An application by Stingray Digital Group Inc. to bring over its non-Canadian jazz music program has been approved by the CRTC. Published on the commission’s website Tuesday, Stingray describes Djazz as a 24-hour niche service of Dutch origin that provides swing, bebop and contemporary jazz, “including concerts from around the world, recording sessions, club gigs, interviews, video clips and related documentary programs.” ...
Ajit Pai has been picked by the new U.S. president to lead the United States' telecom regulator, Pai announced on Twitter Monday. In a statement, Pai said he looks “forward to working with the new Administration, [his] colleagues at the Commission, members of Congress, and the American public to bring the benefits of the digital age to all Americans.” According to his bio on the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) website, Pai, a Republican, was first nominated as a commissioner and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2012. A lawyer by trade, Pai spent five...
The United States is officially withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, after president Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday. Advocacy group OpenMedia said in a press release following the announcement that Canada should also reject the deal. In Canada, the...
Telus Corp. led the telecom pack in December for government relations activity, according to the federal lobbyists’ registry, logging 14 monthly communication reports. In addition to...
Removing tax deductions for advertising on non-Canadian online media outlets could help the beleaguered local media and news sectors, while saving the government money, according to a new paper from...
Sarah Schmidt is leaving the Broadbent Institute to become the director of media relations and issues management at Rogers Communications Inc., according to a Monday report by The Hill...
Sprint Corp. has agreed to acquire a 33-per-cent stake in music streaming service Tidal in an agreement that will see it offer exclusive music content for its customers. The deal will provide Sprint’s 45 million retail customers with unlimited access to Tidal, as well as exclusive content for existing and new customers, the company said in a press release Monday. A marketing fund for artists will also be set up as part of the partnership, according to the press release. ...
The American telecom regulator said it is entering the final stage of its incentive auction for repurposing 600 MHz spectrum for wireless use. In a statement Wednesday, outgoing Federal Communications Commission (FCC)...
Former Rogers Communications Inc. regulatory chief Ken Engelhart is joining StrategyCorp, the consulting company announced. In a Jan. 13 press release, the company said Engelhart — who served as senior...
GATINEAU, Que. — There are unique considerations for wireless carriers when contemplating the switch to next-generation 911 (NG911) services, a CRTC panel was told on the penultimate day of a...
The CRTC said Thursday in two decisions it has approved three channels — Stingray Brava, Bestseller and Mult — for distribution in Canada. Stingray Digital Group Inc.'s Stingray Brava is an...
A new survey has found that while the majority of United States respondents think consuming pirated video content is illegal, a chunk don’t seem to care how it impacts content creation. Despite about 69 per cent of U.S....
Celebrity businessman Kevin O’Leary has the country’s telecom regulator in his sights as he launches his campaign for leader of the federal Conservative Party. O’Leary, who...
BCE Inc.’s business customers now have access to IBM Corp.’s MobileFirst enterprise apps for devices running on Apple Inc.’s iOS operating system. “Bell will combine its expertise in...
Filling all 13 spots allotted to CRTC commissioners could go a long way in addressing what some are calling decades of ongoing disparity between the demographics of those who make decisions about the...
Starting Monday, Twitter Inc.’s live-streaming app will host a nightly showing of a Canadian media program for the first time. The Agenda with Steve Paikin, a current affairs program produced by the publicly funded educational TV station TVO, will stream on Twitter’s Periscope, according to a Monday press release. It said the show would air Monday through Friday at 8 p.m. EST. “Streaming via Periscope on Twitter is a natural evolution to extend The Agenda experience to include more participative interaction,” the press...
A report prepared for the Privy Council Office found Canadians were generally in favour of increasing contributions to Canadian content, but don’t believe those increases should be passed down...
A branch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it had concerns with the differential pricing practices used by Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. as it...
MONTREAL — Moves by Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. into the Canadian data centre business won’t compete directly with Cogeco Inc., which is changing its data...
The union representing members of the television and media sectors is asking the CRTC to reverse or suspend its decision banning simultaneous substitution for the Super Bowl in order for its impact to be fully considered. In...
There are still many unknowns as wireless carriers move to 5G networks in the coming years, including questions about how much companies will charge for service, though prices have the potential to drop and carriers are unlikely to charge a premium, according to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.’s Duncan Stewart. The new technologies carriers will implement in the transition to 5G could take advantage of unlicensed spectrum and prices could fall, said Stewart,...
Amazon.com Inc. must pay a $1-million fine over the pricing practices on its Canadian website following a Competition Bureau investigation. The bureau said in a press release Wednesday that Amazon compared its...
Last month, Amazon.com Inc. announced that its data centre business was expanding into Canada, a move that illustrates what some say is the need for more data points as an increasing amount...
What began more than three years ago as a $350-million claim of patent infringement against BCE Inc. devolved into a pale imitation of its former self and will lead to...
