TAGGED AS MEDIA

Aliant Telecom to seek experimental retransmission licence as C-11 clock ticks

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

The Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology took a scant hour-and-a-half on December 5 to recommend passage of Bill C-11 (formerly Bill C-48) without delay in the upper house. The recommendation comes despite a plea by Aliant Telecom Inc. to delay passage of the controversial legislation that will deny companies operating under the CRTC's New Media Exemption Order a compulsory licence to retransmit over-the-air television signals via the Internet. On December 9, the bill passed third reading without amendment.The legislation could render Aliant's new TV on my PC service on the wrong side of copyright law, though it's not certain that it will need to be...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

Talking the dot com talkAs the year-end approaches and the Canadian new media sector appears poised for growth in 2003, we thought it would be interesting to take a look through our archives to see how industry language has changed. On an unscientific basis, the following chart illustrates the number of stories in a given year we wrote that contained at least one occurrence of the words listed. Decima Reader Online Poll, October/November 2002Attracting skilled workers was a key theme from the Speech from the Throne, delivered on September 30. In relation to the communications sectors, do you believe that: there is no skills shortage; the skills shortage has been mitigated by heavy layoffs in the communications sectors; Canada must immediately attract skilled workers from overseas with incentives and reduced red tape; Canada must immediately invest more heavily in education to train Canadians for skilled jobs in the communications sectors; or a poor investment climate, and not a lack of training, is responsible for the skills...

Aliant Telecom to seek experimental retransmission licence as C-11 clock ticks

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

Heritage follows through on copyright portal CCOP commitments with new cash

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

An Alberta-based company has received a second round of funding from Canadian Heritage to develop a copyright portal as the department follows through on a key Canadian Culture Online Program commitment. On December 2, Canadian Heritage announced a total of $2,746,530 in funding to three organizations to develop online...

CNM People

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

Robert Dubberley is no longer acting as executive director of the Canada-TELUS New Media Learning Fund or the BC Broadcast and New Media Fund as of November 30. Dubberly was a part-time contractor who oversaw the funds, and the company replaced him as "part of an overall approach at TELUS to reduce our reliance on contractors," according to a company spokesperson. Ray Moschuk, managing director of TELUS...

Heritage follows through on copyright portal CCOP commitments with new cash

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

Change royalty structure or gov’t may step in to implement reforms: California report

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

After three lengthy hearings, the California Senate Select Committee on the Entertainment Industry has issued its report on, among other things, reforms to the accounting practices of recording companies (CNM, Nov. 28/02). In the report, Senator Kevin Murray, committee chair, proposes that if the industry won't undertake changes on its own, government may step in with legislation. Following is the conclusion to that report. The full report can be found here. The suggestions in this report would help solve many of the problems that exist between artist and record company. This would create a mutually beneficial atmosphere of trust that would create a strong industry to fight mutual...

CreatureSphere important crack at edu-tainment market for Collideascope

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

Halifax-based Collideascope Entertainment is branching out into edutainment with an original interactive property on ecology it hopes to begin selling internationally early next year. The company is in the last stages of completing CreatureSphere before testing and hammering out distribution and content aggregator deals to...

CreatureSphere important crack at edu-tainment market for Collideascope

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

CNM Editorial

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. We wish Collideascope Entertainment good luck in selling its new CreatureSphere project (see article in this issue). It's refreshing to see a company in the Canadian new media sector take on an initiative such as this and one more sign that business models are maturing. Next year promises to be an...

Innovation agenda survey highlights challenges for small and medium firms

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

Small- and medium-sized enterprises have told Ottawa that there is inadequate access to high-speed Internet services in the country, primarily in rural areas outside the most densely populated provinces and in northern communities. The implications, say respondents to an online poll conducted by Industry Canada, are that...

CCR Update

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

December 11, 2002 Look, Bell ExpressVu, VDN tell Federal Court to dismiss Vidéotron's request for leave to appeal on inside wiring Look Communications Inc., Bell ExpressVu LP and Câble VDN inc. have asked the Federal Court of Appeal to deny a request by Quebec cable operator Vidéotron ltée for leave to appeal a CRTC decision on inside wiring (CCR Update, Oct. 17/02). The CRTC issued a mandatory order in October...

Finance committee report recommends changes to R&D funding mechanisms

Media | 12/11/2002 5:00 am EST

The federal government should move quickly to make changes to the way it funds research and development in this country, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance recommends in its recently tabled report. The committee recognizes that the federal government has made headway in addressing concerns of industry...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

No date set for launch of new diginets, says MacMillanNo date has been set for the launch of two more of its licensed digital specialty TV channels, DIY and Fine Living, according to Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. chair and CEO Michael MacMillan. That is in stark contrast to claims by Shaw Communications Inc., which has told the CRTC that Alliance Atlantis plans to move ahead with these two channels in January....

