SaskTel reduces stake in Craig Wireless

Media | 05/08/2003 4:00 am EDT

Saskatchewan telephone company SaskTel appears to have less confidence in the wireless cable business than it did a few years ago, according to information in its 2002 annual report, which was tabled in the provincial legislature and released late last month. The Crown corporation cut its ownership stake in wireless cable operator Craig Wireless Inc....

Jumping the Connectivity Gap – Mobile Makes the Leap at MILIA 2003

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

Canadian producers counting on mobile applications to accelerate from the margins to mainstream should be mindful what is working where. That is the message from MILIA 2003, where case studies and success stories about mobile applications from around the world made up one-third of the conference agenda. Held for the first...

CNM Editorial

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. A proposal winning industry supporters to create a new video game funding pool has engendered some fierce debate in this office. As this issue of the newsletter illustrates, more and more producers are thinking about branching into the console game market as they increasingly find success with web/TV...

Internet libel has same potential for harm as mass media broadcasts: Ontario judge

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

An Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge has made a confusing but landmark decision in a case over whether the Internet can be defined as broadcasting for the purpose of libel law. On April 2, Justice Helen Pierce ruled that the Internet is broadcasting within the meaning of Ontario’s Libel and Slander Act in the case...

Beauchamp wins culture and communications portfolio in Quebec

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

Quebec multimedia leaders are holding their breath waiting for some direction from the new Liberal Party government in the province regarding public aid to the sector. On April 29, new premier Jean Charest named Line Beauchamp as minister of Culture and Communications, but it will likely be months before Beauchamp puts her stamp on the department and the province’s industry knows whether the government will keep to former premier Bernard Landry’s roadmap or chart a new course. On April 14, the province’s Liberal party easily toppled the incumbent Parti Québécois (PQ) with a majority of 76 seats to the PQ’s 45. The Action Démocratique party won just 4 seats. Daniel Boismenu, a spokesperson for the Alliance numériQC, acknowledges that Landry has been a booster of...

Decode Entertainment eyeing games market

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

One of Canada’s premiere web/TV convergence shops is exploring new gaming options to round out its entertainment offerings, and asking the federal government for help to the sector to finance new projects. This month, the Decode Entertainment television series Save ’Ums went to air in Canada and the U.S., and new media head and partner Dan Fill is...

Independence from Disney key to new platforms and partners, says InLight

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

Newly independent from behemoth Disney Corp., the re-christened InLight Entertainment hopes to parlay private ownership into a raft of new products with a greater variety of partners. The company, formerly Disney Interactive Victoria, was bought out by three senior management members earlier this year as a result of...

SARS won’t stop Canadian New Media Awards, says organizer Froman

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

The chief organizer of the annual Canadian New Media Awards vows the show will go on as scheduled in early June despite worldwide anxiety over the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Toronto.  Several high-profile events in the economic centre have already been postponed due to the health scare,...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

Return to DOC on table in telecom ownership debateA recent Parliamentary report could lead to the amalgamation of two departments with communications responsibilities into one superagency. On April 28, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology released Opening Canadian Communications to the World, which looked at foreign ownership limits in the telecommunications sector. Telecom is under...

CNM People

Media | 05/01/2003 4:00 am EDT

Two senior staff changes have occurred at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB). Richard Matthews has joined the CAB as VP of copyright and legal affairs. Matthews was previously a long-time public servant, eventually serving as directory of copyright and director of broadcasting policy at Canadian Heritage. In another move, Sylvie Courtemanche has left the association after four years. Courtemanche served the...

CCR Update

Media | 04/30/2003 4:00 am EDT

April 30, 2003   Bell ExpressVu has worst quarter ever for subscriber growthBell ExpressVu LP’s fiscal 2003 first quarter ended March 31 was its worst quarter ever for customer growth based on an analysis of publicly released results, according to financial results released today by parent BCE Inc. The direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV operator added just 13,000 net subscribers in the quarter, compared to...

Copps wants CTF, government agencies to be more responsive to Canada’s ethnic communities

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Television Fund (CTF) may be spread even more thinly as multicultural film and TV producers push to win greater access to government financing. Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps recently noted that her goal was to make government institutions and funding, including the CTF, more...

CCR People

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

Gail Martiri has been hired as director of policy at the Writers Guild of Canada. She will lead the guild’s extensive policy and lobbying initiatives on behalf of Canadian screenwriters. She has over ten years of experience in government relations and policy development. Broadcast veteran Trina McQueen has been named president of the seven-member Banff Television Festival international jury. The other members are...