On Friday, the CRTC approved two new radio stations for the Edmonton market, granting a licence to an Alberta numbered company for an ethnic commercial AM station and to the Société...
Vancouver-based multi-platform network (MPN) BroadbandTV Corp. has launched in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Egypt, the company...
A former chairman of the CRTC is backing the concept of levying a new tax on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as the heritage minister mulls ways to rejig the country’s cultural institutions. In a memo...
The initial pinch of the CRTC’s decisions on two important issues in 2016 — wholesale rates and pick-and-pay — will be felt in the new year, according to Canaccord...
Canada is in a good position to be an “early mover” of Internet of Things (IoT) adoption, but it’s still falling behind in key areas required for forward momentum, according to a new...
A tepid launch of Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime video streaming service in Canada doesn’t seem likely to pose a challenge to existing players in the Canadian streaming market — for the time being, at least, given Amazon’s global clout could make it a formidable challenger in the future. Amazon’s quiet roll out of the service last month, combined with a small library of content, makes Troy Crandall, an equity specialist at Raymond James Ltd., skeptical that the launch of the streaming service has led to a lot of new subscribers for Amazon Prime in...
Canadian law enforcement and government agencies made over one thousand requests for customer information to Facebook Inc. in the first six months of 2016, four times more than the...
BCE Inc. has dropped its second lawsuit alleging copyright infringement against a small Internet protocol TV (IPTV) provider, following changes the company made to its service. Bell Media launched the action against Zazeen Inc. in November, alleging that the company was...
Stingray Digital Group Inc. has purchased an international specialty channel focusing on classical music from Germany’s Unitel GmbH & Co. KG, the company announced Tuesday. Unitel will...
BCE Inc. and the National Football League (NFL) have filed appeals in federal court arguing that the CRTC lacks the authority to ban the use of simultaneous substitution for the Super Bowl. The latest appeals, filed Dec. 28,...
The number of Canadians surprised by the extra charges on their monthly wireless bills continues to decline, according to the latest CRTC-commissioned study on the efficacy of the Wireless Code. In a report published in November, 21 per cent of respondents said they had experienced bill shock in 2016 — down from the 24 per cent who reported the same earlier in the year. The report, the result of a study conducted by market research company TNS Canada, is part of the...
Despite having less than two months until the Feb. 5 kick off at the 51st Super Bowl, BCE Inc. has yet to start the process with the courts to put a stop to a decision prohibiting...
BCE Inc. has received approval to carry an American TV station, the CRTC said Tuesday. In a decision posted online, the CRTC said WBTS-LD Boston will be added to the list of non-Canadian programming services and...
The CRTC has granted approval for Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. to transfer its broadcast distribution licences to BCE Inc. as part of an overall $3.9-billion acquisition of the provincial provider. In a...
There isn’t much disagreement between some of the country’s biggest media and telecom service providers over whether foreign entities, such as over-the-top providers like Netflix...
Two MPs are asking the CRTC to reverse its decision on simultaneous substitution for the National Football League's (NFL) Super Bowl, a week after four United States congressmen demanded the same,...
Rogers Communications Inc. has abandoned the development of its own IPTV platform and will instead launch an IPTV service using a platform from Comcast Corp., a plan analysts...
The anglophone generation that is in, or nearing, retirement is consuming more traditional TV than their younger counterparts, as less than a tenth of boomers has cut the cord, according to the latest MTM report...
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Tom Wheeler is leaving his post as head of the United States regulator on Jan. 20, 2017. Wheeler said in a written statement Thursday that serving as chairman...
BCE Inc. has named Rob Farina head of iHeartRadio, syndication and strategic initiatives at Bell Media Radio. Farina was previously brought in by the company to help advise on the launch of iHeartMedia Inc.'s free digital radio and music streaming service in Canada, as part of its partnership with the U.S. brand. In addition to leading iHeartRadio, “Farina’s role now expands to include responsibility for growing Orbyt Media, Canada’s premier radio content syndication group, and implementing new strategic radio initiatives in coordination with David Corey,”...
Yahoo Inc. has found a new security breach that has compromised more than one billion user accounts, a figure that is double the breach it discovered only a couple of months ago, according to...
Amazon.com Inc.’s Amazon Prime Video has entered the Canadian market, as part of a worldwide launch for the streaming service, the company announced in a press release Wednesday. The...
Canadians are “generally satisfied” with the speed of their home Internet service, according to a new report from the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). “More than 80 per cent of those surveyed...
Zazeen Inc. is facing legal action from BCE Inc. over its Internet protocol TV (IPTV) service, with the incumbent calling the small provider’s service copyright infringement. In...
