CAB scales back staff in restructuring aimed at greater efficiencies

Media | 05/23/2002 4:00 am EDT

Seven positions have been cut at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), with the workload being shifted and some employees picking up new titles. The downsizing comes after repeated requests by CAB members for the association to scale back its overhead. There are now 31 staff members at the...

CCR Editorial

Media | 05/23/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.W.A.V.E.S.’ proposal for a new service to enhance live sporting and other events is innovative, practical and seems poised for market success (see story in this issue).  It is a rare marriage of technology and business case that convergence-watchers should cheer. We hope the CRTC gives the...

CAB opposes general licence condition on 4+1 signals

Media | 05/23/2002 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is opposing an amendment to SaskTel’s broadcast distribution licence over concerns about simultaneous substitution. The CAB argues that if SaskTel is given a general condition of licence allowing it to distribute different U.S. 4+1 network signals in different locations of the province, it could...

CNM Update

Media | 05/22/2002 4:00 am EDT

Copps to make partnership announcement at awardsCanadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps is expected to make an announcement related to the Canadian Culture Online Program at the Canadian New Media Awards in Toronto on May 27. Copps’ office won’t divulge what the minister will be announcing, but sources indicate that a partnership agreement with Telus Corp. is in the works, though yet to be finalized. The minister’s...

Clock running out on C-48 as broadcasters, stakeholders urge further changes

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage will likely review proposed legislation on Internet retransmission on May 27 and 28, but it’s still unknown how the regulations underlying the proposed law will take shape in the wake of last-minute changes recommended by several parties to the debate. While some stakeholders are couching their positions in conciliatory terms, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has maintained its silence in the run-up to clause-by-clause debate.  CAB president/CEO Glenn O’Farrell has not been made available for comment, leading many to wonder how vociferously the organization will oppose Bill C-48 in its current form. It’s clear, however,...

Supreme Court grants cable industry leave to appeal pole access decision

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an appeal from the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) over access to electric utility poles. In a decision released this morning, three justices granted leave to appeal with costs to the applicant. It is not known when the case will be heard, but given the court’s...

Tariff 22 decision hailed as victory for both sides though uncertainty remains

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

A May 1 decision by the Federal Court of Appeal on ISP copyright may not be the last the industry hears on the issue as the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) mulls a Supreme Court of Canada challenge on the issue of caching. While ISPs were ultimately deemed not liable for paying royalties on content such as...

U.S. gov’t, industry pressure Canadians to overhaul copyright protection regime

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

American copyright holders are stepping up efforts to kill proposed legislation to entrench the compulsory rights of Internet retransmitters in this country as the U.S. government has pointedly criticized Canada for flaws in its intellectual property laws. This month the largest U.S. copyright holders in entertainment...

Producers survey finds near-flat revenue in 2000 as market slowdown takes toll

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The third Delvinia Inc. Interactive Media Producers Survey (IMPS) has confirmed the new media industry’s perceptions that the year 2000 saw a serious slide in the latter half, but estimated gross revenues for the sector remained nearly unchanged over 1999. The interactive media sector added $1.8 billion to its top line in...

Deadline passes for Suite101 takeover by Blue Frogg to spin online writer community into new entity

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

Salt Lake City-based Blue Frogg will not follow through on its option to purchase the assets of Suite101.com for US$155,000 and give the writers community a new lease on life after being spun out from its parent corporation (CNM, Jan. 23/02). The final date to exercise its option was May 15. Blue...

Blast Radius scores Canadian Tourism contract

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

Blast Radius, one of Canada’s largest and most successful new media firms, says a three-year contract to rebuild the Canadian Tourism Commission’s (CTC) web site isn’t a rare win for the company. Michael Dingle, executive VP of client development, says the contract, likely the envy of many smaller shops struggling to survive, is part of the...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund winnersThe Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund has announced winners from its February 1 round. Production grants were awarded to I Love Money (Breakthrough Films & Television); CG Kids (Summerhill Entertainment Inc.); and L’Amerique Francaise (Les Productions Hyperzoom Inc.). Development grants were awarded to: Contents of a Deadman’s Pockets (Trapeze Media & Cellar Door...

CNM People

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

Claude Galipeau has taken over the position of managing director of cbc.ca. Galipeau is well-known as the force behind Salter Street Films’ new media division started in 1998, and as VP of broadcasting at Alliance Atlantis after that company purchased Salter. Alain Aubut was elected president of the Alliance NumériQC’s administrative council on May 1, replacing outgoing president Michel Chioni. Aubut is the...