CCR People

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

Claudette Jaiko has been appointed as producer of The National Film Board’s (NFB) Studio Ontario et Ouest. She starts in the new position on December 9 at the NFB’s Toronto offices. She has been working in French and English radio, film and television production for 25 years. A former executive director of Telefilm Canada, François Macerola has been named president of the political commission of the Liberal...

Abolish foreign ownership restrictions in cable industry, cable leaders tell committee

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

There is still room under existing foreign ownership rules for foreign companies to invest in Canadian cable companies, but the cable industry claims a complete removal of existing rules is needed. That was the message delivered last week in Ottawa by the leaders of Canada’s largest cable companies to the Parliamentary committee reviewing the Canadian broadcasting system. The review is currently focused on media consolidation and restrictions on foreign ownership. Appearing November 28 before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Shaw Communications Inc. CEO Jim Shaw admitted that existing investment in his and other cablecos had not yet peaked at the current...

ExpressVu unfairly singled out, TV piracy an industry-wide concern: Bell president

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

Bell Canada president and COO John Sheridan says the broadcasting industry should stand united in its fight against television signal piracy rather than singling out Bell’s satellite TV unit. The comments come in the wake of recent media reports questioning the security of Bell ExpressVu LP’s encryption...

Lincoln calls separate foreign ownership study by Industry committee “unfortunate”

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

The chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage says it’s "unfortunate" that Industry Canada has decided to move ahead with a separate review of foreign ownership restrictions in the telecommunications industry. Clifford Lincoln, whose committee’s study of the...

ISP “inaction” to blame for lack of third-party Internet access

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

The following is a letter to the editor from the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) responding to the editorial that appeared in the November 22, 2002 issue of Canadian Communications Reports. The issue of why third-party Internet service providers aren’t accessing cable lines was also brought up recently at...

Adding up the bill for the broadcasting review

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

The cost of the broadcast study currently underway by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage could top $1.4 million, according to a tallying of approved expenses. The broadcast review, which officially began on Nov. 8, 2001, is now into its second year (see story in this issue) and many industry observers wonder whether any...

CCR Editorial

Media | 12/05/2002 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 cable industry’s public attack on its fierce satellite TV competitor Bell ExpressVu over the security of its system is likely to hurt efforts to awaken the Canadian public and government to the serious issue of TV piracy. The attack has already opened the floodgates for "he said, she said" arguments on who and what’s to blame for signal theft in the country. By attacking Bell ExpressVu, the cable industry risks damaging the effectiveness of the Coalition Against Satellite Signal Theft (CASST), to which both the cable and satellite TV industries belong. Put on the defensive, Bell Canada president and COO John Sheridan noted last week that the cable industry is also responsible for signal "leakage." He says that leakage from all the cable systems combined is probably more than Bell ExpressVu since cable has a dominant market share. In its fingerpointing, the cable industry conveniently...

ComboBox put on hold as executives re-think BCE’s convergence strategy

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

CAB wants to simplify radio tariff process; Internet retransmission issue resurfacing

Media | 12/05/2002 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) hopes to change the way radio tariffs are set in an attempt to reduce the process’ transactional costs, according to president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell. The broadcast lobby group, which represents radio, conventional and specialty television...

CNM Update

Media | 12/04/2002 5:00 am EST

Canadian Heritage earmarks millions for copyright portalsCanadian Heritage will spend $2.7 million to develop online copyright clearing portals in conjunction with three organizations: Access Copyright (formerly CanCopy), COPIBEC and Alberta-based RightsMarket Inc. The funding will go toward a sophisticated new online system to facilitate access to and use of existing copyrighted works. Access Copyright will receive...

Federal reports detail Internet stats and Canadian Heritage spending in 2002

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Two recently released reports from Ottawa, the CRTC’s Broadcasting Policy Monitoring Report and Canadian Heritage’s Performance Report, provide a detailed snapshot of Canadian Internet use and government spending in the sector. The Heritage document details spending on the Canadian Cultural Online Program as well...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Seizing the Digital FutureUCLA researcher Jeffrey Cole was in Ottawa November 6 to address a gathering of Ottawa communications lawyers and other industry representatives on the subject of broadband connectivity. Cole presented unreleased numbers from the school’s latest Internet Report, which he says back up his thesis that the Internet will be "far more significant than television." Always on access, he...

CNM People

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Rocco Delvecchio, who worked for several years at TV Ontario, has been appointed consul general in Detroit.Cinémathèque québécoise has officially appointed Robert Boivin as director general. He has more than 30 years of experience with the organization, and the announcement follows news last year that Boivin had intended to quit the post. Kate Hanley has been named to the newly created position of president at...

