AG appeals confidentiality order in Shoan harassment case

Media | 08/02/2016 3:28 pm EDT

The federal government is appealing a federal court judge’s decision to lift a confidentiality order keeping the identities of CRTC employees involved in a harassment case against a former...

Court OKs disclosure of customer info in Voltage case

Media | 07/28/2016 10:13 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. must disclose the personal information of a customer accused by Voltage Pictures LLC of violating its copyright, according to a court decision that experts said clarifies the...

Community TV decision hurts community TV: CACTUS

Media | 07/28/2016 7:57 pm EDT

The CRTC’s community television framework released in June is another hit to groups, the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) argued, calling the decision the “latest in a series...

Sports fans less likely to cut the cord: report

Media | 07/28/2016 3:52 pm EDT

English-speaking sports fans are more likely to have TV subscriptions, according to new research from Media Technology Monitor (MTM). In a report released Thursday, the CBC/Radio-Canada research project said...

Twitter to live-stream out-of-market MLB games

Media | 07/25/2016 9:46 pm EDT

Canadians will be able to watch some Major League Baseball (MLB) games on Twitter Inc.’s social media service. The company said in a press release Monday that it would live-stream out-of-market games from the MLB and the National Hockey League (NHL) in the United States. Cameron Gordon, spokesman for Twitter Canada, said in an email that out-of-market MLB games will be available in Canada. That means that though Canadians won’t be able to watch Blue Jays games (the rights to which are held by Rogers Communications Inc.), they will have access to games played by the...

Music Canada settles with isoHunt

Media | 07/25/2016 8:14 pm EDT

Music Canada has reached a settlement with isoHunt Web Technologies Inc. in a copyright infringement lawsuit, years after the isoHunt website shut down. The organization, which represents major record companies in Canada, said in...

Kirstine Stewart leaves Twitter

Media | 07/25/2016 7:30 pm EDT

Twitter Inc.’s vice-president of media in North America is leaving the company.  Kirstine Stewart confirmed her departure in a blog post Friday. She didn’t specify where she will move next, writing that “though I’m right in the middle of some great conversations about some very exciting opportunities, I’m not...

Cable could make turnaround in 2017: Canaccord

Media | 07/22/2016 5:14 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc.’s second-quarter earnings may have foreshadowed a turnaround for cable in 2017, after the company reported its best second-quarter for Internet subscribers in eight years, according to...

Set-top box retailer involved in software development, BDUs claim

Media | 07/22/2016 3:55 pm EDT

A trio of telecom companies are doubling down on their assertion that preloaded set-top box retailers are complicit in TV piracy, according to new court documents filed in their ongoing fight to...

Rogers’ Laurence emphasizes Internet ‘need for speed’

Media | 07/21/2016 8:57 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. made it clear that Internet speeds are a key focus for the company on a conference call Thursday, stating Rogers' strategy is to get consumers to a baseline 100 Mbps service in order to encourage future scaling to its gigabit service. “We need to focus on the need for...

SOCAN purchases Audiam

Media | 07/21/2016 8:37 pm EDT

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has acquired a New York-based company specializing in tracking data of music released on streaming websites. “With Audiam, SOCAN now has a comprehensive database and metadata of all musical works and commercially...

Millennials driving OTA growth in Canada: report

Media | 07/20/2016 8:52 pm EDT

The over-the-air (OTA) market has been slowly growing over the past three years, according to data collected by Media Technology Monitor, a trend industry observers said doesn’t come as a surprise. According to a report...

Sirius disputes shareholder complaints

Media | 07/20/2016 7:08 pm EDT

Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. said in a press release Tuesday that it “strongly disagrees” with a group of shareholders who filed a complaint with the Ontario Securities Commission regarding the...

SVOD revenues to double by 2021: Juniper

Media | 07/19/2016 9:28 pm EDT

Subscription video-on-demand service (SVOD) revenues will double by 2021, as broadcasters and TV network providers look to enter the market amid a trend in cord cutting and shaving, according to a new report. Juniper Research Ltd. found that revenues from such services, including those operated by Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., will more than double in five years to $34.6 billion US, from $14.6 billion US this year. The report comes on the heels of Netflix’s second-quarter earnings report on Monday. The streaming service said it gained 1.7 million...