Satellite TV decision upholds ability of stakeholders to protect against rights theft

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

I read with interest the editorial in the May 1 edition of Canadian NEW MEDIA and was particularly intrigued by the writer’s observation that "the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision last week on grey market satellite TV was a body blow to the advocates of free speech". The editorial then proceeded to express the hope that "a Charter challenge to the ruling will hopefully set aside the Radiocommunication Act’s less-than-constitutional laws regarding the reception of foreign programming services…" I was puzzled by Canadian NEW MEDIA’s editorial stance, given that the e-mail I received alerting me to the fact that the latest edition was available also implored...

CNM Editorial

Media | 05/16/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters has often acted as this country’s strongest champion of protection of intellectual property, so the government will think twice before enacting any legislation that runs counter to the CAB’s position on broadcast issues. Thus, though the majority of...

CCR Update

Media | 05/15/2002 4:00 am EDT

CFTPA calls on gov’t to preserve secure place for Canadian programmingThe government must ensure a continued place for Canadian programming in the Canadian broadcasting system, the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) told the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage studying the state of the broadcasting system on May 9. "From the CFTPA’s perspective, the single most important element of...

Quebecor argues its subsidiary is not subject to CRTC rules on inside wiring

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

A defiant Quebecor Media Inc. appeared before the CRTC last month, continuing to argue that a subsidiary that took over the inside wiring of multi-unit dwellings (MUDs) in Quebec is not subject to commission rules. In an opening statement at a public hearing into the matter, counsel Robert Buchan from the law firm Johnston...

Work remains to be done on piracy front

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

Well done, Bell ExpressVu. You have single-handedly carried the grey market dispute all the way to the Supreme Court and won. It was a long and often lonely fight and you prevailed. You deserve the thanks of everyone in the broadcasting industry.  The more senior members of our industry will remember that even before Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice...

CCR Editorial

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Now that the Supreme Court has confirmed that grey and black market satellite TV activities are illegal, a crackdown on them must be swift and strict. For this to happen, more broadcast industry players, the government, and law enforcement agencies will have to more forcibly join the efforts of the Canadian distributors pressing for an end to satellite TV piracy.  It is time for broadcasters to ante up in the fight. They should put their money where their mouths are and launch legal actions of their own. Since broadcaster WIC was swallowed up by Shaw and CanWest Global, broadcasters have been watching from the sidelines as Bell ExpressVu fought the battle alone. And where has Star Choice been through all this? A coordinated strategy should be quickly developed and undertaken to act on this front.  As well, the Canadian broadcast industry as a whole must pressure the courts to deal as expediently as possible with...

CBC, private broadcasters oppose CPAC’s licence renewal proposals

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) is facing opposition to its licence renewal application from both the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. and private broadcasters as it was appearing at press time at a CRTC public hearing. The CBC and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) are objecting to CPAC being granted dual...

Local ownership was always an issue in Vancouver ethnic TV process: Multivan

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

UpdateFollowing the publication of the article below, CCR learned that the federal Cabinet dismissed the appeals calling for a review of the granting of a licence for an over-the-air ethnic station to Multivan Broadcast Corporation. In Order in Council P.C. 2002-779, dated May 8, the government declined to set aside...

Radiocommunication Act lacks “teeth”, needs changes, says ExpressVu lawyer

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

Despite the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision confirming that grey and black market satellite TV are illegal, changes are still needed to the Radiocommunication Act to help combat grey and black market activities, according to the winning lawyer in the case. Bill McKenzie, legal counsel to...

Lack of wide distribution of some Category 2s could lead to demise of new broadcasters

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

Senior CRTC staff question whether the failure of new broadcast players to get wide distribution of their Category 2 channels might lead to their demise. In a paper presented at the New Developments in Communications Law and Policy conference in Ottawa on April 26, Martine Vallée and John Traversy...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

Fecan says Bell Globemedia hasn’t given up on convergenceBell Globemedia president and CEO Ivan Fecan says he hasn’t given up on convergence. "In terms of where I see it going is I see a continuum," he told delegates at the New Developments in Communications Law and Policy conference on April 26. He likened convergence to research and development, indicating that it would take a number of applied experiments...

Bureau, Asper disagree on need for foreign investment in Canadian broadcast system

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

Two senior Canadian broadcasting executives are divided on whether or not foreign ownership rules for broadcasting companies should be loosened. At the New Developments in Communications Law and Policy conference in Ottawa on April 27, Astral Media chair André Bureau argued for the status quo, saying that foreign companies...

CCR People

Media | 05/09/2002 4:00 am EDT

Alexander Himelfarb has been appointed clerk of the Privy Council, effective May 13. He has over 20 years of experience in the public service, including most recently as deputy minister of Canadian Heritage. He has held that position since June 1999. Judith LaRocque, currently associate deputy minister of Canadian Heritage, has been promoted to fill the position Himelfarb is vacating. As well, Michael Wernick, currently...

