Music-sharing is music industry’s best hope for viability: Fading Ways label chief

Media | 03/03/2004 5:00 am EST

Current music industry woes are partly the hangover of the excesses of the 1980s, argues the head of a small Toronto indie label hoping to reverse trends with a new business model. Neil Leyton, head of Fading Ways Records Ltd., says the amount of money being spent to promote artists is untenable in the current economic...

Reeves still finds itself shut out from copyright/DRM funding program

Media | 03/03/2004 5:00 am EST

A year and several letters of industry support later, Reeves Interactive continues to find itself shut out from the Electronic Copyright Fund (ECF), much to its president’s frustration. The group has been touting its TraceRight digital rights management software as a way to put audio-visual material securely online and is...

Legal CRIA/ISP process captures industry attention

Media | 03/03/2004 5:00 am EST

Many industry executives and bureaucrats - though not all - will be watching the outcome of the current attempt by the music industry to force ISPs to cough up subscriber info (see article here and CNM, Feb. 20/04) for any potential implications in the larger lawful access process (CNM, Sept. 6/02). Lawful access is the broad label applied to Ottawa’s...

CRIA target says he won’t settle in the event of a lawsuit

Media | 03/01/2004 5:00 am EST

One of the individuals whose identity is being sought by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) says he’s unlikely to try to settle a future copyright infringement suit, and believes the music labels have too shaky a case to successfully prosecute. The 24-year-old Calgary man says the Internet service account...

CRTC denies CHUM TV licences for Edmonton, Calgary markets

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

The CRTC has refused to grant licences to CHUM Ltd. for over-the-air TV stations in Calgary and Edmonton, with a retransmitter in Red Deer AB. In the long run, though, the decision is likely to be just as beneficial to CHUM as it is to Craig Media Inc., which has its base in the Alberta market. In its February 26 decision, the regulator lists a concern about the negative impact approving CHUM’s applications would have at this time compared to the potential benefits of additional local programming as the reasons for denying CHUM’s bid (Broadcasting Decision 2004-98). The CRTC saw things differently when it licensed new entrants in the Toronto market two years ago (CCR, June 7/02). CHUM then used many of the arguments that Craig made in the Alberta licensing hearing, but in the...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

Striking A-Channel Edmonton workers agree to dealCraig Media’s striking A-Channel Edmonton workers have voted "overwhelmingly" to approve an agreement that will see them return to work on March 1 (CCR, Feb. 13/04). Nine positions at the company’s Edmonton operations, or about 10% of the workforce, will be cut as Craig Media consolidates its master control operations for all its Alberta operations in Calgary....

CCR People

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

Taylor Baiden, VP of finance at CHUM Ltd. as well as treasurer and secretary and board member, is leaving to "pursue other interests." He has been with CHUM since 1972. He has stepped down from his position on the CHUM board but will continue in his role as VP of finance until April 15.  Kirsten Embree has joined Fraser Milner Casgrain’s Ottawa law office as a partner in its federal regulatory practice...

CAB outlines efforts being made to combat satellite TV signal theft

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

  The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) on February 16 sent a letter to the CRTC to provide a progress report on the legal and public affairs activities it has undertaken over the past several months with respect to TV signal theft. An excerpt of the letter appears below. Legal Since the last update, the...

CCR Editorial

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Its licence applications for the Alberta market denied, CHUM Ltd. has little choice now but to aggressively pursue an acquisition of rival Craig Media. Craig, already on the auction block, is critical to CHUM’s expansion plans, and CHUM company officials don’t deny they’re in the hunt. President...

CCTA attacks BCE boss over his call for a revised policy framework

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

The acting president of the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) has attacked comments made this week by BCE Inc. president and CEO Michael Sabia, saying what Bell wants on the telephony side isn’t what cable gets in broadcasting. Speaking February 25 in Ottawa, Sabia called for a new regulatory framework for the...

L’Oréal moves from traditional ad approach in conjunction with Canadian Idol

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

L’Oréal thinks it has the answer to the degradation in value of traditional advertising in the face of personal video recorders, audience fragmentation, and alternative platform advertising such as SMS messaging. The Paris-based cosmetics company was able to extend its brand through a sponsorship deal with CTV Inc.’s...

Bell Canada expands VDSL television service into Montreal, Ottawa markets

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

Bell Canada is quietly in the process of rolling out its VDSL television service in multiple-unit dwellings (MUDs) in Montreal and Ottawa. The TV service delivered over broadband was piloted last year in the Toronto market, where it is currently being bundled with the company’s Sympatico high-speed Internet...

CHUM becomes third player applying to CRTC for subscription radio licence

Media | 02/27/2004 5:00 am EST

CHUM Ltd. has quietly filed a surprise application with the CRTC to join two other parties seeking licences to provide subscription digital radio in Canada, as first reported by Canadian Communications Reports (CCR Update, Feb. 19/04). Only three applications had been received by the CRTC by the February 16 filing deadline....