Laura Tribe taking helm at OpenMedia

Media | 07/19/2016 5:33 pm EDT

OpenMedia announced Tuesday the appointment of Laura Tribe as its new executive director. According a letter posted on the advocacy group’s website from board chair Phillip Djwa, Tribe was selected to helm the...

Phyllis Yaffe gets diplomatic appointment

Media | 07/19/2016 5:26 pm EDT

Former media executive Phyllis Yaffe has been named to a new diplomatic post. Yaffe was named as the new consul general for the United States, stationed in in New York, among the 26 appointments announced Tuesday by the...

Pokémon Go not augmenting wireless data reality

Media | 07/18/2016 9:11 pm EDT

Though the success of Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Pokémon Go mobile game could be the tip of the iceberg for augmented-reality applications, experts said they don’t expect wireless companies to make any major shifts in...

MTS to offer Netflix on set-top box

Media | 07/14/2016 8:40 pm EDT

Manitoba Telecommunications Services Inc. will begin offering Netflix Inc.’s streaming service directly on its set-top box. The company said in a press release Thursday that the move “removes the...

Sports, conventional TV tame Corus gains on Shaw deal

Media | 07/13/2016 9:35 pm EDT

Corus Entertainment Inc.’s first quarterly report since it bought Shaw Media showed the acquisition drove a significant increase in overall revenues, profits and expenses, despite a fall in the division’s revenue due to a drop in its conventional TV audience and advertising. “I wouldn’t attribute the softness to anything but market conditions,” Doug Murphy, Corus’ president and chief executive officer, said on a Wednesday morning conference call with analysts. He made the comment in response to a question from National Bank Financial analyst Adam...

Global sports channel approved, despite protest from Bell, Rogers

Media | 07/13/2016 6:27 pm EDT

The CRTC has added One World Sports to its list of non-Canadian channels authorized for distribution, despite arguments from Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. that it would...

CRTC consulting on capacity of two Ont. radio markets

Media | 07/13/2016 5:34 pm EDT

After receiving radio licence applications for Aurora and Georgina, Ont., the CRTC is asking for comments on the market capacity of the two markets to support an additional station. Interested parties have until Aug....

Telecoms’ TV revenues declined last year: CRTC

Media | 07/12/2016 9:01 pm EDT

The television distribution revenues reported by Canada’s telecommunications companies have fallen for the first time in a decade, driven by a decline in satellite subscribers. Numbers released by the...

CRTC backs Videotron final offer in RDS dispute

Media | 07/12/2016 7:48 pm EDT

The CRTC has settled a dispute between BCE Inc. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron over wholesale rates for a French-language sports channel in Quebec, selecting Videotron’s offer for the per-subscriber wholesale rate for the distribution of Bell’s Réseau des sports (RDS) by Videotron. In a decision posted to the...

Canadians eager for online health tech: study

Media | 07/12/2016 7:32 pm EDT

The majority of Canadians want to turn to technology to navigate their health care, but only a small percentage actually do so, according to the results of a new Telus Corp.-commissioned study. Eighty-nine per cent of respondents to the Telus Health study said they believed digital health technology would lead to better health care, according to a...

Elliott Anderson named ACTRA director

Media | 07/07/2016 8:06 pm EDT

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) has announced that Elliott Anderson is its new director of public policy, reseach and communications. Anderson has served in the role on an interim basis since...

Live-stream of Wimbledon available on Twitter

Media | 07/07/2016 7:32 pm EDT

ESPN is streaming live coverage of the Wimbledon tennis tournament on Twitter Inc.’s social media service. The website states the live feed is brought to viewers by Wimbeldon and ESPN. It appears to have been made...

Stingray Music reaches 1M downloads

Media | 07/05/2016 6:42 pm EDT

Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Tuesday that its mobile streaming music app has doubled its user base in the span of a year, reaching one million downloads. Users spend an average of five hours per week listening...

More set-top box providers added to legal action

Media | 07/05/2016 2:57 pm EDT

Eleven more set-top box retailers will have to make their case to the Federal Court after being named as defendants in a legal fight against set-top boxes that can be used to circumvent paid TV subscriptions. On June 20, lawyers for BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron filed an amended statement of claim, adding the companies to the five originally named in the legal action, which started in May. A June 1 order by judge Danièle Tremblay-Lamer temporarily banned the first five companies from selling the boxes...