CNM Update

Media | 05/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

Bill C-48 tentatively scheduled for discussion May 27-28The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage will examine Bill C-48, a bill to amend Canada’s retransmission laws, on May 27 and 28, says the committee’s clerk (CNM Update, May 2/02). The date is tentative since the body has a very full plate between now and whenever the House of Commons rises for the summer. Several other agenda items have yet to be dealt with by...

CNM Special Edition Update

Media | 05/02/2002 4:00 am EDT

Analysis – Internet retransmission regulations to allow new class of Internet undertakingISPs win Tariff 22 fight against SOCANThe Federal Court of Appeal has upheld most of a decision by the Copyright Board of Canada rendering ISPs free from payment of copyright fees to music companies in a judgement handed down today on Tariff 22.Revised draft regulations defining Bill C-48 distributed to industry stakeholders today – likely the final version that will be sent to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage – appear to be less restrictive than earlier proposals on a new class of "new media retransmitter" (CNM, Mar. 27/02 and CNM Update, Mar. 21/02). They represent a final commitment by the federal government to entrenching the rights of Internet retransmitters to operate. The regulations, for example, make no mention of specific authorization procedures to ensure the transmissions are being viewed only in Canada, effectively leaving it up to companies such as JumpTV.com Canada Inc. to put in place...

DFAIT offers unpaid web building project to showcase Canadian art at G8 Summit

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

G8 Summit officials are defending their decision not to offer financial compensation for a web site and CD-ROM worth roughly $45,000, citing the international showcase opportunity for the company chosen to develop the online gallery. While the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) official in charge...

Théberge Supreme Court case divides experts on digital copyright applicability

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

Internet and copyright law experts are divided on the effects of the recent Théberge v. Galerie d’Art du Petit Champlain Inc. decision by the Supreme Court of Canada on the digital copyright reform process now underway. While several prominent lawyers and creators are worried the decision will push legislators to draft...

PERFECT10 ruling to aid pursuit of adult content copyright infringement

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

Canadian porn company Wild Rose Productions Inc. is reserving judgement on the usefulness of a new California Central District Court ruling against massive copyright infringement, but says intellectual property protection is crucial to adult content businesses here and elsewhere. Wild Rose in-house counsel Neil Oberman...

CourtTV, federal crime busters launch interactive web/broadcast project

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

CourtTV Canada, the Canadian Policy Research Networks (CPRN), and the National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention have teamed up for a unique series of broadcast shorts with a companion web site geared to teaching users about crimes affecting youth and to gathering more information on the issue interactively....

Creators form new alliance to make voice heard on copyright, trade issues

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

The interests of producers and creators have diverged too much for the groups to lobby together on copyright and culture issues, making it necessary for artists and others to form their own coalition, says a former chair of the Writer’s Union of Canada. The resulting organization, the Creators Rights Alliance (CRA), was founded in Montreal on April 29/30 to lobby on behalf of 27 different artists representative associations and collectives on the issues of world trade talks and domestic copyright issues. Susan Crean, a former head of the Writers Union of Canada, says that while creators and producers worked closely together on the previous round of copyright reform in 1996, the focus...

CAIP, CCTA trade barbs at regulation conference

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

Canadians have greater reason to be concerned about how the high-speed Internet provision duopoly will affect consumer choice and access than about potential government regulation, delegates to a communications law conference in Ottawa heard on April 27. Canadian Association of Internet Providers head Jay Thomson issued the warning at the New...

CCR Update

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

Bell ExpressVu adds 76,000 net subscribers in Q1Satellite TV operator Bell ExpressVu LP added 76,000 net subscribers in its fiscal 2002 first quarter ended March 31, according to financial results released last week by parent BCE Inc. This compares to 74,000 net subscribers added in the same period last year. The company had a total of 1.145 million subscribers at March 31. Bell ExpressVu continued to make strong inroads...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

Alliance Atlantis chops 35 full-time broadcast positionsAlliance Atlantis Communications Inc. announced April 24 that it was eliminating 35 full-time, permanent positions from its broadcast group. The move is expected to save the company $1 million on a one-time basis and result in annual operating cost savings of $3 million. Garth Turner production enlists iLoveTV interactive helpGarth Turner’s BangTV has struck...

CNM People

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

Sheila de La Varende has been named interim director of international operations at Telefilm Canada. She assumes the new position May 1, while continuing to oversee management of the agency’s European office in Paris. She takes over from Johanne St-Arnauld, who is leaving Telefilm to pursue other interests. La Varende has been running Telefilm Canada’s European office since October, 1995, and will now be in charge of...

Regulation on the Internet: An overview

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

Excerpted from paper presented April 27 to the New Developments in Communications Law and Policy conference, Ottawa.  Until relatively recently, there was a widespread belief that it would be impossible to regulate content on the Internet. The versatility of the Internet and the worldwide web as communications media has had an enormous impact on a...

