation fits into a Technology...

Growing market for ethnic TV not reflected in BBM numbers

Media | 02/26/2008 2:34 pm EST

BBM Canada measurements are skewed towards English- and French-language households, leaving multi-lingual broadcasters without the hard numbers they need to justify charging higher advertising rates. "There's no question we under-represent people who have difficulty conversing in English," says Jim Macleod, CEO of BBM Canada. He notes that meters are typically deployed to households that speak one of Canada's official languages, adding that many recent immigrants come from countries with repressive governments and are suspicious of such monitoring. "They don't want their televisions hooked up and tracked." Although ethnic programming in Canada is growing to meet the demand of a diverse population, audience measurement systems don't accurately report...

ISPs are “broadcasters”; should kick in $72 million a year for online Cancon: Grant

Media | 02/25/2008 7:08 pm EST

ISPs are no different than BDUs under the Broadcasting Act and, as such, should be mandated to support Canadian new media content, a leading communications lawyer told delegates at the Canadian Film and Television Production Association's(CFTPA) Prime Time conference in Ottawa last week. In...

Industry execs keep CTF debate alive at CFTPA conference

Media | 02/22/2008 2:55 pm EST

It was more hug-fest than slugfest during an hour-long panel session on the Canadian Television Fund at the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA)'s Prime Time conference in Ottawa Thursday. But although all panellists were CTF supporters, there certainly was no consensus on how best to restructure...

Retailers light up digital signage networks to woo customers

Media | 02/21/2008 3:30 pm EST

With 80% of purchasing decisions made in-store and traditional advertising continuing to fragment, more and more retailers are implementing digital signage and complex IP advertising networks throughout their stores to broadcast branding and messages to shoppers. "Everyone's looking at digital signage now,...

Comment: CRTC policy hinders HD adoption

Media | 02/19/2008 5:11 pm EST

If the CRTC is looking for ways to spur the conversion to high-definition television, it should look no further than its own policies, which discourage actual HD adoption by allowing BDUs to pass off up-converted standard definition programming as true HD. As would-be broadcaster HDTV Networks Inc. pointed out last week, surveys still report...

$1 billion shortfall spells long future for Canadian program subsidies

Media | 02/14/2008 3:39 pm EST

Advertising, BDU fees and export sales are not enough to cover the over $1 billion in losses Canadian companies continue to absorb for producing home-grown television shows. As such, expect subsidies to be a permanent fixture on the Canadian broadcasting scene, concludes a recent study from Nordicity Group Ltd. CBC...

Canada ranks among world’s top copyright offenders, reports IP watchdog

Media | 02/14/2008 2:59 pm EST

Canada is not only one of the world's biggest copyright offenders, it is also the wealthiest country among the 12 nations singled out in an international report this week to the US Trade Representative. The 2008 Special 301 Report by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) submitted to the US Trade...

CRTC chair grills HDTV Networks over lack of local news

Media | 02/12/2008 9:21 pm EST

CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein said the regulator would have to create a new class of broadcasting licence for HDTV Networks Inc., which wants approval to deliver its high-definition television to large cities without the requirement to include local news. At a CRTC hearing this morning in Gatineau QC, von...

New media funding from CTF looks doubtful; Bell Fund changes position

Media | 02/11/2008 3:55 pm EST

The Canadian Television Fund Task Force Report's recommendation to direct $25 million of CTF money to new media initiatives was given scarce attention at last week's CRTC hearings in Gatineau QC. While the majority of the broadcasting industry agrees more new media funding is needed, the CTF seems an unlikely source....

Audiences for foreign programming should help trigger more CTF funding: Canwest

Media | 02/08/2008 4:33 pm EST

‘Total hours tuned' to a network's overall programming - not just Canadian content - is the most appropriate audience success metric for determining Canadian Television Fund allocations, Canwest MediaWorks Inc. told the CRTC on day four of the CTF hearings. It was a day ruled by bold recommendations and contrasting viewpoints, and highlighted by a spirited explanation of the unstable reality of picking hit programming from Canwest's Barb Williams. Shaw Communications Inc. senior VP of regulatory and corporate affairs Ken Stein set the stage for Williams yesterday morning when he challenged Canadian broadcasters' track record of investment versus that of the BDU. Shaw, said Stein,...