Radwanski responds to access proposals as “unjustifiable deterioration” of rights

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, George Radwanski, sent the following letter to the Honourable Martin Cauchon, Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada, the Honourable Wayne Easter, Solicitor General of Canada, and the Honourable Allan Rock, Minister of Industry, regarding the...

CNM Editorial

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Quel surprise. The Ottawa Citizen has come out strongly against a new City of Ottawa plan to make broadband access available to every household within five years. Recall the hue and cry the Citizen and the National Post raised over a similar national plan last year. The Ottawa situation is just a...

BCE puts ComboBox on hold as executives re-think convergence strategy

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

The much-publicized Bell ExpressVu ComboBox has been quietly put on hold for the foreseeable future putting the long-term plans of a key BCE Inc. convergence initiative in limbo. BCE officials won’t comment beyond a brief response to Canadian NEW MEDIA’s inquiries, but the move to delay the introduction of the ComboBox into the Canadian marketplace is in line with other recent cost-cutting moves by the telecom giant under new president and CEO Michael Sabia. Keith Kocho, president of Extend Media – which had been tapped to deliver new applications for the convergence box – confirms, however, that a Canadian launch has been delayed for at least several quarters. A similar...

Broadcasters seek show properties with online component conceived from start

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Independent producers will have to bring fully conceived ideas for converged TV shows/web properties to broadcasters if they want to sell their products, an industry group recently heard at a workshop on marketing web sites. Several broadcasters from around the world made the pitch for more integrated show ideas at the Bell...

CCR Update

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Cablecos likely to continue calls for relaxed foreign ownership rules today before Parliamentary committeeCanada's major cable operators are expected to continue their call for relaxing foreign ownership restrictions in the cable industry today before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which has resumed its review of the Canadian broadcasting system. Scheduled to appear before the committee...

Major record labels change royalty structures in response to sector pressures

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Moves by two recording industry giants to overhaul their royalty structures will likely be followed by the three remaining labels, experts suggest, as the sector struggles to make its offerings more attractive to recording artists and the public alike. In recent weeks, both Universal and BMG have announced the elimination...

Kodak lecture series online at Ryerson

Media | 11/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Staff at Ryerson Polytechnic University is hoping to integrate a new Industry Canada-funded web site into a proposed graduate studies program in film preservation to be launched at the school next year. The site, built around the ongoing Kodak Lecture Series in photography and new media, has just been launched, featuring multimedia clips of speakers and...

Winnipeg RCMP take action on TV piracy front in raid on dealer

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Winnipeg raided a business that was allegedly making AVR cards and selling equipment for use to receive pirated U.S. television signals, and charged it under both the Radiocommunication Act and the Criminal Code. The move is a sign that enforcement authorities may finally be willing to take action in the fight against the black and grey satellite TV markets, which were ruled illegal under the Radiocommunication Act by the Supreme Court of Canada in April (CCR Update, April 26/02). The charges laid under Section 327 of the Criminal Code deal with the possession of a device to obtain a telecommunications facility or service. "We have said – even in April after the Supreme Court decision – that if we receive a complaint or conduct an...

CCR Editorial

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.It’s ironic that the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) and Shaw Communications have expressed concerns over Telus’ potential inability to offer third-party ISP access to its telephone lines as a result of offering a broadcast distribution service (see story on pages 1-2). Just ask Jay...

Stursberg suggests moving away from “tonnage” in bid to boost drama audiences

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

Veteran broadcaster Trina McQueen has her work cut out for her in trying to solve Canada’s ailing production and viewing of homegrown television drama. While there is consensus among the CRTC, government institutions such as Telefilm Canada, and producers (see Newsmakers column on page 8) that the...

CPAC could get facelift as CRTC grants wholesale rate, mandates basic carriage

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) got its requested wholesale rate and expanded programming in a seven-year licence renewal issued November 19 by the CRTC. At the same time, the CRTC has made it mandatory for large cable operators and satellite TV distributors to carry the channel in their basic packages. The changes...

Cogeco rolls out VOD in Ontario, Quebec in hopes of boosting digital service

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

Cogeco Cable Inc. is hoping the rollout of video-on-demand across the territories it serves in Ontario and Quebec will boost its digital cable service, as it faces intense competition from satellite TV providers, both legal and illegal. Canada’s fourth-largest cableco has already completed "soft" rollouts of VOD...