Another TV station viable in both Calgary and Edmonton markets, CHUM tells CRTC

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

Toronto-based CHUM Ltd. argues that not only can the Alberta market support new television stations, but that they would bring much needed diversity and regional programming to the province. The argument is in stark contrast to the company’s contention that the Toronto market couldn’t sustain more entrants during a licensing bid that ended in Craig Broadcast Systems Inc. getting the go-ahead for its toronto/one station (CCR, June 7/02, May 23/02). Now, CHUM is offering a slew of commitments in its bid to get licences for TV stations in Craig’s backyard – Edmonton (with a retransmitter in Red Deer) and Calgary.  "No local broadcaster systematically covers or adequately...

Westman applies for VOD licence, other small cablecos expected to follow suit

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

Westman Communications Group is the first small cable operator in Canada to apply for a video-on-demand (VOD) licence in hopes of eventually offering its digital subscribers various types of programming on-demand (CCR Update, April 16/03). Like larger cablecos already offering VOD, the Brandon MB-based cable co-operative is...

Like other telcos, Telus wants VOD licence for its planned digital TV service

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

Telus Corp. hopes to offer video-on-demand (VOD) when it launches its digital television service over broadband possibly later this year. As the telco awaits the CRTC’s decision on its licence applications to provide digital TV service in British Columbia and Alberta (CCR, March 13/03, Sept. 26/02), its VOD application...

Reinstate cut money to CTF, industry pleads

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

Elizabeth McDonald, president and CEO of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA), chaired a media conference denouncing the cuts to the Canadian Television Fund on April 15. During a question and answer session that followed an official presentation, there were no concrete suggestions as to where the money that is being demanded...

Cable industry seeks CRTC approval to add foreign channels on a digital basis

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) is hoping to score an industry hat trick as it seeks regulatory approval to add five foreign television channels to list of services that can be carried on a digital basis. The association notes that the addition of more foreign channels would have the following three key...

CCR Editorial

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.The leadership battle between prime ministerial hopefuls Sheila Copps and John Manley has left the systemic problems in the financing of Canadian film and television in general, and the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) in particular, unaddressed. While a well-orchestrated media briefing by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) recently presented the picture of a united front on the issue of reduced federal contributions to the CTF, members of the "official" industry panel steered clear of criticizing an industry that could apparently be crippled by this one change (see Newsmakers). Word has it that part of their strategy was to remain neutral and not give Manley’s people anything to criticize about a program developed under Copps.   CFTPA president/CEO Elizabeth McDonald sidestepped a reporter’s question on the effect of rules changing to meet broadcasters’ priorities and...

Senate study of media concentration to begin, report expected next year

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

The Senate of Canada begins its long-awaited study of media concentration next week, with a report of its findings expected next year, possibly as early as March. The Senate has authorized its Standing Committee on Transport and Communications to undertake "a broad examination of Canada’s media industries."...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 04/25/2003 4:00 am EDT

CCTA’s Cable Summit in Toronto postponedThe Canadian Cable Television Association’s (CCTA) annual gathering that was to be held this year from April 27-29 in Toronto is being postponed due to fears over SARS. No new date has been set. Close to 500 delegates were expected to arrive Sunday evening at the Liberty Grand Complex for the association’s revamped annual event, referred to this year as a cable summit....

CNM Update

Media | 04/23/2003 4:00 am EDT

Director general of CCOP shifts jobsRéné Bouchard, formerly director general of Canadian Heritage’s Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP), has been named director general of the broadcasting policy and innovation branch at Canadian Heritage. He replaces Marc O’Sullivan, who joined the CRTC as executive director of broadcasting, effective April 14 (CNM, March 21/03). A replacement for Bouchard has yet to be...

Artists spar on effects of downloading at minister Copps’ Ottawa copyright forum

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

Artists, musicians, games and software designers, and authors gathered by Canadian Heritage on the eve of the Juno Awards April 4 presented differing ideas about the role of copyright in their work and the effects on their careers of digital distribution. The forum was hosted by Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps as...

OMDC en route to new status as knowledge-based agency: Frappier

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

The Ontario Media Development Corp. (OMDC) is undergoing a large-scale restructuring that CEO Michel Frappier hopes will transform the organization into a knowledge-based agency, as well as give its senior managers more time to meet with the sectors it serves. In a candid interview with Canadian NEW MEDIA, Frappier set out...

Canadian Heritage minister’s comments on Canada New Media Fund create confusion

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

Industry observers are scratching their heads over comments made recently by Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps to Canadian NEW MEDIA on the future of Telefilm Canada’s Canada New Media Fund that might indicate a broad restructuring of the fund is on tap. Depending on how Copps’ response to a rumour...

