TAGGED AS MEDIA

CRTC to review rules for access to in-building telephone and cable wires

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

After years of squabbling between telcos, cablecos, new competitors and building owners, the CRTC has finally initiated a proceeding to establish rules for in-building access. Released August 25, Telecom PN 2000-124 will examine the possible fees, charges and other terms and conditions associated with access to multi-units dwellings (MUDs). The proceeding will look at the rules for facilities used by broadcast distributors, incumbent local exchange carriers and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs). Cable operators have been fighting the MUD battle on two fronts for several years. As an incumbent broadcast distributor, cablecos want to make it difficult for satellite TV companies...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

Cinar may disclose more information from internal auditCinar Corp plans to disclose some of the findings of an internal audit in the next few days. The company also appears close to striking a tax settlement with the federal and provincial governments. The company’s auditors, Ernst & Young, indicated recently they may not sign off on the company’s books for the next several months, leading some observers to speculate that Cinar will never produce audited statements. Meanwhile, the company’s shares have been delisted by the Nasdaq Stock Market, and remain halted on the Toronto Stock Exchange. CRTC wants media to work together on digital TVThe CRTC wants media companies to set aside their rivalry and work together to help set ground rules for the new age of digital broadcasting. The regulator is asking cable and broadcasting companies to help develop new guidelines for introducing the technology that will replace current analog systems (2000-104). More sophisticated digital cable can carry 600 channel signals, whereas traditional...

CCR People

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

Sudbury native Sean Brushett has been appointed VP of marketing at Thomcast Communications Inc, a supplier of microwave transmitting equipment. Brushett will develop and drive the marketing strategy for both Thomcast’s core technologies, operations and new initiatives. Most recently he served as senior marketing manager/director of marketing for Cox Communications in New Orleans. Greg Warren is stepping down as...

Battling Canada’s television giants

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

Jan Pachul has landed himself in a classic David versus Goliath scenario. Last week, the CRTC rejected the Toronto businessman’s application for a community television station for east Toronto (see lead story). But it appears the battle is far from over. Pachul made his pitch for Star Ray TV before a panel of five CRTC commissioners in Hull last...

CCR Editorial

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.00:15:01: Okay, it’s over. The Machiavellian corporate trainer won. Most people in the business world should have seen it coming a mile away. Now, we’re stuck with the fall-out: a wave of knock-off Survivor experiences. An Ottawa radio station just finished a Survivor game. The last challenge...

Toronto station launches on web after CRTC narrowly rejects community TV bid

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

Though denied a licence to launch a community TV station, Jan Pachul isn’t about to give up his plan to broadcast over-the-air. He says that he will launch a pirate UHF channel to complement the web content he’s already announced. Pachul is also taking his fight to the federal Cabinet, the Competition Bureau and the...

Canadian broadcasters warn new policy would create grey market for satellite radio

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

A "grey market" for digital satellite radio could open up next year in Canada, no matter what the federal government decides to do about the issue of harmonized radio frequencies, an industry expert says. Industry Canada is considering bringing certain radio frequencies in line with those in the United States. The band that has Canada’s broadcasting industry worried is 2320-2345 MHz, frequencies that will be used in the U.S. for digital audio radio service by satellite (DARS). Some broadcasters want the department to hold off on decisions until there is a comprehensive review of satellite radio in Canada. In comments filed with Industry Canada, BCE Media says Canadian...

Digital applicants agree on launch date, but not on how channels should be offered

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

A consensus has emerged among digital channel applicants that new Category 1 licensees must hit the market by September 1, 2001 at the latest, and it seems to be a view CRTC commissioners support. What isn’t as clear though, is how these new services will be offered. Pure pick-and-pay may be what many consumers prefer,...

Repackaged programming critical to survival of new digital channels, CRTC told

Media | 08/31/2000 4:00 am EDT

CRTC commissioners are quickly that more digital television channels doesn’t necessarily mean a wealth of new original Canadian programming. The first two weeks into the commission’s licensing hearing for digital specialty channels – PN 2000-22— revealed a trend by many applicants to rely heavily on repeat...

Privacy legislation must be weighed against Internet benefits

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

Bruce Phillips, Privacy Commissioner of Canada, testified before the subcommittee on Communications of the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications about Internet privacy on June 19. Below is an excerpt from his prensentation. Three aspects of this marketplace, its interactivity, its inherently...

CNm Editorial

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. A new report by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) indicates that content, not physical access, is proving the major barrier to getting more Canadians online. As has been highlighted in previous editorials, the report emphasizes the fundamentally unanswered question in Canada’s...

Content, not access, the major barrier to getting more Canadians online, says PIAC

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

The federal government should invest as much as $50 million to help create cultural and community content that is relevant to peoples’ lives if it wants to see a greater number of Canadians hook up to the Internet, according to the author of a new report released by one of Canada’s main social advocacy groups. The...