CRTC pulls Telus’ BDU applications from hearing as it seeks clarification of concerns

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

Telus Communications Inc.’s applications for two regional broadcast distribution licences were pulled from a public hearing held this week as the CRTC seeks more information about an issue raised by interveners in the process. Sources at the CRTC would not reveal precisely what aspect prompted...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

Cable standards council downsizes, hopes to keep Shaw The Cable Television Standards Council (CTSC) is cutting two of four staff members, and relocating to cheaper office space – a move that it hopes will convince Shaw Communications Inc. to remain as a member. CTSC president and CEO Gerry Lavallée tells Canadian Communications Reports, "They (Shaw) have indicated to us that they would like to resign by December...

CCR People

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

Susan Croome has been appointed B.C. film commissioner, which falls under the province’s Ministry of Competition, Science and Enterprise. She was formerly the general manager of the province’s Bridge Studios for eight years. Carole Vivier returns to Manitoba Film and Sound as its CEO and general manager and film commissioner after leaving to work for the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). The CTF axed its newly...

Star Choice files licence amendment on out-of-market television signals

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

Faced with a slew of recent requests by broadcasters for signal deletion, satellite TV operator Star Choice Television Network Inc. has filed a licence amendment with the CRTC that would allow it to distribute out-of-market television signals without having to perform simultaneous substitution – Broadcasting Public Notice...

Cable broadband initiatives could benefit from foreign ownership review: CCTA

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) anticipates that the government’s review of foreign investment restrictions in the telecommunications industry announced this week will help it on the Internet front. The Industry Canada news release mentions "infrastructure," notes CCTA president and CEO Janet Yale, pointing out that the review should thus "clearly impact the infrastructure of all groups," including cablecos. "Rogers, Shaw, Cogeco and other cable companies have built high-speed Internet networks...This investment has built a world class communications infrastructure and to continue this success we need to have increased access to capital,"...

Canadian TV, films must have a place in the globalized economy, says CFTPA president

Media | 11/22/2002 5:00 am EST

Elizabeth McDonald, president and CEO of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, spoke about the need to preserve Canadian content in a globalized economy before the Canadian Club in Toronto. She notes that the government’s innovation strategy has concentrated on businesses and economies at large, but has...

CNM Update

Media | 11/21/2002 5:00 am EST

"Tales from the Front" snags top CBC prizeCanadian NEW MEDIA was pleased to serve on the jury that voted to award the CBC Radio Program & Peer award in the new media category to Web One: Tales from the Front. Other awards included best special for This Morning: Peter Gzowski Memorial Special, program of the year C’est La Vie and best regional weekly Culture Shock. Congratulations to all the winners and...

CNM People

Media | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

Congratulations to Boyne Clarke’s Christene Hirschfeld who has won the 2002 Global Televsion Network Broadcast Communications Award for her contributions to new media in Canada. The National Film Board has appointed Michael Scott as animation producer for Western Canada. Scott’s films include the Academy Award-nominated The Big Snit and Whistling Smith. Carole Vivier rejoins Manitoba Film & Sound as its...

Alliance numériQC defends state intervention in multimedia industry

Media | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

Following is a translated letter sent by the Alliance numériQC to Quebec’s deputy minister and minister of finance Pauline Marois. Montreal, November 8, 2002 – You will hereafter find an open-letter which has been sent to the leading articles sections of Quebec’s daily newspapers in order to react to the remarks made...

CNM Editorial

Media | 11/14/2002 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 gun lobby here and elsewhere is steadfast in its opposition to firearms registration because it feels, perhaps rightly, that when the state knows who owns guns and where those weapons are it will be too easy for the government to disarm its citizenry, a precursor to aborted democracy. It’s an easy argument to understand, and perhaps even sympathize with. At least in the United States, individual firearm ownership is considered a key foundation of freedom, and measures that give the government information to ease the curtailment of that freedom are opposed vociferously. The same simple logic applies to the current debate over lawful access laws, and the rationale for registering ISPs or facilitating wiretaps on electronic communications. The centre named for famed Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal is asking that anyone who wants to exercise control over what they may or may not express in the way of ideas on...

SMART Toronto absorbs Liberty Village and promises content players a real voice

Media | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

The head of the newly named SMART Toronto Technology Alliance (STTA) says digital content players should look forward to a stronger voice on the local, provincial and national stages as a result of the merger of SMART Toronto and the Liberty Village New Media Centre (LVNMC). STTA president Cindy Pearson tells Canadian NEW...

Hate laws hard to enforce without rules to register web sites: Wiesenthal Center

Media | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

Canada’s lawful access laws aren’t sufficient to back up this country’s prohibitions on hate material posted to the Internet, says an international watchdog group. On October 31, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s director of national affairs in Canada, Leo Adler, presented a new compilation of global hate sites while...