CNM Update

Media | 02/26/2004 5:00 am EST

February 26, 2004   Delvinia to launch online survey of new mediaDelvinia Interactive Inc. is launching a new media online survey on March 1 to study self-employed and freelance new media workers. The study, commissioned by the Cultural Human Resources Council, is being conducted to better understand the composition of this sub-set of the new media workforce and their skill needs. Freelancers are being offered the chance to win a $1,800 20-inch Apple flat screen display or $1,000 in cash for their participation. Alias awards $118,00 in software to design studentsAlias used the occasion of the Canadian Auto Show to hand out $118,000 worth of computer-aided design software to three students from Korea and China. The awards were presented for the best computer-generated presentations of concept cars for the year 2015 that most aptly reflected needs in each student’s country. The contest drew 67 entries from 20 design schools.Blast Radius exec named to Clio juryMauro Alencar, creative director at Vancouver-based Blast Radius,...

NMBA to urge preservation, reform of new media tax credit through lobby effort

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

A new and likely overdue effort to reform Ontario’s main support mechanism for the development of new digital products – the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit (OIDM) – is now underway as the New Media Business Alliance (NMBA) is spearheading a lobby effort to fix perceived problems with the credit. Within a...

Data-mining key to integrating advertising, TV and interactive content: Bell Fund report

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

Broadcasters must integrate consumer demand for interactive products into their high-level business plans to capitalize on new technological possibilities for data-mining and business intelligence, suggests a new report prepared for the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund. The study, Fiscal Reality...

Copyright extensions to be removed from Library and Archives merger bill: LaPierre

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

A potential legal twilight zone will likely be averted when the Senate drops controversial copyright provisions contained in Bill C-8 when the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology meets to discuss the legislation, possibly as soon as next week. The bill, which would merge the National Library...

ISPs pose daunting hurdle to third prong of music industry downloading strategy

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

Despite a brief court delay, the music industry could see the third prong of its attack on downloading proceed more quickly than either its private copying efforts or seeing a result in the Tariff 22 case now before the Supreme Court of Canada. On February 16, the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) fired its...

National Archives shifts direction with virtual exhibit of Winkworth collection

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

The National Archives of Canada has signalled a new direction for its online efforts in launching the new Peter Winkworth collection as a virtual exhibit. Rather than try to replicate a physical installation as some past projects have done, Archives officials are now using the web to gear collection sites toward both casual users and to hard-core researchers anxious to drill down into the available materials. When visitors first encounter the Winkworth collection online, they’ll see about 150 items presented in a traditional web site format. Those artworks, however, are just a tip of the iceberg as Archives staff digitize and post the majority of the 4,000-work collection through next...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

"CopyLeft" indie music label launches royalty-free releasesToronto-based Fading Ways Music is now selling all new CDs under a "CopyLeft/Creative Commons" licence. The licensing arrangement gives anyone the right to copy or share CDs and MP3 files so long as credit is given the artist and the user is not making the track or tracks available commercially. The company, founded in 1998, has over 30 titles...

CNM People

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) has hired a senior industry administrator to lead the agency. Anna Bucci, former national director of finance and administration with the Alliance of Canadian Television and Radio Artists became executive director late last year. "The CPCC isn’t a far cry from being a start-up operation," Bucci says in a media release. "I’m looking forward to the challenge...

No cuts to TV and film tax credits: Meilleur

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

  New Ontario culture minister Madeleine Meilleur recently addressed the 6 Degrees of Separation event hosted by the Ontario Media Development Corp. on February 10. While her comments didn’t speak to the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit, she did address several prominent new media products. Following is an edited version of her...

CNM Editorial

Media | 02/20/2004 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Copyright Board of Canada head John Gomery seems like a good choice to head an inquiry into the Liberal sponsorship scandal; he’s a man who knows a thing or two about process, or the lack thereof. Longtime readers of Canadian NEW MEDIA know that we spill a significant amount of ink on the subject of...

CHUM files licence application for subscription radio service

Media | 02/19/2004 5:00 am EST

CHUM Ltd. has quietly filed a surprise application with the CRTC to join two other parties seeking licences to provide subscription digital radio in Canada, Canadian Communications Reports has learned. As of the February 16 filing deadline, at least three parties have now applied to the regulator for a subscription radio...

CCR Update

Media | 02/18/2004 5:00 am EST

February 18, 2004   Bill to amend Radiocommunication Act passes first readingBill C-2, an Act to amend the Radiocommunication Act to strengthen penalties for the theft of satellite signals, passed first reading in the House of Commons on February 13. "The broadcasting industry is encouraged by the new government’s renewed commitment to pass legislation that more effectively deters signal theft in...