Copyright adversaries find common ground in high cost of hearings

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

Broadcasters and music industry players are readying themselves for high-level talks on the high costs of resolving copyright disputes. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), and the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) are expected...

iLoveTV emerges from quiet period with Reuters portal-build deal in hand

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

LoveTV Entertainment Inc., a Toronto-based interactive television company, has re-emerged from a quiet period dating back one year. On April 9, the company announced a deal with Reuters to build a portal for the news company’s video content. While iLoveTV’s core business hasn’t included such fee-for-service-type work...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

Bell Fund announces February round winnersSix projects have won production financing from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund. Another six won development financing and four events won professional development funding.Production: Odd Job Jack (Smiley Guy Studios, The Comedy Network) Home Biz TV/Homebiz.TV (Third Wave Communications Inc., TFO, SRC, Knowledge Network) Rock Camp (Collideascope Digital Productions, CBC) Grande Ourse/www.grandeourse.tv (Jean-François Mercier, SRC) Jardins/Jardinsvirtuels.com (Léa Pascal, ARTV, SRC, TFO) La Troupe (Zone 3 Inc., VRAK-TV) Development: Franny’s Feet Online (Decode Entertainment Inc., Family Channel) Storymill (Zinc Roe Design, Teletoon) Rantdog Web Project (Rantdog Web Inc., CHUM, Superchannel) Blobheads (Decode Entertainment Inc., CBC) Madinmtl.ca (Blue Sponge & Locomotion, CFCF) Mission Arctuque: Le Cyberdocumentaire (NDI Media, Télé-Québec, CBC, France 2, France 5) Professional development: Hot Docs 2003 (Cyber Docs and Cyber Pitch 2003) Canema Inc. (Canadian New Media Awards 2003)...

CNM People

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

AOL Canada has appointed Craig Wallace president/CEO as his predecessor Steve McArthur departs to serve as executive VP of messaging at parent company America Online Inc. Wallace has previously worked at PCDOCS/Fulcrum and iSTAR Internet Inc. He also held a variety of positions at Microsoft Canada over a seven-year period. InLight Entertainment, Vancouver, has named Rob Barrett as senior game designer and Darren...

CNM Editorial

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The Canadian recording industry took advantage of Juno hype to unveil a new campaign against music downloading. What executives didn’t publicize was the increasing number of dummy music files they’ve unleashed designed to thwart users of computer programs such as Kazaa. A secret list left behind at...

CCR Update

Media | 04/16/2003 4:00 am EDT

April 16, 2003  Producers say funding system is broken, demand reinstatement of $25 million to CTFWith such Canadian shows as This Hour Has 22 Minutes not getting funding from the Canadian Television Fund (CTF)’s licence fee program (LFP), producers are demanding that the $25 million per year that the government cut from the fund over the next two years be reinstated. In a news conference organized by the Canadian...

Digital TV subscriber growth lower in 2002 compared to 2001: Decima Publishing

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

The level of digital television subscriber growth was down sharply in 2002 compared to the previous year, but the number of Canadian households subscribing to digital TV service still increased by a healthy 21% or about 600,000 subscribers last year. The latest subscriber numbers are contained in the just-released latest...

Broadcasters protest changes to Quebec tax credits, say TV programming will suffer

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

Quebec broadcasters say that some popular TV shows will disappear from their schedules if the provincial government moves ahead with proposed changes to its tax credits. The broadcasters add that the changes, announced March 11, came as a complete surprise to them and without any consultation. That’s in contrast to the views of the unions and the Quebec producers’ association, which claim the report generally reflects the overall views of the industry (CCR, March 27/03). Many broadcasters tell Canadian Communications Reports that the changes took them by complete surprise as the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC) had continuously informed them that no...

Movie studio demands cause of proposed terms of PPV deal with telcos: Shaw

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. blames the Hollywood studios for the different terms offered for the provision of its pay-per-view (PPV) service to Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. (MTS) and SaskTel than to cable operators. As a result of demands for minimum guarantees and an increased share of the revenue pie by the content...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

Bell ExpressVu puts more hockey in play with additionsBell ExpressVu LP, which has been criticized by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. for not carrying the Ottawa TV signal of the public broadcaster, has announced that it will pick up the station in time for the NHL hockey playoffs (CCR, March 13/03). The Senators games are aired on CBOT Ottawa. The channel will be added permanently to Bell ExpressVu’s Locals programming...

CCR People

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

Kerry Edmonds, director of communications for Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps, has been hired as director of operations in the department’s communications and public affairs branch. Naline Rampersad will take over as Copps’ director of communications.  Stephanie Smyth has been named news director of Global Toronto. Her 15 years in news have seen her report on-air, anchor newscasts and act as assignment...

Canadian Heritage minister discusses copyright, government cuts to CTF

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps staunchly defended the right of artists to be compensated for the use of their works at an April 4 Forum on the Future of Copyright in the 21st Century held in Ottawa. The forum, held in conjunction with the Juno Awards, brought together artists, users and others in the field. She...

