Green Channel expected to be back on air this weekThe independent Category 2 digital service Green Channel is expected to return to the airwaves this week. The channel has been unavailable "due to technical difficulties" for three weeks, according to a message that appears on the screen as management sought new investors. "We’re refinancing and we’ll probably be back on air this week," says Linda Rankin, executive VP and general manager of WETV, which runs the Green Channel. Rankin says the channel got new investors and is in the process of going through the paperwork with the CRTC. With the new investment, which comes from Canadian sources, Rankin says that new programming that should hopefully reinvigorate the channel will be introduced. Whistler Cable expandsservices into Pemberton marketWhistler Cable is now offering its full cable services in the nearby market of Pemberton BC, ahead of plans by a small cableco in that area to enter the Whistler BC market. "We launched officially July 24 (in...
Whistler Cable in British Columbia is using its cable network to bring wireless Internet access to the resort town, and ward off threats to its TV distribution business from competitors, according to the cableco. Whistler Cable found itself having to defend its territory against competitors wanting to bring Internet access to hotels in exchange for giving them the in-room cable entertainment business, which is the incumbent’s bread and butter, says Whistler Cable president Ron Saperstein. So the cableco established its own wireless Internet access system. "Nobody in Canada has done anything like this," he adds. We’ve basically set up a wireless network in an entire...
Technologies have evolved sufficiently for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to represent a cost effective way for small- and medium-sized cablecos to offer telephony services to their customers, members of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) were told last week. At the CCSA annual meeting in Toronto, Peter...
Janet Yale has resigned as president and CEO of the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) to take the job of executive VP of government and regulatory affairs at Telus Corp. Effective Oct. 14, she will lead a 60-member team responsible for Telus’ interaction with all levels of government, regulatory and public bodies. Jim Peters, Telus’ executive VP and chief general counsel, has been overseeing the government...
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is asking the CRTC to renew Star Choice’s licence for fewer than the normal seven years, and to provide "explicit direction" to the distributor with regard to its obligations to distribute local signals within its market area. The demands come during the...
CRTC chair Charles Dalfen is open to approving the distribution of further U.S. and other foreign channels in Canada as enticement for turning TV subscribers to digital. "You want to promote the digital rollout, if you can, and cable operators say what will sell digital is having something...
On September 25, CRTC chair Charles Dalfen outlined for the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation and Communications how the CRTC deals with issues of ownership concentration and cross-media ownership. An excerpt from his speech appears below. ...Unless an applicant is ineligible to hold a broadcasting licence by virtue of a direction of the Governor-in-Council issued under our Act (for example, a non-Canadian entity; or, between 1982 and 1985, an owner of a newspaper in the same market), we must consider each application on its own merits. While cross-ownership and concentration issues are always of concern, in some cases these concerns may be counter-balanced by...
The industry is giving the CRTC a thumbs up for announcing a public process to study ways to boost Canadian TV drama, even as it warns the commission against dragging its feet on the matter. "We’re pleased that the CRTC notice looks both at regulatory requirements and incentives as a means...
Copyright term extensions headed for rubber-stamp vote in CommonsProposed legislation that would merge the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada – a bill that would also increase copyright terms for some dead authors – has passed second reading in the same form recommended by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, with the extensions intact, despite a last-ditch effort by the Canadian...
Bell Fund eyes formula change in Bell ExpressVu applicationThe Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund has used the occasion of Bell ExpressVu LP’s application for a licence renewal (Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing 2003-8) to ask the CRTC to revisit a recent 40% cut in funding to the fund (CNM, July 24/03). As a result of the decision in Broadcasting Public Notice 2003-37, Bell ExpressVu is now required to put 0.4% of...
CTV Inc. has fired back against a story in Canadian NEW MEDIA in which producers decried use of the Groundbreaker Fund to pay for the broadcaster’s massively popular Canadian Idol television series (CNM, July 11/03). In a four-page letter to the CRTC written by Susanne Boyce, president of CTV programming and chair of the...
WIC Television Ltd., now a subsidiary of CanWest Global Communications Corp., will continue to own the trademark "ITV" in Canada. But a veteran Vancouver webcasting company hasn’t violated that trademark by using the initials in its corporate name, ITV Technologies Inc., or its web site...