Stephen Ellis outlines six disturbing trends for independent producers

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

  Last year, Stephen Ellis of Ellis Entertainment chaired a task force of nine producers from across the country to develop an improved business model for production. At the Canadian Film and Television Production Association conference on January 30, he discussed the organization’s new strategies for...

CCR Editorial

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The Canadian Satellite Users Association (CSUA) deserves credit for hosting an informative and forward-looking conference February 2-3 in Toronto. Entitled "Reality Bytes," it focused on the digital rollout and high-definition (HD) content. The speakers were drawn from Canada and...

Battle erupting over possibility of mandated plug-and-play HDTVs in Canada

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

Bell ExpressVu LP says forcing manufacturers to construct plug-and-play high-definition (HD) televisions in Canada will give cable operators an unfair advantage as subscribers begin acquiring the hardware necessary to receive HD programming. Terry Snazel, VP of technology at Bell ExpressVu, says that if Industry Canada forces manufacturers to include the necessary hardware in televisions, it would increase the cost of HD-ready televisions by $500 to $1,000. But, unlike cablecos, DTH satellite TV companies will still have to sell their customers an additional set-top box even after consumers have swallowed the cost of a high-tech set. He adds that Bell ExpressVu is actively lobbying...

Lack of adequate programming, low returns hurting transition to high definition

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

A shortage of high-definition (HD) television programming combined with the high costs of converting traditional broadcasts don’t bode well for a slate of six new over-the-air transitional digital TV licensees. Faced with an uncertain environment for HD programming, even the recipients of the new licences question the...

Low-budget programming running counter to mainstream has its place

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

Bureaucratic hassles and the increasing difficulty level of producing high-end television left some producers singing the praises of reality TV and other low-budget programming at a recent conference. "Cheaper programming is great because you can make it. It becomes a way of life," said Steve Levitan, president...

Government, industry push needed to boost Canadian HD content: McEwen

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

Michael McEwen, president of Canadian Digital Television (CDTV), says the organization will be working with the government and the independent television producers’ association to ensure that more Canadian content is produced in high definition (HD).  "As broadcasters begin their HD services, most product will...

Broadcast industry forms coalition to lobby government on CTF

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

Adiverse coalition of broadcast industry players has coalesced to lobby the federal government to reinstate its $100 million in support for the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). "The decision in last spring’s federal budget to reduce the government’s direct support to Canada’s producers threatens our Canadian...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

Access cable customer base drops slightly in 2003Saskatchewan’s Access Communications Co-operative Limited saw its cable customer base drop only slightly in 2003 to 78,000 from 80,000, despite operating in Canada’s most competitive television distribution market, according to the cable cooperative’s recently released 2003 annual report. Access competes against four different TV providers in most communities it serves — satellite TV operators Bell ExpressVu LP and Star Choice Television Network Inc., wireless cableco Image Wireless Communications Inc., and telco SaskTel. Access also noted in its annual report that it plans to launch high-definition television services, currently available only in Regina, in other communities in early 2004. The cable co-operative also disclosed that more than 11,000 customers have signed up for its AccessCombo cable and Internet bundles since they launched in January 2003 and that it has been testing Voice over Internet Protocol technology. Access celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. It was...

CCR People

Media | 02/13/2004 5:00 am EST

Brad Phillips, currently VP and general manager of CHUM Ltd.’s Citytv Vancouver, has been promoted to the newly created position of VP of CHUM Television BC. He will have overall corporate responsibility for both The New VI, based in Victoria, and Citytv Vancouver. A newly created position of station manager for The New VI, reporting to Phillips, will be announced shortly. As well, Howard Slutsken, currently VP and...

CNM Update

Media | 02/11/2004 5:00 am EST

February 11, 2004   Blast Radius to acquire XMetaL from CorelVancouver-based Blast Radius has signed an agreement to acquire all of the assets of Corel Corp.’s XMetaL division. XMetaL sells an XML authoring product that complements Blast’s existing content collaboration product offerings. XMetaL customers include Nike Timing, CIBC World Markets, KBC Bank and Insurance, Texas Instruments, ICP Europe...

Trapeze confirms interactive television work with CTV on Canadian Idol 2

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

Toronto-based Trapeze Media hopes to bring advanced interactive features to the second season of Canadian Idol - something it was unable to do for the show’s debut season because discussions last year with broadcaster CTV Inc. were abruptly terminated. But talks between the two companies have resumed, and with the...

Ringtone store represents new relationship between content providers, cellcos: CHUM

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

A deal between the three largest Canadian cell phone providers and CHUM Television Interactive to put a MuchMusic-branded store on mobile devices seems to signal a new approach by the previously guarded cellcos towards working with content partners. On January 27, CHUM announced a partnership between itself, TELUS Mobility,...

Producers associations take tentative steps toward national coalition around funding

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

Several prominent new media producers are taking cautious first steps towards national cooperation between the various organizations and groups that represent the sector. DECODE Entertainment’s Dan Fill and Collideascope Entertainment’s Steven Comeau, along with Michael Mcguigan at Breakthrough New Media have been...

