Quebecor Inc's hostile takeover bid of Groupe Vidéotron ltée reinforces a belief within Quebec's nationalist government that control of communications infrastructure should be kept inside the province, a prominent member of Quebec's independence movement says. The elected official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Pequist government is concerned that non-Quebec ownership of the cable market would hamper the province's goal of becoming a major French-language new media player. "The Quebec government has invested a lot of money into the high-tech industries of Montreal to maintain French in the new economy," the Bloc MP states. "It has...
The collapse of the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Seattle hasn't hindered Canada in its attempt to negotiate a comprehensive and multilateral trade treaty for culture. Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and Heritage minister Sheila Copps have been meeting with their counterparts from the Americas, Europe and other regions to drum up support for a made-in-Canada idea that would include - rather than exempt - cultural industries in any future trade agreements. There are even signs that the U.S. is willing to discuss the issue. Work is proceeding on several fronts. Copps spent the winter organizing meetings with officials from countries opposed to the unfettered international...
The launch of new channels has once again boosted overall revenues for the specialty television sector, particularly those targeted at young Canadians. According to the statistical and financial summaries for pay and specialty channels released by the CRTC, the industry reported pre-tax profits of...
Shaw releases second-quarter resultsShaw Communications Inc says its second-quarter profit more than doubled to $71.7 million as a result of asset sales. On March 27, the company reported net earnings were 33 cents a share, compared with $30.7 million or 14 cents a share a year earlier. For the first six months of fiscal 2000, profit rose to $111.6 million from $22 million. Net income in the quarter ending Feb.29 included...
Shaw Cablesystems has appointed two new board members, Willard (Bill) Yuill, chair and CEO of Monarch Group; and Bradley Shaw, a VP of the company. Shaw joined Shaw Cablesystems in 1985 and has held a range of senior management positions with the company in Alberta and B.C. Shaw is now VP operations for British Columbia and Atlantic Canada. Monarch operates 12 radio stations, two TV stations and cable TV systems in 26...
With this edition, Canadian Communications Reports begins anew. We've increased our publishing frequency, enhanced our look, and improved the editorial section. The closure of Evert Communications Ltd in January led to the suspension of this publication and its affiliated newsletters. Canadian Communications Reports, Network Letter, Canadian NEW MEDIA and Report on Wireless are looking forward to a promising...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Are Quebec nationalists really concerned about who owns their communications infrastructure, or are a handful of renegade politicians just looking to stealing a few headlines? It's certainly not clear from the mixed messages coming out of the two separatist parties these days. Former premier Jacques Parizeau described Rogers' proposed bid for Vidéotron as akin to "Toronto buying Montreal". Another politician - this one from of the Bloc Quebecois - told CCR that having the Caisse de Depot and Quebecor buy Vidéotron is good for Quebec culture and good for Quebec's future. One has to wonder, however, if either of these gentlemen have been speaking to Quebec Finance minister Bernard Landry, who was quoted in the February issue of Quebec Update - "A Newsletter for Americans" - as saying he welcomed the Rogers-Vidéotron deal "rather positively". The article goes onto...
Brian Katz has left Telefilm Canada's Toronto office to become VP of business development and executive producer of content for Infopreneur, a Toronto-based Internet entertainment provider. The company, with a staff of 60, creates IT, sports and entertainment-lifestyle content for the Internet. Katz, who started March 6, says he's replicated his former position with Telefilm, "except I'm in the...
With this edition, Canadian NEW MEDIA begins anew. We've increased our publishing frequency, enhanced our look, and improved the editorial section. The closure of Evert Communications Ltd in January led to the suspension of this publication and its affiliated newsletters. Canadian NEW MEDIA, Network Letter, Canadian Communications Reports and Report on Wireless are looking forward to a promising future with their new...
The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The rhetoric over convergence is finally making its way onto the balance sheets of corporate North America. Whether it's inflated share values they're hoping to capitalize on - or the prospect of real revenues - companies are willing to wager big bucks to acquire companies and technologies that hold...
Legal loophole that gave birth to iCraveTV won't be closed anytime soon Film producers and broadcasters may have succeeded in shutting down iCraveTV.com, but it appears the Canadian government isn't in any hurry to close the legal loophole that gave life to the renegade Internet broadcaster. On Feb. 28, iCrave president...