There are hints that legislation may be on the table to codify ISP liability in copyright matters, though Ottawa is mum for the moment on whether Parliament will be asked to deal with it any time soon. Speculation that the federal government may be set to act on ISP liability comes after a story appeared in the Financial...
Canada’s largest Internet service providers, broadcasters, retailers and public interest advocates have come together in a new coalition that sees sometime foes bed down with their sparring partners to advance their view of potential copyright reforms. On September 15, the Balanced Copyright Coalition (BCC) was announced...
Ad blocking software on the InternetDecima Research Inc. recently surveyed 2,000 Canadians using its monthly omnibus TeleVox asking about their use of ad blocking software on the Internet. Not surprisingly, use of software that blocks pop-ups and other ads was highest among younger Canadians. Note that in each category, some taking the survey either said they didn’t know whether they used ad blocking software, or...
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has named four new members to its ranks. All previous members remain, and will be joined by John Efford, a Liberal representing Bonavista-Trinity-Conception, James Lunney of the Alliance representing Nanaimo-Alberni, Gary Schellenberger, a Tory from Perth-Middlesex, and Caroline St-Hilaire, representing Longeuil for the Bloc Québécois. Janet Yale suddenly announced her resignation from the Canadian Cable Television Association on Sept. 24, whereupon it was announced she will join TELUS Corp. as executive VP for government and regulatory affairs. She replaces Jim Peters who has been overseeing these functions since 1999, but who will remain to work as chief general counsel and corporate secretary. Ken Thompson has been hired in the newly created position of director of public policy and communications at the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). He will oversee all aspects of ACTRA’s communications and policy activities, and will be...
Following is an excerpt of a letter sent by CTV Television Inc. president of CTV programming and chair of the media group Susanne Boyce to the CRTC in the wake of a July 11/03 story in Canadian NEW MEDIA relating to the Groundbreaker Fund. Canadian NEW MEDIA was not contacted by CTV prior to it sending the letter. An article in the July 11, 2003 issue of Canadian NEW MEDIA has been brought to my attention which...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Formation of the Balanced Copyright Coalition is good news for average Canadians, even if they’ll never likely know it. The issues with which it hopes to deal must be important if one can bring the broadcasters, the cablecos, the telcos and retailers together under the same roof and put aside their...
September 24, 2003 Shaw asks CRTC to ensure “fair and sustainable” competition in Internet marketShaw Cablesystems has filed a Part VII complaint with the CRTC against Telus Corp. alleging that it has an anti-competitive pricing policy for DSL Internet services. “Over the past five months, Telus has offered at least 18 different promotions for Internet access service to customers in Alberta and British...
The Battles Past and Future Over the last 15 years, the broadcasting industry, in concert with government authorities, have developed the tools needed to win the DTH anti-piracy war. Our legal victories right up to the Supreme Court of Canada have left no doubt that grey and black...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.It’s time for the CRTC to come out with a framework for interactive television and finalize the process it has undertaken to determine which iTV content is program-related and should be subject to mandatory carriage rules. The distributors continue to argue for a moratorium on iTV regulation and claim that interactivity won’t flourish if too many conditions have to be met when it is developing. The cable industry maintains that since it is still early days no new regulations should be implemented. Instead, it argues that existing rules against undue preference in broadcasting and telecommunications are sufficient to protect iTV players. Yet, now that Pelmorex has taken the "undue preference" route in a complaint regarding its inability to offer iTV features to Bell ExpressVu’s subscribers, the satellite TV distributor tells the CRTC that the complaint is premature. After all, Bell ExpressVu...
The CRTC will release details of a comprehensive review of Canadian television drama by month’s end, according to commission chair Charles Dalfen, who has made increasing the amount of domestic drama that is shown and watched on TV one of his main personal goals. "We’re planning to issue a public notice on the...
Pelmorex Communications Inc. is asking the CRTC to order Bell ExpressVu LP to cease and desist providing its weather information service unless it provides The Weather Network and MétéoMédia with the ability to deliver local weather reports. In an undue preference complaint filed with the CRTC...
Agreater variety and choice in programming appears to be the overwhelming rationale for opting for digital television, while cost is the number one reason keeping analog TV subscribers from upgrading, according to a soon-to-be-released comprehensive consumer research report entitled THE DIGITAL DOMAIN: Consumer Attitudes on...
