CCR Update

Craig inks deal with MTV NetworksCraig Broadcast Systems Inc has inked a deal with Viacom International Inc’s MTV Networks to launch digital specialty services TV Land Canada, MTV: Music Television, and three music channels in Canada this September. Craig’s Category 1 teen channel, previously known as Connect, will be renamed MTV Canada. The three music channels, with the MTV brand, will be aimed at Canadian viewers. TV Land Canada will feature old television programming from all genres, and will bring TV Land’s "Nick at Nite" anchor program to Canada. More details. CTV to launch seven digital channelsCTV Inc has announced that it will launch seven digital channels this fall: the women’s sports channel WTSN, the hockey channel NHL Network, ESPN Classic Canada, Animal Planet, Discovery Civilization, CTV Travel and the French-language headline sports channel RDS Info Sports. Most of the channels are set to debut Sept. 7. CTV expects to launch NHL Network on Oct. 1 to coincide with the start of the NHL regular season, and RDS Info Sports is slated to go to air Oct. 25. More details. Global moves ahead with six digital channelsGlobal Television says it will launch six new digital specialty channels on Sept. 7. The channels are: Mystery, M (MenTV), DejaView, Lonestar, Fox Sportsworld Canada and Xtreme Sport. Global’s DejaView, featuring television classics, will face competition from Craig’s similar channel, TV Land Canada. More details. Leafs TV looking to attract young viewersLeafs TV is pushing ahead with its launch, hiring three full-time production staff for its daily afternoon kid’s show, "Kidzone". The show will debut on Leafs TV in October. "The show will be a big part of trying to attract younger viewers to Leafs TV and to the love of hockey," says Leafs TV executive producer John Shannon. Carriage deals with distributors are expected to be announced later this week. Leafs TV currently employs 38 people and expects to reach 60 employees. Headline Media says PrideVision ready to goHeadline Media announced today that its must-carry gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered channel, PrideVision TV, will launch Sept. 7. "Our channel’s tag line is ‘Outside the Box’ and that’s exactly what we are doing with our programming choices – provide viewers with a unique television experience," Bruce Glawson, VP of programming, said in a release. More details. Vision TV commissions sitcomVision TV, Canada’s not-for-profit faith network, plans to launch its first original situation comedy series, with broadcast of the 13-part series expected in the 2002-2003 season. The series, titled "Our Man", is set at a Caribbean storefront church in the heart of downtown Toronto. Look Communications axes 125 jobsCash-strapped Look Communications Inc has cut 125 jobs as "a cost reduction measure and to more closely align with its revised business plan." It continues to attempt to secure additional sources of financing to fund that plan. "There can be no assurance that such additional financing will be secured at all or on terms that are acceptable to Look and its shareholders," the company said in a news release. Look has until Aug. 25 to come up with a $98-million loan payment owed to its principal shareholders, Telesystem Ltd and BCE Inc. More details. Should Shaw’s cable, DTH operations remain separate?The CRTC is considering whether or not to allow Shaw Communications Inc to integrate its satellite distribution businesses – Canadian Satellite Communications Inc and Star Choice Communications Inc, which serves 600,000 DTH satellite TV customers – with its cable operations, with 2.3 million customers. Shaw wants to merge the human resource, legal, administrative, investor relations, accounting and technical operations of its satellite and cable operations, while maintaining separate sales and marketing divisions. Existing conditions of licence of Star Choice and Cancom currently prohibit such integration. Interested parties have until Sept. 17 to send comments on the matter to the CRTC. More details. Standing Committee extends deadline for comments on broadcasting systemThe House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has extended the deadline for submissions on its review of Canada’s broadcasting system from Aug. 15 to Sept. 10. The new deadline also applies to those groups or individuals wishing to appear before the committee. The committee headed by Clifford Lincoln unveiled plans last May for an 18-month study to assess whether the 1991 Broadcasting Act remains relevant in an era of increased media concentration and globalization. More details: Study on the state of the Canadian Broadcasting System Study on the state of the Canadian Broadcasting System Terms of Reference Terrestrial digital television signal testedA digital terrestrial television signal was sent from the CN Tower in Toronto for the first time last week. The signal, referred to as "Global News Explorer", is a joint venture between the Interactive Broadcast Development Group (IBDG) at Ryerson University, Global Television, and Canadian Digital Television (CDTV). Features include video-on-demand, personalization of content, targeted t-commerce and visual chat. The Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) told CCR that it was surprised at the group’s choice of modulation technology. The signal was sent using COFDM. It had been widely assumed that digital television in Canada would be transmitted using VSB. Although unlikely to be a major sticking point, CCTA representatives warn that the choice of COFDM could throw a wrench in Industry Canada’s spectrum allocation plans for digital television. (For more details, see the Aug. 23 issue of CCR affiliate publication, Canadian New Media). More details.

CCR Update

Broadcast | August 22, 2001

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