Canadian viewers deserve more than a choice of witless reality shows

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

Vision TV president and CEO Bill Roberts, who chairs the Trade Advisory Committee of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), comments on the impact that current developments, such as a cut in the government’s contribution to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) and proposed changes in foreign ownership restrictions,...

CCR Editorial

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Lamentably, Canada’s television industry lags well behind its music counterpart at creating and promoting popular content that sells at home and internationally. The Juno Awards, held in Ottawa last week, provided the opportunity for private radio to tout its contribution to the rise in the popularity...

Copps says balance needed between interests of broadcasters and creators

Media | 04/10/2003 4:00 am EDT

The private radio industry will likely challenge a ruling that implemented new tariffs on music reproduction, but such a move appears to have little support from the Canadian Heritage minister. In comments made to Canadian Communications Reports, Sheila Copps suggests that radio broadcasters need to accept a tradeoff and...

CNM Update

Media | 04/09/2003 4:00 am EDT

Independents launch music industry web siteThe Canadian Independent Record Production Association (CIRPA) has launched a new web site at http://www.mincanada.ca with trade information for participating member associations. The site features the "All New Releases Lounge" with email notification to radio stations of new CDs, a section to help users find out which funding programs they might be eligible for, an...

Unanimous approval for Supreme Court determination to review Tariff 22

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

Music and Internet industry players are applauding a March 27 announcement that the Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal and cross-appeal of a lower court’s controversial ruling on Tariff 22, proposed royalties for music distributed electronically (CNM, Oct. 30/02). Canada’s highest court agreed to hear an appeal by a coalition of Internet service providers (ISPs) of the Federal Court of Appeal’s May 2, 2002 decision that ISPs must pay royalties related to music cached on their servers and that music downloaded here from outside the country is subject to royalty payments. In turn, the highest court will also hear a cross-appeal by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music...

ITV regulations not responsible for ITV innovations: Bell ExpressVu

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

Satellite TV operator Bell ExpressVu LP has fired back at broadcasters in the CRTC process contemplating a new test for must-carry interactive television (ITV) content, Broadcasting Public Notice 2002-63 (CNM, Feb. 20/03). On March 7, ExpressVu countered the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) request for a loose...

Chilly Beach joins march of web properties to television schedules

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

A long wait by the team of the former Infopreneur Inc., now March Entertainment, to find a business model for its Chilly Beach property has finally paid off as it gets set to air the show on CBC Television. The previously web-only animated series is set to hit the larger Canadian audience with 26 episodes starting in...

GTMA announces latest in string of interactive digital media industry studies

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

Yet another study of the multimedia industry, this one in the Greater Toronto Area, has been announced by a partnership spearheaded by the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA). The GTMA was recently the recipient of a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation’s (MEOI) Interactive...

Obligatory legal deposit proposed for digital newspapers: Library/Archives

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

The National Library of Canada and National Archives of Canada have issued a list of recommendations to encourage the digitization of newspaper content coming out of an October conference (CNM, Oct. 16/02). Among other suggestions, the two institutions have put out for consideration the suggestion that legal deposit of...

Better-Than-Chocolate Press to offer condensed e-romance novels online

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

Colourful and controversial journalist Donna Laframboise is set to launch a new web venture selling romance novels online. On March 21, Laframboise, a former Toronto Star and National Post writer, filed a trademark application for the tagline, fewer pages, all the passion. The slogan, she tells Canadian NEW MEDIA, is for her new initiative, Better-Than-Chocolate Press, set to launch in June.  Laframboise says Better-Than-Chocolate Press is acquiring rights to out-of-print romance novels, condensing them to about one-third their original size, and will be selling them in electronic format only via the company’s yet-to-be-launched web site better-than-chocolate.com. The business could...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

CAB decries $6.5-million Copyright Board tariff decisionThe Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is considering an appeal of the Copyright Board of Canada’s March 28 decision to apply a tariff, retroactive to 2001, payable on the reproduction of musical works by radio stations, including when they copy a CD into their internal hard drives. The CAB estimates the impact of the tariff at $6.5 million annually. Said...

CNM People

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

Keith Clarkson of Telefilm Canada will be temporarily relocating to the agency’s Halifax office from Toronto for one year as business unit director. His replacement in T.O. will be Agnes Zak. The Capital Hill Group’s Kim Doran and David Dyer have been retained by Access Copyright as federal lobbyists in the upcoming review of the Copyright Act. Access Copyright is a not-for-profit agency established in 1988 by...

The future of digital rights management

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

The following is an excerpt from the first of two companion studies prepared for the Copyright Policy Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage by the law firm Nelligan O’Brien Payne LLP. These studies address a range of policy considerations associated with the use of technological protection measures (TPMs) as a means of applying the law of...