Further public consultations on copyright reform unlikely

Media | 02/07/2008 2:30 pm EST

Stakeholders are frustrated with Industry Canada's closed-door approach to drafting amendments to Canada's Copyright Act, saying Industry minister Jim Prentice has ignored requests to open the process to a public process involving all legitimate parties. "The consultation question just strikes us as such a...

CTF needs separate funds and boards: Rogers

Media | 02/05/2008 7:47 pm EST

Forget about two funding streams; the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) should be split into two separate funds to achieve public policy and private sector goals, Rogers Communications Inc. told the CRTC this morning. "We accept that public resources should be spent in support of government objectives," said Rogers vice-chairman Phil Lind in the...

Canadians want Cancon, and so does the rest of the world

Media | 02/05/2008 1:10 pm EST

More than three quarters of Canadians say it's important to have a choice of television programs that reflect Canadian society, values and perspectives, according to a poll released at the onset of the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) hearing on Monday.  The Harris/Decima poll, commissioned by the Directors Guild of...

More CTF money readily available

Media | 02/05/2008 1:07 pm EST

The Canadian Television Fund could be increased by $80 million simply by forcing BDUs to contribute the originally mandated 5% of revenues, the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) told the CRTC Monday as hearings into the CTF kicked off in Gatineau QC.  With the CRTC entertaining ideas for new sources of CTF capital, CFTPA...

Don’t fund new media with existing CTF dollars: interveners

Media | 02/01/2008 7:33 pm EST

The Canadian Television Fund should not be tapped to fund new media projects, unless new money sources are found, such as a levy on ISP revenues. That's the view of the majority of respondents to the CTF's Task Force Report, which calls on the CTF to divert some of its budget to support new media.The hearing into the Task Force Report begins at the CRTC on February 4. Although the Task Force recommended allocating up to $25 million of CTF revenues to support Canadian programs designed for new media platforms, Canadian New Media reported earlier this week that no dedicated new media companies or industry associations would be appearing before the CRTC. Excerpted below are some of the...

Analyst predicts CRTC will support carriage fees for local broadcast signals

Media | 02/01/2008 6:01 pm EST

Broadcasting consultant Michael McEwen predicts the CRTC will rule in favour of a carriage fee for conventional broadcast signals following April's BDU and specialty review, but that, in return, broadcasters will be required to put some of the new revenue back into the system. "I don't know whether 50 cents is...

Little upside in Canada yet from US writers strike

Media | 01/31/2008 4:54 pm EST

The anticipated surge in demand for homegrown TV as a result of the US writers' strike hasn't materialized as many had hoped. Canadian network and production house executives say we shouldn't be surprised.With the Writers Guild of America's strike now moving into its fourth month, holes are starting to appear in Canadian...

BELL FUND PICK: Join the ICS team and protect The Border

Media | 01/31/2008 4:51 pm EST

The Border (CBC, Mondays at 9 pm), a White Pine Pictures series, dramatizes the issues of the Canada-US border. In keeping with the crime-solving theme of the show, the interactive components produced by Stitch Media, invite the players to participate in simulation border-related crime solving using tools of surveillance...

New media industry in the dark about CTF changes

Media | 01/28/2008 9:24 pm EST

Some $25 million in proposed new media funding will be up for debate beginning February 4 at the CRTC's proceeding on the Canadian Television Fund Task Force Report. So how come no dedicated new media companies or industry associations will be participating? The short answer is that most of them didn't know about it. New Media BC president...

High Fidelity bypasses CTF in bid for global eyeballs

Media | 01/28/2008 5:36 pm EST

Toronto's High Fidelity HDTV Inc. (HiFi) is proving a Canadian broadcaster and content producer can be successful completely in high definition and without Canadian Television Fund (CTF) support. Last week HiFi announced an international distribution deal with London UK-based TVF International for HiFi's catalogue of HD programming. The...