Technology law students band together to defend potential CRIA piracy targets

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

A call has gone out to university law students across the country to aid those who find themselves on the wrong end of a music-piracy suit. In January, University of Ottawa student Andy Kaplan-Myrth and a counterpart at the University of Windsor, Telly Lebedev, posted a new web site, CanFLI.org, for a new ad hoc group, the...

Breakthrough looks forward to revenue opportunity from game development

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

The console game train continues to roll among new media producers as Breakthrough New Media Inc. has won funding to develop a new property - Atomic Betty. On December 16, Telefilm Canada announced that the company would receive prototype funding to develop the game for the Playstation 2 platform. Breakthrough manager of...

Voters respond well to online initiatives, says Delvinia in wake of CANARIE trial

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

A quarter of those voting using new online technology during the recent 2003 Markham ON municipal election did not vote in the 2000 election, say the authors of a report detailing results of the CANARIE Inc.-funded online voting trial spearheaded by Delvinia Interactive Inc. The trial had two components: voting online...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

New brandmark for CIRAThe Canadian Internet Registration Authority appears set to adopt a new brandmark that would be used by registrars selling .ca domain names.  An application for a trademark on the graphic was filed on January 20. Disney vet sets up shop in Toronto with ex-Playdium CEOA company called TimePlay Entertainment Corp. has applied for a trademark on the term "Timeplay". Few details about the company are available, and a person reached by phone at a number available on the company’s web site would confirm only that the company is new. The company is headed by Jon Hussman, president/CEO, who is a former CEO of Toronto entertainment company Playdium, and Jon Snoddy, chief creative officer. Snoddy was formerly director of Walt Disney Imagineering, developing virtual reality for Disney’s theme parks. He then went to Dreamworks Studios where he worked on the Sega Dreamworks arcades. The company, according to its web site at, is selling a "turnkey system for playing games and other interactive...

CNM People

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

Luc Bourdon, artistic director of the Montreal Festival of New Media/New Cinema, has left his job to return to documentary production and screenwriting. The festival has named Bruno Jobin as interim artistic director until a replacement can be found.  Electrohome Ltd. has named Chris Clover as president of Mechdyne Corp. , which operates as Fakespace Systems, to replace Carol Leaman who resigns effective March 12....

CNM Editorial

Media | 02/06/2004 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.For years the relationship between content producers and wireless phone providers has been a rocky one. Cell phone companies have been sitting on a gold mine of subscribers willing to pay a premium for mobile applications, but providers such as TELUS and Bell Canada have carefully guarded those user...

CCR Update

Media | 02/05/2004 5:00 am EST

February 5, 2004   Bell ExpressVu subscriber growth rebounds slightly in Q4Satellite TV leader Bell ExpressVu LP added 35,000 net subscribers in its fiscal 2003 fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2003, a rebound of sorts from disappointing subscriber growth posted in previous quarters in 2003, according to financial results released February 4. The satellite TV provider ended the quarter and fiscal year with a total...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 01/30/2004 5:00 am EST

Overseas broadcast operations buoy CanWest’s bottom lineCanWest Global Communications Corp. announced January 21 that strong revenue performances by the company’s overseas South Pacific operations, particularly at Australia’s Network TEN, were offset by reductions in revenue from Canadian broadcast operations and its entertainment division in the first quarter of fiscal 2004. For the quarter ended Nov. 30, 2003,...

CCR People

Media | 01/30/2004 5:00 am EST

Robert Paquette joined the National Film Board as director of human resources, effective January 19. He was most recently the director of human resources for the Port of Montreal. Charles Bird has been named VP of government affairs at Bell Globemedia, effective February 2. He will be based in Ottawa. Until recently, Bird was a senior consultant at Earnscliffe Strategy Group. Prior to joining Earnscliffe in February 2000, he was policy advisor to Ralph Goodale, who was minister of Natural Resources (1997-2000) and minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (1993-1997). Guy Mayson has officially been appointed as the president and CEO of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association. He has been acting in the position since September 2003, when former association head Elizabeth McDonald resigned. Previously, Mayson was executive VP at the CFTPA, directing its film policy and tax agendas. He joined the CFTPA in 1997, after working in the public service. Prior to joining the government, he worked as a freelance writer,...

Broadcasters, producers have different interpretation of specialty TV decision

Media | 01/30/2004 5:00 am EST

The head of an organization representing film and TV producers believes that the CRTC’s decision to expand expenditures for the most profitable specialty TV channels and to allow the expansion of some of them into the drama genre is a positive future sign of commission support for Canadian production. But some...

