Many industry executives and bureaucrats - though not all - will be watching the outcome of the current attempt by the music industry to force ISPs to cough up subscriber info (see article here and CNM, Feb. 20/04) for any potential implications in the larger lawful access process (CNM, Sept. 6/02). Lawful access is the broad label applied to Ottawa’s inquiry into how telecommunications and Internet service providers should be made to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in terms of providing the modern equivalent of wiretaps, and dates back to the late summer of 2002. Several issues including mandated data retention, data preservation and how much reasonable cause a litigant should be made to provide before getting access to private records are clearly touched on by the current...
It’s official: TELUS to offer radio services with MoontaxiAs previously reported by CNM, TELUS Corp. has launched an Internet radio service dubbed Pureradio in partnership with Moontaxi Media Inc. The service will include over 75 channels of continuous music in digital format, no commercials, the ability to skip songs and a quick download feature. The service is being offered on a free, 14-day trial basis, after which it will cost $4.99 per month (CNM, Feb. 6/04). A trademark application for the Pureradio name was flipped from TELUS to Moontaxi over the course of last month. Ontario Ministry of Culture non-committal on tax creditA spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Culture was recently encouraging, but non-committal, when asked about the future of the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit. Asked whether the credit would survive the next provincial budget, Gary Wheeler responded: "The government of Ontario recognizes that the provincial tax credits promote the development of original products and that it...
Kathleen Webb, a former president of Digital Eve - Toronto, has joined the New Media Business Alliance as a full-time staffer. She will take on research, lobbying, and administrative tasks for the Toronto-based group. Earnescliffe Strategy Group principal Harry Near and senior consultant Charles King have registered with the federal government as lobbyists on behalf of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. Their...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.With the renewed talk in recent days about privatization of the country’s public broadcasters, it’s difficult not to think in the new media industry about the impact such a move would have on the sector. The CBC and TVOntario have been a strong force in Canada for the adoption of interactive content...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.With the renewed talk in recent days about privatization of the country’s public broadcasters, it’s difficult not to think in the new media industry about the impact such a move would have on the sector. The CBC and TVOntario have been a strong force in Canada for the adoption of interactive content...
One of the individuals whose identity is being sought by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) says he’s unlikely to try to settle a future copyright infringement suit, and believes the music labels have too shaky a case to successfully prosecute. The 24-year-old Calgary man says the Internet service account...
The acting president of the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) has attacked comments made this week by BCE Inc. president and CEO Michael Sabia, saying what Bell wants on the telephony side isn’t what cable gets in broadcasting. Speaking February 25 in Ottawa, Sabia called for a new regulatory framework for the telephone business. The revised policy framework, argued Sabia, must reflect how customers view the industry and meet their needs, must provide the same rules for all service providers, and must focus on investment and innovation to drive continued Canadian leadership in the communications sector. In a media scrum following Sabia’s speech at the Canadian Chamber of...
L’Oréal thinks it has the answer to the degradation in value of traditional advertising in the face of personal video recorders, audience fragmentation, and alternative platform advertising such as SMS messaging. The Paris-based cosmetics company was able to extend its brand through a sponsorship deal with CTV Inc.’s...
Bell Canada is quietly in the process of rolling out its VDSL television service in multiple-unit dwellings (MUDs) in Montreal and Ottawa. The TV service delivered over broadband was piloted last year in the Toronto market, where it is currently being bundled with the company’s Sympatico high-speed Internet...
CHUM Ltd. has quietly filed a surprise application with the CRTC to join two other parties seeking licences to provide subscription digital radio in Canada, as first reported by Canadian Communications Reports (CCR Update, Feb. 19/04). Only three applications had been received by the CRTC by the February 16 filing deadline....
The CRTC has refused to grant licences to CHUM Ltd. for over-the-air TV stations in Calgary and Edmonton, with a retransmitter in Red Deer AB. In the long run, though, the decision is likely to be just as beneficial to CHUM as it is to Craig Media Inc., which has its base in the Alberta market. In its February 26 decision,...