CNM Editorial

Media | 05/01/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. While the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision last week on grey market satellite TV was a body blow to the advocates of free speech in this country, a new class of television provider – the Internet broadcaster – should take cheer that their business case has become a little stronger. Though a...

Supreme Court confirms that grey and black market satellite TV is illegal

Media | 04/26/2002 4:00 am EDT

A coalition of broadcasting industry players is calling on the federal government to shut down grey and black market satellite TV dealers across the country following a unanimous decision today by Canada’s highest court confirming that grey and black market satellite TV is illegal in this country. The group is asking the...

CRTC chair hesitant about CCTA’s recommendations for regulatory reform

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

CRTC chair Charles Dalfen is unconvinced that the U.S. style of broadcast and telecom regulation that reveals how commissioners vote can be transferred to the Canadian system. Opening the vote process at the CRTC is one of several proposals on regulatory reform put forward recently by the Canadian Cable Television...

Tech advances could prevent PVR from hurting advertising model: broadcasters

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

Canadian broadcasters say that technological solutions may solve the problem of personal video recorders potentially ruining the existing advertising model of television broadcasting. They were reacting to a keynote address at the Canadian Cable Television Association’s annual convention last week in Vancouver by Leo Hindery Jr., who warned broadcasters that an unexpected consequence of a massive rollout of the PVR could be the demise of a system run on advertising dollars as viewers use the devices to skip over commercials. "So far, it’s really early stages, and the industry is pretty adept at dealing with potentially disastrous technologies," notes Paul Robertson,...

Concerns expressed about potential negative effects of Bill S-7 on small industry players

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

Bill S-7 could have potentially crippling effects on small broadcasters and cable companies, some politicians suggested during an April 17 meeting of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Committee vice-chair Dennis Mills stated he was reluctant to move forward on Senator Sheila Finestone’s...

CHUM’s request for split feed advertising runs counter to CRTC policy: Rogers

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

Rogers Broadcasting Limited is opposing a request by CHUM Limited for a split advertising feed for its NewRO conventional television station in Pembroke and retransmitter in Ottawa on the grounds that it would represent a change in CRTC policy. Rogers argues that such a shift should only be contemplated as part of a broader...

Telus requires BDU licence to provide VOD service, cable industry tells CRTC

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

Telephone company Telus Corp. should not be allowed to provide a video-on-demand service in a massive Toronto condominium complex unless and until it applies for and receives a broadcast distribution licence, according to the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA). Industry observers say the issue represents an...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

Copyright collective appealing pay audio tariff decisionThe Neighbouring Rights Collective of Canada (NRCC) has applied for judicial review of the Copyright Board of Canada’s first-ever tariff decision for pay audio services (CCR, Mar. 28/02). NRCC is not challenging the rate set by the board, but the proportion of royalties shared by NRCC and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)....

CCR People

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

BCE Inc. chair and CEO Jean Monty abruptly resigned April 24, causing many to question the telecom giant’s future television, print, and Internet convergence strategy. Monty was the architect of Bell Globemedia. Michael Sabia, most recently BCE president and COO, replaces Monty as CEO, while Richard Currie becomes non-executive chair.  Johanne St-Arnauld has been appointed director of the new commercial distribution branch at the National Film Board. Assuming the new position May 13, she will be responsible for the development, implementation and management of commercial distribution for all NFB productions, in all languages and markets. She was until recently director of international relations, and served as acting executive director at Telefilm Canada from July to December 2001. Also, André Picard begins his duties as director general of the NFB’s French program on May 6.  Sheila de La Varende has been appointed interim director of international relations at Telefilm Canada. She assumes on May 1 the position previously...

The Shape of Things to Come

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

The last few months have not been kind to communications conglomerates. The value of AOL Time Warner’s stock recently hit a post-merger low, having fallen about 70 per cent from the beginning of 2000 when the merger was announced. The French media giant Vivendi Universal is quickly catching up (or down) with AOL, its shares having suffered a comparable decline over much the same time period. In Canada, BCE and Quebecor...

CCR Editorial

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. ClarificationIn the editorial below, we repeated a point made by CRTC commissioner Andrée Noël in her dissenting opinion to Broadcasting Decision 2002-84 that, it turns out, is less than factual. We noted that Shaw’s Cancom and Star Choice units were in non-compliance with their conditions of...

CRTC pledges support on piracy front, as coalition seeks end to black, grey markets

Media | 04/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

CRTC chair Charles Dalfen has promised the commission’s support to thwart black and grey market satellite TV, signaling a shift in the regulator’s approach to the issue. The CRTC has traditionally watched satellite TV piracy issues unfold from the sidelines, letting law enforcement agencies and the courts take the lead....