CTV intensifies battle for carriage fees

Media | 01/25/2008 7:49 pm EST

CTVglobemedia Inc. says compensation for carriage of its signals by BDUs is essential if the broadcaster is to sustain the level of service it provides to local communities and its contributions to the Broadcasting Act. The statement comes in a release from CTV as a preview of its response to the CRTC's call for comments on fee-for-carriage and...

Video game capital is out there, but developers need to get creative

Media | 01/25/2008 3:21 pm EST

Leverage Canadian content for government support, mirror the film financing model and mitigate investment risk are ways the Canadian video game industry can increase funding. That was the advice from international investment and gaming veterans speaking at the first ever GameON Finance summit in Toronto last week.Robert...

Role of ISPs thrown into copyright debate

Media | 01/24/2008 3:43 pm EST

A coalition of content creators wants the federal government to adopt a "notice and takedown" system compelling ISPs to forcefully police their networks on behalf of copyright holders. It's one of numerous recommendations made by the rights holders group in a January 22 document outlining its position on copyright reform as Industry...

Crime-fighting channel wins round two with commission

Media | 01/22/2008 10:55 pm EST

In a rare re-examination of one of its own decisions the CRTC yesterday confirmed its earlier ruling to approve the mandatory distribution of Avis de Recherche (ADR) on basic digital television services in Quebec. With subscription fees now assured, the crime-prevention channel says it will set its sights on eventual national distribution. "Obviously we would have preferred the matter would have been settled last July," says Vince Geracitano, owner of ADR. "But the important thing is the outcome was what we were hoping for and that will allow us to pursue our mission of making Quebec and Canada a safer place." In July 2007 the commission originally approved ADR for mandatory digital basic carriage as part of its mass decision under section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting...

CBC, other media find new revenue streams with video games

Media | 01/22/2008 4:12 pm EST

Online videogames are creating new revenue opportunities for CBC and other media organizations looking to retain and grow audience share, say gaming executives. Top gaming companies also shared their secrets for making money with free online games at the inaugural GameON Finance summit held January 17-18 in Toronto -...

Government closing Office of National Science Advisor

Media | 01/21/2008 4:54 pm EST

The Office of the National Science Advisor (ONSA) is being shut down by the government of Stephen Harper and NSA Dr Arthur Carty has decided to retire. The move comes less than four years after its creation by the previous Liberal government of Paul Martin. The decision to terminate Carty's office and position was made earlier this month and has...

Canadian culture hits ipods via new government site

Media | 01/18/2008 7:14 pm EST

The Department of Canadian Heritage and the National Arts Centre opened a new window for Canadian culture with the January 14 launch of Podcasts.Culture.ca, the government's first directory of cultural podcasts. The site is starting with a collection of about 300 podcasts related to everything from Canadian cuisine to education, film and urban...

Diversity of Voices process “a sham”: Union exec

Media | 01/17/2008 5:28 pm EST

Reactions to the Diversity of Voices ownership policies announced by the CRTC on Tuesday has certainly been mixed. While some organizations are praising the guidelines and others are electing not to comment, the Communications, Entergy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP)'s VP of media Peter Murdoch questions the...

Commission rules on Diversity of Voices

Media | 01/15/2008 9:08 pm EST

The CRTC today concluded its Diversity of Voices initiative by introducing three policies to ensure a plurality of editorial influence in Canada that in many ways resemble the three recommendations put forth by CBC during September's public hearings.  The three policies introduced by the commission today are: a person or entity will only be permitted to control two of the following types of media that serve the same market: a local radio station, a local television station or a local newspaper; one party cannot control more than 45% of the total television audience share as a result of a transaction; andtransactions between companies that distribute television services (such as cable or satellite companies) that would result in one entity effectively controlling the delivery of...

Cleaning up their act: film and television production industry thinks green

Media | 01/14/2008 5:16 pm EST

Ontario's film and television production industry is trying to become more environmentally friendly. But more than simply jumping on the green bandwagon, the Toronto Green Screen Initiative plans within two years to launch the world's first green production certification program. "We're trying to set up a...