Striking A-Channel Edmonton workers agree to dealCraig Media’s striking A-Channel Edmonton workers have voted "overwhelmingly" to approve an agreement that will see them return to work on March 1 (CCR, Feb. 13/04). Nine positions at the company’s Edmonton operations, or about 10% of the workforce, will be cut as Craig Media consolidates its master control operations for all its Alberta operations in Calgary....
Taylor Baiden, VP of finance at CHUM Ltd. as well as treasurer and secretary and board member, is leaving to "pursue other interests." He has been with CHUM since 1972. He has stepped down from his position on the CHUM board but will continue in his role as VP of finance until April 15. Kirsten Embree has joined Fraser Milner Casgrain’s Ottawa law office as a partner in its federal regulatory practice...
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) on February 16 sent a letter to the CRTC to provide a progress report on the legal and public affairs activities it has undertaken over the past several months with respect to TV signal theft. An excerpt of the letter appears below. Legal Since the last update, the...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Its licence applications for the Alberta market denied, CHUM Ltd. has little choice now but to aggressively pursue an acquisition of rival Craig Media. Craig, already on the auction block, is critical to CHUM’s expansion plans, and CHUM company officials don’t deny they’re in the hunt. President...
February 26, 2004 Delvinia to launch online survey of new mediaDelvinia Interactive Inc. is launching a new media online survey on March 1 to study self-employed and freelance new media workers. The study, commissioned by the Cultural Human Resources Council, is being conducted to better understand the composition of this sub-set of the new media workforce and their skill needs. Freelancers are being offered the chance to win a $1,800 20-inch Apple flat screen display or $1,000 in cash for their participation. Alias awards $118,00 in software to design studentsAlias used the occasion of the Canadian Auto Show to hand out $118,000 worth of computer-aided design software to three students from Korea and China. The awards were presented for the best computer-generated presentations of concept cars for the year 2015 that most aptly reflected needs in each student’s country. The contest drew 67 entries from 20 design schools.Blast Radius exec named to Clio juryMauro Alencar, creative director at Vancouver-based Blast Radius,...
Broadcasters must integrate consumer demand for interactive products into their high-level business plans to capitalize on new technological possibilities for data-mining and business intelligence, suggests a new report prepared for the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund. The study, Fiscal Reality...
A potential legal twilight zone will likely be averted when the Senate drops controversial copyright provisions contained in Bill C-8 when the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology meets to discuss the legislation, possibly as soon as next week. The bill, which would merge the National Library...
Despite a brief court delay, the music industry could see the third prong of its attack on downloading proceed more quickly than either its private copying efforts or seeing a result in the Tariff 22 case now before the Supreme Court of Canada. On February 16, the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) fired its...
The National Archives of Canada has signalled a new direction for its online efforts in launching the new Peter Winkworth collection as a virtual exhibit. Rather than try to replicate a physical installation as some past projects have done, Archives officials are now using the web to gear collection sites toward both casual...
"CopyLeft" indie music label launches royalty-free releasesToronto-based Fading Ways Music is now selling all new CDs under a "CopyLeft/Creative Commons" licence. The licensing arrangement gives anyone the right to copy or share CDs and MP3 files so long as credit is given the artist and the user is not making the track or tracks available commercially. The company, founded in 1998, has over 30 titles released by over a dozen artists, and is distributed in 15 countries. Says Neil Leyton, label manager, in a media release: "Fading Ways will also provide an optional PayPal donations system for fans to contribute funds directly to their favourite artists should they be uploading or copying their music. Our goal here is two-fold: to counter the (Recording Industry Association of America)-induced notion that downloading is somehow wrong; and to provide the fans with a voluntary system by which they can congratulate and genuinely reward the artists’ work." The first two Fading Ways releases to be sold under the...
The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) has hired a senior industry administrator to lead the agency. Anna Bucci, former national director of finance and administration with the Alliance of Canadian Television and Radio Artists became executive director late last year. "The CPCC isn’t a far cry from being a start-up operation," Bucci says in a media release. "I’m looking forward to the challenge...