CNM Update

Media | 04/24/2002 4:00 am EDT

Monty resigns from pressured BCE; change at top could signal backing off from convergence strategyJean Monty has tendered his resignation as chairman/CEO of BCE Inc. in the face of increasing shareholder concerns about a plummeting stock price and the drag effected on the company by troubled subsidiary Teleglobe. Michael Sabia will replace Monty as CEO, and Richard Currie will serve as non-executive chairman. Sabia is a...

Web synchronization software works flawlessly in Corus broadcast trial

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

A recent successful trial of technology from iLoveTV Entertainment Inc. to create a synchronized webcast on the Documentary Channel should prove a strong bargaining chip as the startup begins negotiations this week with several major sports leagues to implement the process in their own broadcasts. On April 6, the...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

Digitized sheet music posted by National LibraryThe National Library of Canada has posted a searchable database of digitized sheet music spanning the pre-Confederation and First World War periods.The sheet music covers are also available for viewing. This spring, a further 900 pieces of music will be added. Full music scores are added once copyright clearance is obtained. Future phases will include digitized sheet music...

CNM People

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

Jannat Hamid, former VP of Canadian Women in Communications, has been appointed chair of the new Women in Leadership Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging women’s pursuit of leadership roles. Sally Glover has been named to the foundation’s advisory board.The National Film Board of Canada has named André Picard to head its French program as director general. Picard is a more-than-20-year...

‘Too long a step’: CATA responds to Ontario’s draft privacy legislation

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

Ontario’s government has completed a comment round on its draft privacy legislation. The CATA Alliance , a high-tech trade association, released its response at the end of March. The following is an edited version.Consent The draft Privacy of Personal Information Act, 2002 (PPIA) calls for express consent as the...

CNM Editorial

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps may bristle at being called baby, but it’s unlikely she’ll object much to the characterization made of her by Mike Bullard at the Junos as the "chick with the cheques". Copps is currying favour with the entertainment industry and favour is usually bought with cash. One has to wonder, though, whether that money will be enough to prop up the current business model for music, threatened as it is by digital distribution. The Junos, which were the best ever (as one might expect hosted in the country’s most beautiful, friendly and musical province), are the public face of one way of promoting Canadian music, but the legal hoops through which recording industry companies are jumping to protect their businesses are fast becoming ridiculous. It was fitting that the show was hosted by the Barenaked Ladies, one of the most intelligent bands in the business. Even when...

Web broadcasting needs regulation, say Quebec content producers and distributors

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

A coalition of associations representing Quebec artists, producers, and distributors received an overwhelmingly supportive response to its call for greater regulation of Internet radio and TV broadcasting at an April 16 hearing of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage in Ottawa. Committee chair Clifford Lincoln and...

Quebec multimedia industry suggests $100-million e-learning package

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

Quebec’s primary IT industry association has recommended the province stay at the forefront of interactive education with a comprehensive $100-million, five-year package of government financing. In a submission to Quebec’s education minister, the Alliance NumériQC says the provincial government must hammer home the...

Users and creators spar over digital protections for copyright at hearing

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

The fifth in a series of cross-country consultations by the departments of Industry Canada and Canadian Heritage saw little in the way of any broad consensus emerge on potential reforms to the Copyright Act to protect intellectual property in the digital age. On April 11, about 100 participants attended the day-long session...

DirecTV tells Heritage, Industry of efficacy of notice-and-takedown to combat piracy

Media | 04/19/2002 4:00 am EDT

Copyright regulations that allow the quick takedown of infringing web sites are critical to combating black market satellite TV theft, says U.S. satellite TV giant DirecTV Inc.  On April 11, at the copyright reform consultation hearing in Ottawa, DirecTV assistant general counsel Chris Murphy told participants that the...

CCR Update

Media | 04/17/2002 4:00 am EDT

Hindery Jr. praises CRTC’s five-to-one rule, Robertson has little to sayLeo Hindery Jr., the chairman and CEO of the Yankees Entertainment and Sports (YES) Network, praised the CRTC for coming up with the five-to-one carriage rule for Category 2 digital channels. He made the observation in a question-and-answer session following his keynote address on April 15 at the annual convention of the Canadian Cable Television Association in Vancouver. U.S. cableco Cablevision has refused to sign a deal to carry the 130 baseball games offered by the YES Network. Cablevision’s Madison Square Garden Network had the rights to Yankees games until this year, when the Yankee-controlled YES took over the rights and then began negotiating carriage deals. Paul Robertson, president of television at Corus Entertainment Inc., had little to say when asked in a session on the diginets on April 16 if he was pressuring Shaw Communications Inc. CEO Jim Shaw to carry more non-affiliated Category 2s so that more of Corus’ diginets could be distributed on...