Alliance numériQC, Quebec finance minister at odds over state help to sector

Media | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

A war of words has erupted between Quebec’s main multimedia association and one of the most powerful politicians in the province over the role the state should play in aiding the industry. On November 8, the Alliance numériQC was forced to rush to the industry’s defence, specifically of its extensive public-sector...

Canada Economic Development announces new funding in Quebec for multimedia projects

Media | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

Even as the Alliance numériQC rushes to defend state intervention by the province in the multimedia industry, the Canadian government has stepped up to the plate by adding a second round of $2.4 million to an experimental multimedia fund. On November 12, Canada Economic Development (CED) announced it would pump the...

New Media Business Alliance gets OMDC funding boost to host luncheon series

Media | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

The Toronto-based New Media Business Alliance (NMBA) has received an important boost with the announcement of just under $11,000 in new funding from the Ontario Media Development Corp. (OMDC) to host a series of speaker luncheons starting this winter. Ian Kelso, who has taken over the reins of the organization following its...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

IBDG approved for Category 2 specialty service licenceIBDG Inc.’s application for a Category 2 digital specialty television service licence has been approved by the CRTC – Broadcasting Decision 2002-343. The licence allows IBDG to proceed with its plans to test interactive technology used to conduct market research. The service, dubbed Response TV, was allowed by the commission despite objections by Northern Response...

CCR Update

Media | 11/13/2002 5:00 am EST

Vidéotron launches personal video recorderQuebec cable operator Vidéotron ltée has become the first cableco in Canada to introduce a personal video recorder (PVR) for digital cable subscribers. The PVR-capable digital box is being sold for $509 before programming credits. Satellite TV rival Bell ExpressVu LP currently sells its PVR for $574.95 before any credits. Vidéotron’s PVR can store up to 50 hours of recorded...

Lyman becomes own boss again with revival of Nordicity consulting company

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

Media and communications expert Peter Lyman has revived his consulting company Nordicity Group Ltd., which has opened offices in Toronto and Ottawa. Lyman says the "new" Nordicity will still focus on the media and communications industries, but will have a slightly different slant. "I think there will be...

CRTC considering U.S. test to determine what iTV content is program-related

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

The CRTC is considering an American approach to determining whether interactive television (iTV) content is program-related and thus should be subject to mandatory carriage rules. Not surprisingly, the CRTC’s latest iTV process on what constitutes program-related iTV content is expected to again pit broadcasters and distributors against each other over carriage issues. Carriage and packaging issues dominated negotiations over the launch of new digital specialty TV channels last fall (CCR, June 7/01, March 29/01), and remain key stumbling blocks to agreement between distributors and broadcasters in the transition to digital. Looking for more flexibility in carriage, the Canadian Cable...

New media players optimistic their projects may one day drive tie-in broadcast properties

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

Several leading new media players say that it won’t be long before broadcasters come looking for financing for projects from them. At a forum called iTV – Where Are We? at the International New Media Festival in Prince Edward Island last month, talk shifted from a focus on a greater recognition...

CRTC grants CHUM’s request for split-feed advertising in Pembroke, Ottawa

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

CHUM Ltd.’s conventional television stations in Pembroke and Ottawa will be able to increase much-needed advertising revenues with the CRTC’s approval to allow split-feed advertising – Broadcasting Decision 2002-328. The CRTC has issued a new licence for CHRO-TV-43 in Ottawa, and deleted it as a retransmitter of the...

Look Communications on track to begin growing TV subscriber base again, CEO says

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

Wireless cable operator Look Communications Inc. is on track to begin growing its digital TV subscriber base again after nearly two years of subscriber losses, according to the company’s president and CEO. Paul Lamontagne says a new advertising campaign for its TV offering launched in mid-September has produced...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

Licence applications for Calgary, Edmonton TV stations soughtHaving received an application for a television broadcasting licence to serve Calgary and Edmonton, with a retransmitter in Red Deer, the CRTC has opened up the process. The commission is calling for applications from all interested parties wishing to obtain broadcasting licences for TV services in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer – Public Notice 2002-69....

CCR People

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

Paul Robertson heads the combined operations of Nelvana and Corus Entertainment Inc.’s television division. Prior to the creation of Corus Entertainment and his appointment as president of the television division, Robertson was president of YTV. Other appointments to the Nelvana executive team include Peter Moss as executive VP of development, who adds to his responsibilities as head of programming at Corus Television. As well, Emmanuèle Petry has been promoted to senior VP of international, with responsibility for program sales, licensing and co-productions in western and eastern Europe, Latin and South America, the U.K. and Africa. Scott Dyer continues as executive VP responsible for Nelvana production. The personnel changes follow the announcement that Nelvana Ltd. founder Michael Hirsh was stepping down as CEO of the animation house (CCR, Oct. 24/02). Paul Nathaniels has been promoted to VP of sales and marketing at Bell ExpressVu with the departure of Stuart Morris. Morris leaves the company after eight years. Neil...