CNM Editorial

Media | 04/03/2003 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. On the evening of Oct. 10, 2001, then-president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Michael McCabe was flush with a significant victory over JumpTV (CNM Update, Oct. 11/01). But instead of a predictable dissertation on the evils of JumpTV’s plans to follow in the footsteps of...

CCR Update

Media | 04/02/2003 5:00 am EST

April 2, 2003 Star Choice to add new channels; PVR receiver to be available in 2004Satellite TV operator Star Choice Communications Inc. has announced that it will be adding to its channel lineup some new local and specialty television and audio channels, as well as expanded HDTV programming. It will also introduce an integrated HDTV receiver with advanced program guide and an integrated personal video recorder (PVR) with...

The Score, Sportsnet seek wholesale rate increases to remain competitive with TSN

Media | 03/27/2003 5:00 am EST

Sports specialty television channels The Score and Rogers Sportsnet are claiming economic need in requesting unprecedented increases to their regulated wholesale rates in their licence renewal applications. Sportsnet, owned by Rogers Media Inc., is asking the CRTC to hike its wholesale rate for carriage in basic packages...

SaskTel aiming to offer VOD by year-end as PPV dispute with Shaw continues

Media | 03/27/2003 5:00 am EST

Frustrated by sour pay-per-view (PPV) negotiations with Shaw Communications Inc., SaskTel plans instead to offer its digital TV customers video-on-demand (VOD) by the end of the year. The Crown corporation owned by the Saskatchewan government has applied to the CRTC for a VOD licence, but the application has not yet been...

Unions call for CRTC to force broadcasters to air 2 hours of drama during peak hours

Media | 03/27/2003 5:00 am EST

A coalition of audio-visual unions is calling for regulation that would force broadcasters to air at least two hours of original, non-industrial Canadian drama a week during prime time. The recommendation is aimed at rectifying what the unions say is a dramatic decline in drama, caused in part by the implementation of the...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 03/27/2003 5:00 am EST

Dalfen calls for more action by government against piracy CRTC chair Charles Dalfen is calling on the appropriate government agencies and departments to "continue and intensify their efforts to combat signal theft in Canada and to give full effect to the Supreme Court of Canada's unanimous April 2002 decision declaring such activity to be illegal." In a media release issued March 20, Dalfen further noted, "At the time, I remain seriously concerned about the negative impact that black market theft of satellite signals is having on the Canadian broadcasting system. …there remains a great deal of work to be done." Dalfen held informal consultations with industry players, including Bell ExpressVu LP, Star Choice Communications Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., Cogeco Inc., CHUM Ltd., Astral Media Inc., the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) on the matter. He encouraged them to develop and commit to...

CCR People

Media | 03/27/2003 5:00 am EST

A number of appointments have been made to the regional panels of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council. Public adjudicator Gilles Moisan and Tara Rajan, who is currently the director of research and data at the Canadian Television Fund, join the Quebec regional panel. Former Lieutenant Governor of P.E.I. Gilbert Clements has been named to the Atlantic regional panel. He will serve as public representative and...

Canadian culture an important pillar of Canada’s foreign affairs policy: Graham

Media | 03/27/2003 5:00 am EST

Foreign Affairs minister Bill Graham noted that projecting Canadian values and culture is an important third pillar of the country's foreign policy in a speech given on March 22. Speaking to representatives of Canadian arts organizations at the Canadian Arts Summit in Banff, the minister also...

CCR Editorial

Media | 03/27/2003 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. There is a finite amount of financial support for the film and television industry taxpayers will bear, and governments and regulators can't be faulted if, to satisfy the sector's demande de jour, they occasionally rob from Peter to pay Paul. Producers and artists' unions recently lobbied...

Union says only $7 million of $20 million in funding announced by Quebec is new money

Media | 03/27/2003 5:00 am EST

Quebec's artists' union is questioning the provincial government's assertion that it is adding $20 million in new dollars to boost Quebec's film and television industry. The Quebec government highlighted its new film and television measures in a report entitled Politique Québécoise...

CNM Update

Media | 03/26/2003 5:00 am EST

Bill C-11 now law of the landBill C-11, an Act to amend the Copyright Act, came into force March 21 as expected (CNM, March 6/03). The law makes it illegal for companies operating under the CRTC's 1999 New Media Exemption Order to take advantage of compulsory licensing to retransmit over-the-air television signals over the Internet. In a media release announcing the measure, Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps is quoted as saying: "Starting today, Canadian broadcasters and producers of Canadian programs can count on the clear provisions in the Copyright Act. In a constantly changing technological environment, the government of Canada has ensured that the Act will contribute to widening Canadians' experience and enhancing their cultural diversity, while offering fair remuneration to creators." With the bill now law, companies hoping to set up an Internet alternative to cable or direct-to-home satellite television distribution will either have to negotiate with broadcasters to carry their signals, or seek a licence from...