Proposed BCE/CTV channel aims for complete convergence of TV, Internet

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

A proposed digital TV channel hopes a new video technology will make it stand out from the pack of applicants currently before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for new specialty TV licences (CNM, April 20/00). DGNet, one of a large crop of CTV/BCE proposals, is enticing commissioners...

FMCanada.com challenges conventional radio by returning medium to its local roots

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

A long-time over-the-air radio broad veteran has made a bold move into cyberspace, announcing a string of 50 new Internet stations in each of Canada’s major markets. Tim Martz, president and CEO of San Francisco-based (with Canadian headquarters in Ottawa) Martz Communications Group Inc, says Internet broadcasting will...

The shorter the better when it comes to Internet content, says Trailervision

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

A group of upstart actors, producers and web-heads are hoping to challenge some pre-conceived notions about Internet content with a series of new websites designed to push the bounds of the short-format film. Trailervision Inc recently won a half-million dollar investment from Toronto-based Internet incubator itemus Inc,...

Triax invests heavily in Ontario new media and Internet technology sectors

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

An important source of capital for new media and Internet companies has made a series of significant investments, including a first for the New Millennium Internet Ventures Fund. Triax Capital Holdings Inc has invested $43 million in 17 companies through two funds — the Triax Growth Fund managed by Altamira Management, and the recently-launched New Millennium fund. While only the New Millenium fund is targeted specifically to early stage development companies in the Internet sector (CNM, November 23/99), the Growth Fund made significant commitments to the business-to-consumer and business-to-business ecommerce sectors, the wireless Internet market and the consumer computer graphics...

Infogrames consolidates multi-platform applications development in Montreal

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

A French powerhouse in video game development has chosen Canada as its first server site for a new gaming portal. Launched August 16, GameCitizen.com offers online visitors the chance to play games with others from around the world. It also provides information on strategies, daily news from the gaming industry and free...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

Indiqu announces mobile gaming with Bell MobilityMontreal-based indiqu.com Inc has announced a new partnership with Bell Mobility that will see its games available to Bell’s Internet-ready subscribers. The company’s games are interactive and will be available immediately using the Bell Mobility wireless browser. The privately-held company is based in San Diego with a Canadian headquarters in Montreal, and supports a...

CNM People

Media | 08/23/2000 4:00 am EDT

Mitzie Hunter has been appointed president of SMART Toronto. She will report to chair of the board Dave Wharry. Hunter will work closely with the board to direct all aspects of the organization’s activities, guide its efforts in using Toronto’s strengths in the high tech sector and to promote the city as a worldwide centre for the creation and distribution of digital media. PCsupport.com has named Mark Little as...

CBC caught between mandate and will of politically appointed management

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

Auditor general Denis Desautel’s report on the state of the management of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp paints a picture of an organization caught between its mandate as an arm’s length entity, and the political reality of a management overseen by a board, and a president appointed by the Prime Minister. The...

Canadian TV crews denied entry into U.S. by fickle Immigration border guards

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

Canadian broadcasters being unfairly harassed and denied entry into the United States want the American ambassador to Canada to press his government into reigning in its border officials. Broadcasters and unions say crews have been prevented from entering the U.S. to make documentaries when U.S. Customs staff decided that the productions were not non-fiction. In at least one case, Canadian broadcasters had to buy footage from U.S. producers after being refused entry to film an event. In late July, several Canadian groups, including the Canadian Independent Film Caucus, Canadian Independent Camera Association, Canadian Media Guild, Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Unions of...

CanWest expands content empire with deal to purchase major Hollinger papers

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

CanWest Global Ltd’s takeover of Canada’s largest newspaper chain should sail through with virtually no scrutiny, senior political sources in Ottawa say. The Canadian Competition Bureau is obliged to look at the deal between CanWest and Conrad Black’s Hollinger Corporation, but only in terms of whether the agreement...

All Alert Channel not technically feasible and too expensive, according to CCTA

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Cable Television Association is opposing a proposal by Pelmorex Communications Inc to insert weather warnings on cable signals. In comments filed with the CRTC, the association says it supports the concept of "a cost-effective, technically workable" All Channel Alert (ACA) system. But it notes that...

Statscan study points to older Canadians as radio industry’s main target audience

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

The days of teenagers carrying transistor radios is over, and the generation that made AM the breakthrough venue for rock and roll still makes up the bulk of radio’s listeners, a Statistics Canada study shows. Average listening time is also on the rise. In the fall of 1999, Canadians listened to the radio for an average...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

CCR People

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

Marjean Henderson has been appointed VP and CFO of iMagicTV, a provider of interactive digital television and media-on-demand software solutions for telephone companies and other service providers. Henderson has 15 years of experience as chief financial officer in the areas of entertainment and technology. She was senior VP and CFO at Nucentrix Broadband Networks Inc, a provider of broadband wireless services in medium...