Beijing Olympics creating demand for U of T censorship circumvention tool

Media | 01/14/2008 4:16 pm EST

In December 2006 the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab introduced Psiphon, a censorship circumvention computer program to open Internet access to residents of countries with repressive governments. A year later, the Citizen Lab has launched an enterprise-class version of the so-called human rights software tool to...

MP3 levy overturned by appeals court

Media | 01/11/2008 2:59 pm EST

The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) yesterday repealed a July 19, 2007 Copyright Board of Canada decision certifying a levy to be placed on MP3 players, including iPods and cellular phones. Although the ruling could save consumers up to $75 on MP3 player purchases, it also raises questions about the legality of music copying. "[It] means that...

Looking ahead: measuring opinions on the upcoming CTF hearing

Media | 01/10/2008 4:58 pm EST

On February 4 the CRTC will commence a public hearing as part of its review of issues related to Canadian programming funding and the governance of the Canadian Television Fund. Excerpted below are some of the opinions on the key issues from those who will appear at the hearing. On introducing a private funding stream:...

Ottawa region examining viability of large-scale production facility

Media | 01/10/2008 1:52 pm EST

A study looking at the feasibility of a creating a multimedia production centre in the Ottawa region kicked off this week with the help of $30,000 from the Ontario Media Development Corp.'s Entertainment and Creative Cluster Partnership Fund. Commissioned by the Ottawa-Gatineau Film and Television Development Corp....

nGen to provide much-needed new media business support in Niagara Region

Media | 01/09/2008 5:23 pm EST

Earlier this week the Ontario Media Development Corp. (OMDC) announced an investment of $245,000 in nGen, an interactive media business incubator in the Niagara ON region. Like all new media business development initiatives nGen is a collaboration of educational institutions, private business and government, but its...

Rural telcos well situated to offer IPTV

Media | 01/09/2008 2:12 pm EST

Beginning February 1, Bruce Telecom (BT) will offer 180 TV channels - including 22 HD channels - and video-on-demand services over an IPTV network using MPEG-4 compression technology to its customers on the eastern shore of Lake Huron. With a customer base of 15,000 the competitive telco may seem an unlikely candidate to be a leader in IPTV delivery,...

Objectors eyeing appeal of CanWest/Alliance decision

Media | 01/04/2008 4:57 pm EST

CanWest Media Works Inc. may have another battle on its hands for control of Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting Inc. The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) says it may appeal the CRTC's December 20 approval of CanWest's acquisition of Alliance Atlantis, which allowed US-based investment bank Goldman Sachs Capital...

Free PC TV to hit Canadian universities this year

Media | 01/02/2008 3:42 pm EST

One of Canada's high tech pioneers is moving into the television distribution business. Terry Matthews, founder of Mitel Networks and March Networks, is expanding his latest venture - IPTV and VoIP - from the UK to university students in Canada.Inuk Networks Ltd. currently offers free IPTV and VoIP services to more than 100,000 university students in Britain. The London UK-based company recently opened its Canadian headquarters in Kanata ON and is in technical trials with the University of Waterloo to deliver free TV over PCs to students, and a captive audience to advertisers. "We know who's watching, and the value of the viewer is becoming more apparent to advertisers," says Shaun Illingworth, Inuk's VP of business development. Instead of the scattershot broadcast...

Comment: Add copyright reform and new media funding to wish list

Media | 12/20/2007 3:01 pm EST

Bringing copyright legislation in line with consumer realities and increased funding for new media efforts make their way onto the 2008 wish list."In the early 1990's there were many people who were fearful of changes that new technology inevitably brings. As a way to slow down this change they came up with a...

Comment: Increase funding for the CBC, Cancon

Media | 12/20/2007 3:00 pm EST

In 2008 the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) would like to see positive changes which will strengthen and grow the Canadian film and television industry. In what is certain to be an election year, we are hopeful that our issues will be given a priority during the election campaign, and that the party that forms the government will view culture as an...