CNM Special Edition Update

Media | 03/24/2003 5:00 am EST

Tariff 22 leave to appeal ruling expected Thursday The Supreme Court of Canada is scheduled to render a decision on whether or not to hear the Tariff 22 case on Thursday, March 27. The decision will be closely watched by the Canadian music industry and Internet service providers who filed for leave to appeal and cross-appeal a May 2002 ruling by the Federal Court of Appeal that leaves ISPs on the hook for royalties...

CNM People

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

Lavalife Inc., Toronto, has appointed Bruce Croxon as its new CEO. Croxon is an original founder of the company, and has held the position of executive chairman since the fall of 1999. He replaces former CEO Peter Housley. Lewis Rose has been confirmed as president and CEO of CryptoLogic, Toronto. Rose had been the interim CEO since July. Notably, he has served as president of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.,...

CNM Editorial

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Over a year ago, Berkeley Breathed, the cartoonist behind the Bloom County comic strip, declined due to time constraints an opportunity to talk with us about copyright, and just what it is that makes intellectual property law so darned funny. A brief item in this issue of Canadian NEW MEDIA (see Short...

Quebec government promises thorough review of digital media assistance

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

The Quebec government has almost completely adopted the recommendations of the Alliance numériQC in announcing a thorough review of assistance measures to the interactive digital content sector in the province. In its March 11 budget, the Parti Québécois government outlined a full review of its new media initiatives as...

Julian Wharton joins TVOntario’s Independent Learning Centre

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

Julian Wharton, the prominent founder of QED Media and most recently head of the interactive digital media group at the SMART Toronto Technology Alliance (STTA), has joined TVOntario’s Independent Learning Centre (ILC) with an as-yet-to-be-determined title. Wharton will be helping to launch and run the ILC’s programs....

Quebec company vies for Canadian Heritage rights management support

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

A small Quebec rights management company has begun a public relations push to find federal support for a Canadian cultural content portal that would ensure artists get paid for digital distribution of their works. On March 10, Montreal-based Reeves Communication Inc. announced support from several well-known Canadian arts...

OMDC offers business development program tailor-made for new media

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

New media producers are welcoming a new business development and funding program, Pioneering Content, now being offered by the Ontario Media Development Corp. (OMDC). The initiative, announced March 7, offers support in the form of consultation and access of up to $70,000 in cash grants to six project teams to create...

Toronto startup to tap MPEG-4 market in Europe with specialty programming

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

Toronto startup TVHello hopes to exploit emerging MPEG-4 television encoding technology to begin broadcasting a new digital specialty channel aimed at Europeans sometime this summer. The technology, which TVHello partner Rui Pereira says delivers the promise of true web television, flies beneath the regulatory radar of the...

Supreme Court finds against Earth Future Lottery in online lottery case

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed an appeal by the Earth Future Lottery and the Attorney General of Prince Edward Island to legalize a proposed Internet-based lottery (CNM Update, Mar. 11/03; CNM, Jan. 23/03). The court apparently heard nothing new in the arguments presented by Earth Future and P.E.I. counsel during a short morning hearing March 11 and dismissed the case after a brief recess for the same reasons as an original determination by the Appeal Division of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island. The court dispensed with hearing from the respondents, a coalition of provincial lottery companies, or from interveners.  The P.E.I.-based Earth Future Lottery had proposed...

Arts institutions offered new kiosk concept

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

Prominent arts journalist Laurie Brown and veteran new media producers marblemedia inc. have teamed up to rehabilitate the image of kiosks in an initiative to create a network of interactive displays in arts institutions across the country. Last week at the Canadian Arts Summit in Banff, the duo, along with the National Arts Centre, the Harbourfront...

Online games industry to be worth billions: In-Stat/MDR

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

In-Stat/MDR finds that the online games industry is just beginning to take off. It notes that even if a moderate number of gamers, or 10% of the game consoles, play for short periods of time such as five hours a week, they would consume more than 5% of all the American backbone traffic by the end of 2003. Further, roughly...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 03/21/2003 5:00 am EST

Geist wins Canada Research Chair in Internet lawMichael Geist, a University of Ottawa law professor and Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP technology lawyer, has won $250,000 in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to establish a research chair in Internet and ecommerce law, as well as an ecommerce law lab. The lab, according to a media release, has already attracted the support of technology powerhouses IBM...

CCR Update

Media | 03/19/2003 5:00 am EST

March 19, 2003 CRTC reviewing change in Category 2 digital channel application process following complaintsThe CRTC is reviewing its decision to require a commitment of carriage prior to examining and granting licences for Category 2 digital specialty and pay TV channels, following complaints by potential applicants (Broadcasting Public Notice 2003-14). To reduce the time it spends processing Category 2 applications, last...