New Ontario culture minister Madeleine Meilleur recently addressed the 6 Degrees of Separation event hosted by the Ontario Media Development Corp. on February 10. While her comments didn’t speak to the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit, she did address several prominent new media products. Following is an edited version of her...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Copyright Board of Canada head John Gomery seems like a good choice to head an inquiry into the Liberal sponsorship scandal; he’s a man who knows a thing or two about process, or the lack thereof. Longtime readers of Canadian NEW MEDIA know that we spill a significant amount of ink on the subject of...
A new and likely overdue effort to reform Ontario’s main support mechanism for the development of new digital products – the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (OIDM) – is now underway as the New Media Business Alliance (NMBA) is spearheading a lobby effort to fix perceived problems with the credit. Within a...
CHUM Ltd. has quietly filed a surprise application with the CRTC to join two other parties seeking licences to provide subscription digital radio in Canada, Canadian Communications Reports has learned. As of the February 16 filing deadline, at least three parties have now applied to the regulator for a subscription radio...
February 18, 2004 Bill to amend Radiocommunication Act passes first readingBill C-2, an Act to amend the Radiocommunication Act to strengthen penalties for the theft of satellite signals, passed first reading in the House of Commons on February 13. "The broadcasting industry is encouraged by the new government’s renewed commitment to pass legislation that more effectively deters signal theft in...
Bell ExpressVu LP says forcing manufacturers to construct plug-and-play high-definition (HD) televisions in Canada will give cable operators an unfair advantage as subscribers begin acquiring the hardware necessary to receive HD programming. Terry Snazel, VP of technology at Bell ExpressVu, says that if Industry Canada...
A shortage of high-definition (HD) television programming combined with the high costs of converting traditional broadcasts don’t bode well for a slate of six new over-the-air transitional digital TV licensees. Faced with an uncertain environment for HD programming, even the recipients of the new licences question the...
Bureaucratic hassles and the increasing difficulty level of producing high-end television left some producers singing the praises of reality TV and other low-budget programming at a recent conference. "Cheaper programming is great because you can make it. It becomes a way of life," said Steve Levitan, president and CEO of Toronto-based Protocol Entertainment Inc. "You buy cheap suits, you buy no-name at the grocery store and get cheap haircuts. You start to embrace it. I think that what is extremely important is that just because the budgets are bigger doesn’t mean that the programming is better." Speaking during the Cheap TV or the Formats of Tomorrow? session at...
Michael McEwen, president of Canadian Digital Television (CDTV), says the organization will be working with the government and the independent television producers’ association to ensure that more Canadian content is produced in high definition (HD). "As broadcasters begin their HD services, most product will...
Adiverse coalition of broadcast industry players has coalesced to lobby the federal government to reinstate its $100 million in support for the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). "The decision in last spring’s federal budget to reduce the government’s direct support to Canada’s producers threatens our Canadian...
Access cable customer base drops slightly in 2003Saskatchewan’s Access Communications Co-operative Limited saw its cable customer base drop only slightly in 2003 to 78,000 from 80,000, despite operating in Canada’s most competitive television distribution market, according to the cable cooperative’s recently released 2003 annual report. Access competes against four different TV providers in most communities it...
Brad Phillips, currently VP and general manager of CHUM Ltd.’s Citytv Vancouver, has been promoted to the newly created position of VP of CHUM Television BC. He will have overall corporate responsibility for both The New VI, based in Victoria, and Citytv Vancouver. A newly created position of station manager for The New VI, reporting to Phillips, will be announced shortly. As well, Howard Slutsken, currently VP and...
Last year, Stephen Ellis of Ellis Entertainment chaired a task force of nine producers from across the country to develop an improved business model for production. At the Canadian Film and Television Production Association conference on January 30, he discussed the organization’s new strategies for production. Our focus was on coming up with a model that could move our sector from merely surviving to thriving. After all, how can we expect independent producers to generate programming with flourish if there’s no reasonable prospect for them to flourish as businesses? As we surveyed the landscape we began to realize that no matter what new business model the association came...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The Canadian Satellite Users Association (CSUA) deserves credit for hosting an informative and forward-looking conference February 2-3 in Toronto. Entitled "Reality Bytes," it focused on the digital rollout and high-definition (HD) content. The speakers were drawn from Canada and...