Carleton U channel moving to digital only carriage, expanded distribution possible

Media | 01/30/2004 5:00 am EST

The expansion in distribution of Crossroads as an analog channel has thrown a wrench into negotiations between Rogers Cable Inc. and Carleton University’s educational access channel. Carol Miles, director of the Educational Development Centre at Carleton University, tells Canadian Communications Reports that Rogers had...

Communications trends increasingly place power in hands of consumers, says Audet

Media | 01/30/2004 5:00 am EST

  Louis Audet, president and CEO of Cogeco Inc., spoke about "The Internet, Video on Demand, and Rising Consumer Power" before the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal on January 27. Below is an excerpt from his address. Today, I suggest we take a look at the trends in the world of communications, which,...

Canadian film and TV production industry in “holding pattern,” according to Mayson

Media | 01/30/2004 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) forecasts declines in foreign location shooting and co-productions, but numbers in its state of the industry report show in-house production by broadcasters is on the rise - a trade-off that worries the independent production sector....

CCR Editorial

Media | 01/30/2004 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.In renewing the licences of 22 specialty television channels originally granted in 1996, the CRTC has taken the right approach to Canadian content. It is encouraging and requiring broadcasters to spend more on Canadian programming through increased expenditure requirements for the most profitable...

Unions, cultural groups plan awareness campaign to fight foreign ownership

Media | 01/30/2004 5:00 am EST

Acoalition of unions and cultural organizations is holding regional meetings and has set up a communications committee to plan a national advertising campaign aimed at bringing the issue of foreign ownership to the public’s attention. The goal is to put pressure on Prime Minister Paul Martin to retreat from moves to...

Broadcasters suing feds over Part II licence fees

Media | 01/29/2004 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters, which represents the majority of Canada's private television, radio, and specialty broadcasters, is suing the federal government over Part II licence fees, Canadian Communications Reports has learned. On December 2, the CAB filed a statement of claim with the Federal Court of Canada for a determination from...

CNM People

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

Jeff Leiper has been named editor-in-chief of Decima Publishing Inc. He takes over responsibility for day-to-day editorial functions from Mario Mota, who is now publisher and president of the company.  Xavier Marchand has been appointed as managing director of Momentum Pictures, the U.K. arm of Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution LP. Marchand has previously worked for companies such as PolyGram Film...

CNM Editorial

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.Among the recent winners of Telefilm Canada’s Canada New Media Fund financial help, no fewer than four of the winning projects were for console-based game products. In this issue, we feature the Trapeze Media offering, and as this edition goes to bed, we spoke with Breakthrough Films about its proposal. Clearly, console-based gaming is emerging as a key theme in 2004, and policy-makers are faced now with the challenge of how to help the sector.  Console games represent the promise of marketing that makes money for producers who tie games in to their popular televison properties. There is a voracious appetite for titles, especially in the unclaimed turf of kids television programming. Canadians, who we have long argued are the best in the world at producing compelling children’s content for the television screen, are in an enviable position to begin making inroads into the console market. A successful television...

Expected constitutional challenge to private copying decision takes first step

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

The Copyright Board of Canada’s December decision on private copying is under attack from nearly all quarters as several parties to it have put the issue to the Federal Court of Appeal. In separate applications, the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), the Retail Council of Canada (RCC) and a coalition of digital...

CCOP helps NFB put streaming movie service CinéRoute online to Canadians

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

The National Film Board (NFB) will soon launch its Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP)-supported CinéRoute project from its exclusive home on CANARIE Inc.’s experimental broadband platform CA*Net 4 to the broader commodity Internet. Within weeks, the service, which streams Canadian films from the agency’s...

CCOP helps NFB put streaming movie service CinéRoute online to Canadians

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

The National Film Board (NFB) will soon launch its Canadian Culture Online Program (CCOP)-supported CinéRoute project from its exclusive home on CANARIE Inc.’s experimental broadband platform CA*Net 4 to the broader commodity Internet. Within weeks, the service, which streams Canadian films from the agency’s...

Cronenberg, Trapeze Media team up on Telefilm-supported console game project

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

Q&A with Mike Kasprow Telefilm Canada announced yet more funding for gaming projects on December 18, including support for a new, yet-untitled console game being developed by Trapeze Media in conjunction with well-known filmmaker David Cronenberg and his son Brandon. Canadian NEW MEDIA had the opportunity to pepper...

VMC site first to incorporate wireless web and aboriginal content for astronomy

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

A new web site launched by the Virtual Museum of Canada (VMC) is the first, its builders say, to incorporate elements of science and culture into an online exhibit dedicated to astronomy. On January 5, new Canadian Heritage minister Hélène Chalifour-Scherrer launched the site, built by Vancouver-based Pangaea Systems for a large consortium of 17 partners that contributed content. The project, which began in 2002 and took a little over a year to complete, boasts an international partnership of content providers that includes the National Research Council (NRC), the Herzberg Institute for Astrophysics in Victoria, the Montreal Planetarium, the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, Calgary’s...