Despite the positive news communicated by recently installed Vidéotron ltée president and CEO Robert Dépatie last week at Quebecor Inc.’s first-ever investors’ presentation, the Quebec cable operator still faces major challenges, including a significant expense to convert remaining customers...
A citizens group in British Columbia is recommending major changes to Industry Canada’s policy for radio antennae and TV transmitters that would have drastic effects on broadcasters. The Colwood B.C. Tower Committee recommends that Industry Canada differentiate between transmitters for cellular phones and those for AM/FM...
Manufacturer attempting to overcome DSR 471 shortageThe Motorola DSR 471 digital box used by small cablecos in HITS-QT systems is still in production although there has recently been a supply shortage, according to Cliff Fox, product manager at Blonder Tongue Laboratories in Old Bridge NJ. Blonder Tongue manufactures the transcoders that are compatible with and are used with the HITS-QT service in Canada and the United...
Charles Boyer has taken an unpaid leave of absence from his job as VP of external and government relations at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) amid media reports that he spent over $30,000 of taxpayers’ money dining at many of Ottawa’s finest restaurants while he was at Canadian Heritage. "I took this action (requesting an unpaid leave of absence) so that I may be free to deal with the matter of...
Canadian NEW MEDIA assertions “serious, damaging and irresponsible”: CTV VP to CRTCCTV Inc. says it’s unable to find any producers upset that the Groundbreaker Fund was used to fund the massively popular Canadian Idol television series, and says the show introduced several uniquely Canadian elements and new interactive features that fulfill the fund’s mandate. In a letter written to the CRTC on July 18, CTV...
OnTarget will launch two new programs at its annual conference this fall and is set to announce the export of some of its existing programs to other parts of Canada. The expansion comes despite a summer of disease, blackout, general economic malaise and the sudden closing of its office when Smart Toronto Technology Alliance bailed on its Liberty Village-area lease leaving tenants temporarily homeless (CNM, Aug. 28/03). OnTarget program director Mark Jones says that on the eve of the already-once-postponed conference, he's proud the organization is on the cusp of expanding its reach across the country, and that it is frequently cited as the only remaining viable project from the...
The advisory board formed a year and a half ago to help craft Canada's online cultural strategy has quietly issued its first report outlining its vision for future priorities and initiatives (CNM Update, April 10/02). The document, which is slowly snaking its way through to industry stakeholders in the absence of any...
Canadian Heritage won't be able to step in to fill the industry funding gap left by a recent cut to the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, says the official in charge of the Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP). In an exclusive interview with Canadian NEW MEDIA, Ted Bairstow, director general...
Parties both for and against a blanket fee on Internet caches to compensate the music industry for downloaded tunes have asked the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to intervene in the Tariff 22 case. Tariff 22, a proposed tariff on Internet music, faces an uncertain future as the Supreme Court will decide whether to...
I guess the first thing I'd like to ask you is, in light of any number of crises that are taking place in the new media industry right now, especially for the Toronto producers, the hub of the new media industry, do you see a crisis in new media? Cultural new media? I don't know if I...
New CNMF guidelines releasedTelefilm Canada has released new guidelines for the Canada New Media Fund that include the much-anticipated change to a two-stage application process. The new application process is expected to reduce some of the cash producers must lay on the table just to apply to the program (CNM, Jan. 23/03). Further details are available at http://www.telefilm.gc.ca/03/311.asp?lang=en&fond_id=3. CTV defends decision to fund Idol from GroundbreakerCanadian NEW MEDIA is trying to track down a letter written by Susanne Boyce, CTV president of programming and chair of the media group, to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The letter, now in the hands of CRTC staff, defends CTV's decision to use the Groundbreaker Fund to fund its massive hit, Canadian Idol (CNM, July 11/03). It's uncertain what motivated CTV officials to send the missive to the commission. Early indications are that an article in CNM prompted a proactive approach by the broadcaster on the issue, rather than...
Lisa Lyons, previously a founder of chokolat, has been appointed VP/GM of Max Trax and content distribution at Corus Television. Prior to helping launch Chokolat, Lyons spent two years as VP, distribution and affiliate integration, for Zilo Networks, after serving Alliance Atlantis as VP, distribution and affiliate relations, broadcasting, from 1997-2000. Iron Leaf Communications, Calgary, has added Jason Halfyard to...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. One new media analyst we spoke with in the course of assessing the Canadian Culture Online Program's new vision plan was blunt - and right - in describing a proposed cultural gateway as the product of outmoded thinking. Distribution funding in Telefilm's Canada New Media Fund has gone...