February 11, 2004 Blast Radius to acquire XMetaL from CorelVancouver-based Blast Radius has signed an agreement to acquire all of the assets of Corel Corp.’s XMetaL division. XMetaL sells an XML authoring product that complements Blast’s existing content collaboration product offerings. XMetaL customers include Nike Timing, CIBC World Markets, KBC Bank and Insurance, Texas Instruments, ICP Europe...
Luc Bourdon, artistic director of the Montreal Festival of New Media/New Cinema, has left his job to return to documentary production and screenwriting. The festival has named Bruno Jobin as interim artistic director until a replacement can be found. Electrohome Ltd. has named Chris Clover as president of Mechdyne Corp. , which operates as Fakespace Systems, to replace Carol Leaman who resigns effective March 12....
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.For years the relationship between content producers and wireless phone providers has been a rocky one. Cell phone companies have been sitting on a gold mine of subscribers willing to pay a premium for mobile applications, but providers such as TELUS and Bell Canada have carefully guarded those user...
Toronto-based Trapeze Media hopes to bring advanced interactive features to the second season of Canadian Idol - something it was unable to do for the show’s debut season because discussions last year with broadcaster CTV Inc. were abruptly terminated. But talks between the two companies have resumed, and with the...
A deal between the three largest Canadian cell phone providers and CHUM Television Interactive to put a MuchMusic-branded store on mobile devices seems to signal a new approach by the previously guarded cellcos towards working with content partners. On January 27, CHUM announced a partnership between itself, TELUS Mobility,...
Several prominent new media producers are taking cautious first steps towards national cooperation between the various organizations and groups that represent the sector. DECODE Entertainment’s Dan Fill and Collideascope Entertainment’s Steven Comeau, along with Michael Mcguigan at Breakthrough New Media have been...
A call has gone out to university law students across the country to aid those who find themselves on the wrong end of a music-piracy suit. In January, University of Ottawa student Andy Kaplan-Myrth and a counterpart at the University of Windsor, Telly Lebedev, posted a new web site, CanFLI.org, for a new ad hoc group, the...
The console game train continues to roll among new media producers as Breakthrough New Media Inc. has won funding to develop a new property - Atomic Betty. On December 16, Telefilm Canada announced that the company would receive prototype funding to develop the game for the Playstation 2 platform. Breakthrough manager of new media Dorothy Vreeker tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that this is the first time the shop has tried a console game but that the potential payoff could be many times that of a web site that might have complemented a television property until just recently. Breakthrough is working with Montreal-based DC Studios on the project, the same firm with which it worked to create...
A quarter of those voting using new online technology during the recent 2003 Markham ON municipal election did not vote in the 2000 election, say the authors of a report detailing results of the CANARIE Inc.-funded online voting trial spearheaded by Delvinia Interactive Inc. The trial had two components: voting online...
New brandmark for CIRAThe Canadian Internet Registration Authority appears set to adopt a new brandmark that would be used by registrars selling .ca domain names. An application for a trademark on the graphic was filed on January 20. Disney vet sets up shop in Toronto with ex-Playdium CEOA company called TimePlay Entertainment Corp. has applied for a trademark on the term "Timeplay". Few details about...
February 5, 2004 Bell ExpressVu subscriber growth rebounds slightly in Q4Satellite TV leader Bell ExpressVu LP added 35,000 net subscribers in its fiscal 2003 fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, a rebound of sorts from disappointing subscriber growth posted in previous quarters in 2003, according to financial results released February 4. The satellite TV provider ended the quarter and fiscal year with a total...
The expansion in distribution of Crossroads as an analog channel has thrown a wrench into negotiations between Rogers Cable Inc. and Carleton University’s educational access channel. Carol Miles, director of the Educational Development Centre at Carleton University, tells Canadian Communications Reports that Rogers had...
Louis Audet, president and CEO of Cogeco Inc., spoke about "The Internet, Video on Demand, and Rising Consumer Power" before the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on January 27. Below is an excerpt from his address. Today, I suggest we take a look at the trends in the world of communications, which, beyond ever increasing competition, have placed the balance of power into the hands of consumers. I will suggest avenues available to post-industrial economies such as ours, Montreal being a living microcosm, that must wager their prosperity on intellectual property. …Since the arrival of the Internet in 1991, customers have grown accustomed to surfing the Internet...