NewMIC assets go on the block

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

Assets formerly owned by the New Media Innovation Centre (NewMIC), Vancouver, will be auctioned on February 17, with the deadline for final removal of those items from the premises two days later on the 19th, according to Timeline Sales, which is charged with liquidating the assets. Timeline’s Murray Jarvis tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that for the past...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 01/26/2004 5:00 am EST

Telefilm Canada to fund 50 new media projectsTelefilm Canada has announced that it will fund 50 new media projects from its Canada New Media Fund. Three projects were selected from the Atlantic region, 13 from Quebec, nine from Ontario, and eight from the western region (some projects were approved for multi-phase financing). Of the projects, 16 were accepted for market research and prototyping, 17 for product...

CCR Update

Media | 01/21/2004 5:00 am EST

January 21, 2004  Shaw Cablesystems to increase rates despite improved financialsThe cable division of Shaw Communications Inc. will implement rate increases of $1 to $2 per month in February 2004 on most of its packages in most service areas, the company announced in financial results released January 20. The price increases are expected to generate additional monthly revenue of about $1.5 million when fully...

CCR People

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

Michael O’Brien has been named to the board of directors of Shaw Communications Inc. Formerly, he held a number of senior management positions with Suncor Energy Inc., most recently as executive VP of corporate development.  Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.’s Motion Picture Distribution unit has named Xavier Marchand as the new managing director of its London UK-based Momentum Pictures, effective January 1....

Craig Media’s expansion plans anger striking employees at its Edmonton station

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

Craig Media’s ambitious expansion plans have angered striking television workers who contend that the broadcaster has repeatedly told them it has no money. "We’re shocked to hear that he (owner Drew Craig) has the capital to expand when all we hear from him is that there is no money," striking cameraman Chris...

CCTA continues to push for right to carry HDNet, Discovery HD to boost high def

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) continues to believe that the addition of two U.S. high-definition (HD) services are needed to boost viewership to the new technology, despite the fact that more and more Canadian broadcasters are beginning to offer HD programming. CCTA acting president Michael Hennessy says...

As it prepares for licence renewal, Radio Nord says employees refuse to negotiate

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

Radio Nord Communications inc. management charges that its striking employees in northern Quebec won’t return to the bargaining table because many are making more money while on strike than on the job. The allegations were leveled by Radio Nord head Pierre Brosseau as the broadcaster prepares to appear before the CRTC on...

CRTC rules Cogeco breached rules in offering incentives to MUD owners

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

  The CRTC has ruled that Cogeco Cable Inc. conferred an undue preference upon itself in contravention of section 9 of the Broadcast Distribution Regulations through agreements that offer free cable and Internet to multiple-unit dwelling (MUD) managers for promoting the cableco’s services in the building. The ruling...

CBC big loser in viewership when conventional, specialty TV considered

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

Despite complaints by private English-language conventional television broadcasters that their profit margins dropped below 10% in 2002, the lowest level since 1991, CRTC stats show that losses in market share to over-the-air broadcasters are more than being made up through audience gains to their specialty channels (CCR, June 20/03). In fact, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is the only English-language broadcaster to see its market share drop, if viewing to both conventional and specialty channels are included, according the Broadcasting Policy Monitoring Report, released last month by the CRTC. In combining viewing share of conventional and specialty services controlled by ownership...

Cable easily beats satellite in digital TV subscriber growth in Q3 2003: Decima

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

Canada’s cable operators added three times more digital subscribers in the third quarter of 2003 than their satellite TV competitors. The figures are a clear sign that the honeymoon is over for satellite TV and that cable is now the preferred choice of most Canadians moving to digital TV. That’s one key finding from the...

CCR Editorial

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports.In advocating the introduction of two U.S. HD television channels to get Canadians to sign up for high-definition boxes, cable operators are thinking only of their bottom line and not the overall interests of the Canadian broadcasting system. The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) argues that...

CCR Short Takes

Media | 01/15/2004 5:00 am EST

UBS withdraws from 2300/3500 MHz spectrum auctionUnique Broadband Systems Inc. (UBS) cites access to enough spectrum through its 51% ownership stake in Look Communications Inc. and an agreement with Microcell Telecommunications Inc. as its reasons for withdrawing from the much anticipated 2300 MHz and 3500 MHz spectrum auction. UBS representative Phil Koven tells Canadian Communications Reports, "UBS feels that with...

CNM Update

Media | 01/14/2004 5:00 am EST

January 14, 2004  Appeals filed in private copying decisionSeveral parties have filed applications for judicial review with the Federal Court of Appeal asking the court to re-examine the Copyright Board of Canada’s private copying decision (CNM, Dec. 19/03). As expected, the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) is asking the court to clarify the board’s decision to declare the zero rating scheme illegal....