BCE aiming for simplicity in its drive to offer customers bundled services: Sabia

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

BCE Inc. president/CEO Michael Sabia says that the company will have to cut red tape on its drive to provide its customers with bundled services, running the spectrum from telephone service to Internet access to TV programming. The company has to simplify and the bureaucracy that gets in the way "must go. And it will...

CCR Editorial

Media | 11/07/2002 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 buzz around convergence is fading faster than the stocks of the companies that acquired assets in the wake of the frenzy that followed the AOL-Time Warner merger. The problem is not the concept, but the way Canada’s media companies went about their convergence strategies. They moved forward...

Convergence has been a “financial misadventure” in Canada, author says

Media | 11/07/2002 5:00 am EST

Torstar Corp. is looking pretty good as the financial repercussions of ill-conceived convergence plans coupled with a downturn in the advertising market are currently squeezing big media players in the country, according to the author of a just released book on convergence in the Canadian media. "I tell you who...

CNM Update

Media | 11/06/2002 5:00 am EST

SMART Toronto, Liberty Village amalgamateSMART Toronto and the Liberty Village New Media Centre (LVNMC) have confirmed that they are merging into a single entity to be renamed the SMART Toronto Technology Alliance. The former LVNMC infrastructure will become a new advisory board to the organization, with Bruce Graham as chair and former LVNMC interim executive director Julian Wharton responsible for day-to-day operations....

CNM Special Edition Update

Media | 11/04/2002 5:00 am EST

SMART Toronto schedules November 6 announcement SMART Toronto has scheduled a media announcement for Wednesday, Nov. 6, lending fuel to the rumour that it and the Liberty Village New Media Centre (LVNMC) will be merged into a single entity. Both organizations have already quietly indicated that they will be moving to the same building on Fraser Avenue in Toronto, and a merger announcement, if one comes, will likely...

Immersion Studios announces new facilities in state-of-the-art ATC

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

A newly opened Immersion Studios digital production facility in Prince Edward Island could have a commercial product on the market within six months, hopes the company’s president and CEO. Stacey Spiegel was on hand at the Atlantic Technology Centre in Charlottetown on October 17 to open both the new workspace and one of...

Accessibility to be important issue in future, U.K. consultant tells conference

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

The threat of legal action should be one reason why new media designers must incorporate accessibility for individuals who are visually impaired or face other challenges surfing the web, says one consultant in the field. In a presentation to the International New Media Festival on October 17, Nicola Teece of...

CCR Update

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

Alliance Atlantis, CBC to jointly commission TV projectsAlliance Atlantis Communications Inc. and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. have reached a three-year agreement to jointly commission Canadian television projects, ranging from dramatic series to children’s shows. The shows commissioned under the agreement will be broadcast on CBC and Alliance Atlantis’ channels. The agreement also allows Alliance Atlantis to...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

Feds pump $4 million into new Francommunautés sitesIndustry Canada and Canadian Heritage have announced 36 winners of the $4-million Francommunautés virtuelles program contest for 2002-2003. The project will encourage use of state-of-the-art Internet technologies and the creation of French content for francophone and Acadian communities. Popular themes among the winning projects included women, ethnocultural minorities, lawyers, small- and medium-sized enterprises, artists, professionals and students. This year, the initiative is providing non-refundable financial contributions equal to 50% of eligible costs, to a maximum of $75,000, for regional projects and up to $250,000 for national projects. A full list of winners is available at http://francommunautes.ic.gc.ca. Star Ray TV webcast woes solved, says Jan PachulPirate TV operator Jan Pachul tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that despite earlier assertions that the Internet is a "toy," his local television channel has finally succeeded in viably offering a webcast (CNM, Aug....

CNM People

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

Jean-Pierre Blais is leaving the CRTC as executive director, broadcasting, to become assistant deputy minister, international and intergovernmental affairs at Canadian Heritage, effective Dec. 2. International and intergovernmental affairs is one of five sectors in the department and is responsible for Sport Canada, Vancouver’s 2010 Olympic bid, trade and investment issues and intergovernmental affairs matters. Blais...

Art, Technology & Intellectual Property

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

The one hundredth American Assembly was held February 7-10 in Harriman, New York to discuss the relationship between art and technology. Below is an excerpt from the report that resulted, Art, Technology & Intellectual Property. Two books were commissioned as part of the project, and will be published next year by Rutgers University Press. The...

CNM Editorial

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. It’s been two years since Canadian NEW MEDIA sent a representative to the International New Media Festival, but the wait was worth it. This year’s festival, held for the first time in Prince Edward Island, had all of the intimate networking, in-depth panel discussions and energy, creativity and...