September 10, 2003 Public review of drama coming, says CRTC chairCRTC chair Charles Dalfen tells Canadian Communications Reports that the commission will undertake a public review of Canadian television drama. He says a public notice calling for comments on TV drama is due out in the next few weeks. He adds that it has not yet been decided whether there will be a public hearing following the written comment phase....
A new low-cost digital cable set-top box that Motorola Inc. expects to begin marketing this fall has cable operators expecting a quicker rollout of digital offerings. The Motorola DCT700 interactive set-top box will be priced at under US$100, while current digital set-top boxes can run as high as US$300 or US$400. Most...
Canada’s three wireless cable operators are seeking major regulatory concessions for their TV services in their licence renewals as they struggle with the technology and larger, more successful competitors. Noting that it lost $38 million during its first licence term and saw its subscriber base in Manitoba fall from a...
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) is pressing ahead with an expansion of its pilot video-on-demand (VOD) project, which currently consists of a few theme packages of programming offered to Rogers Cable Inc. digital subscribers. Growth plans include adding the VOD content to the services of other distributors, such as...
CTV Inc.’s Women’s Sports Television Network (WTSN) will go off the air at the end of the month, making it the first must-carry Category 1 digital specialty service to close. The shutdown of the world’s first channel dedicated to women’s sports and athletes will result in the loss of 11 full-time jobs at CTV. Five...
Two recent CRTC decisions are turning the tide on the tough haul that the western-based telcos were having getting pay per view (PPV) for their digital TV services. Earlier this year, it looked as though the telcos had no feasible way of offering PPV as negotiations turned sour with Shaw Communications Inc. and Bell...
ACTRA members ratify new production agreementCanadian actors belonging to the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) voted 96% to ratify a new independent production agreement (IPA) with the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) and the Association of Producteurs de Film et de Télévision de Québec (APFTQ). The IPA covers all terms and conditions of employment on independent film and television productions in Canada. The agreement includes increases in minimum fees of 1%, 1.5% and 2% in the three years of the deal. It also includes an almost 9% increase in the ACTRA extra hourly rate over the term of the deal as well as a 32% increase in the cap on the producer’s maximum retirement contributions. The current IPA expires in December. CanWest launching CoolTVCanWest Global Communications Corp. is launching its jazz digital specialty channel CoolTV on September 4. "We are extremely excited about the launch of CoolTV and anticipate a positive response from jazz lovers and...
Lisa Lyons has been appointed as VP and general manager of Max Trax and content distribution at Corus Television. She will lead the affiliate relations team and be responsible for all aspects of the company’s business associated with affiliate revenues as well as managing the Max Trax digital music business. She has 16 years experience launching and building successful brands and partnerships within the entertainment...
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) expresses concern that Bill C-20, an act to amend the Criminal Code (protection of children and other vulnerable persons), could be applied to broadcasters. If it is, the CAB argues that the legitimate use of hidden cameras by broadcasters during investigative journalism...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.The demise of WTSN is proof that mandated carriage won’t guarantee success. Just because a channel is available on all distributors’ systems doesn’t mean digital subscribers will tune in. There was perhaps a problem with the WTSN licence right from the beginning. The rumour around the time of...
International ISPs seek leave to intervene in Tariff 22 caseA group of powerful Internet service providers has asked the Supreme Court of Canada for the right to intervene in the Tariff 22 case now before the highest court (CNM, April 3/03). The consortium making the application, dated August 22, includes associations counting AT&T, BellSouth Corp., SBC Communications Inc., as well as companies belonging to the...
Suite101 wins Indian gov’t consent for takeoverSuite101.com Inc. has received the necessary consent from the government of India to proceed with its acquisition of GeoGlobal (CNM Update, Jan. 29/03). GeoGlobal is an oil and gas exploration company. Suite101 is the company that originally gambled on an online writers community, as detailed in past issues of CNM. Organic Inc. builds new Benny Moore web siteToronto-based Organic Inc. has successfully completed the new Canadian Benjamin Moore & Co. Ltd. web site. The site provides online visitors to Benjamin Moore, a high-end paint and decorating company, with product support, the ability to mix and match colours and save "scrapbook" designs. The site was built using Macromedia’s Flash Remoting MX with support for both French- and English-speaking users. ecentricarts sees Hot 50 nodecentricarts Inc., a decorated web design firm with a niche of arts groups and not-for-profits, has been recognized as one of Profit magazine’s Hot 50 companies for its growth in...