Orange is the New Black premiere had 6.7M viewers: Nielsen

Media | 07/04/2016 9:01 pm EDT

Nielsen Co. says the season premiere of Netflix Inc.’s Orange is the New Black drew 6.7 million viewers in the United States in its first two days. Netflix doesn’t release its...

Canada ‘falling behind’ countries with Netflix tax: think tank

Media | 07/04/2016 8:05 pm EDT

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says Canada should follow the example of the European Union and countries like New Zealand and Australia in requiring over-the-top (OTT) services to pay...

Facebook, AT&T defend differential pricing in CRTC review

Media | 06/30/2016 8:23 pm EDT

Facebook Inc. and AT&T Inc. have waded into the CRTC’s review of differential pricing practices, arguing that the commission should allow carriers to offer zero-rated services...

BBC to open Toronto bureau, Canadian version of website

Media | 06/30/2016 7:18 pm EDT

The BBC will launch a new Toronto bureau and a Canadian edition of BBC.com, the British public service broadcaster announced Thursday. The dedicated site will launch later this year, according to a...

The Shopping Channel appoints new president

Media | 06/30/2016 4:12 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. announced Wednesday that it has appointed Anne Martin-Vachon as president of The Shopping Channel, effective August 16. She succeeds Steven Goldsmith, who spent four years at the helm between 2012 and June 2016, according to a press release. Martin-Vachon will be relied on to drive “the retailer’s multiplatform strategy, initiating new areas of revenue, and overseeing all operations of the business,” the release said. Quebec-born and raised, she has over 30 years of experience with expertise in beauty and cosmetics, consumer...

Advocacy groups take aim at data caps in zero-rating review

Media | 06/29/2016 6:45 pm EDT

Questions around telecoms’ usage of data caps should be at the centre of the CRTC’s proceeding on differential pricing practices, advocacy groups said in interventions, calling for the...

Andrew Addison named new CMPA VP

Media | 06/29/2016 3:44 pm EDT

The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) announced Wednesday that it has appointed a new vice-president of communications and marketing. Andrew Addison will report to president and CEO Reynolds Mastin and “provide strategic direction, leading the development and execution of integrated marketing and communications strategies for the...

Telecom, media ‘safe haven’ after Brexit: Barclays

Media | 06/28/2016 9:46 pm EDT

Minimal exposure to the United Kingdom and Europe will leave the Canadian telecom and media industries relatively unscathed following the U.K.’s vote to exit the European Union last week,...

CanCon review panel announcement draws mixed reaction

Media | 06/28/2016 9:19 pm EDT

Heritage Canada’s announcement of an expert advisory panel for its review of Canadian content in a digital age, which includes representatives from a number of broadcasters, was met with both praise and...

Blue Ant sells lifestyle series abroad

Media | 06/28/2016 9:15 pm EDT

Blue Ant Media Inc. has sold several original series to international buyers, the company announced Tuesday. In a press release, the content distribution company said four home sales and renovation series will be...

Federal government looking for new CRTC vice-chair

Media | 06/28/2016 9:06 pm EDT

After seven months of vacancy, Canadian Heritage is moving to fill the vice-chair of broadcasting position at the CRTC. Former vice-chair Tom Pentefountas wrapped up his five-year term on Nov. 20. A new posting on...

Radio station must air message about licence non-compliance

Media | 06/27/2016 8:00 pm EDT

The CRTC has directed a Truro, N.S., radio station to broadcast a message about its non-compliance with its licence conditions. The commission said that “considering the serious and repeated...

Stroumboulopoulos out, MacLean back at Hockey Night in Canada

Media | 06/27/2016 6:49 pm EDT

George Stroumboulopoulos is leaving Hockey Night in Canada after two years of hosting the program, Rogers Communications Inc.’s Sportsnet said in a press release Monday....

Rogers launches HD radio in Toronto, Vancouver

Media | 06/27/2016 5:31 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. is now using HD radio technology in broadcasting a number of stations in Toronto and Vancouver. The company said in a press release Monday that the stations include Toronto’s Kiss 92.5, 680 News, Sportsnet 590 The Fan, and Vancouver’s 96.9 Jack FM and News 1130. “More than just a heightened listening experience, listeners will also enjoy enhanced digital content on their HD radio devices, featuring song titles, album art, and artist information,” it said. HD radio technology allows broadcasters to transmit...