Nearly 80% of Canadian ISP customers are happy with their service, according to a Decima Research Inc poll conducted for Decima Publishing Inc. The telephone survey of 926 Canadians found 39% are "satisfied" with their ISP, while 40% said they are "very satisfied" (see charts, page 1) Similar figures — 44% "satisfied" and...
The Quebec government has adopted a series of aggressive measures - totaling $340 million - to ensure that its residents and businesses are not left behind in the global race to get online. Reflective of last year's budget which aimed financial incentives at Quebec's new media industry, last week's provincial budget split...
AmikaNow! Corp, Kanata ON, has released a web-based version of its message highlighting technology to simplify and reduce the flood of electronic information being forwarded to email-enabled wireless devices. AmikaFree-dom.com promises to significantly reduce the vast amounts and length of email...
New media pundits applaud BCE's proposed purchase of CTV BCE Inc's $2.3 billion bid for CTV Inc will jump-start new media content production in Canada, industry leaders and analysts say. But the new entity that emerges from the Bell-CTV deal is unlikely to look outside its organization for content and production. Instead, new media companies are more...
Toronto is losing as much as $3 billion a year and 30,000 jobs because the city is not reaching its potential as a new media cluster, according to a new study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Re-leased Feb. 4, the report, identifies a serious "digital content gap" emerging in the Greater Toronto Area. Although Canada's most prosperous region is still the country's largest business centre, this fact isn't reflected in the size, scale or stability of a new media cluster, the report's authors find. Comparisons with new media centres in other countries suggest that Toronto may be generating only half of its potential revenue in this burgeoning industry. "Toronto is conceivably...
The Ontario government's Research and Development Challenge Fund is contributing $12 million to establish a new policy centre for e-commerce, intellectual property and other pillars of the new economy. The initiative is being spearheaded by the University of Toronto, which anted up a further $7 million towards the new...
Internet advertising report releasedA new report commissioned by the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) Canada provides a snapshot of the Canadian Internet industry. Written by MultiMediator Strategy Group Inc, the report identifies both strengths and challenges. Among the challenges: a lag in Canadian expenditures on online advertising; a lag in Canadian retailers moving online; a lack of venture capital for domestic...
A growing number of small cable operators are looking at deploying digital cable sooner than anyone expected thanks to a satellite-based technology solution that would save them thousands of dollars in capital costs. It's a technology that could also ensure the future for Canada's small cable industry, which faces...
After several delays and despite fierce opposition, the Youth News Network (YNN) is proceeding with plans to launch a national television network available through high schools. Rod MacDonald, president of YNN parent Athena Educational Partners Inc (AEP), told CCR his company is currently doing dry runs and getting feedback...
Vidéotron ltée became the first cable operator to comply with the CRTC's order to resell high-speed Internet service to independent Internet service providers (ISPs) last week, but the battle over third-party access is far from over. The Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) quickly fired off a letter to the commission asking it to force Vidéotron to charge wholesale rates that are 25% lower than the price it charges its cable subscribers. CAIP maintains that a December 10 CRTC ruling denying Cogeco Cable Inc's challenge of the September resale order states clearly that cablecos must discount from the lowest retail rate, which in Vidéotron's...
Potential new players in the Canadian facilities-based satellite market are urging the federal government to exclude the incumbent from a competition to award one of two remaining Canadian orbital slots for fixed satellite services (FSS). Four companies or partnerships -- including at least two foreign players -- want to...
Licensing framework for pay/specialties delayedA CRTC decision on the much-anticipated licensing framework for new pay and specialty television services has been delayed until early January. A decision was expected before the commission breaks for the holidays. However, Andreé Wylie, the CRTC's vice-chair of broadcasting, announced the delay during a presentation to the Standing Committee on Industry earlier this...
Internet broadcaster iCraveTV .com has ignored cease and desist letters by broadcasters and television programming rights holders to stop streaming 17 TV stations from the Toronto area and Buffalo NY over the Internet. As it continues to defy threats of legal action by Canadian and US interests, iCrave is actively planning the expansion of its service...
Having exhaustively reviewed almost all of Canada's major broadcasting policies in the last three years, the country's under-funded and overworked broadcast regulator is poised to take on more of a monitoring role during the next three years. As the CRTC puts the finishing touches on its new three-year strategic...
Constrained by a lack of bandwidth, Regional Cablesystems Inc has moved quickly to launch digital service in the Timmins and Sudbury areas. Rollout of new digital services will start this February, and company executives are hoping to have the swap-out process finished by next spring. When the rollout is finished, 63,000 subscribers will have access to...