Aurel Langlois, longtime executive with Interactive Multimedia Arts & Technologies (IMAT), is leaving the organization to take a business development position with Toronto-based ideé inc. He will begin his new position at the end of August. A soon-to-be released media notice of his departure from IMAT reads, "The departure of Mr. Langlois had been planned for some time, with the knowledge and cooperation of the...
The following is a letter sent by David Ellis, who recently released a commissioned report on the Telefilm Canada New Media Fund, to new media industry stakeholders and obtained by Canadian NEW MEDIA. Over the last couple of weeks, a storm of controversy has developed around the July 16 CRTC decision on DTH and its damaging impact on new media...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Ontario government officials were understandably reluctant to return calls we made to inquire about the closure of SMART Toronto’s innovation lab. It seems the Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation hasn’t been able to catch a break in years when it comes to new media. At the end of the...
A bailiff’s notice remains affixed to the front door of the Smart Toronto Technology Alliance’s (STTA) Innovation Centre as the landlord seizes assets as compensation for the organization’s broken lease. The STTA hurriedly vacated the premises late last month after deciding the lab was no longer viable, leaving...
Even as the new media industry struggles across Canada, Quebec has solidified its place as a multimedia hotspot by scoring giant Electronic Arts (EA) as Montreal’s newest developer. The global video games developer and publisher announced on August 14 that it would build a new studio in the city by the end of this year...
Toronto’s New Media Business Alliance (NMBA) has found itself in the spotlight after being elected late last month to represent the sector on funding matters at a hastily organized meeting of new media producers. Reacting to the crisis of cuts to the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund (CNM, July 24/03), about 20...
Companies not already using wireless SMS messaging to market their brands are missing a huge opportunity, say marketing experts, though small content players are cautioned not to expect any great help from wireless carriers. Production houses that want to exploit text messaging as a marketing tool should consider...
New media observers will likely get their first look at the results of a new partnership between Toronto’s Fourth Wall Media and kiosk manufacturers KING Products and Solutions Inc. at this year’s nextMEDIA conference in October. Fourth Wall, an interactive marketing agency, will make extensive use of kiosk technology...
An Ottawa-based start-up is attracting global attention for its new file-recognition software that it says could help peer-to-peer application developers legitimately operate. Kokopelli Networks Inc., which is still operating in "boot strap" mode without permanent offices, has released a product dubbed BluFilter: Authorize that could prevent users from listening to song files that have been added to a database by artists or their record labels. The software works using a unique audio-signature algorithm that can sample from various parts of a file to see if it matches a master song kept on file. The application is intended to be built into client peer-to-peer applications such as Kazaa and others that are downloaded and used by individuals seeking music. Alex Sauriol,...
August 27, 2003 Advertising revenues up at Alliance Atlantis, developing channels still in the redAdvertising sales increased 45% in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2003 at Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.’s broadcast properties over the same period a year earlier, Alliance Atlantis reported in financials released August 25. Revenue from the company’s developing digital specialty TV channels...
The CRTC’s approach to dealing with squabbling over who’s to blame for TV signal theft appears to be working, with Bell ExpressVu LP recently announcing several measures aimed at securing its system. News of three major anti-piracy measures undertaken by the direct-to-home satellite TV distributor came days before a...
The only fund in Canada to support non-theatrical educational and informational programming is at risk as a result of the recent CRTC decision to require satellite TV distributors to pay into a new local programming fund. The money for the new fund can be diverted from the 1% of revenues that Star Choice Communications Inc....
Asmall cable operator based in Salmon Arm BC is going against the grain and expanding in the face of continued pressure from direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV competitors. While many other small cablecos are lobbying for increased regulatory help as they face expensive plant upgrades and the challenge of bringing new...