Sports now make up 50% of top 10 grossing channels: CRTC

Media | 06/23/2016 10:02 pm EDT

Sportsnet One and TVA Sports are, for the first time, in the top 10 highest-grossing TV channels, according to the CRTC’s latest stats on Canadian programming—and of those top 10, five are...

CRTC OKs station’s ‘innovative’ plan for accessible programming

Media | 06/23/2016 8:58 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved a proposal by an independent over-the-air (OTA) station that would see it source programming from Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) to fulfill its described-video...

CRTC decision will hurt us, Quebec independent community stations say

Media | 06/23/2016 7:18 pm EDT

The Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec said the CRTC’s recent decision on local and community TV will harm independent...

Mobile ads, music streaming to be a force in 2020: PwC

Media | 06/22/2016 9:31 pm EDT

Mobile advertising revenue and music streaming activity will see dramatic increases over the next four years, as technological innovation takes hold over traditional methods of media consumption,...

Netflix hold on network traffic shrinks, but remains dominant: report

Media | 06/22/2016 8:58 pm EDT

Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top (OTT) service continued to lead peak period network traffic, but the percentage of traffic has declined since late 2015, according to a new Global Internet Phenomena report by Sandvine Inc. However, the decrease from 37.2 per cent reported last year to the 32.5 per cent in the report published Wednesday, which focused on fixed and mobile data in North America and Latin America, shouldn’t be interpreted “as a signal of ‘peak...

Quebec City lawsuit against Cogeco dismissed

Media | 06/22/2016 8:49 pm EDT

The Quebec Superior Court has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against Cogeco Inc., determining the suit was abusive under section 51 of Quebec’s code of civil procedure. The City of Quebec had sued Cogeco, its...

Rogers restructuring gives Vice Viceland stake

Media | 06/22/2016 7:23 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved a reorganization that will see Rogers Communications Inc.’s media division share control of the Viceland TV channel. According to a notice posted Wednesday to the commission’s...

Karine Moses named new head of Bell Media’s out-of-home ad branch

Media | 06/22/2016 6:12 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s media division announced Wednesday that Karine Moses, Bell’s vice-president of field operations support, would be taking on the position of president of Astral Out of Home. Moses will replace outgoing Luc Quétel as the head of the out-of-home advertising arm that covers more than...

Impartiality, authority of CRTC chairman called into question in harassment review hearing

Media | 06/21/2016 11:19 pm EDT

TORONTO — A reasonable person could make the link between the comments that CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais made as a witness during a harassment investigation...

CBC and Netflix to co-produce miniseries

Media | 06/21/2016 7:32 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada is teaming up with Netflix Inc. and Halfire Entertainment to produce a miniseries based on a Margaret Atwood book. Production will begin in Ontario in August, the broadcaster said in a...

CRTC OKs Punjabi-language, classic music channels for distribution

Media | 06/21/2016 6:05 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved four channels originating in the United States aimed at people of South Asian descent for distribution in Canada. It said in a notice Tuesday that the channels are...

Stingray buys Bell’s MuchMusic channels

Media | 06/21/2016 4:55 pm EDT

Stingray Digital Group Inc. is expanding its portfolio of properties by picking up four of BCE Inc.’s music channels. The Montreal-based music provider will pick up MuchLoud, MuchRetro, MuchVice and Juicebox,...

Bell mobile-TV appeal dismissed

Media | 06/20/2016 11:43 pm EDT

The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the CRTC’s ban on BCE Inc.’s zero-rated mobile-TV plans, a year and a half after the commission ruled the company couldn’t exempt the service from data caps. In a...

NFL cites ‘urgency’ in simsub case; AG maintains appeal premature

Media | 06/20/2016 11:16 pm EDT

MONTREAL — Whether a court decision on BCE Inc.’s appeal of a CRTC decision banning simultaneous substitution for the Super Bowl will come in time for next year’s game and ad sales for its broadcast remained unclear Monday, as the Federal Court in Montreal heard arguments from both sides in the case. Neil Finkelstein, representing the National Football League (NFL), told the court “there is some urgency to this. You don’t start selling ads for the January 2017...