Regional cable licensing behind schedule; administrative renewals to be issued

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC’s plan to begin issuing regional cable licences this year in accordance with a new licensing model is behind schedule and won’t kick in until 2003. The commission has been quietly telling the industry in recent weeks that it will issue short-term administrative licence renewals to cable systems whose licences...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

Craig, Rogers get licences for crowded Toronto marketJennifer Strain, VP of corporate and regulatory affairs at Craig Broadcast Systems Inc., says the company plans to have a station up-and-running in Toronto by the fall. "People asked what a Brandon-based company knew about the Edmonton and Calgary markets when we moved in there," she says, turning aside criticism about the company not knowing enough about the...

CCR People

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

Bill Hunt has been appointed VP and general manager of specialty television at Global Television. Since 1997, Hunt has worked at Global, helping launch and manage the day-to-day operations of the specialty channel Prime. Also, as VP of specialty affiliate relations, he introduced six new digital television services in September 2001: Lonestar, DejaView, Mentv, Mystery, Xtreme Sports and Fox Sports World Canada.  Scot...

Dissents in Toronto licensing decision reveal fractious opinions at the CRTC

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

Commissioner Joan Pennefather dissented, along with CRTC vice-chair of broadcasting Andrée Wylie, on the decision to grant an over-the-air licence to Craig Broadcast Systems Inc. for the Toronto market. Both Pennefather and Wylie felt the licence should have gone to Toronto-based Torstar, publisher of the Toronto Star. An...

CCR Editorial

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Two contentious licensing decisions are causing some in the industry to wonder if CRTC decisions are based too much on the personal agendas of some commissioners rather than the merits of applications or the objectives of the Broadcasting Act. Perhaps they’re yet two more examples as to why the...

CourtTV battle shows negative effect of CRTC’s transponder decision on customers

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC’s decision last year to deny several broadcasters the right to lease satellite transponders directly from Telesat Canada has ultimately resulted in thousands of primarily digital cable and satellite TV subscribers losing access to a channel focusing on court and legal issues. The situation will likely force the...

Canadian content study could lead to more ‘harmonized’ funding, regulation rules

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

The federal government’s review of how Canadian content should be defined could lead to greater harmonization of CanCon funding and regulatory policies. François Macerola, the former Telefilm Canada executive director who will oversee the review, says this latest study is more all-encompassing than a previous examination...

Telus looking to offer VOD in Toronto’s CityPlace residential complex

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

A subsidiary of Canada’s second larg est telephone company has applied for a licence to provide video-on-demand to CityPlace, a massive downtown Toronto residential condominium development expected to house about 7,000 people within ten years – Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing 2002-2. Telus Entertainment Inc., a...

Community groups file appeals on CRTC’s Vancouver ethnic TV licensing decision

Media | 04/12/2002 4:00 am EDT

Disgruntled community groups have appealed the CRTC’s Vancouver ethnic television licensing decision on the grounds the licence was granted based on criteria not included in the call for applications. The move means that for the second time in as many years the Vancouver TV file will end up on the federal Cabinet agenda. Within the last two weeks, a group calling itself the Community Coalition for a Fair Hearing and others have filed at least five independent appeals to Cabinet on the decision to license Multivan Broadcast Corporation instead of Rogers Broadcasting Limited’s CFMT-TV for the over-the-air Vancouver station. "We want a fair hearing, because what happened was...

CNM Update

Media | 04/10/2002 4:00 am EDT

CCOP advisory panel optimistic about roleThe advisory panel named by Canadian Heritage to guide development of the Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP) is thus far optimistic that it will play an important role in the initiative (CNM, April 8/02). While the department has come under harsh criticism in the past for moving slowly on such issues as changes to the Telefilm Canada multimedia fund, advisory board members say...

Heritage, CANARIE officials defend record of French on Internet as important priority

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

Officials at Canadian Heritage and CANARIE Inc. are quietly defending their record for emphasizing new French cultural content online after a report was issued late last month that was seen to be highly critical of the federal government for failing to act on the issue. The report, French on the...

Internet broadcaster eyes Canada as way to escape “unfair” digital music fees

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

At least one independent radio broadcaster in the U.S. says he’s willing to pull up stakes and move to Canada to avoid paying a controversial new copyright fee for songs that he plays on the Internet. Robert Pullman, founder of Inetprogramming in Moses Lake WA, says he’s contemplating a return...

Funding adequate support for e-learning major challenge: deputy ministers

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

Funding remains the most significant hurdle to broader implementation of e-learning, though other challenges also threaten the industry, delegates attending the recent second CANARIE Inc. National E-Learning Workshop heard. In fact, four provincial deputy ministers told about 300 attendees in Montreal in late February that...