The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) forecasts declines in foreign location shooting and co-productions, but numbers in its state of the industry report show in-house production by broadcasters is on the rise - a trade-off that worries the independent production sector....
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.In renewing the licences of 22 specialty television channels originally granted in 1996, the CRTC has taken the right approach to Canadian content. It is encouraging and requiring broadcasters to spend more on Canadian programming through increased expenditure requirements for the most profitable...
Acoalition of unions and cultural organizations is holding regional meetings and has set up a communications committee to plan a national advertising campaign aimed at bringing the issue of foreign ownership to the public’s attention. The goal is to put pressure on Prime Minister Paul Martin to retreat from moves to...
Overseas broadcast operations buoy CanWest’s bottom lineCanWest Global Communications Corp. announced January 21 that strong revenue performances by the company’s overseas South Pacific operations, particularly at Australia’s Network TEN, were offset by reductions in revenue from Canadian broadcast operations and its entertainment division in the first quarter of fiscal 2004. For the quarter ended Nov. 30, 2003,...
Robert Paquette joined the National Film Board as director of human resources, effective January 19. He was most recently the director of human resources for the Port of Montreal. Charles Bird has been named VP of government affairs at Bell Globemedia, effective February 2. He will be based in Ottawa. Until recently, Bird was a senior consultant at Earnscliffe Strategy Group. Prior to joining Earnscliffe in February...
The head of an organization representing film and TV producers believes that the CRTC’s decision to expand expenditures for the most profitable specialty TV channels and to allow the expansion of some of them into the drama genre is a positive future sign of commission support for Canadian production. But some...
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, which represents the majority of Canada's private television, radio, and specialty broadcasters, is suing the federal government over Part II licence fees, Canadian Communications Reports has learned. On December 2, the CAB filed a statement of claim with the Federal Court of Canada for a determination from...
The Copyright Board of Canada’s December decision on private copying is under attack from nearly all quarters as several parties to it have put the issue to the Federal Court of Appeal. In separate applications, the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and a coalition of digital...
The National Film Board (NFB) will soon launch its Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP)-supported CinéRoute project from its exclusive home on CANARIE Inc.’s experimental broadband platform CA*Net 4 to the broader commodity Internet. Within weeks, the service, which streams Canadian films from the agency’s collection, will be available to 2,000 NFB members in Canada - people who have completed a free sign-up procedure online to let the NFB know they’re interested in receiving news and services from it. NFB spokeswoman Laurie Jones tells Canadian NEW MEDIA the service, which is receiving money from the CCOP Memories Fund envelope, will help the film board meet its mandate to...
The National Film Board (NFB) will soon launch its Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP)-supported CinéRoute project from its exclusive home on CANARIE Inc.’s experimental broadband platform CA*Net 4 to the broader commodity Internet. Within weeks, the service, which streams Canadian films from the agency’s...
Q&A with Mike Kasprow Telefilm Canada announced yet more funding for gaming projects on December 18, including support for a new, yet-untitled console game being developed by Trapeze Media in conjunction with well-known filmmaker David Cronenberg and his son Brandon. Canadian NEW MEDIA had the opportunity to pepper...
A new web site launched by the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) is the first, its builders say, to incorporate elements of science and culture into an online exhibit dedicated to astronomy. On January 5, new Canadian Heritage minister Hélène Chalifour-Scherrer launched the site, built by Vancouver-based Pangaea Systems for...
Assets formerly owned by the New Media Innovation Centre (NewMIC), Vancouver, will be auctioned on February 17, with the deadline for final removal of those items from the premises two days later on the 19th, according to Timeline Sales, which is charged with liquidating the assets. Timeline’s Murray Jarvis tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that for the past...