Copyright-term extension bill introduced

Media | 06/20/2016 8:59 pm EDT

A private members’ bill introduced on the last day of Parliament’s session seeks to extend the current copyright terms for authors and composers, from 50 years after their death to 70 years. Peter Van Loan, the...

Anglophone TV subs fall to 73%: MTM

Media | 06/17/2016 9:12 pm EDT

The number of anglophones subscribing to TV service continues to fall, according to a new report by Media Technology Monitor (MTM), a project of CBC/Radio-Canada. In the spring of 2016, 73 per cent subscribed to TV...

Rogers shows off IPTV service to investors

Media | 06/17/2016 8:14 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. unveiled its new IPTV service to investors Thursday, according to analysts’ notes, though company spokesman Aaron Lazarus declined to comment Friday. Canaccord Genuity analyst...

What does the growth of video-game streaming mean for TV?

Media | 06/17/2016 5:32 pm EDT

Millions of people tuned into live broadcasts of the electronic entertainment expo (E3) this week on Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube and Amazon.com Inc.’s Twitch.tv. It’s an event whose...

Louis Lalande retiring from Radio-Canada

Media | 06/16/2016 8:23 pm EDT

Louis Lalande, CBC/Radio-Canada’s executive vice-president of French services, is stepping down at the end of the year, the public broadcaster said Thursday. CBC president Hubert Lacroix announced Lalande’s retirement in a press release, adding that as head of French services, Lalande had led many projects to help modernize public broadcasting. Lalande’s departure will come after five years in the role and more than 30 with Radio-Canada, the release said. The recruitment process to replace him will begin immediately, with the goal of having someone...

CAB announces new radio marketing and advocacy team

Media | 06/16/2016 7:25 pm EDT

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has launched and staffed its new radio marketing and advocacy arm, Radio Connect, the organization announced Thursday. The CAB CEO Radio Council said in a press release that...

The Shopping Channel introduces Apple TV app

Media | 06/16/2016 6:46 pm EDT

The Shopping Channel (TSC) has launched an app for Apple Inc.’s Apple TV platform. Rogers Communications Inc., which owns the Mississauga-based retailer, announced the ShopTSC app in a Thursday press release. The...

Stingray Digital buys 4K TV channel

Media | 06/16/2016 5:24 pm EDT

Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has acquired the Festival 4K television channel, which broadcasts live performances, including festivals, concerts and theatre productions, according to the press...

CRTC ‘rebalances’ TV system funds; up to $90M available for local news

Media | 06/15/2016 10:44 pm EDT

The CRTC has established new funding for local television news in a decision on its local and community TV hearing, though advocates expressed concern that the changes won’t happen quickly...

Set-top box provider appealing temporary ban

Media | 06/15/2016 7:49 pm EDT

A federal court judge erred in her determination that allowing a group of five companies to continue selling pre-loaded set-top boxes would pose “irreparable harm” to TV service providers, according to court documents...

Club Illico announces 4K production

Media | 06/15/2016 4:56 pm EDT

Another Canadian company is joining the ultra-high-definition field, with Quebecor Inc. announcing its media division was producing its first 4K show. Videotron’s over-the-top (OTT) service Club Illico said in...

Tax, content requirements for foreign OTT not included in Heritage review

Media | 06/14/2016 10:08 pm EDT

When Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said “there will be no Netflix tax,” at the end of her department’s review of cultural institutions, that leaves both the taxation of...

Shomi, Crave in fewer than 1M households: SRG

Media | 06/14/2016 9:15 pm EDT

Solutions Research Group Consultants Inc. estimates fewer than one million Canadian households are currently subscribers to BCE Inc.’s CraveTV and Rogers Communications Inc.’s and Shaw...

Rogers proposes ‘not-for-profit’ national OMNI channel

Media | 06/14/2016 9:12 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. is changing tack with its beleaguered OMNI ethnic stations, announcing Tuesday it’s applied for a licence for a national ethnic channel, which it asked the CRTC to include in skinny-basic packages, promising to restore previously cut ethnic programming if the proposal is approved. The channel’s business model would change from previously relying on ad revenue from U.S. programming to relying on the subscriber fees that come with mandatory carriage, or 9(1)(h) status, Colette Watson, vice-president of broadcast and TV operations at Rogers, said in a phone...