Ostry cautions Ontario gov’t to re-examine tax credit as he prepares departure

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

The outgoing head of the Ontario Media Development Corp. (OMDC) says he’s leaving Ontario’s new media industry in better shape than at the beginning of his tenure. Calling the OMDC’s interactive content tax credit and professional development programs a net positive contribution to the industry, Adam Ostry still departs his post next month cognizant that the tax credit continues to be of limited use. He has recommended the Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation examine the issue over the coming months.  Discussing his three-year administration of the agency, Ostry says he’s most proud that he and his team were able to convince Ontario’s Conservative government of the...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

AOL Time Warner, By The NumbersIn early February 2002, Canadian NEW MEDIA filed an Access to Information request seeking more details about a benefits package announced by AOL Time Warner as part of its merger approval (CNM, Feb. 7/02). Following are the results of that request, received April 4: Pages of documentation which exist pertaining to AOL’s acquisition of Time Warner and held by the federal government: 2,593....

CanCon review’s helpfulness to new media sector debated; industry to be at table

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

Industry advocates are divided but the head of a newly announced initiative to review Canadian content rules says it’s unlikely the subject can be broached for TV and film without taking into consideration new media. François Macerola tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that he’s limited by mandate to reporting on how CanCon...

CNM People

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

David Dyer, a senior consultant for The Capital Hill Group, Ottawa, has been retained as a lobbyist at the federal government level to represent the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC). His work will be on the direct behalf of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency Ltd., Neighbouring Rights Collective of Canada, the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada, and for the...

An Open Letter to Inetprogramming Artists, Groups, and Recording Labels

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

On his web site, Inetprogramming owner Robert Pullman is appealing for help to deal with new copyright fees approved for online digital music in the United States. Those fees are currently the subject of an appeal. In his open letter, Pullman argues the rates will force web broadcasters off the air. (This document has been...

CNM Editorial

Media | 04/08/2002 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Early voting in our April online poll asking how the CRTC might best be reformed is so far clearly in favour of making the "regulatory process more open, accountable, and transparent". Decima Publishing has made an effort in recent months to bring to light examples where the commission must...

CCR Update

Media | 04/03/2002 5:00 am EST

Canadian Heritage launches Canadian content reviewCanadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps has launched a review of the definition of Canadian content as it applies to film and television production. The department released a paper, entitled "Canadian Content in the 21st Century", on April 2 to provide a framework for the review. Former Telefilm Canada executive director François Macerola has been charged with...

Industry stakeholders wrangle over draft regulations for Internet retransmitters

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Little to no consensus on Internet retransmission has emerged even in the wake of a compromise draft position put forward by the federal government. On March 19, the departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry Canada circulated a consultation document to industry stakeholders for feedback, titled Retransmission Conditions...

CRTC moves quickly on government order regarding World Television Network

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

The Toronto businessman behind repeated failed bids for an analog multicultural television licence says he’ll take the matter to Canada’s highest court if the CRTC decides to open up the licensing process to other parties. That’s one of the options available to the commission as it reconsiders its December 2001...

Vidéotron move forces competitors to cease signing up new customers in MUDs

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

Vidéotron ltée competitors in Quebec say they have been forced to cease efforts to acquire customers in multiple-unit dwellings (MUDs) in the province because of hefty fees for the use of inside wiring. Vidéotron’s sister company Câblage QMI Inc. (CQMI) is attempting to charge $5 per subscriber per month – an amount significantly higher than the 44 cents proposed by the CRTC in an ongoing process to set rates for third-party use of inside wiring.  Even if they were willing to pay the $5 fee, CQMI has no process in place to hook up service to a competitor of Vidéotron, says Paul Armstrong, director of regulatory and government affairs at Bell ExpressVu LP. "A key aspect of...

CAB seeks slew of supports in “transition” to for-profit Canadian programming

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

The CRTC will play a crucial role in ensuring a viable broadcasting system – at least during a transition period, according to a vision of the future of Canadian broadcasting put forward by Canada’s private broadcasters. Many of the recommendations promoted by the Canadian Association of...

Rabinovitch wants government to reaffirm CBC’s role as deliverer of CanCon

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

The president and CEO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. remains leery that Canada’s private broadcasters could ever fill the shoes of the public broadcaster in creating domestic programming. Robert Rabinovitch doesn’t buy claims by the private broadcasting industry that it is working toward a system pillared on the...

Copyright Board sets first ever tariff for Canadian pay audio services

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

A landmark tariff set by the Copyright Board of Canada this month for pay audio services will take a bite out of profits of Canada’s two providers, and has left industry players scratching their heads about the rationale behind the rate. The tariff – the first ever for pay audio services – will cost Canadian...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

More cablecos apply for basic cable rate deregulationCogeco Cable Inc. has filed an application with the CRTC for basic cable rate deregulation for its systems in the Quebec regions of Alma, Sainte-Adèle, Baie-Comeau, Drummondville, Grand-Mère, Magog, Rimouski, Sept-Iles and St.-Hyacinthe, as well as its system in Kingston ON. Previously, the company had remained tight-lipped about its plans for rate deregulation (CCR,...