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has won a licence amendment from the CRTC that will allow it to continue to broadcast non-Canadian blockbuster films during peak viewing hours, relatively quietly reversing a controversial condition of licence that was imposed during the public broadcaster’s most recent licence renewal in January 2000 (CCR, May 23/03). The CBC declined in 2000 to appeal the licence condition, but in the end still managed to get what it wanted. The licence amendment granted August 13 in the middle of the current seven-year licence term means that a ban on popular movies will never come into force (Broadcasting Decision 2003-398). When the CBC received its licence renewal...
CorrectionThe article entitled "Craig files amendment for pop channel; also asks for leave to appeal CRTC decision" in CCR, July 31/03 should have stated that the extension of time was to allow more time for the respondents (CHUM, Directors Guild of Canada, et al) to file their memoranda of fact and law. Craig has already filed its memorandum of fact and law. As well, Craig’s VP of corporate and...
Philippe Tousignant has been named as manager of media and parliamentary relations at the CRTC. Most recently, he was working as manager of consumer policy on the telecom side of the commission. Before joining the CRTC in September 2000, he was an analyst and spokesperson on regulation and policy at Action Réseau Consommateur, a consumer protection group. Michael Kaumeyer, who used to be VP of marketing at Star...
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) ruled late last month that CHUM Ltd. did not breach any code standards in airing Blind Date at 5:30 p.m on Citytv before the watershed hour of 9 p.m. However, it concluded that the sexual themes in the episodes necessitated viewer advisories since the show was aired in a...
A lawsuit filed by Craig Wireless International Inc. could throw a wrench in restructuring plans at wireless cable and Internet operator Look Communications Inc. UBS Wireless Services Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Unique Broadband Systems Inc., appears to be eyeing Look, particularly for its...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.The CRTC must begin an immediate review of its TV policy. Faced with a shortage of quality Canadian content, the commission should evaluate the effects its own policies have on drama, and undertake a broad review of indigenous production in the country. One hurdle to such a review, though,...
Craig Broadcast Systems Inc. is seeking leave to appeal a CRTC decision that aims to put restrictions on its Category 2 digital TV pop channel, just in case a counter proposal that it has made to the commission doesn’t get approval. The moves stem from a complaint filed by CHUM Ltd., which argued that Craig’s pop...
Listen! Do you hear the silence? That’s the response so far prompted by Our Cultural Sovereignty, the mammoth report on this country’s broadcasting system tabled in June by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Aside from the flurry of news coverage that greeted its publication, discussion...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.The already longstanding dispute over third-party access to the inside wiring in multiple-unit dwellings (MUDs) appears set for further decades of regulatory and legal wrangling. This week, Bell ExpressVu filed a complaint against Rogers Cable over what it says are anti-competitive practices in the...
Bell ExpressVu LP is accusing Rogers Cable Inc. of a litany of anti-competitive practices in protecting its hold on delivering TV services to multiple-unit dwellings (MUDs) in Toronto. It wants help from both the CRTC and the Competition Bureau to level the playing field as it shifts its focus from acquiring customers in rural areas not served or underserved by cablecos to more densely populated urban cores. One of the charges leveled by Canada’s leading satellite TV operator is that Rogers provides the inside wiring to condominiums under terms that end up costing third parties wanting to access the wiring more than the monthly charge of 52 cents per subscriber per month...
Both producers and broadcasters have condemned a recent CRTC decision to allow direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV distributors to divert 0.4% of revenues currently going to independent production funds to a new local programming fund. The $3.6-million local programming fund is part of a deal that was modified by the CRTC in...
Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps staunchly defended the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s report on the broadcasting sector in a brief conversation with Canadian Communications Reports, after she unveiled her Liberal Party of Canada leadership campaign platform on July 28. She told CCR that...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS) is on track to acquire its target of 6,000 customers to its digital TV service by year-end, according to the company. During a July 24 quarterly conference call for financial analysts, president and CEO of subsidiary company MTS Communications Inc. Cheryl Barker noted that the vast...
Decima Reader PollA plurality of respondents - 26% - to an informal online Decima Publishing poll of readers say that Canadian Heritage should be combined with Industry Canada to return to the days of one Department of Communications because competing ministers have led to foot dragging on important reforms. The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has recommended that one mega-department be formed to...