SOCAN fires back on Tariff 22 leave to appeal before Supreme Court

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

The collective society representing songwriters and music publishers has weighed in with arguments why the Supreme Court of Canada shouldn’t hear a high-profile appeal on Internet music royalties. In response to a leave to appeal application filed by the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA), Bell Canada and the...

Groundbreaker Fund consultant defends regional requirements, clarifies focus

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

Andrew Cochran, the hired gun consultant to CTV Inc.’s Groundbreaker Fund, says despite industry objections to some of its guidelines, he believes a requirement to work with companies outside Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal shouldn’t be a hurdle to anybody’s participation (CNM, July 25/02). In a frank session with delegates at the International New Media Festival in P.E.I. on October 18, Cochran said he believes that the requirement to give up copyright control by big city companies is a red herring in any discussion of restructuring the fund and that companies in Canada’s largest urban centres would have to look for outside partnerships to create the innovative content CTV is...

Rights clearance a rocky road for CBC digital archives web site: project manager

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp.’s digital archives web site has grown significantly since its soft launch this spring (CNM, July 10/02), but the expansion hasn’t been without significant headaches, a group of delegates to the International New Media Festival in P.E.I. heard on October 17. Project managers Mark...

Interactive television still too immature to regulate, says cable TV association

Media | 10/30/2002 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) continues to call for a light regulatory approach to interactive television (ITV) in the wake of a newly released report by the CRTC and the announcement of another public process into the subject now underway. In comments to Canadian NEW MEDIA, Michael Hennessy, the CCTA’s...

Canadian broadcasting held as example for its ethnic broadcasting at IIC confab

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps has been bragging for several months that Canada is admired by South Africa for its cultural diversity in broadcasting, so it comes as no surprise that the country had a major presence at the recent International Institute of Communications (IIC) conference. The organization, which...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

Cogeco Cable launches VOD in Hamilton ON systemCogeco Cable Inc. quietly launched video-on-demand (VOD) in its Hamilton ON cable system on October 10, company executives noted this week during a conference call with analysts to discuss Cogeco’s fourth quarter and 2002 year-end financial results. The VOD service includes just 100 titles, of which half are new releases and are priced at $5.50 each. Canada’s...

CCR People

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters announced its 2002-03 boards at its annual convention this week. Gerry Noble takes over as chair of the television board, with Jay Switzer being the vice-chair. Phyllis Yaffe is the new chair of the specialty and pay television board, and Luc Perreault is vice-chair. Rob Braide is the new chair of the radio board and Gary Miles the vice-chair. The chairs and vice-chairs of the...

O’Farrell outlines CAB achievements, priorities in leadership report

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

At the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) convention on October 21, president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell outlined some of the priorities and achievements of the association in its annual leadership report. Areas of particular interest include closing the Internet retransmission loophole, securing a new direct-to-home...

CCR Editorial

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Can the broadcasting industry in this country deliver programs Canadians want to watch when so many in the sector are tailoring their creative visions to meet funding guidelines? It’s a question with which multimedia producers attending the International New Media Festival in P.E.I. were grappling with...

More lawsuits expected against pirate satellite TV dealers as ExpressVu, three major broadcasters launch $100-million suit

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

Canada’s broadcast industry is stepping up legal pressure against black and grey market satellite TV dealers in the wake of a CRTC decision last week in which the commission washed its hands of the issue. Bell ExpressVu LP, CTV Inc., Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. and Astral Media Inc....

“Minute regulation” diverting CRTC from big concerns, overburdening firms: Tory

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC concerns itself with too many small things, resulting in important decisions taking too long to be released and broadcasting players getting bogged down in producing time-consuming reports, according to the president and CEO of Canada’s largest cableco. John Tory of Rogers Cable Inc. tells Canadian Communications Reports that red tape is stifling the industry and making it less able to compete in a more open market. "We’re required to file incredible amounts of paperwork with the regulator. Sometimes I think some of the monthly reports we are required to produce just end up in a file drawer somewhere and I’m not sure what’s done with it. That’s not useful to...

CBC talking to Rogers about providing content for the cableco’s VOD service

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is working on packaging CBC programming, beginning with its news shows, for offer on a video-on-demand (VOD) basis on Rogers Cable Inc.’s digital cable platform. Mark Hyland, director of broadband and digital services at CBC English Television, says the public broadcaster won’t apply for...

Pirate broadcaster Star Ray TV finally off air

Media | 10/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

Pirate broadcaster Jan Pachul has finally pulled off the air the video stream of his low-powered television station Star Ray TV, which he has been operating in Toronto on UHF channel 15 for more than two years without a broadcast licence. But under an agreement he says he reached with the CRTC, he is continuing to air his alphanumeric...