The 600 MHz spectrum auction in the United States has again been delayed after bidders failed to meet minimum prices for spectrum, and Canada could see similar problems in its own upcoming auction, Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Maher Yaghi said in a note Friday. “The [Federal Communications Commission] will thus have to go back to TV channels for a fourth time in order to set new prices for spectrum,” Yaghi wrote. “Our view is that there could be similar hurdles in...
Canadians are broadly in support of making domestic film and TV productions successful internationally and being provided the funding to do so, but don’t share a consensus on where that money...
Canada is violating its trade obligations by banning simultaneous substitution for the National Football League’s (NFL) Super Bowl, four United States politicians said in a letter to the...
Among Canadians who stream music, such services are very much a part of daily life, according to the latest Media Technology Monitor (MTM) report. Thursday’s report from MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, is a companion to the one released last week on broader trends in music streaming habits. In this report, it noted that just...
Investel Capital Corp., the investment fund that owns Téliphone Navigata Westel Communications Inc. (TNW), has acquired RuralCom Capital Corp., which it said is a “significant...
The CRTC is making changes, including trimming roles and services at its regional offices for what it’s calling a “digital first” initiative, according to an emailed memo circulated by the regulator. On...
OTTAWA — The federal government hasn’t made its case for why law enforcement and intelligence agencies need stronger powers to intercept, decrypt and share citizens’ information, the...
OTTAWA — Canada’s highest court heard arguments Tuesday on whether a court in Canada can order a worldwide ban on websites appearing on Alphabet Inc.’s...
Facebook Inc., Microsoft Corp., Twitter Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube will begin sharing information to help curb the spread of terrorism-related content....
Blue Ant Media Inc. and BBC will launch the BBC Earth channel in Canada in January, the companies said in a Tuesday press release. The channel, scheduled to begin broadcasting on Jan. 24, will be commercial-free and “will give Canadians exclusive access to BBC Earth’s slate of high-profile programming including Planet Earth II and The Hunt,” the release said. It will replace Blue Ant’s existing radX channel, it added. “We know that the BBC brand and content resonate with Canadians, so we’re looking...
A branch of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is engaging in a “wild goose chase” by investigating a pair of companies’ zero-rating offers, according to one commissioner....
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) has clarified its rules around whether telecom companies have to tell customers if they have disclosed their personal information to other parties. The...
The pick-and-pay options launched by Canada’s TV providers last week aren’t likely to appeal to either current subscribers or those without traditional TV service, according RBC Capital...
A move by Netflix Inc. to allow users to download some content for offline viewing is part of a wider push for customers among streaming services, according to a research note from Desjardins Capital Markets....
The CRTC said Friday it has approved MBC Drama HD for distribution in Canada. The channel, which originates in South Korea, “provides high-quality dramas and movies drawn from one of South Korea’s largest terrestrial broadcasters, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation,” the decision said....
More than two-thirds of anglophone Canadians use the Internet to listen to streaming audio, a number that rises to more than 90 per cent among students and those under 35, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor...
The CRTC announced Thursday that it will go ahead with a hearing on rules governing French-language vocal music on commercial radio stations that had been postponed since last year. The commission is allowing parties,...
GATINEAU, Que. — CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais floated the idea that the commission should require a public consultation before a broadcaster closes a TV station during the last day...
OTTAWA — Canada is involved in international discussions about how to address the issue of foreign digital vendors not being subject to domestic sales tax, a parliamentary committee...
As the CRTC’s rules requiring all TV providers to allow customers to sign up for channels individually came into effect Thursday, the regulator emphasized that consumers have to take...
GATINEAU, Que. — The question of whether news stations owned by vertically-integrated (VI) companies need safeguards for journalistic independence came up at the CRTC’s...
The CRTC is collecting feedback on Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc.’s plan to transform into a privately held company. In a notice of consultation posted to its website Wednesday, the commission said it...
Rogers Communications Inc. and Cogeco Inc. have introduced their line-up of stand-alone TV channels a day ahead of the CRTC’s deadline requiring them to do so. The cost for individual channels with Rogers...
Netflix Inc. viewers will now be able to download content from its over-the-top (OTT) service to watch off-line. The company said in a press release Wednesday that the new free feature is included in all plans and available on phones and tablets running on both Apple Inc.’s and Alphabet Inc.’s Android operating systems. “Many of your favorite streaming series and movies are already available for download, with more on the way,” Netflix said in the release....
Glen LeBlanc, BCE Inc.’s executive vice-president and chief financial officer, told an investor’s conference hosted by RBC Tuesday that the company is on track to have its...
GATINEAU, Que. — BCE Inc. has to take both offensive and defensive positions when facing off against international competitors, the company told the CRTC Tuesday, as it took its...
A coalition of artists, including authors, directors and musicians, is asking Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to consider the compensation artists receive as part of the ongoing review of Canadian content...
The CRTC has approved two new ethnic radio licences — one to a company it previously ordered to stop broadcasting — and a rebroadcast transmitter for another to serve Surrey and...