CCR People

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

At the CRTC, Anne-Marie Murphy has been appointed to the new position of special advisor to the chair for six months. Replacing Murphy in her previous position as director of broadcasting operations on an interim basis is Robert Ramsay. Lyne Rénaud becomes acting director of the acquisitions and ownership policy section, the position formerly held by Ramsay.  Micheline Charest, founder of embattled Cinar Corp., has been hired by the Just for Laughs Group to develop new international business for the group. Also, Robert Bourque, formerly VP of control at Vidéotron ltée, becomes VP of finance, and David Gilmour, formerly with the Cirque du Soleil, takes charge of sponsorship sales for the North American English-speaking markets. Aliant Inc. has appointed Jay Forbes its president and CEO. He has been serving as acting CEO since March 1, when former president and CEO Stephen Wetmore moved to Bell Canada as corporate vice-chair. Bruce Burgetz becomes senior VP and chief information officer at Rogers AT&T Wireless. He is...

Astral CEO touts benefits of a strong, innovative cultural industry in Quebec

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

On the 40th anniversary of Astral Media, president and chief executive officer Ian Greenberg said one essential element of the pure play media company’s brand was its commitment to Montreal and Quebec. The company has 1,400 employees, 800 of them based in Montreal. Speaking March 19 before the Montreal Board of Trade, he...

CCR Editorial

Media | 03/28/2002 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.It appears as though Charles Dalfen is beginning to make his mark as chair of the CRTC. In the past couple of weeks, the commission moved uncharacteristically quickly on two key issues before it. It should be commended for that.  On March 26, the regulator announced that it would reconsider its...

Blank CD/MP3 player levy admittedly an “imperfect system”: CPCC president

Media | 03/27/2002 5:00 am EST

An informal poll of lawyers familiar with Canada’s blank tape levy indicates that it’s unlikely a proposed $21 per gigabyte (Gb) tax on hard-drive-based MP3 players will stand as presented to the Copyright Board of Canada. However, most observers believe some form of tariff will apply to a broad...

New iCrave to operate within law, insists Entervision founder Herbert Becker

Media | 03/27/2002 5:00 am EST

Montreal inventor Herbert Becker insists that he is operating within the law both by proposing to retransmit network broadcasts and in using the iCraveTV name and logo on his new web site, iCraveTV.biz (CNM Update, Mar. 14/02). Becker, the founder of Entervision Inc., released a media advisory on March 25 to defend the...

CFTPA argues for CRTC-recognized principle of producer-owned ITV content

Media | 03/27/2002 5:00 am EST

The chair of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) says asking the CRTC to rule on who "owns" interactive content is a more realistic request than it may seem. Stephen Ellis’ comments come as communications lawyers familiar with the Byzantine workings of the commission have been looking...

Oberon Interactive creates TV division, first show to air this fall on Global Television

Media | 03/27/2002 5:00 am EST

Oberon Interactive Inc. will shortly begin shooting a television series with its newly formed broadcast division, company co-founder Luda Tovey tells Canadian NEW MEDIA. The new entity, Oberon Television and Video (OTV), has sold its first show, Second Chance: Making it Work, to CanWest Global...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 03/27/2002 5:00 am EST

Bell Fund to build on CFTPA AGM meeting momentumBell Broadcast and New Media Fund executives are in the preliminary stages of developing new research avenues into sustainability following a successful broadcaster/digital producer summit at the Canadian Film and Television Production Association’s annual meeting in Ottawa last month. After a frank session, fund executives are discussing a series of initiatives to explore...

CNM People

Media | 03/27/2002 5:00 am EST

Philip B. Lind, vice-chair of Rogers Communications Inc., has been named a member of the Order of Canada. Lind, who has been with Rogers for 33 years including as vice-chair since 1991, has served on many boards. Also at Rogers, the company’s board of directors has extended the contract of founder Ted Rogers in his position as chief executive officer for three more years. Vancouver-based Blast Radius Inc. has hired...

Government urged to better promote French content online

Media | 03/27/2002 5:00 am EST

On March 25, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages released its study of the state of French-language government content in Canada. The authors reproach the federal government for not following through on a number of recommendations made by the office in 1999, and urge the government to make a new commitment to French-language content. It’s a matter, say the report’s authors, of economic and cultural imperative. The following is an edited excerpt from the study’s executive summary. In implementing the provisions of the Official Languages Act, the Government of Canada cannot escape the necessity of promoting the French language on the Internet. For this, it needs to have in place an integrated strategy, a targeted action plan, and the necessary investment, all...