Comment: different regulation, not deregulation, in 2008

Media | 12/19/2007 12:50 pm EST

In 2008 I'd like to see regulatory and legislative amendments that modernize the Canadian broadcasting system and enrich the roles of independent broadcasters and producers. As we can see, scarcity of bandwidth is back with a vengeance due to phenomena like peer-to peer, HDTV, and the commercial priorities of the...

Answers and questions: consultants review HDTV Networks application

Media | 12/18/2007 9:04 pm EST

The CRTC added to its already busy 2008 schedule last week when it announced a February 11 hearing into HDTV Networks Inc.'s application to operate an English-language high definition over-the-air television (OTA) service. Analysts say the application raises several questions, and that's before you even get past the...

Comment: Content producers want mobile data rates slashed in ‘08

Media | 12/18/2007 4:08 pm EST

If the holiday wishes of a trio of interactive media executives come true, one third of Canada's media marketplace will no longer be inaccessible by the end of 2008. "The biggest change that should happen in Canadian new media as we stand is the CRTC's regulation of mobile bandwidth fees. That's the number one thing. One third of the media marketplace is completely shut down in Canada because of one monopoly's cost structure on bandwidth and downloads to cell phones. So you have companies like Amp'd Mobile, the world's most successful mobile content company, coming up here and going out of business within six months. You have companies unable to open, and users...

Comment: Broadcast industry shares 2008 wish list

Media | 12/17/2007 7:58 pm EST

Not surprisingly, a decision on fee for carriage and the transition to a digital television universe top the 2008 wish lists from representatives of CanWest MediaWorks Inc., the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance Inc. and former Canadian Digital Television president Michael McEwen. "The time has come for adequate compensation for the carriage of...

Social networking app should make long hospital stays easier for kids

Media | 12/17/2007 6:32 pm EST

Over the next four to six months McMaster Children's Hospital (MCH) in Hamilton will be the live testing ground for Upopolis.com, a social networking website designed exclusively for hospitalized children.Launched by the Kids' Health Links Foundation, Telus Corp. and MCH, the secure, controlled portal delivered on...

Council of Europe looks to revive stalled broadcast IP talks

Media | 12/14/2007 2:55 pm EST

While all eyes were on the Canadian government this week and whether it would actually table new copyright legislation, which is likely to include ratification of the World Intellectual Property Organization's copyright treaty, a group of European nations contemplated renewing talks on a portion of the stalled WIPO...

Copyright bill will not be introduced until 2008

Media | 12/13/2007 6:14 pm EST

Ending days of back-and-forth speculation, Industry Minister Jim Prentice officially delayed tabling proposed amendments to the Canadian Copyright Act in Parliament until 2008. Prentice's press secretary advised this morning that the bill would not be introduced today or tomorrow, the final two days until the House of Commons breaks for the...

BELL FUND PICK: Discover your roots with Who Do You Think You Are?

Media | 12/13/2007 12:54 pm EST

Who Do You Think You Are? is a 13 part documentary series on the CBC exploring the genealogy of 13 famous Canadians including Don Cherry, Shaun Majunder, Mary Walsh and Chantal Kreviazuk. Each half hour episode retraces the family roots of a celebrity. The web companion to this Barna-Alper Productions television series was...

TV still the dominant destination for news: poll

Media | 12/12/2007 10:10 pm EST

Television is by far Canadians' number one source for general and breaking news according to survey results released today by the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC). The National Media Choice and Trust Poll also revealed that all traditional media - TV, radio and newspapers - are seen as more accurate and unbiased than online news...

Record producer exec confident copyright bill will be tabled before holidays

Media | 12/11/2007 8:40 pm EST

The head of the Canadian Independent Record Production Association is confident the much-anticipated amendments to the Canadian Copyright Act will be tabled in the House of Commons this week. While news outlets reported yesterday that Industry Minister Jim Prentice will now delay tabling the bill until 2008, CIRPA...

Movie trailers, religion and sex – specialty licences approved

Media | 12/07/2007 8:42 pm EST

The CRTC today approved four applications for Category 2 pay television broadcasting licences, including one from Sex-Shop Television Inc. to operate a national French-language channel called Vanessa, and two from Movieola and Silver Screen Classics owner Channel Zero Inc. Vanessa (CRTC 2007-417)Sex-Shop TV applied April...