CRTC approves code that includes adult entertainment standards for pay services

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

Pay television, pay-per-view (PPV), and video-on-demand (VOD) service operators have a new industry code on programming standards that limits when they can broadcast adult entertainment, and requires them to review all such programming before airing it. The new code, approved last week by the CRTC, stems from controversy surrounding several Bell ExpressVu LP PPV porn channels about two years ago. The satellite TV distributor shut down two of its adult film channels, True Blue and Extasy, the day before the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.’s the fifth estate aired an investigative report in March 2001 alleging that the channels carried porn that had not been rated by Canada’s censors (CCR,...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

Rogers ups stake in CogecoRogers Communications Inc. announced March 6 that it had reached an agreement to buy three million subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Cable Inc. from a third party, spurring talk of a possible takeover. The purchase increases Rogers’ share in Cogeco to 18% of all classes of common shares from 11%. The shares were acquired from a group of investors unaffiliated with the Cogeco group in exchange...

CCR People

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

Marc O’Sullivan joins the CRTC as executive director of broadcasting, effective April 14. Currently, he is director general of broadcasting policy and innovation at Canadian Heritage. Previous to joining Canadian Heritage, he worked at the Privy Council Office (PCO) from 1989 to 2000. Among the positions he held at the PCO were assistant clerk of the Privy Council, executive director of Strategic Projects Unit, and...

CAB wants CRTC to push ahead with iTV policies, but not to use American WGN test

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) tells the CRTC it’s time to develop a policy framework for interactive television, but that a U.S. test shouldn’t be used. In reply comments submitted March 7, the CAB responds to earlier comments made by the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA), the Canadian Film...

CCR Editorial

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.The high costs and risks associated with launching new digital specialty TV channels has shattered the CRTC’s goal of promoting a diversity of voices in the Canadian broadcasting system. It had hoped its flexible licensing framework for digital channels would encourage the introduction of new broadcast...

New Next Level equipment will allow MTS to cost effectively expand in less dense areas

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

California-based Next Level Communications has unveiled equipment crucial to the rollout of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.’s (MTS) television service in Winnipeg. Next Level demonstrated its Broadband Services Access Multiplexer – Single Shelf Enclosure (BSAM-SSE) in Toronto earlier this month...

Bell ExpressVu to add 76 new channels, including more diginets, HDTV signals

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

Plans for new services to be introduced by satellite TV operator Bell ExpressVu LP this year point to it being a leader in such areas as high-definition television (HDTV), but continuing to lag behind its cable competitors in video-on-demand (VOD). VOD or subscription VOD (SVOD) services were not among the 76 new services...

More concerns expressed as Telus’ TV distribution plans are back on CRTC agenda

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

The Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) fears that Telus Corp.’s telephone service will further suffer if the telco is granted the regulatory go-ahead to offer a television service as well. The union is asking to appear at the public hearing on Telus’ bid for broadcast distribution licences to provide details on why...

Heritage, Industry committees likely to plug different policies on foreign ownership

Media | 03/13/2003 5:00 am EST

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology appears poised to make recommendations that are more in line with the demands of Canada’s largest cablecos than the status quo policy direction expected from the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Reports by both committees are due out in...

CNM Update

Media | 03/12/2003 5:00 am EST

OMDC offers new fundingThe Ontario Media Development Corp. (OMDC) has launched a new Pioneering Content fund. Initial reaction from producers is positive about the six-project, $70,000-each cash grant intended to create new prototype content that incorporates material from at least two of the OMDC’s constituencies. While OMDC officials stress that it is not specifically a new media program, it’s clear the fund is tailor made for new media productions. Canadian NEW MEDIA will have further details about the program in its upcoming issue next week, and report on an OMDC information session to be held March 14 in Toronto. Details of Hello TV revealedCanadian NEW MEDIA will have full details its next issue next week on a company we reported on briefly on February 7, Hello TV (CNM, Feb. 7/03). The Toronto company, with an address at one Atlantic Avenue, will be creating MPEG-4 content for distribution on Eutelsat’s Open Skies platform that can be received and watched on computers, or routed through a PC to a television set. The...

CNM Special Edition Update

Media | 03/11/2003 5:00 am EST

Supreme Court dismisses Earth Future Lottery appeal The Supreme Court of Canada today dismissed an appeal by the Earth Future Lottery and the Attorney General of Prince Edward Island to legalize a proposed Internet-based lottery (CNM, Jan. 23/03). The court apparently heard nothing new in the arguments presented by Earth Future and P.E.I. counsel, and dismissed the case after a brief recess "for substantially...