CCR Update

Media | 01/07/2004 5:00 am EST

January 7, 2004   Rogers expects to add about 100,000 digital households in 2004Rogers Communications Inc. stated that its Rogers Cable Inc. subsidiary expects to gain between 100,000 and 120,000 net digital cable households by the end of 2004. The company also noted January 5 in its release of selected preliminary fourth-quarter subscriber results and initial 2004 guidance that it added 43,200 net digital households in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2003, bringing the total number of digital households to 535,300. Rogers expects basic cable subscriber levels to be flat or decline by up to 1% in 2004. Regardless, Rogers Cable anticipates generating revenue of about $1.91 billion to $1.95 billion and having an operating profit before management fees in the $710 million to $730 million range for the full 2004 fiscal year.Rogers reaches agreement with former Cable Atlantic shareholdersRogers Communications Inc. announced December 22 that it had reached an agreement with the former shareholders of Cable Atlantic regarding a...

Year 2003 sees positive developments and encouragement despite many challenges

Media | 12/23/2003 5:00 am EST

The past year has been a challenging one in many regards. A massive cut to the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund has dominated industry discussion since the summer, and there are still no announcements from Telefilm Canada about how that funding avenue will be saved from the cutting block. It’s impossible to tell yet how...

CNM Short Takes

Media | 12/23/2003 5:00 am EST

CBC to offer innovative ITV application for NHL hockeyThe Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is currently running a free preview of its recently launched Hockey Night In Canada Plus service. The offering allows Bell ExpressVu LP subscribers to watch multiple camera angles and video feeds associated with the network’s popular Hockey Night in Canada broadcast throughout the 2003-2004 season on Saturday nights. Features include...

CNM Editorial

Media | 12/23/2003 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. Putting together a "good news" issue of the newsletter to wrap up the year proved an educational undertaking. The perspectives on 2003 we've printed here show reason for optimism for 2004, and it's an optimism we share.  Canadian NEW MEDIA has been growing steadily since it...

Paris Première TV channel to pull plug in Canada next week; MSNBC Canada could be next Canadian diginet to disappear

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

*Special Edition* European French-language television channel Paris Première will pull out of the Canadian market on December 27, Canadian Communications Reports has learned. The channel, introduced in Canada on digital cable a year and a half ago, has decided to abandon the small but growing...

Galaxie to tackle commercial market with IP-based OMT back-end technology

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

An evolution of its partnership with Canadian Broadcasting Corp. digital music service Galaxie will be one of the first tests for OMT Inc. as it begins implementing the technology assets it purchased from now defunct musicmusicmusic Inc. For less than $500,000, Winnipeg-based OMT has purchased a catalog of 365,000 digital...

Bill Craig to use interactivity to revamp struggling PrideVision specialty channel

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

The maverick broadcaster who used the Internet to upend traditional delivery models is now turning his attention to the digital specialty television world with a plan to rejuvenate the ailing PrideVision TV channel. Bill Craig has purchased 90% of the channel from Headline Media Group Inc. for $2.6 million, and hopes to...

ZAQ announces relaunch of activities and trading

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

ZAQ Inc. will resume operations under the terms of a business plan approved by the board of directors this fall. Class A shares of the company resumed trading December 15. Under the terms of the plan, the company will continue providing interactive marketing solutions to its clients and will continue to develop, acquire and market software-based...

CNM People

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

Blast Radius has appointed Mario Perez as VP of production, based in Toronto. Perez was formerly the partner and corporate services executive for Microsoft Canada Services and was before that co-founder and chief technology officer for FsXchange (now eFS). He was also the e-business systems integration practice principal for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ management consulting services and held other management positions with...

Paris Première TV channel to pull plug in Canada next week; MSNBC Canada could be next Canadian diginet to disappear

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

European French-language television channel Paris Première will pull out of the Canadian market on December 27, Canadian Communications Reports has learned. The channel, introduced in Canada on digital cable a year and a half ago, has decided to abandon the small but growing digital television market due to low subscriber and viewer numbers, sources say. Meanwhile, Category 2 digital specialty TV channel MSNBC Canada could be the next Canadian diginet to disappear, according to Broadcasting Public Notice 2003-67, released December 18. Rogers Broadcasting Limited and Shaw Communications Inc., which each own 33.3% of the channel, have filed an application with the CRTC to add the full...

CNM Editorial

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

The opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Decima Reports. The mainstream press here and the trade press in the U.S. has been abuzz in recent days over the Copyright Board of Canada’s recent ruling that music downloads, no matter from what source, are covered by the private copying levy so long as the tracks are copied to media covered by the tariff. The...

Private copying levy body says frozen rates unjustified as music downloading increases

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

Music industry representatives have expressed their strong disappointment in the Copyright Board of Canada’s decision not to raise a levy on blank recording media. On December 12, the board issued its long-awaited ruling on the levy to be applied to such media as blank audiocassettes, CD-Rs, and...