CNM Update

Media | 10/23/2002 4:00 am EDT

SOCAN files its take on Tariff 22The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) filed its leave to cross appeal the Federal Court of Appeal’s Tariff 22 decision with the Supreme Court of Canada on October 14, as well as its opposition to the leave to appeal filed by the cable industry and ISPs (CNM Aug. 21/02). The copyright collective argues that the Tariff 22 decision, which deals with...

CCR Update

Media | 10/17/2002 4:00 am EDT

Rogers sees strong digital cable growth in Q3Rogers Cable Inc. added a healthy 67,500 digital cable set-top boxes in 63,400 digital households during its fiscal third quarter ended September 30, according to financial results released October 16 by Rogers Communications Inc. The cableco attributed the strong growth to increased marketing aimed at creating greater awareness of the value and features of digital cable, the...

Newspapers online conference hears proposed model for digitizing content

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The National Library of Canada heard from dozens of stakeholders in the electronic newspaper industry on October 7-8 as part of its current consultation into helping the sector. Delegates at the Reborn Digital - Digitization of historical Canadian newspapers conference heard from several private, public and academic leaders in the field of digitizing newspaper content for public access. While the proposed models for posting journals online differed among speakers, several common challenges emerged, including difficulties establishing standardized indexing, a lack of resources, and hard choices between making the publications easy to use or saving money with bare-bone versions.The conference...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

Kalador launches on Irish mobile phone networkVancouver-based Kalador Entertainment Inc. has launched its games and entertainment services on the mobile phone network run by Vodafone Ireland. The Irish telco has over 1.7 million subscribers, and holds 57% of the market in that country. Kalador's Play Anywhere technology is deployed over carrier networks across North America, Europe and Asia and generates millions of...

CNM People

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) has hired Global Public Affiars Inc. lobbyists Sarah Anson-Cartwright and Edmond Chiasson to push for a legislative review of the Access to Information Act. The CNA is likely readying itself to push for a broad public hearing on proposed reforms to the Act before changes recommended by a special task force in June are implemented.Rick Brace has been named president of CTV Inc.,...

National Library has role to play in encouraging innovation in Canada

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The National Libary of Canada submitted its views on how innovation in Canada could be furthered. Following is an excerpt from its brief on the innovation agenda. The full submission can be found here.The priorities outlined by the Government of Canada are a good first step towards achieving the goal of creating and getting...

CNM Editorial

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. News that the National Library and National Archives are to merge should be cause to cheer for observers of the online content community. Together, the institutions can better work to put our massive collection of Canadian heritage online.There are many challenges facing both institutions, however,...

Broad partnership proposes wide-ranging study of new media behaviour, attitudes

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

A broad coalition of government, academic and private-sector partners has come together with the hope of conducting a first-of-its-kind study of the way people think about and use new and traditional media. The Canadian Internet Project, proposed as a long-term longitudinal study of attitudes and behaviours of Canadians...

National Library, Archives to merge; legislation in works for this winter

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

Legislation could be before Parliament to merge the National Archives of Canada and the National Library of Canada by this winter, and a head of the new institution should be appointed by next summer, says Canada's chief archivist, Ian Wilson.On October 2, Canadian Heritage announced that it would merge the two cultural...

Cheers and jeers for copyright reform agenda proposal tabled with Parliament

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

Industry Canada, working in cooperation with Canadian Heritage, has tabled a controversial new report with a recommended time frame for dealing with digital copyright issues. The report, mandated by Parliament in the 1997 Bill C-32 copyright reform process, has surprised some, angered others, and left experts unsure whether...

CAB remains opposed to compulsory licence for Internet retransmitters

Media | 10/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has reacted in no uncertain terms to calls by several parties for a CRTC decision in favour of allowing Internet retransmitters to operate. Last month, several groups including the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA), the Canadian Association of Internet Providers...

CRTC issues mandatory order against Vidéotron over inside wiring maneuvering

Media | 10/10/2002 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC has once again come out against Quebecor Media Inc., issuing a mandatory order against the Quebec media giant’s cable subsidiary Vidéotron ltée on the use of inside wiring – Broadcasting Decision 2002-299. Also this week, the commission rejected a Quebecor Media complaint against Bell ExpressVu LP in ruling that its parent, BCE Inc., wasn’t inappropriately cross-subsidizing the direct-to-home (DTH) satellite TV distributor’s entry into the Quebec market – Telecom Decision 2002-61. The issuance of a mandatory order aimed at ensuring that Vidéotron’s wires are available to third-party competitors comes as no surprise. The public hearing into the matter was a...