Don’t expect big audiences in a digital world

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

This week, the CRTC’s landmark proceeding began to determine the winners and losers in a digital TV world. At least one BDU is concerned that some digital applicants are expecting too much from the CRTC. Below is an edited excerpt from Look Communications’ July 7 comments to the commission. The CRTC has clearly recognized that packaging...

CCR Editorial

Media | 08/17/2000 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Even as this issue goes to print there’s no guarantee that, by the time you read it, Izzy Asper, Jean Monty, or persons still unknown won’t have reshuffled the Canadian media deck yet again in the name of convergence. A couple of years ago, convergence was a concept that was expounded by a few...

Education key to protecting children online

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

Gordon Ross, president and CEO of Vancouver-based Net Nanny Software International Inc, addressed the Congressionally appointed Child Online Protection Act Commission hearing on Internet filtering and rating at the University of Richmond, VA, on June 20. The commission is evaluating the effectiveness of technological solutions to protect children...

Interquest files for bankruptcy protection during two-week restructuring period

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

A former high-flying celebrity among new media companies is devoting the next two weeks to getting its financial house in order after filing for bankruptcy protection July 19. After nearly a year, Montreal-based Interquest Inc was unable to complete an announced reverse takeover of Alberta junior capital pool company Prairie Fire Oil and Gas, denying it access to much-needed expansion and acquisition capital, or its intended purchase of Point-Net Communications Inc, an R&D-intensive company located in Montreal’s Cité de Multimédia (CNM, Aug. 25/00). INTERQUEST INC4850, de l’Aviation, Suite 200Saint-Hubert, QC J3Z 1H5 Tel: (450) 462-6886Fax: (450)...

Potential IMAX sale subject to foreign investment rules says Canadian Heritage

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

Any potential sale of Imax Corp to a foreign company won’t go ahead without the approval of the foreign investment branch of Canadian Heritage, says the country’s top review official. The Toronto company announced July 13 that it was looking at "strategic alternatives" including the sale or merger of the...

CNM Editorial

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Under ordinary circumstances, one might lament the potential sale of Imax Corp to a much larger, international, entertainment conglomerate. Deals like these are often accompanied with the loss of important executive and technical jobs in Canada. Staff at Mississauga headquarters will likely have...

Open top-level national domain names to free-trade or risk backlash, says Tucows

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

A prominent communications lawyer is calling for free-trade in top-level Internet domain names, warning that restrictive Canadian policies will trigger trade retaliation for domestic companies working abroad. Tim Denton, working on behalf of Tucows Interactive Ltd, told delegates at a recent conference in Ottawa that...

Private and public sectors feeling pressure to deliver trustmarks by Christmas

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

A broadly-based working group of consumer, government and private sector representatives is working to implement a "seal-of-seals" program later this year to certify ecom sites (CNM, July 12/00). Canadian consumers have repeatedly demonstrated their lack of trust in electronic transactions, a situation which...

BCE promises to narrow divide between old and new media with benefits package

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

BCE Inc is offering to spend $61 million on new media content, training and research as part of its $2.3-billion bid to buy CTV Inc. Canada’s broadcast regulator requires a so-called "benefits package" whenever a broadcast licensee changes owners. On July 17, Canada’s largest corporation filed an application with the Canadian Radio-television and Tele-communications Commission (CRTC) seeking approval of the takeover. Included in its $230-million benefits package is a commitment to spend $61 million over seven years on seven initiatives designed primarily to narrow the divide between traditional broadcasting and digital media. It’s likely the single-largest gift to...

Museum professionals want greater access to Internet and targeted information

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

Museum professionals are ahead of Canadians in adopting new Internet technologies, according to a new study of the sector by Canadian Heritage. In a report published last month by Wendy Thomas of the Canadian Heritage Information Network (CHIN), 93 per cent of respondents to a 1998 survey had used the Internet, and 36 per...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

Recordable DVD to overtake CD-RW sales by 2004, says IDCMarket analyst IDC says consumers will buy far more DVD-ROMs than CD-ROMs by 2004. Current sales are less than US$2 billion and more than US$3 billion, respectively, of manufacturers’ revenues. In 2004, DVD-ROM units will generate almost US$4 billion vesus only US$400,000 for CD-ROM drives. Higher storage densities and richer multimedia possibilities are being...

CNM People

Media | 07/26/2000 4:00 am EDT

The British Columbia Institute of Technology has named event organizer Julia Blockberger as its new chair. She is the first woman to chair the school’s board of governors. First appointed to BCIT’s board in 1998, she was most recently vice-chair and head of several key board committees. Elizabeth Collet, formerly with Yahoo, has been appointed acting CEO of Chalk.com, Vancouver, as well as to the company’s...