GATINEAU, Que. — Rogers Communications Inc. said it understands the irony of asking for mandatory carriage for its proposed new regional OMNI service, but that it’s the only way forward. The company started off the CRTC’s four-day public hearing on TV licence renewals for English-language groups Monday in front of a five-person panel of commissioners, who questioned the company on its proposal for a new national ethnic programming service. The proposal has faced criticism from other ethnic broadcasters as well as...
CBC/Radio-Canada is asking the federal government for an increase in its funding so that it can eliminate advertising on its platforms. In a submission made as part of a government review of Canadian content in a digital...
Rogers Communications Inc. is proposing a tax credit-based federal program to support Canadian content of all types and on all platforms. In a submission to the Heritage Minister Mélanie...
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is asking the government to rescind the digital media exemption order (DMEO) as part of its review of Canadian content in a digital age. The DMEO,...
BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron are asking a federal court judge to dismiss an appeal of an injunction banning sales of “pre-loaded”...
Former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan is alleging that Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly and the governor-in-council (GIC) have effectively participated in a “witch hunt” against him by...
The move this week by BCE Inc. flanker brand Virgin Mobile Canada to expand its home Internet into Quebec could put pressure on Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, Desjardins analyst Maher Yaghi said in a...
Rogers Communications Inc. is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to turn down Voltage Pictures LLC’s case to have the Internet service provider (ISP) pay for its own costs associated with retrieving subscriber...
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) is asking the federal government to “modernize” and require both over-the-top (OTT) services and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to contribute to the CanCon system....
Unlike his fellow candidates for leadership of the Conservative Party, Alberta MP Deepak Obhrai said he won’t wade into the debate about the future of CBC/Radio-Canada. “Why are politicians getting to decide what will happen to the CBC?” Obhrai said in a Thursday press release. “The CBC is funded by Canadian taxpayers; therefore Canadians should decide the future of the corporation.” Obhrai said that as party and government leader, he would “propose a more Canadian approach” to the public broadcaster and establish an independent task...
OTTAWA — The CRTC has transformed over the past few years to become less binary — with outcomes that were strictly either pro-business or pro-consumer — in its decision making and more into an organization that finds the balance that best serves the public interest, according to chairman...
Canada is one of Netflix Inc.’s top three locations for original productions, and while the company doesn’t play a part in the official Canadian content system, the dollars invested...
Conservative Party leadership candidate and Ontario MP Kellie Leitch said she has put CBC/Radio-Canada “on notice” and that if selected to lead her party and form government, she...
Tuesday’s Major League Soccer (MLS) game between the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC was Canada’s most-watched MLS game ever, BCE Inc. said in a press release. The game, part of the...
CBC/Radio-Canada is selling the building that houses its headquarters in Montreal and will move into a new building on the same site. The public broadcaster said in a press release Wednesday that it has accepted a proposal that will see it sell the current building and construct a new broadcast centre. It said earlier this year that it would not move from its current downtown location. The broadcaster “will then become a tenant in the new facility under a 30-year lease,” it said, noting the deal must still be approved by the Treasury Board. In a...
Anglophone viewers of Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top (OTT) service now spend 67 per cent of their time on the platform watching TV shows and 33 per cent watching movies and other content, MTM,...
MONTREAL — Facebook Inc. is increasing opportunities for the news media to monetize content, the company’s Canadian head of public policy said Wednesday, citing initiatives...
OTTAWA — Conservative MP Maxime Bernier said Wednesday that if he is selected as the next leader of the federal Conservative Party and the next Canadian prime minister, he would move...
VMedia Inc. is permanently prohibited from broadcasting BCE Inc.’s CTV channels on its over-the-top skinny basic service, an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday. Judge Frederick...
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has appointed Erin Finlay as its new chief legal officer to provide legal advice and strategic direction. Her areas of expertise include entertainment litigation, policy...
CBC/Radio-Canada CEO Hubert Lacroix has responded to recent statements by the heads of some Canadian newspapers about the public broadcaster competing in the digital advertising space, writing...
Jeffrey Eisenach has been named to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s “landing team,” with responsibility for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to a Monday press release. Mark Jamison,...
The best practices for TV service providers offering skinny-basic cable packages announced by the CRTC Monday don’t amount to much more than lip service, with no real consequences for...
Shaw Communications Inc.’s Wind Mobile will be rebranded as Freedom Mobile and its LTE roll-out will come sooner than expected in two cities, the company’s CEO said Monday. The move comes despite some analyst concern about the availability of handsets compatible with its spectrum. Alek Krstajic made the announcement at a press conference in Toronto. He said the rebranding was a fresh start, part of an effort to eliminate “baggage” associated with the Wind name and to make the company, which was previously held by foreign owners, more Canadian. He also...