Former iLoveTV CTO to give synchronization platform second chance

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

A former employee of iLoveTV Entertainment Inc. has broken away from his former shop to sound out the market for a synchronized interactive television technology he developed for the firm. Mike Church, formerly iLoveTV’s chief technology officer, has formed his own company, Desktopbox Inc., to sell the platform that was...

Digital Wizards paves way for third-party development for Immersion Studios

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

Digital Wizards Inc. appears set to become one of the first third-party developers for Immersion Studios’ worldwide network of immersive theatres. The Markham ON-based company has just won Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund assistance with partner Good Earth Productions to develop triple-threat programming that will be...

ITV to gain popular acceptance when Internet links established: Fortner

Media | 12/19/2003 5:00 am EST

Interactive television (ITV) won’t become mainstream until the various links in the chain open the technology up to the broader Internet world, says Ryerson University’s Brad Fortner, a long-time practitioner in the field. At an ITV-themed lunch and learn in Toronto on December 12 organized by the New Media Business Alliance, Fortner broke with fellow panelists Glenn Purkis of satellite TV provider Bell ExpressVu LP and producer Barbara Jones, owner of Sailor Moon Productions, to argue that the true promise of ITV lies in a broadcaster path to multiple-networked devices in the home - a different vision from the gated model set out by Bell ExpressVu’s representative.  In his...

CBC joins forces with Sirius Satellite Radio; small terrestrial repeater network likely

Media | 12/16/2003 5:00 am EST

The joint venture involving the Canadian Broadcasting Corp./Radio-Canada and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. to launch a satellite radio service in Canada will likely have to build a terrestrial repeater network to fill in coverage gaps in urban centres of the country. But that network won’t be as...

Wireless can help Canadian innovation agenda, conference told

Media | 12/16/2003 5:00 am EST

Wireless telephony is increasing its share of the marketplace in Canada but will have to grow significantly before it achieves the success reached in other countries. The head of one of Canada’s major wireless service providers believes that is possible. George Cope, president and CEO of Telus Mobility, was a...

Cell phone ownership or use continues to grow, Decima study confirms

Media | 12/16/2003 5:00 am EST

 Canadians’ ownership or use of cell phones continues to grow, new survey results from Decima Research Inc. confirm. On a Canada-wide basis, cell phone ownership or use has grown from 51% recorded in a February 2003 survey to 53% registered in a November 2003 survey. The survey data demonstrates that while...

Regulators need to “remove” themselves from spectrum management, ACA says

Media | 12/16/2003 5:00 am EST

Governments should consider a laissez-faire approach to regulating spectrum as a way to better exploit the resource. That was one of the key arguments from a short presentation by John Grant, senior executive manager of radiocommunications with the Australian Communications Authority (ACA), at the...

CBC and RCMP spar over spectrum for public safety comm at Spectrum 20/20

Media | 12/16/2003 5:00 am EST

Police and other public safety agencies continue to press for dedicated spectrum for their networks as broadcasters take baby steps toward releasing some of their holdings in advance of a better understood digital broadcast environment. At the Spectrum 20/20 conference earlier this month, a representative from the...

CNM Update

Media | 12/11/2003 5:00 am EST

Telus confirms Puretracks partnershipA story in the National Post today confirms that telco and ISP Telus Corp. has established a partnership with the music download service Puretracks.com, as reported by Canadian NEW MEDIA in October (CNM, Oct. 22/03). Telus did not provide further details, but the service on MyTelus.com is operational. Puretracks is operated by Toronto-based Moon Taxi Media. Moon Taxi president Alistair...

Separate ministries for culture, industry good for public debate: Yaffe

Media | 12/10/2003 5:00 am EST

Separate departments for culture and industry have led to healthy public debates between the cultural aspect and the more industrial side of the Canadian broadcasting system, and a merger isn’t desirable, says Phyllis Yaffe, CEO of Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting. During a session at the Canadian chapter of the...

Separate ministries for culture, industry good for public debate: Yaffe

Media | 12/10/2003 5:00 am EST

 Separate departments for culture and industry have led to healthy public debates between the cultural aspect and the more industrial side of the Canadian broadcasting system, and a merger isn’t desirable, says Phyllis Yaffe, CEO of Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting. During a session at the Canadian chapter of the...

Canadian drama: Everyone says they want it but no one wants to fund it

Media | 12/10/2003 5:00 am EST

 A recent panel discussion on how best to reconcile the television industry’s cultural objectives with its financial capacity saw industry players passing the buck when it comes to producing more TV drama and paying for it. At the Canadian chapter of the International Institute of Communications conference in Ottawa December 2, Maureen Parker, executive director of the Writers’ Guild of Canada, pushed for a greater contribution from private broadcasters as licence fees they pay are significantly lower than those paid by their counterparts in other countries. But fellow panelist Glenn O’Farrell, Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) president and CEO, argued that...