BCE paints itself as white knight that can save CTV & Canada’s broadcasting system

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

BCE Inc has voluntarily exceeded regulatory and Canadian content obligations to convince federal regulators that its plan for CTV Inc is the best remedy for Canada’s largest private broadcaster and for the country’s broadcasting industry as a whole. In an application that’s sure to impress...

Migration to digital television among CRTC’s priorities for next three years

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC is gearing up to spend much of the next three years on the transition from analog to digital broadcasting, but the regulator’s broadcast section also has a full load of business and cultural issues to review. The line-up is outlined in the newly released CRTC Action Plan 2000-2003, a follow-up to last...

CBC faces competition from Chum and Astral in bid for French arts channel

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

Cost and content will likely the overriding factors that determine whether the CBC or a joint bid by Chum Limited and Astral Media succeeds in winning a national licence for a French-language arts channel. The CRTC has begun its deliberations following a June 27 public hearing in Montreal, with a decision expected to follow...

Documentary film making on rise, but quality may not be up to par, warns report

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

Canadian documentary films are enjoying astounding annual growth, but their quality and marketability could decline because of funding agency priorities, a study funded by government agencies and industry players concludes. The report, written by Michel Houle, a consultant with Industries culturelles et...

CRTC approves CanWest, Corus acquisitions

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC has allowed CanWest Global Communications Corp to become a national network, but at the same time has quashed a bid by Corus Entertainment Inc to own more analog specialty channels. CanWest is seen to be coming out of the carving up of WIC with the best deal. In its June 6 ruling, the CRTC departed from its usual policy of prohibiting a...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

Broadcasters submit V-chip timetable to CRTCThe CRTC is reviewing a proposal from Canadian broadcasters that would see the V-chip introduced in Canada next year. If approved, broadcasters would begin encoding their programming to work with V-chip equipped television sets. The commission is expected to respond to the proposed timetable within the next few weeks. Broadcasters currently use an on-screen ratings system, that places icons in the top left-hand corner of the television screen to alert viewers as to a program’s violence, language or sexual content. With V-chip-ready televisions now coming onto the market, broadcasters say they’re ready to begin encoding their programs. The CEO of a Canadian company that manufacturers the V-chip says encoding the ratings system into the video portion of the program is the "missing link" that was required to rollout the V-chip in Canada. Najmul Siddiqui of Tri-Vision International Ltd notes that Canada has not made V-chip compliance mandatory, as was done in the U.S. Shaw now...

CCR People

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

In the wake of its takeover by Alliance Atlantis, Great North Communications president has named Andy Thomson executive VP, Alliance Atlantis television production. Thomson’s appointment is effective immediately and he will be based in Alliance Atlantis’ head office in Toronto, reporting directly to Peter Sussman, president, Alliance Atlantis television production. Eamon Hoey, a telecommunications veteran, has...

Finestone hopes to give non-profit groups a stronger voice in broadcast proceedings

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

Senator Sheila Finestone has introduced an amendment to the Broadcasting Act that, if approved, would provide financial assistance to consumer groups that intervene in broadcast proceedings. Bill S-24 moved into second reading on June 29. Below is below is an edited transcript of Finestone’s comments to the Senate on that...

CCR Editorial

Media | 07/19/2000 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 CRTC has moved relatively quickly to approve most of the deal between CanWest Global and Shaw to carve up the assets of WIC. Global becomes a national network, Shaw gets lucrative distribution properties, and the TV viewers in western Canada come out, at the very least, even. The next major...

Pick and pay versus bundled packages- Cable industry faces stiff opposition in bid to offer new TV channels à la carte

Media | 07/19/2000 4:00 am EDT

A large rift has opened up in the Canadian television industry over how new digital specialty channels will be sold to consumers. The Specialty and Premium Television Association (SPTV) and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) are facing off against the major cable companies, represented...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

WorkdayTV teams with National PostMedia darling WorkdayTV.com has teamed with the National Post Online in a strategic alliance to integrate content and provide investors and viewers with breaking investment news. The arrangement will result in regular daily broadcasts on WorkdayTV.com from the National Post newsroom and the Post will feature a link to the Internet broadcaster. No details of the arrangement were disclosed. WorkdayTV has also created a new partnership with Fundlibrary.com, a subsidiary of StreetViews Inc. The new alliance will feature a segment on the Internet broadcast delivering real-time commentary on mutual fund investments and related topics. Frozen Goose up, up and awayThe Canadian Internet Broadcasting Network (CIBN) has launched a new news, entertainment and sports portal dubbed frozengoose.com. The site is made up of a number of areas of interest including content from the Arts & Entertainment (A&E) network. There are also links to chat rooms and message boards which encourage interactivity. CIBN...

