Article features a number of new Canadian TV shows set to appear in early 2010.
Canadian films get international exposure with the National Film Board of Canada's new iPhone application.
Academic says Canadians are now more willing to consider harmonizing security and culture with the United States.
Columnist says there is a disconnect between what Canadians say they want from television and what they actually support with their viewing habits.
Columnist notes that CTV, Global and now Rogers-owned Citytv spend more than ten times as much buying American TV shows than they do on Canadian programs.
FRIENDS recommends that the CRTC re-regulate the basic service of the big four cable monopolies and ensure that cable distributors do not pass along signal compensation charges to their subscribers.
CTV, Global and CBC recommend the CRTC implement a "skinny" basic cable package that would cost consumers about $20 a month depending on the market.
Tracking Canadian content on prime-time television schedules is an
important process which allows FRIENDS to highlight changes and
identify patterns on Canadian broadcasters’ schedules over many years
in cities across Canada.
An organization mandated to preserve, restore and enhance awareness of iconic treasures in Canada's cultural past is closing operations because of lack of funding.
The Executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada says it's time broadcasters were told to take a Canadian-first approach to TV.
Canadian senator, political strategist, author, and commentator makes a speech about democracy and journalism.
Canadian independent producers are calling for minimum domestic programming spending requirements to be imposed on Canadian broadcasters.
Columnist says the public is desperate for a technology that will do for television what iTunes and the iPod have done for music and movies: enable "content-providers" to charge viewers for what they choose to watch.
CBC says the Canadian broadcasting system has become so imbalanced that the network cannot commit to maintain current programming levels without changes to the funding system and the channel line-up.
The Writers Guild of Canada says Canadians are losing out in the fight between cable and broadcasters.
Columnist asks why Canadians should be asked to subsidize conventional TV broadcasters but not newspapers and other sectors of the media industry.
Roundtable discussion on the issue of fee-for-carriage, featuring broadcast industry observers including FRIENDS spokesperson, Ian Morrison.
Telefilm Canada and CBC have announced a deal to co-finance domestic films that will premier in cinemas and then play very soon afterward on the CBC's primetime Sunday-night movie slot.
A new report by Telefilm Canada reveals that Canadian movies took only 2.9 per cent of box office receipts last year with movies out of Hollywood continuing to dominate the market.
Canadian actors get all fired-up over TV drama.
Riese, a new Canadian fantasy series, is only available online.
FRIENDS says CRTC should protect consumers from skyrocketing basic cable TV rates in the face of price increases of up to 85% since 2002.
FRIENDS recommends that the CRTC re-regulate basic cable rates, ensure that big cable companies do not pass along signal costs to subscribers and new compensation be divided among local conventional stations based on viewership of Canadian programs.
Telefilm Canada's annual report shows Canadian films increased their take at the box office in 2008/2009 but garnered less share of the total market.
Despite the financial problems of parent company Canwest, Global TV has the highest-rated programs on Canadian television.
Former Bell Canada executive says content and expenditure quotas for Canadian content should be eliminated within five years because they will no longer be viable in the wired IP world.
Peter Mansbridge says it "sends a strange signal to the public" that the Prime Minister doesn't watch Canadian news for the Canadian perspective on issues that some U.S. networks ignore.
Columnist says the media's main relationship is with their audience, not their subjects.
PM's admission that he watches mainly American broadcasts draws surprise and scorn.
The NFB's mobile application will enable free, full viewing of hundreds of streamed content from its video library.
Canada's three conventional television networks, Global, CTV and CBC, have arrived at a figure they feel is appropriate for consumers to pay to support local programming — zero.
Newfoundland broadcaster NTV, has joined CTV, 'A', CBC, Global, CHEK NEWS and V in the Local TV Matters campaign.
Actor and screenwriter says revenues from fee-for-carriage must be seen on the screen in the form of new, original local, dramatic and comedic programming.
ACTRA National President says "It's time to stop the cable rip-offs and get more Canada on Canadian TV."
CTV takes issue with CBC's claims over Battle of the Blades ratings.
CTV says the homegrown police drama "Flashpoint" earned a record 1.88 million total viewers for a recent episode.
Article profiles a group of Canadian producers who have bridged the television, Internet, mobile media and gaming worlds.