CNM People

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

Vancouver-based Mainframe Entertainment Inc. has appointed Rick Mischel to the position of CEO. He previously served at The Harvey Entertainment Company, where he was in charge of managing the business and creative affairs of properties including Casper The Friendly Ghost and Richie Rich. He began his career as an entertainment attorney with O’Melveny & Myers, then joined Electric Pictures Corp. as a VP. He later...

CNM Editorial

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The Canadian recording industry, as well as its broadcast, movie, and retailing partners, are to be congratulated on a cool new web site designed to teach teens about the record industry and how the purchase of music translates into music creation. A brief tour of the site, www.keepmusiccoming.com,...

Industry pleased with new Competition Bureau guidelines on Internet advertising

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) is applauding new guidelines on online advertising published by the Competition Bureau that appear to leave the association’s members off the hook for misrepresentative claims made by others. The final guidelines represent a reversal in policy from a May 2001 draft of...

Blank media levy is unconstitutional, Copyright Board hears in final arguments

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

The Copyright Board of Canada’s hearing on proposed new blank recording media tariffs wrapped up with oral arguments February 17 and 18, with anti-levy forces decrying the tariff as unconstitutional while rights groups argued that nothing has changed since a 1999 board ruling that allowed collections to proceed. Counsel representing both storage media companies and major retailers such as Future Shop and Radio Shack hammered home their point that the new tariffs include a broad new range of devices never foreseen by Parliament, that the zero-rating scheme renders the regime arbitrary and that the connection between those paying the levy and those receiving it has become increasingly...

WIFT-T to undertake broad study of Canada’s “screen media” sector

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

Women in Film and Television –Toronto (WIFT-T) has embarked on an ambitious study to profile Canada’s "screen-based media," which include film, television and new media. The study will be the first of its kind in 10 years, says WIFT-T president and past chair Kate Hanley, and will report on a broad number of...

Record labels employ positive, upbeat messaging to combat downloading

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

The Canadian music industry is taking a soft-glove approach to discourage peer-to-peer downloading among youth. On March 4, a coalition of record labels, retailers, copyright collectives, broadcasters and others launched a Value of Music campaign to teach kids about the connection between music purchasing and the music...

Media Awareness Network, Canadian libraries launch education campaign

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

The Media Awareness Network (MNet) has launched a high-profile campaign in association with Bell Canada and the Canadian Library Association (CLA) to equip parents with resources to help guide their children safely on the Internet. Unveiled during Canada’s first Web Awareness Day on February 20, libraries across the...

Aliant gives up experimental CRTC bid

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

The final chapter of a three-year battle on Internet retransmission of over-the-air television signals appears headed for a close with the withdrawal on February 17 of Aliant Telecom Inc.’s application to the CRTC for an experimental licence. As signs point to Bill C-11 finally coming into force by the end of March, the regulatory environment put to...

Fee for cell phone ringtones would be levied under proposed new SOCAN tariff

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

Wireless operators and ringtone suppliers in Canada could soon be required to pay more money to use ringtones based on popular melodies if the Copyright Board of Canada approves an expanded tariff on the public performance of music proposed by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)....

CNM Short Takes

Media | 03/06/2003 5:00 am EST

New business push at e-learning company Magic Lantern?Magic Lantern Communications Ltd. has hired former Canadian Alliance communications director Phil von Finckenstein to find opportunities for the company in the federal government’s lifelong learning and SchoolNet programs. Von Finckenstein, now with Prospectus Associates Inc., registered as a federal lobbyist in this capacity on February 21. Magic Lantern officials...

CCR Update

Media | 03/05/2003 5:00 am EST

March 5, 2003  Bell ExpressVu to add 76 new channels to its lineup Satellite TV distributor Bell ExpressVu LP announced today that it would add 76 new channels to its lineup this year. The additions include 11 new high-definition television channels, as well as more conventional and specialty channels. On the conventional side, the satellite TV distributor will add 25 local conventional TV channels (11...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 02/28/2003 5:00 am EST

Budget could create imbalance in production industry: McDonaldElizabeth McDonald, president and CEO of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, says that it’s time to move on ensuring that the different pillars of the Canadian film and TV production industry are adequately balanced. Her comments follow the government’s decision to cut $25 million per year in the two-year funding renewal it granted the...

Broadcasting industry could suffer if more Canadian HD content isn’t produced: McEwen

Media | 02/28/2003 5:00 am EST

Canadian Digital Television (CDTV) president Michael McEwen warned at an industry conference last week that a lack of Canadian high-definition (HD) television programming could lead to the demise of the existing Canadian broadcasting system. He theorized that American networks may refuse to sell the Canadian rights to HD programming in this market, and instead broadcast it only on their own channels, many of which are available on cable and satellite TV. With a dearth of Canadian HD content available, he warned that there would be little to no programming alternatives for the Canadian market. "I’m raising the concern that as the media market becomes more North American, I would...