Brian Gromoff has been elected president of the Calgary branch of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). He replaces Randy Birch, who chose not to stand for re-election. ACTRA Calgary’s new branch council is comprised of Gromoff, VP Mary McGuire, secretary Fif Fernandez, treasurer James Dugan, national councillor Linda Kupecek, past president Birch, and four members at large, T. J. Bews, David Lereaney, John Scott, and Joe-Norman Shaw. Roma Khanna has been named as VP interactive at CHUM Television, effective August 11. She will be responsible for the network’s strategic development and day-to-day operation of new media initiatives. Previously, she was executive VP of Snap Media Corp. and prior to that manager of legal and business affairs at Sony Music Canada. She takes over the position from Maria Hale, who was promoted to VP at Citytv (CCR, May 23/03). Johanne Gagnon has been appointed manager of analysis for the French market at the Canadian Television Fund. She replaces Stéphane Gabriele,...
Producers cement Bell Fund and Telefilm strategiesA group of Ontario’s largest independent new media producers have settled on a multi-prong strategy targeting senior government officials and the CRTC to rally against a 40% cut to the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, while using the loss of that assistance to argue for a stronger Telefilm Canada Canada New Media Fund (CNM, July 24/03). The producers, who met last...
Claude Galipeau has been promoted from managing director of CBC.ca to executive director of CBC New Media - English. Four business owners have been nominated for a Grand Prix de l’Entrepreneur du Québec sponsored by Ernst & Young in the media and entertainment category. The nominees are Rémi Racine of Artificial Mind & Movement Inc., Mel Hoppenhiem of Mel’s Cité du cinéma, Scéno Plus Inc.’s Patrick...
On July 16th, 2003 the CRTC released a new policy directive that will result in a cut to the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund of 40% and a major cut to the Shaw Fund for children’s programming starting immediately. This is as a result of a decision that will allow DTH contributions to be diverted away from supporting independent producers projects financed through programs like the Bell Fund and the Shaw Fund, and...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Sources of new media funding in Canada are drying up faster than teenagers in bikinis disappear at the haunted summer camp. The buzz surrounding Telefilm Canada announcements, expected any day, is discouraging; the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund has ceased funding interactivity; the...
Reaction has been swift and condemning to news that the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund (Bell Fund) faces a 40% cut to its budget for assisting new media production in Canada - the result of a recent CRTC decision (CNM Update, July 17/03). Just days after announcing it would begin putting more money into projects, the...
Roma Khanna, a key advocate for interactivity in the Canadian television industry and on behalf of the independent new media production sector, has been named VP of interactive at CHUM Television, the latest in a series of appointments at the conventional and specialty TV/radio broadcaster in the wake of Jay Switzer’s...
Independent producers should be careful about building too-rich web sites for broadcasters, according to the author of a new report commissioned by the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund (Bell Fund). Industry veteran Catherine Warren tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that producers, broadcasters, advertisers and others have been...
A list of 29 projects that have won $4.4 million in loans from the Canada-TELUS New Media Learning Fund may not be the final word, says the fund’s head. Ray Moschuk tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that several projects have been held in reserve for consideration to win $250,000-$500,000 in further funding when the TELUS...
News that the hit TV series Canadian Idol has been funded in large part from the BCE Inc./CTV Inc. Groundbreaker Fund is "disappointing," says the new chair of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA). In conversation with Canadian NEW MEDIA, CFTPA chair Laszlo Barna says, "I think the Groundbreaker Fund represented hope, excitement, for the new media community. I don’t have to tell you that this whole sector is underfunded. And yet, it represents the future. So you can imagine reaction in the community when an American franchise show - let’s call a spade a spade - is somehow hooked into this program. What does that say about innovation? What...
Decima Reader PollDecima Publishing recently asked its readership to answer online the following qustion: The debate over cuts to Canadian television funding, lifting foreign ownership limits on telcos, cablecos and broadcasters, as well as rifts over Copyright Act changes has many ICT industry leaders and even MPs discussing a return to the days of the Department of Communications (DoC). Should the government combine the...
July 23, 2003 GlobalTV letting viewers influence direction of TV show via text messagingGlobalTV launched on July 21 what it is calling “North America’s first mobile service which allows viewers to impact television’s dramatic content” in conjunction with its Train 48 program (CCR, June 20/03). The mobile service for the show is accessed by text messaging “Global” (456225) with the word “Train.”...