Bell Fund announces production grants

Media | 12/06/2007 4:57 pm EST

A dozen broadcast properties will be getting the interactive treatment as part of the latest round of the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund support. Listed below are the ventures awarded production grants from the October 1, 2007 round of applications including the broadcaster, producer and online partner, followed by the seven projects receiving development grants. TV: Are We There Yet? World Adventure (Season 2)Sinking Ship (Adventure II) Productions Broadcaster: Treehouse/Discovery Kids CanadaOnline: arewethereyet.tv IISinking Ship Entertainment Inc. TV: Zos: Zone of Separation Whizbang Films Inc.Broadcaster: The Movie Network/Movie CentralOnline: ZosTV.comLifecapture Interactive TV: Cinéma québécoisOcéan Diffusion inc. Broadcaster: Télé-QuebecOnline: Cinéma québécois Turbulent...

TVO goes digital; eyes provincial funding increase

Media | 12/06/2007 1:05 pm EST

TVOntario has taken a critical step to migrate its content to the Internet, mobile devices and other distribution platforms, announcing earlier this week that its transition to full digital production will be complete early next year. TVO CEO Lisa de Wilde says generating new revenue streams and increased net earned revenues are key to building a...

Foreign ownership won’t win Tories a majority government: Poll

Media | 12/05/2007 8:36 pm EST

Canadians oppose foreign ownership of the country's broadcasting and communications companies and they're willing to vote for politicians who do as well, according to a nation-wide poll released in Calgary today by the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, ACTRA, and Friends of Canadian...

New media regulations rouse concerns at CRTC town hall meeting

Media | 12/03/2007 4:41 pm EST

Online advertising revenues are now exceeding $1 billion annually but it isn't translating into more made-in-Canada new media content, said panellists at the CRTC town hall meeting at last week's nextMEDIA conference in Toronto. The blame, they contend, lies with an ineffective regulatory environment."Although...

Quebecor looks to grow Cancon online

Media | 11/30/2007 7:01 pm EST

Quebecor Media Inc. president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau announced the launch of a new Canadian web broadcasting service of online television last Wednesday at the nextMEDIA conference in Toronto. Canoe.TV will offer a wide selection of on-demand video content from partners such as CBC, House and Home, The Fight Network, Just For Laughs and SUN TV....

Songwriters see merits in legitimizing filesharing – for a price

Media | 11/30/2007 2:03 pm EST

The Songwriters Association of Canada (SAC) and the Canadian Music Creators Coalition (CMCC) have proposed attaching a monthly licence fee to Internet subscriptions to compensate all rights holders for music downloaded and shared over peer-to-peer networks. The groups say allowing unabated filesharing by consumers while driving revenues to creators, publishers and record labels will revolutionize the music industry and make Canada the leader in P2P legislation. "It'll be kind of like legalizing an illegal drug," says world-renowned songwriter and SAC director Eddie Schwartz. "We'll start getting better quality [music tracks] and I think a whole business model will...

Fans post more program clips on Youtube than broadcasters

Media | 11/29/2007 11:50 am EST

Canadian broadcasters warming to the idea of releasing content on alternative websites like YouTube are finding their online distribution strategies pale in comparison to the posting habits of fans. "It's like trying to put out a forest fire with your foot," says Bob Kerr, the CBC's director of digital...

US economist refutes Industry P2P study

Media | 11/28/2007 5:58 pm EST

A US economist specializing in copyright issues is taking aim at a new Canadian government study claiming that peer-to-peer filesharing is actually good for the music business. Stan Leibowitz, the Ashbel Smith Professor of Economics at the University of Texas, has written a detailed critique of the Industry Canada-commissioned study. He concludes that...

Industry groups appeal Internet tariff

Media | 11/27/2007 6:13 pm EST

The Copyright Board's October 18 release of the highly-criticized Internet tariff has already triggered the first round of legal appeals. Officially published in the Canada Gazette on Friday, Tariff 22.A allows the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) to collect 3.1% on the sale of each song downloaded from music...