Telefilm Canada to fund 50 new media projectsTelefilm Canada has announced that it will fund 50 new media projects from its Canada New Media Fund. Three projects were selected from the Atlantic region, 13 from Quebec, nine from Ontario, and eight from the western region (some projects were approved for multi-phase financing). Of the projects, 16 were accepted for market research and prototyping, 17 for product development, and 17 for marketing. Overall, 163 projects were submitted for funding in this round, applications for which were due on Sept. 23, 2003. A full list of funding winners is available here. CBC to provide content to new Microsoft smart watchesThe CBC has been tapped to provide news content to a new smart watch offering available from MSN Direct’s Smart Personal Objects Technology initiative. The wristwatches, manufactured by Fossil and Suunto, use MSN Direct to receive personalized content, and feature multiple watch faces and automatic time-zone adjustment based on location. Users can determine what...
Jeff Leiper has been named editor-in-chief of Decima Publishing Inc. He takes over responsibility for day-to-day editorial functions from Mario Mota, who is now publisher and president of the company. Xavier Marchand has been appointed as managing director of Momentum Pictures, the U.K. arm of Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution LP. Marchand has previously worked for companies such as PolyGram Film...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Among the recent winners of Telefilm Canada’s Canada New Media Fund financial help, no fewer than four of the winning projects were for console-based game products. In this issue, we feature the Trapeze Media offering, and as this edition goes to bed, we spoke with Breakthrough Films about its...
January 21, 2004 Shaw Cablesystems to increase rates despite improved financialsThe cable division of Shaw Communications Inc. will implement rate increases of $1 to $2 per month in February 2004 on most of its packages in most service areas, the company announced in financial results released January 20. The price increases are expected to generate additional monthly revenue of about $1.5 million when fully...
Radio Nord Communications inc. management charges that its striking employees in northern Quebec won’t return to the bargaining table because many are making more money while on strike than on the job. The allegations were leveled by Radio Nord head Pierre Brosseau as the broadcaster prepares to appear before the CRTC on...
The CRTC has ruled that Cogeco Cable Inc. conferred an undue preference upon itself in contravention of section 9 of the Broadcast Distribution Regulations through agreements that offer free cable and Internet to multiple-unit dwelling (MUD) managers for promoting the cableco’s services in the building. The ruling...
Despite complaints by private English-language conventional television broadcasters that their profit margins dropped below 10% in 2002, the lowest level since 1991, CRTC stats show that losses in market share to over-the-air broadcasters are more than being made up through audience gains to their specialty channels (CCR,...
Canada’s cable operators added three times more digital subscribers in the third quarter of 2003 than their satellite TV competitors. The figures are a clear sign that the honeymoon is over for satellite TV and that cable is now the preferred choice of most Canadians moving to digital TV. That’s one key finding from the...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.In advocating the introduction of two U.S. HD television channels to get Canadians to sign up for high-definition boxes, cable operators are thinking only of their bottom line and not the overall interests of the Canadian broadcasting system. The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) argues that...
UBS withdraws from 2300/3500 MHz spectrum auctionUnique Broadband Systems Inc. (UBS) cites access to enough spectrum through its 51% ownership stake in Look Communications Inc. and an agreement with Microcell Telecommunications Inc. as its reasons for withdrawing from the much anticipated 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz spectrum auction. UBS representative Phil Koven tells Canadian Communications Reports, "UBS feels that with Look’s position in spectrum and the position UBS itself has through its deal with Microcell is enough spectrum for its perceived uses over the short-to-medium term and as a result it is conserving resources for other short-to-medium term priorities." When asked about Look’s previous complaints about not having enough spectrum, Koven referred CCR directly to Look, which could not be reached at press time. During the consultation on the 2300/3500 MHz auction, wireless cable TV companies had previously asked Industry Canada to give wireless cable players preferential access to the 2300 MHz band...
Michael O’Brien has been named to the board of directors of Shaw Communications Inc. Formerly, he held a number of senior management positions with Suncor Energy Inc., most recently as executive VP of corporate development. Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.’s Motion Picture Distribution unit has named Xavier Marchand as the new managing director of its London UK-based Momentum Pictures, effective January 1....
Craig Media’s ambitious expansion plans have angered striking television workers who contend that the broadcaster has repeatedly told them it has no money. "We’re shocked to hear that he (owner Drew Craig) has the capital to expand when all we hear from him is that there is no money," striking cameraman Chris...