Local markets continue to be dominated by Canada’s five biggest cablecos, says Bell ExpressVu LP - reason enough, it tells the CRTC, to maintain winback restrictions. The direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV distributor says national subscriber figures touted by the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) provide a...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.The CRTC’s new local programming fund isn’t any better than the proposal it rejected because two existing funds will be devastated in the process. Under the commission’s policy released July 16, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and the Shaw Children’s Fund - not the Canadian Television Fund...
The fund that had new media producers last year griping about its seemingly conflicting criteria is being used to fund CTV Inc.’s Canadian Idol. As much as $5.6 million of the $8-million program could be coming from the Groundbreaker Fund, much to the dismay of new media producers who say that financing a rip-off of an American show is uninspired and fails to push the boundaries of interactivity. "How much - and how (the funding) is spent - is not something we will disclose," said a CTV spokesman in an email. "Besides being the most ambitious interactive series CTV has ever put forward, it allows CTV to take the first step toward more innovation and interactivity with...
Canada’s broadcast distributors added fewer digital television subscribers in the first quarter of 2003 than in the same period a year earlier, according to the latest research on the digital TV distribution market compiled by Decima Publishing Inc. The lower subscriber growth is largely attributed to a sharp drop in the...
Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund faces 40% cutAndra Sheffer, executive director of the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund (Bell Fund), confirms that the fund is facing a 40% reduction in contributions from satellite TV operator Bell ExpressVu LP as a result of a CRTC decision yesterday to create a new local programming fund. The new fund is to be a carrot for allowing Bell ExpressVu to distribute more local television...
Digital subs fall at Persona; Saugeen Telecable purchasedPersona Communications Inc.’s digital TV subscriber base dropped by 675 to 18,083 in the third quarter ended May 31, 2003, parent company Persona Inc. announced in its July 10 financials. "Although digital subscriber additions in the quarter were disappointing in all regions, the majority of the digital subscriber decline in the period is attributable to the...
Shaw Communications Inc. and its affiliate direct-to-home satellite TV distributor Star Choice Communications will pick up CourtTV Canada this month, ending a longstanding dispute with CHUM Ltd. It also means that the channel will be available on Shaw-owned Canadian Satellite Communications Inc. (Cancom), so independent...
John Shannon has been promoted to VP of programming and executive producer at Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd. (MLSEL). He has been with MLSEL for almost three years. He will oversee all MLSEL broadcasting initiatives, including Leafs TV, Raptors NBA TV and Raptors telecasts, as well as take on more responsibility in the business development of Toronto Maple Leafs Network Ltd. Charles Boyer, an executive...
Just a day after the CRTC issued an exemption order permitting it to do so, a Montreal-based company offered spectators at the Molson Indy in Toronto an on-site broadcast service via wireless devices. A new exemption order for low-powered broadcasts of special events issued July 10 means that World Audio-Visual...
Craig Wireless BC Inc. will begin deploying new wireless technology next month in Vancouver that will eliminate line-of-sight problems in the delivery of TV and broadband services to customers. Boyd Craig, president of parent company Craig Wireless International Inc., says the non-line-of-sight gear will complement the...
The CRTC has granted direct-to-home satellite TV distributors Star Choice and Bell ExpressVu licence amendments that will not require them to do signal deletion on out-of-market television signals provided they fulfill other conditions (Broadcasting Decision 2003-257 and Broadcasting Decision 2003-258). The CRTC has...
Copyright Board publishes proposed tariffsThe Copyright Board of Canada last week published two new proposed tariffs. Tariff 1.A would set the royalties to be collected by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) for the public performance by telecommunication of music for 2005-2007. The board has also published a proposed royalty for the retransmission of distant radio and television signals in Canada for 2004-2008.Marketing Magazine taps 24/7 Canada for ad salesMarketing Magazine has signed an exclusive agreement with 24/7 Canada Inc. to represent the magazine’s web site for advertising. Marketingmag.ca offers banner, column and tower ads, skyscrapers, pop-ups and pop-unders in several different sections of the site, as well as The Marketing Daily e-newsletter with a distribution of 6,000.Avril Lavigne to offer tunes through AppleNapanee ON’s Avril Lavigne is offering a five-track live album through Apple’s online music store. Individual tracks are available for sale at US$0.99 each, or the full EP...