Pre-loaded set-top boxes piracy, BDUs say as court orders temporary ban

Media | 06/13/2016 8:25 pm EDT

A trio of major telecom companies have received their first victory in a legal fight against companies selling set-top boxes allowing users to illegally access copyrighted material. On June 1, a...

Microsoft buying LinkedIn for $26B

Media | 06/13/2016 6:41 pm EDT

Microsoft Corp. announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement to buy LinkedIn Corp.’s social networking site for $26.2 billion US. The companies said in a press release Monday that LinkedIn...

Shaw launches community TV channel for Fort McMurray

Media | 06/10/2016 8:15 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. has introduced a TV channel to keep Fort McMurray, Alta., residents informed as they return to the city following an evacuation due to wildfires. The community channel will broadcast, in a 30-minute...

Videology adds Rogers linear TV inventory to programmatic space

Media | 06/08/2016 9:19 pm EDT

Advertisers will now have access to Rogers Communications Inc.’s linear TV inventory for programmatic, or automated, advertising, Videology Inc. said in a Wednesday press release. The New...

Stingray responds to lawsuit, says allegations ‘not material’

Media | 06/08/2016 4:16 pm EDT

A Canadian digital music company has responded to a lawsuit containing allegations that it infringed on the patents held by a U.S.-based digital music distributer. Pennsylvania-based Music Choice, a multi-platform video and music network, filed a complaint for patent infringement in a Texas court Monday against Montreal-based Stingray Digital Group Inc.  “We have gone through great measures to secure patents for our intellectual property and feel compelled to take legal action to protect our business investment,” Dave Del Beccaro, president and CEO of Music Choice, said in a Monday press release. Music Choice is seeking unspecified monetary fees...

Industry execs blast Quebec Internet-blocking, call for CRTC involvement

Media | 06/08/2016 12:29 am EDT

TORONTO — Executives from Canada’s telecom companies took aim at a new bill by the Quebec government that would force Internet service providers (ISPs) to block some gambling websites...

MTS customers fear bill increases, unlimited data loss under Bell: poll

Media | 06/07/2016 6:48 pm EDT

Current Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. customers are concerned about the future of their bills if the proposed takeover by BCE Inc. is approved, suggest the results of a new poll...

Bell Media picks programmatic ad partner

Media | 06/07/2016 6:11 pm EDT

BCE Inc. has selected the New York-based Videology Inc. to provide software for its programmatic, or automated, TV and video advertising operation. According to the release, Videology’s technology will “look at...

E.U. regulator releases zero-rating guidelines

Media | 06/06/2016 8:21 pm EDT

The body that regulates the telecommunications market in the European Union released draft guidelines Monday to ensure providers steer clear of zero-rating policies unless justified, a move that comes ahead of a CRTC...

SOCAN signs on with European rights management group

Media | 06/03/2016 5:55 pm EDT

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN)  has signed an agreement with a European partner to manage Canadian rights overseas. In a Friday press release, the French authors’...

Canadian support for CanCon doesn’t extend to online media: poll

Media | 06/03/2016 3:55 pm EDT

The majority of Canadians doesn’t believe that online media, such as Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top (OTT) service or music streaming services like Spotify AB's, should fall under the...

Pick-and-pay drives customer satisfaction: J.D. Power

Media | 06/03/2016 3:26 pm EDT

A new J.D. Power survey has found customers who have a skinny-basic TV package with a pick-and-pay option are more satisfied than TV customers with other types of subscriptions. Satisfaction among skinny-basic customers was 761...

Canadian publishers adopt new Google platform

Media | 06/02/2016 9:57 pm EDT

Three Canadian media outlets will be able to display their pages faster on smartphones while using less data after adopting a new platform developed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google, according news articles by Corus...

76% of anglophones multitask while watching TV: MTM

Media | 06/02/2016 9:03 pm EDT

According to a new report, 76 per cent of anglophones used the Internet at the same time as they watched television in 2015. “While multitasking has grown immensely over time, incidence has slowed over the past year,” MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada said. Only 12 per cent of anglophones reported multitasking in 2001, a number that rose to 66 per cent in 2013 and 74 per cent in 2014. Among multitaskers, 37 per cent said they focused equally on the television and their other devices, while 29 per cent focused mostly on the TV and 30 per cent mostly on their devices....