CNM People

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

Kenneth Power is now CFO at Image Power Inc of Vancouver. A B.Comm graduate of the University of British Columbia, he has worked for a variety of companies including CHC Helicopter Corp, Smartire Systems Inc and Totally Hip Software Inc. The federal government has appointed four new members to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Christopher Beaumont is a professor of oceanography at...

CANARIE looks at Internet’s growth

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

An optical network dedicated to Internet traffic may sound futuristic, but not for people who work at Canada’s advanced Internet development organization. At CANARIE Inc, it’s an obvious solution to the current bandwidth and technical limitations of existing telephone networks. With digital media applications and services becoming more widespread...

CNM Editorial

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Those not in attendance at Net 2000 sponsored by CANARIE Inc missed an educational and eye-opening conference. There are few other events each year which bring policy-makers, infrastructure builders, content providers, researchers and educators together in a single forum. The lesson was clear:...

Ontario tax credit met with mixed reactions: step in right direction say most

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

Details of a tax credit designed to help Ontario new media companies have been implemented after a two-year wait — but the final product isn’t broad enough to help most firms in the province, critics charge. On June 7, the Ontario Film Development Corporation unveiled details of the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax...

Inetcable plans to push Internet broadcasting to edge of the network

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

Ottawa-based Internet broadcaster Inetcable Inc has ended a year-and-a-half long search for a broadcast encoding partner and purchased the technology from Connecticut-based USA Video Interactive. Under the direction of experienced helmsman Ted Boyle, former president of satellite TV provider Bell ExpressVu, the company can...

Itemus forms new solutions group to focus incubator members on global market

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

New media and communications incubator Itemus Inc, Toronto, has turned one of its latest acquisitions, Ottawa-based Intrasoft Technologies Inc, into the sharp end of its corporate stick. With over a dozen companies under the Itemus Inc investment umbrella, the new unit – now named Itemus Solutions Inc – will serve as...

iCraveTV ready to re-launch with stricter access rules and new content providers

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

Embattled Internet broadcaster iCraveTV.com is preparing to take another run at viability this fall, this time with retransmission rights secured and a new blocking software that should appease rights holders. If the maverick company is successful, the re-launch will mark an end to its voluntary break in operations, which...

CBC Radio creates interactive web space for teens instead of new audio network

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

Budget cuts haven’t stopped the new media division of CBC Radio from reaching out to young Canadians over the web. While plans for CBC Radio 3, a network aimed at the youth audience, never got off the ground due to an estimated $10-million price tag, the new CBC-produced web site – www.120seconds.com – promises to...

Bell Broadcast and New Media fund gets expected CRTC decision on funding

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC has put its formal, public stamp of approval on the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund’s application to be eligible to receive contributions from broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) (CNM, May 5/99). On June 29, the commission certified the fund officially as one of several independently-administered production funds eligible to receive 20 per cent of a BDU’s contribution toward the production of Canadian programming. The remaining 80 per cent continues to pour into the Canadian Television Fund. Approval was granted to the Fund in January, though written notice has only just been made, and Bell ExpressVu, a satellite TV provider, has been contributing one per cent of...

Banff Institute explores formalization of its role as new media incubator

Media | 07/12/2000 4:00 am EDT

Aprominent new media think tank, the Banff New Media Institute (BNMI), is in the preliminary stages of formalizing its role as an incubator in partnership with government and the private sector. Sara Diamond, the BNMI’s executive director, says she has engaged in talks with the Alberta government and partners such as...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

Approval of Food Network Canada opens door for Canadian versions of other U.S. channelsThe CRTC has approved a licence application by Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc for a Canadian version of the Food Network. Released Tuesday, the decision bodes well for digital channel applicants who are trying to win licences for Canadian franchises of other U.S. channels, such as A&E’s Biography.Food Network Canada will...

CCR People

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

Jacques Bensimon, former managing director of TFO, has been appointed executive VP of the Banff Television Festival. Bensimon left TFO following a dispute over the vision for Ontario’s pubic broadcaster. Doug Beeforth has been appointed VP and GM of Sportsnet. Beeforth has been a key player on the Canadian sports broadcasting scene for many years. He spearheaded the original licence applications for Sportsnet....

Parents need to know about the V-chip; otherwise it doesn’t work – a U.S. lesson

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

It’s been six months since the United States required a Canadian invention to be installed in most television sets. And its success hasn’t been as widespread as many would like. In Canada, the Action Group on Violence on Television has filed a proposed timetable with the CRTC to begin encoding their programming to...

CCR Editorial

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Some corporations are so large that an ownership chart looks as confusing as a Tokyo street map. Even executives have a hard time keeping track of interests, partnerships, and alliances. Throw in cultural protectionism, and things can become very scrambled indeed. Such is the case in Vivendi’s proposed merger with Seagram. Most people think of Seagram as Canada’s best-known whisky-maker, the company that distills Canadian Club to the delight of rye-lovers everywhere. But the ever-profitable company continued to grow, buying the entertainment conglomerate Universal, which, in turn, bought the PolyGram from the Dutch electronics giant Philips. Keeping track of these takeovers is tricky enough without tossing the whole lot into the blender of Canada’s film distribution laws. Canada favors Canadian-owned corporations, giving them first dibs on the distribution of foreign films. The "Hollywood"...

