CCR Short Takes

CBC adds content to Rogers’ VOD service in TorontoThe Canadian Broadcasting Corp. will provide some of its programming on a video-on-demand (VOD) basis to Rogers Cable Inc.’s digital cable customers in the Toronto area, it was announced May 5. The Hockey Night Fever package consists of 3½ hours of documentaries on hockey, including a feature on Maruice Richard, while War and Consequences is a collection of news, current affairs and CBC Newsworld reports that have aired over the past few years. Other upcoming VOD programs include Amazing Space and On a Mission, which is a look at individuals who champion causes. The content will be available initially to about 604,000 digital customers in central Toronto at no additional cost. Mark Hyland, director of broadband and digital services at CBC English Television, told Canadian Communications Reports in October 2002 that the public broadcaster needed to make its content available on-demand to keep current with a broadcast environment increasingly dependent on viewer demand for choice (CCR, Oct. 24/02). CCTA reschedules Cable Summit to September 23-24 in TorontoThe Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) has rescheduled its annual convention, referred to this year as the Cable Summit, to September 23-24 in Toronto. The event was originally scheduled to take place in April, but was postponed due to fears over SARS (CCR, April 25/03). “We are pleased to be able to confirm a date so quickly and announce that the cable industry is committed to coming to Toronto this fall,” John Tory, co-chair and CEO of Rogers Cable Inc. and chair of the CCTA board of directors, said in a media release. CCTA president and CEO Janet Yale added, “Our chair, John Tory, made it clear that it was important to move quickly to re-establish the industry meeting in Toronto and find a date that worked for all of the industry players.” The Cable Summit will focus on technology, and include an address by CRTC chair Charles Dalfen. Pitts to give Banff keynote speechGordon Pitts, the author of Kings of Convergence, will give a keynote address on “Convergence, Consolidation and Crisis” on June 7 at the 24th Banff Television Festival (CCR, Nov. 7/02). He will discuss the Canadian media industry’s future direction. CAB requests meeting with Manley over CTF funding cutsThe Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is calling for a meeting between Finance minister John Manley and the broadcast industry as soon as possible after no new funds were found for the Canadian Television Fund (CTF). “Canada’s private broadcasters are disappointed by the status of funding of the CTF, as the future of Canadian television programming hangs in the balance,” CAB president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell said in a May 5 media release. “The need for a meeting has only grown as a result of no new funding and the announcement by the CTF last Friday implying that the limited funding will leave a number of important Canadian programs sidelined.”The CTF announced May 2 that no new money had been received despite a flurry of rumours. It was noted that the CTF began this year with 23% less funding than it had last year. “...Overall, our situation remains very difficult. There is far more demand than funds available and this will be reflected in decisions the EIP (Equity Investment Program) will announce...” The results of the EIP’s funding for drama, children’s and youth, and variety and performing arts applications were announced May 6. Over $67 million was given in financial assistance to 70 productions. Some shows, including The Red Green Show, An American in Canada and The Eleventh Hour, which did not receive LFP funding, were given money under the EIP. “Both programs were fortunately able to use the remaining funds to give positive replies to a number of the well-loved shows whose futures were in doubt,” said Richard Stursberg, executive director of Telefilm Canada, which administers the EIP.The announcement that no new government funding was coming for the CTF followed rumours that the government was set to re-instate at least part of the $25 million a year it had cut (CCR, April 25/03, Feb. 28/03).There were reports that Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps had found money within her department that would be added to the CTF. Her comments followed Manley’s decision not to restore the $25 million per year that was cut from the budget. He threw the hot potato back to Copps, saying the funding would only be restored if she could find a way to reallocate funds within her department. Four more Category 2 channels approved by regulatorThe CRTC approved on May 1 four more Category 2 licences, all of them owned by Dieter Kohler. The channels include an English-language channel devoted to hunting and fishing, The Hunting Channel (Broadcasting Decision 2003-133); a channel devoted to cult film and television, known as The Cult Movie Channel (Broadcasting Decision 2003-134); a service featuring all aspects of cars, called The Auto Channel (Broadcasting Decision 2003-135); and a programming service on the armed forces, referred to as The Armed Forces Network (Broadcasting Decision 2003-136). CCTA applies for approval to carry HDNet, Discovery HDThe Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA) has applied on behalf of its members for approval to distribute HDNet and Discovery HD Theater on a digital basis. “While a few innovative conventional broadcasters in the United States and CHUM in Canada are providing digital service over-the-air, most programming is still not true high definition (HD). The addition of HDNet and Discovery HD Theater will therefore contribute significantly to the content deficit that consumers owning HD television sets now confront,” the CCTA tells the CRTC. The cable association states that the addition of the two services will act as a catalyst for the Canadian broadcasting industry to make the transition to HD. Less than 1% of Canadian households are fully equipped to receive HDTV services, and the CCTA argues that the provision of the two services will encourage consumers to invest in HD sets and set-top boxes. Canadian Digital Television president Michael McEwen complained at the Canadian Satellite Users Association conference earlier this year that a lack of Canadian HD content could hurt the Canadian broadcasting system (CCR, Feb. 28/03). Groupe Archambault launches VOD on Vidéotron systemsGroupe Archambault announced last month that it had launched a video-on-demand (VOD) service exclusively to the digital customers of Vidéotron ltée. The service will offer movies, documentaries and other shows that will be available anytime for repeat viewings for 24 hours. The service was initially deployed on April 16 to 17,000 customers on Montreal’s South Shore.

CCR Short Takes

Broadcast | May 8, 2003

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