Ladies and gentlemen, start your analogies

Media | 11/23/2007 4:44 pm EST

How many ways can you say a foreign majority owner will inevitably exert control over the operation of a Canadian broadcasting entity? At this week's CRTC hearing into CanWest MediaWorks Inc.'s acquisition of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., commissioners and interveners got creative - no one more so than omnipresent Fasken Martineau...

Crowdsourcing proves there’s profit in numbers

Media | 11/22/2007 3:09 pm EST

While crowdsourcing - harnessing a community of volunteers to collaborate on a large task (see Wikipedia) - has been mostly a testament to amalgamative power of the Internet thus far, some websites are finally starting to deliver a profit to their content producers. One major crowdsourcing player is Calgary-based iStockphoto. Described as the...

CanWest $110 million short of majority stake in Alliance acquisition

Media | 11/21/2007 5:05 pm EST

After a day and a half of debate over equity and control CanWest MediaWorks Inc. revealed to the CRTC it would have to invest an additional $110 million to retain more than 50% of the equity in a CanWest/Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.-merged company. While that extra outlay would go a long way to appeasing those who...

Foreign ownership concerns still remain after CanWest appearance before CRTC

Media | 11/20/2007 2:26 pm EST

CanWest Media Works Inc. did little to ease trepidation over foreign investment in Canadian broadcasting despite assurances from company executives before the CRTC yesterday. The crux of CanWest's argument was that although Goldman Sachs Capital Partners (GSCP) would own 65% of CanWest's equity after it helps...

Goldman Sachs: “We are not television operators, nor do we wish to be”

Media | 11/19/2007 7:18 pm EST

As expected, Canadian control was a central issue at today's CRTC  hearings into CanWest MediaWorks Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., which is being heavily financed by investment bank Goldman Sachs Capital Partners - an affiliate of US firm Goldman, Sachs & Co.. Knowing...

What’s the status of high-definition advertising? Good question

Media | 11/19/2007 12:25 pm EST

The task was simple: find out the status of television advertising created and aired in high-definition in Canada. Do advertisers covet ad space in HD broadcasts? Is HD creative more beneficial for certain products? How much of the advertising during HD programs was produced in HD? Unfortunately, responses from advertisers, broadcasters and agencies alike shed surprisingly little light on the topic.Of the two advertisers who replied to the query, only Molson Canada expressed eagerness to address the subject. It makes sense; the visual nature of beer commercials could surely benefit from the increased quality of HD, and beer makers advertise heavily during televised sports, which are the...

Sticking to the GamePlan: PEI aims to be Atlantic Canada’s video game hotbed

Media | 11/16/2007 1:11 pm EST

When it comes to growing its video game sector, Prince Edward Island's interactive media association and provincial government have lofty goals. But judging from the testimonial of the president of an international video game developer that just opened a new operation on the island, these targets certainly seem...

Community channel operations amended for now, and possibly later

Media | 11/15/2007 7:54 pm EST

In a relatively light decision issued yesterday, the CRTC amended the Exemption Order regarding cable BDUs that serve between 2,000 and 6,000 subscribers with respect to the commission's community channel policy. Canadian Communications Reports, however, wonders if the amendment was a bit of housekeeping by the...

Addition by subtraction: can national new media association benefit from the departure of the CFTPA?

Media | 11/14/2007 9:19 pm EST

While the withdrawal of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) as a member of the Canadian Interactive Alliance/l'Alliance interactive canadienne (CIAIC) may seem like a damaging blow to the credibility of the fledgling national new media industry association, members of...

Time to put anti-circumvention talk to bed: Fewer

Media | 11/13/2007 2:25 pm EST

Although they've had more than a week, Canada's recording industry has yet to respond to the Industry Canada-commissioned study on peer-to-peer filesharing concluding that the practice actually tends to increase music purchasing. While it's unlikely to be the case, those who oppose anti-circumvention laws hope the labels' silence is...