Seagram sale to Vivendi could ignite new battle over foreign film distribution

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

The US$30-billion takeover of Seagram Ltd by Vivendi SA and its subsidiary, the French pay TV network Canal Plus, is threatening to re-open the politically charged issue of allowing foreign film distributors into the Canadian market. The issue centres on PolyGram, which four years ago as a foreign-owned company, applied to...

Germany lags in digital pay TV take up in Europe

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

Honhenheim University conducted a survey recently to find out why Germans are buying less digital pay TV than consumers in Spain, Great Britain and France. It seems the main entry barriers in Germany are a lack of standardized decoders, 35 free television channels and high costs. Percent of digital subscribersthat buy digital pay...

Satellite TV and wireless cable companies urged to establish complaints agency

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC wants satellite TV and wireless cable companies to create a standards council to deal with the rising number of consumer complaints. Now, consumers who have problems with satellite or wireless systems must turn to the company, rather than an industry organization, for help. The CRTC warns that, while this system...

Quebec groups call for overhaul of community TV; CRTC review pending

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC plans to review the future of community channels in Canada within the next few months, after receiving hundreds of complaints about how cable operators are operating the local channels. The criticism has been particularly vocal in Quebec, where individuals, organizations and institutions have written asking that...

Heritage committee takes stand on local newscasts; urges CRTC’s to rein in CBC

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

The the House of Commons Heritage Committee has waded into the battle over proposed CBC cuts to regional programming, demanding the CRTC intervene to prevent any scale-back of local newscasts. Sources within the CRTC say they would like to take on the CBC, which, they believe, arrogantly brushed aside the CRTC’s...

Rogers bolsters communications studies with $35-million gift to U of T and Ryerson

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

Ted Rogers and his wife Loretta have donated $25 million to the University of Toronto and $10 million to Ryerson Polytechnic University to help train a new generation of engineers and communicators. The U of T will permanently name its department of electrical and computer engineering the Edward S. Rogers Sr....

Regional producers worry CTF restructuring will cut off funding pipeline

Media | 07/06/2000 4:00 am EDT

Television producers outside Toronto and Montreal are worried that proposed changes to the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) will cut off the special funding and regional bonuses they receive. The CTF is the largest source of public funding for TV production in the country, particularly for companies based in British...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

Digital TV public hearing schedule publishedThe CRTC has published a list of companies that will appear at a hearing in August on new specialty digital television stations. Companies have anywhere from 20-60 minutes to make their case to commissioners. The full list can be found at www.crtc.gc.ca/ENG/PROC_BR/HEARINGS/2000-5/AddInfo/proCal-e.htm.Artcyclopedia continues scoring contracts with art retailersCalgary-based...

CNM People

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

Brett Kondruk, most recently president and CEO of NRI On-line, has joined Calgary-based Cquay Inc as VP, special projects. Kondruk has over 25 years of experience in sales, marketing and management, including in applying GIS technology in the oil and gas industry. Medbroadcast Corp, Vancouver, has appointed Su Grimmer as acting VP, sales and marketing for the company effective immediately. Grimmer joins Medbroadcast Media with over 20 years of experience in the television, radio and communications industries, and was most recently a programming and new business development consultant to CanWest Global Communications Corp. Prior to that, she was acting senior VP for Atlantis Broadcasting Inc (now AllianceAtlantis Communications). Scott Donahey has joined the board of eResolution, a Montreal-based firm providing online dispute resolution. Donahey is an authority on alternative dispute resolution and Internet law, and a partner at Tomlinson Zisko Morosoli & Maser LLP. Eresolution is 30 per cent held by maritime telco Aliant...

‘Net effects on communications policy

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

Canada isn’t the only country in the world struggling to cope with the staggering influence the Internet is having on communications policies. In the U.S. – like in Canada – regulatory policies rooted in monopolies and oligopolies are quickly evolving to become instruments of international trade and domestic expression. And the catalysts driving...

Proposed increases to blank media levy facing strong opposition from CATA

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

New media advocates and the recording industry are battling again over blank tape levies as the two sides prepare for a hearing on higher rates this fall. Black storage media such as blank cassettes, rewriteable CDs and mini discs have been subject to a small fee for six months now following a controversial decision last...

CNM Editorial

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Proposed increases to the blank tape and other storage media levies will hurt Canadian new media and other IT firms unfairly, and is clearly bad policy-making. Nonetheless, the agency responsible for collecting and distributing the cash is now asking for fees which are, in some cases, nearly 10...