The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) continues to believe that the addition of two U.S. high-definition (HD) services are needed to boost viewership to the new technology, despite the fact that more and more Canadian broadcasters are beginning to offer HD programming. CCTA acting president Michael Hennessy says...
January 14, 2004 Appeals filed in private copying decisionSeveral parties have filed applications for judicial review with the Federal Court of Appeal asking the court to re-examine the Copyright Board of Canada’s private copying decision (CNM, Dec. 19/03). As expected, the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) is asking the court to clarify the board’s decision to declare the zero rating scheme illegal....
January 7, 2004 Rogers expects to add about 100,000 digital households in 2004Rogers Communications Inc. stated that its Rogers Cable Inc. subsidiary expects to gain between 100,000 and 120,000 net digital cable households by the end of 2004. The company also noted January 5 in its release of selected preliminary fourth-quarter subscriber results and initial 2004 guidance that it added 43,200 net digital households in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2003, bringing the total number of digital households to 535,300. Rogers expects basic cable subscriber levels to be flat or decline by up to 1% in 2004. Regardless, Rogers Cable anticipates generating revenue of about $1.91 billion to $1.95 billion and having an operating profit before management fees in the $710 million to $730 million range for the full 2004 fiscal year.Rogers reaches agreement with former Cable Atlantic shareholdersRogers Communications Inc. announced December 22 that it had reached an agreement with the former shareholders of Cable Atlantic regarding a...
CBC to offer innovative ITV application for NHL hockeyThe Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is currently running a free preview of its recently launched Hockey Night In Canada Plus service. The offering allows Bell ExpressVu LP subscribers to watch multiple camera angles and video feeds associated with the network’s popular Hockey Night in Canada broadcast throughout the 2003-2004 season on Saturday nights. Features include...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Putting together a "good news" issue of the newsletter to wrap up the year proved an educational undertaking. The perspectives on 2003 we've printed here show reason for optimism for 2004, and it's an optimism we share. Canadian NEW MEDIA has been growing steadily since it...
The past year has been a challenging one in many regards. A massive cut to the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund has dominated industry discussion since the summer, and there are still no announcements from Telefilm Canada about how that funding avenue will be saved from the cutting block. It’s impossible to tell yet how...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The mainstream press here and the trade press in the U.S. has been abuzz in recent days over the Copyright Board of Canada’s recent ruling that music downloads, no matter from what source, are covered by the private copying levy so long as the tracks are copied to media covered by the tariff. The...
Music industry representatives have expressed their strong disappointment in the Copyright Board of Canada’s decision not to raise a levy on blank recording media. On December 12, the board issued its long-awaited ruling on the levy to be applied to such media as blank audiocassettes, CD-Rs, and...
A former employee of iLoveTV Entertainment Inc. has broken away from his former shop to sound out the market for a synchronized interactive television technology he developed for the firm. Mike Church, formerly iLoveTV’s chief technology officer, has formed his own company, Desktopbox Inc., to sell the platform that was...
Digital Wizards Inc. appears set to become one of the first third-party developers for Immersion Studios’ worldwide network of immersive theatres. The Markham ON-based company has just won Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund assistance with partner Good Earth Productions to develop triple-threat programming that will be...
Interactive television (ITV) won’t become mainstream until the various links in the chain open the technology up to the broader Internet world, says Ryerson University’s Brad Fortner, a long-time practitioner in the field. At an ITV-themed lunch and learn in Toronto on December 12 organized by the New Media Business...
*Special Edition* European French-language television channel Paris Première will pull out of the Canadian market on December 27, Canadian Communications Reports has learned. The channel, introduced in Canada on digital cable a year and a half ago, has decided to abandon the small but growing digital television market due to low subscriber and viewer numbers, sources say. Meanwhile, Category 2 digital specialty TV channel MSNBC Canada could be the next Canadian diginet to disappear, according to Broadcasting Public Notice 2003-67, released December 18. Rogers Broadcasting Limited and Shaw Communications Inc., which each own 33.3% of the channel, have filed an application with the...