Scott Garvie named new CMPA chair

Media | 06/02/2016 7:32 pm EDT

Scott Garvie has replaced Jamie Brown as the chair of the board of directors at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). Garvie, the senior vice-president of business and legal affairs at Shaftesbury Films Inc., has served on the CMPA board of directors for 15 years, the organization said in a press release. “Our industry is facing...

Remove foreign ownership rules: OECD

Media | 06/02/2016 7:27 pm EDT

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is recommending giving Canada’s economy a boost by removing foreign ownership rules for telecommunications and broadcasting. In an economic forecast...

Blais can name panels: Attorney general

Media | 06/02/2016 6:58 pm EDT

The attorney general’s office is arguing that the CRTC chairman has the authority to name panels to decide issues in front of the commission, in response to a court case launched by commissioner Raj Shoan challenging his...

Bell Media adding to 4K arsenal

Media | 06/01/2016 10:16 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s media division is commissioning original, scripted 4K content, the company announced Wednesday. In a press release, Bell Media said CTV would become “the first broadcaster in North America to commit to...

CRTC issues call for radio station licence renwals

Media | 06/01/2016 10:13 pm EDT

The CRTC has issued a call for radio stations with licences expiring next year to submit their renewal applications. Affected licensees, listed on the commission’s website, must submit their applications by Aug. 31, exactly one year before they expire, the CRTC said Wednesday in a notice of consultation....

TheScore launches Facebook Messaging bot for sports updates

Media | 06/01/2016 9:50 pm EDT

TheScore Inc. launched its chatbot for Facebook Inc.’s Messenger on Wednesday, making it one of the first sports media companies to build a messaging bot to update users on sports developments....

Tax all digital services or none, committee hears

Media | 05/31/2016 7:46 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Witnesses in the latest round of hearings in the House of Commons’ Canadian Heritage committee’s study of the media and local communities asked parliamentarians to level the playing field when it comes...

SOCAN launches APIs for music royalty apps

Media | 05/31/2016 7:01 pm EDT

The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has launched an application programming interface (API) portal to help foster new music rights management apps. It said the API portal will enable...

CRTC awards three research prizes

Media | 05/30/2016 5:39 pm EDT

The CRTC has named the winners of its prize for excellence in policy research to master’s, doctoral, and post-doctoral researchers at the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, and York University. Daniel Mackwood at...

Voltage asks court to force Rogers to I.D. file-sharing John Doe

Media | 05/27/2016 9:47 pm EDT

Voltage Pictures LLC is asking federal court to order Rogers Communications Inc. to disclose the identity of an individual who infringed its copyright of five movies. In a motion of...

CRTC within right to ban Super Bowl simsub, lawyers argue

Media | 05/27/2016 9:36 pm EDT

The CRTC has every right to put measures into place banning simultaneous substation for the Super Bowl, according to new documents filed with the Appeal Court. In separate memoranda of fact and law...

Allarco enters creditor protection

Media | 05/27/2016 5:13 pm EDT

Allarco Entertainment 2008 Inc., which owns Super Channel, is now in creditor protection, the company announced Thursday. It said in a press release that “after consideration of all available alternatives… it is...

CBC funding to destroy ‘precarious balance’ in industry: Que. broadcasters

Media | 05/25/2016 8:37 pm EDT

A group of Quebec broadcasters say that unless accountability measures are put in place, the increased funding the federal government has slated for CBC/Radio-Canada will be a “blank...

Lose focus on CanCon, say think tank authors

Media | 05/25/2016 5:38 pm EDT

Technological changes to the broadcasting and communications landscape require a similar shift in the regulatory environment, according to authors of a pair of new think-tank reports released Wednesday, both of which call for less focus from the CRTC on Canadian content. According to both Steven Globerman, who authored the Fraser Institute report, and Benjamin Dachis and Daniel Schwanen, who wrote the C.D. Howe Institute report, the requirements for conventional broadcast distributors (BDUs) to make financial contributions and meet programming quotas are too restrictive in an environment...