Multimediator and PixelScout set up new company for new media recruiting

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

The Multimediator Strategy Group Inc (MMSG), Toronto, is teaming up with two longtime high tech recruiters to launch a headhunting company for new media professionals. Executives at Pixel-Scout say their new firm is targeting an untapped niche for specialty recruiting in a sector which has been wanting for some...

Federal agency injects $5 million into programs for Quebec ecommerce ventures

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

The federal government is investing $5 million in 11 organizations in the first phase of a $50-million program to help more Quebec businesses get online and participating in ecommerce. On June 20, Canada Economic Development (CED) announced the winners from the first round funding competition of its Electronic Commerce Action Strategy. The grants are being spread between user groups, firms and organizations, as well as sectoral associations, research centres and universities. A second round of funding is scheduled for this fall, with winners expected to be announced in November. The deadline for phase two is August 18. The overall project will award a total of $50 million by June...

Send draft IP enforcement guidelines back to drawing board, says CATAAlliance

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATAAlliance) is rallying against proposed new guidelines for intellectual property enforcement, warning that the Competition Bureau’s heavy-handed approach to enforcement will discourage innovation, particularly by smaller companies. The CATAAlliance highlighted its concerns in...

Producers should shun bureaucratic definition of Canadian, conference told

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

Canadian content quotas and funding programs are stifling the new media industry’s ability to raise money and develop content for a global audience, industry executives told delegates attending the Summer Institute of Film and Television. Held June 21 in Hull QC, the annual training symposium stepped outside of the...

Consumer website and search engine to make finding information seamless

Media | 06/28/2000 4:00 am EDT

The federal government has finally launched a single source on the Internet for consumer information. The new Canadian Consumer Information Gateway web site (http://ConsumerInformation.ca) seamlessly combines content from 27 different federal departments on information ranging from car seat safety to banking fees. In...

New Auditor General report critical of CBC’s governance structure, insiders say

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

A report by Auditor General Denis Desautels on the management of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp should be released within days, but at least one crucial chapter probably will not be made public, federal sources tell Canadian Communications Reports. The report, which examines the internal...

Proposed law would help consumer groups participate in broadcast hearings

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

Consumer groups are promising to intervene more in broadcast proceedings if the federal government passes a new bill that would help subsidize their regulatory battles. Groups such as the Ottawa-based Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Montreal-based Action Réseau Consommateur (ARC) passed an important...

ExpressVu files application to use satellite and fibre to serve big building market

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

Bell ExpressVu has applied for a licence amendment that would end its last roadblock to serving clusters of multiple unit dwellings, one of the broadcast distribution industry's most lucrative markets. In December, 1999, the CRTC asked for comments on ExpressVu's application to serve multiple unit dwellings...

Digital hopefuls scramble to satisfy CRTC’s request for innovative and interactive TV

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

As applicants for new pay and specialty television services prepare for the licensing hearing in August, many are wrestling to satisfy the CRTC's desire for enhanced television services that make the most of new digital technologies. The CRTC made it clear in its call for new digital pay...

Cinar shareholders consider options amid stalled stock and class action law suits

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

Shareholders of Cinar Corp are restless about the company's prospects of being traded again soon, as executives try to untangle the company's web of offshore financial dealings and settle its tax credit problems with the federal and Quebec governments. Published reports said last week that some of Cinar's...

CRTC awards three remaining FM licences for Toronto market

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

The CRTC has granted the last FM frequency spaces in the Toronto market to a company that will broadcast "urban music" and other genre created or inspired by black musicians and to a broadcaster specializing in Native programming. B. Denham Jolly, applying for Milestone Radio Inc, landed the FM 93.5 frequency for a hip-hop, rap and rhythm and blues music station aimed at 25-44 year olds. Fans of urban music, a style that evolved from rap in the 1980s, were angry when the CRTC rejected earlier applications for a hip-hop station in favour of classic rock and young country applications. Gary Farmer (Aboriginal Voices Radio), and CHWO Ontario Inc were granted AM licences. AVR is aimed at Native Canadian listeners, while CHWO is being programmed for people over...

HBO and other U.S. channels await court ruling on legality of selling into Canada

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

Alberta's senior trial court is expected to hand down a ruling within the next six weeks on the legality of C Band satellite programming sales in Canada. Lawyers Greg Cheung and Bill Mackenzie, acting for WIC Premium Television Ltd, asked for an injunction against Home Box Office, Showtime, Arts and Entertainment...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

Quebecor says it won't sweeten Videotron offerQuebecor Inc says its $5.9-billion proposal to take over Groupe Vidéotron ltée will remain as it is, until a court rules on the right of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec to block a rival arrangement with Rogers Communications Inc. Videotron's controlling shareholder, the Chagnon family, is contesting the Caisse's right under an agreement between the...