Who Do You Think You Are? website delivers results to multiple stakeholders

Media | 11/09/2007 7:41 pm EST

While most of the decision makers in Canada's broadcasting industry were debating how to manage the rise of alternative distribution platforms at the annual convention for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters at Ottawa's Westin hotel earlier this week, a multi-platform, multi-stakeholder success story was being celebrated just down Wellington Street at Library and Archives Canada. The Monday-evening event was in recognition of the recently launched CBC show Who Do You Think You Are? and its associated website, which have combined to deliver some very impressive results beyond television ratings. The most quantifiable of these is the 92,000 searches the Library and Archives...

Online content is only a threat if we stick our heads in the ground: Millar

Media | 11/08/2007 1:38 pm EST

It's one thing to decide to deliver content over new platforms, but knowing what content works best with each medium, which channels to deliver it through and how to monetize it will strengthen the business proposition. Panellists at Monday and Tuesday sessions at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' convention...

Regulation, Redefined more like Regulatory Wish Lists

Media | 11/07/2007 1:14 pm EST

Billed as a discussion on the future of broadcast regulation, the Tuesday morning plenary session at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' convention more closely resembled a series of opening remarks from a CRTC hearing as broadcasters and BDUs offered up their regulatory desires. But with the help of some levity from Asian Television Network...

Early fee-for-carriage debate at CAB convention

Media | 11/06/2007 9:14 pm EST

Sitting on a panel of broadcast executives Monday morning for the TV.2011 session at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention, Rogers Broadcasting Ltd.'s president and CEO Rael Merson showed that although his employer is now a conventional broadcaster as owner of the Citytv channels, it will always be a BDU at heart - especially when the...

Editorial: I’m one of the people they’re talking about

Media | 11/02/2007 6:48 pm EDT

Last night following the new episode of NBC's The Office, I, at the behest of my television set, logged on to DunderMifflinInfinity.com, which appears to be some kind of social networking website for fans of the show. I didn't stay long, but the mere fact that I went online to investigate complimentary TV content...

New media needs contribution regime: CFTPA

Media | 11/02/2007 6:45 pm EDT

Those with a vested interest in new media sector want to pay attention to February's BDU and specialty service hearing. As BDUs use competition from unregulated online content as a platform on which to call for lighter regulation and industry associations advocate for discussion of a national new media policy, the BDU proceeding figures to be a...

Let’s talk about HDTV, in February or soon after: McEwen

Media | 10/30/2007 7:15 pm EDT

Concerned that the 2011 analog shutdown date is fast approaching even though multiple barriers to consumer entry into the high-definition television market still exist, broadcasting consultant Michael McEwen hopes recommendations to encourage HD uptake are put on the table at February's BDU and specialty review. And...

Games offer highest consumer stickiness for carriers

Media | 10/30/2007 3:22 pm EDT

Although a recent study from KPMG reveals that consumers worldwide are likely to break out of their multimedia bundles and switch to another provider for most services if the price is right, games appear to be the one product category where consumers show loyalty in spite of price. "When asked how their usage of a particular site or application...

Panel: deregulation is not always best for consumers

Media | 10/29/2007 10:49 am EDT

The talking point of the ramifications of lighter regulation in broadcasting found a home once again last week at Insight's Entertainment Industries Summit in Toronto, where a panel of industry experts weighed in on the potential impacts of deregulation for both broadcasters and consumers. "If a new direction is to regulate only when necessary,...

Leblanc: genre protection should not apply to Cancon

Media | 10/26/2007 6:44 pm EDT

At a Toronto conference earlier this week one of the authors of the now notorious Dunbar/Leblanc regulatory framework review elaborated on how deregulation can benefit Canadians and Canadian programming. Speaking at Insight's Entertainment Industries Summit about the relevance of the regulatory body's broadcast regulations, Christian Leblanc, a partner with the law firm of Fasken Martineau Dumoulin LLP in Montreal and specialist in media and communication law, said genre protection for Canadian producers is no longer necessary and should be abolished."If you have the Food Network, then no one else can start a food network," said Leblanc in an interview with CCR. "If you have a business plan and want to create a channel that brings Canadian content to Canadians, it...