An evolution of its partnership with Canadian Broadcasting Corp. digital music service Galaxie will be one of the first tests for OMT Inc. as it begins implementing the technology assets it purchased from now defunct musicmusicmusic Inc. For less than $500,000, Winnipeg-based OMT has purchased a catalog of 365,000 digital...
The maverick broadcaster who used the Internet to upend traditional delivery models is now turning his attention to the digital specialty television world with a plan to rejuvenate the ailing PrideVision TV channel. Bill Craig has purchased 90% of the channel from Headline Media Group Inc. for $2.6 million, and hopes to...
ZAQ Inc. will resume operations under the terms of a business plan approved by the board of directors this fall. Class A shares of the company resumed trading December 15. Under the terms of the plan, the company will continue providing interactive marketing solutions to its clients and will continue to develop, acquire and market software-based...
Blast Radius has appointed Mario Perez as VP of production, based in Toronto. Perez was formerly the partner and corporate services executive for Microsoft Canada Services and was before that co-founder and chief technology officer for FsXchange (now eFS). He was also the e-business systems integration practice principal for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ management consulting services and held other management positions with...
European French-language television channel Paris Première will pull out of the Canadian market on December 27, Canadian Communications Reports has learned. The channel, introduced in Canada on digital cable a year and a half ago, has decided to abandon the small but growing digital television market due to low subscriber and viewer numbers, sources say. Meanwhile, Category 2 digital specialty TV channel MSNBC Canada could be the next Canadian diginet to disappear, according to Broadcasting Public Notice 2003-67, released December 18. Rogers Broadcasting Limited and Shaw Communications Inc., which each own 33.3% of the channel, have filed an application with the CRTC to add the full...
Canadians’ ownership or use of cell phones continues to grow, new survey results from Decima Research Inc. confirm. On a Canada-wide basis, cell phone ownership or use has grown from 51% recorded in a February 2003 survey to 53% registered in a November 2003 survey. The survey data demonstrates that while...
Governments should consider a laissez-faire approach to regulating spectrum as a way to better exploit the resource. That was one of the key arguments from a short presentation by John Grant, senior executive manager of radiocommunications with the Australian Communications Authority (ACA), at the...
Police and other public safety agencies continue to press for dedicated spectrum for their networks as broadcasters take baby steps toward releasing some of their holdings in advance of a better understood digital broadcast environment. At the Spectrum 20/20 conference earlier this month, a representative from the...
The joint venture involving the Canadian Broadcasting Corp./Radio-Canada and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. to launch a satellite radio service in Canada will likely have to build a terrestrial repeater network to fill in coverage gaps in urban centres of the country. But that network won’t be as...
Wireless telephony is increasing its share of the marketplace in Canada but will have to grow significantly before it achieves the success reached in other countries. The head of one of Canada’s major wireless service providers believes that is possible. George Cope, president and CEO of Telus Mobility, was a...
Telus confirms Puretracks partnershipA story in the National Post today confirms that telco and ISP Telus Corp. has established a partnership with the music download service Puretracks.com, as reported by Canadian NEW MEDIA in October (CNM, Oct. 22/03). Telus did not provide further details, but the service on MyTelus.com is operational. Puretracks is operated by Toronto-based Moon Taxi Media. Moon Taxi president Alistair...
Speaking before the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on November 27, Canadian Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell asked Quebec’s Charest government to take a second look at changes made to the province’s tax credits. If the changes stand, O’Farrell indicated that it will threaten...
Speaking before the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on November 27, Canadian Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell asked Quebec’s Charest government to take a second look at changes made to the province’s tax credits. If the changes stand, O’Farrell indicated that it will threaten...
The CRTC faces a regulatory morass in fixing Canada’s TV drama problem as the major broadcast industry players clash on how to fix the system. The commission’s job looks to be a mission impossible as it struggles with disagreement over what should be considered TV drama, how to fund it (see article in this issue), where it belongs on the schedule, how it should be promoted, and whether there should be a "carrot or stick" approach to ensuring it gets produced. Further, there is also no consensus on which "carrot" or which "stick" initiatives would be most effective. As noted in several interventions filed with the CRTC by the November 28 deadline in its...