CCR People

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

Stornoway Communications Limited Partnership has appointed industry veteran Bill Gray to the position of executive vice president operations. Gray's responsibilities will initially focus on Stornoway's applications before the CRTC for four new specialty television licenses at the August 2000 hearings: The Issues Channel; @work.ca; The Dance Channel; The Pet Network. Gray was senior executive vice president of...

Some possible solutions to the Canadian Television Fund’s governance woes

Media | 06/22/2000 4:00 am EDT

Last year the board of the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) recognized that the current structure of the fund needed to be reviewed and asked (public administration consultants) François Colbert and David Silcox to look at the governance issues surrounding it. (CCR, April 27/00). to change. In particular, they suggested...

CCR Editorial

Media | 06/22/2000 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 CRTC's decision to award three new radio licenses in the Toronto area draws attention to the regulator's role as gatekeeper of the FM and AM waves. The two FM licences went to stations aimed at people who were not served by an existing service. There will be a strong market for the "urban music" station, which will play blues, soul, rap and hip-hop. The aboriginal station may have a tougher row to hoe, but it will probably make it. The granting of a licence to an AM station geared to seniors is maybe the most interesting of the three. It recreates similar programming to that offered by CFRB and CKEY in the 1960s and 1970s, to an audience that is used to listening to AM. It also opens up the idea of using AM as a sort of open market for specialty radio. And why not? Couldn't AM be the equivalent of Category 2 digital stations, in which licences are given out to risky market-niche...

CNM People

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

Brian Jennings has been appointed VP and CFO of Iceberg Media.com Inc, Toronto. Jennings is a CA from Ernst & Young Inc where he held the position of VP. He spe-cializes in complex corporate restructurings. Iceberg is in the process of launching an all-Canadian content site in partnership with Canoe called Jamcaster.com. It already operates an entertainment portal at www.icebergmedia.com including audio and...

New media, Internet sectors should “self-regulate” ahead of government

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

Government regulation is a fact of life for many Canadian industries. New media are not among them, and that's generally a good thing.But absent regulation, industries have both an incentive and a responsibility to act on their own. They should not wait to be told to do something - whether on privacy protection or...

CNM Editorial

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Placing blame and legal liability for faulty security software on technology vendors and merchants is a timely and compelling one. Software failure has been democratized in the networked environment, drilling down beyond public institutions and corporations. When security software doesn't...

PIAC, security companies don’t see eye to eye on liability in cases of failure

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

The private sector and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) may be heading for a showdown over the lobby group's push for better consumer protection in electronic transactions. As provinces across the country prepare to enact the Uniform Electronic Commerce Act (UECA), PIAC has made a public stand in favour of...

$30 million restores agency’s core funding

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

Consolidation of Ontario funding for multimedia funding welcome move Government officials and industry leaders are praising the Ontario government's plan to merge responsibility for several cultural industries under one new roof. Announced as part of its May 2 budget, the province is renaming the Ontario Film Development Corp (OFDC) to the...

Investment.com and Garth Turner hook up to create mini media conglomerate

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

A bed manufacturer which has dabbled in coffee houses and mining over the last few years has reinvented itself once again over the past year as an Internet broadcaster specializing in investor news. On June 6, the Vancouver-based company - Global Investment.com Financial Inc - took another step to strengthen its presence on...

Funcow expands marketing channels for free Internet access service

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

One of Canada's few home-grown free access providers is hoping a marriage of music and sponsorships will flesh out its multiple option marketing strategy. Funcow.com, which launched this February, has struck an agreement with EMI Music Canada to co-brand compact discs that will provide music by well-known artists as...

CANARIE takes loosely-structured approach to first-round learning projects

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

CANARIE Inc is investing $10 million in a variety of different projects in hopes of identifying which technologies hold the most promise for online learning. A close scrutiny of recently funded projects will also determine whether future new media applicants can expect a larger share of the $15 million available until...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 06/14/2000 4:00 am EDT

WSi sells wireless stakeWSi Interactive Corp, which currently holds a 40% stake in Ariel Wireless Technologies Inc, is swapping its shares for six million shares of Petra Resource Corp. On completion of the deal, Ariel will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Petra. Theo Sanidas, WSi's president, will become a director of Petra on closing. Ariel's main asset is a worldwide, non-exclusive OEM agreement with a "leading European provider of wired and wireless communication hardware and software products" which overcome last-mile hurdles using RF components in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz frequency. WSi is a Vancouver-based incubator of content and infrastructure startups. GlobalMedia buys OnRadio's station contractsGlobalMedia.com, Vancouver, has paid $500,000 and 1.7 million shares to acquire all of OnRadio.com's contracts to provide Internet services to terrestrial radio stations. The deal will close in four months. OnRadio is based in Scotts Valley CA. The aggregated audience is in excess of 50 million people which...