XM Canada has reached a deal to make royalty payments to several groups representing Canadian musicians and songwriters.
FRIENDS recommends that Cable broadcast distributors should share a portion of their considerable profit with local TV broadcasters and that those fees should be divided based upon the total audience assembled for Canadian programs.
Columnist says the underlying message at the recent Gemini nomination announcement is that Canadian TV shows are doing really well abroad.
Article profiles Canadians that are making a splash in Hollywood for the upcoming TV season.
FRIENDS says CBC has a closely guarded secret plan to move its flagship news program The National from 10 pm to 11 pm weeknights.
In a submission to the CRTC, FRIENDS supports Channel Zero's applications to acquire the television stations CJNT and CHCH.
Heritage Minister James Moore has announced an increase in the Canada Music Fund, the federal government's main fund to support the music industry, but changes are coming in the way the fund distributes its money.
Article says that CBC is moving the its local newscasts to a dead zone where it will be unlikely to get a significant audience.
CBC-TV is adding the U.S. drama Ghost Whisperer to its weekday lineup as the new lead-in to a longer supper-hour newscast.
At the end of August, CBC News will begin running 90-minute newscasts starting at 5:00 pm, followed by the foreign programming Coronation Street, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!.
Columnist says Golf Channel and CBS combined for a grand total of 12 hours of coverage
during the tournament, about 10 fewer than CTV and TSN provided the
previous time Canadian television was at the controls.
In an attempt to produce more popular movies, Telefilm Canada has
struck a deal with the Canadian Film Centre and Montreal's Just for
Laughs comedy festival to develop five original, feature-length
comedies that would be ready for the cameras by 2011-12.
The CBC has cancelled the award-winning documentary TV program The
Lens, a move some in Canada's production community are calling "tragic"
because it means one fewer port of call for independent documentary
producers.
Columnist explores if it a slap in the face to the Canadian movie industry that CanCon is not on guest list for TIFF gala opener? Or is it a welcome sign the Toronto International Film Festival has
grown out of the flag-waving parochialism that sometimes made visitors
from New York and L.A. roll their eyes?
Columnist reports The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has
slapped down a request from Rogers Broadcasting that its CITY-TV
stations in Toronto and Vancouver no longer be mandated to air 100
hours of Canadian films a year in prime time.
Columnist say Canada's largest Internet providers are having a chilling effect on
independent filmmakers by slowing down certain Internet technologies
that enable producers to distribute movies and other programming
online, federal regulators heard Wednesday.
Columnist says the long battle between conventional-television broadcasters
and the digital TV providers who carry their content swung in favour of
the former Monday after federal regulators — for the first time --
suggested that cable and satellite providers such as Rogers
Communications Inc. should pay for the content.
Shaw Communications says the CRTC has betrayed Canadians' trust with its announcement of two new taxes on consumers.
Canada's conventional television broadcasters praised a ruling Monday
that they say takes an important step towards fairly compensating them
for their programming while boosting funding for local shows.
The Commission today launched a public proceeding to develop a new
regulatory framework for conventional television broadcasters. The
proceeding will include a public hearing starting on September 29,
2009, in Gatineau, Que.
A new CTV science-fiction series, Defying Gravity, which is likely to
air later this year, has been picked up by ABC in the United States.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting's latest report on TV programming
content across 10 Canadian markets, released this week, found that CBC
English TV's primetime Canadian content has reached a 20-year low, with
25% of the pubcaster's primetime schedule made up of foreign, mostly
U.S., programming.
Foreign programming now makes up 25 per cent of prime-time viewing
hours on CBC English TV, according to new research by Friends of
Canadian Broadcasting.
Columnist discusses the four things Canadians should be proud of.
Canadian content during prime time on CBC English TV has reached a
20-year low, according to new research about what’s on TV released this
morning by the watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.
CRTC has a big day coming up on Monday. Not only is the network management hearing beginning that day, the Regulator is also launching a new proceeding seeking structural reform of the TV sector while releasing new rules (and potentially a new amount) for its yet-to-be-launched Local Programming Improvement Fund.
Saying the cultural sector needs "stability," Heritage Minister James Moore announced a five-year funding package for the arts on Friday.
New Brunswick filmmaker Greg Hemmings, of Hemmings House Pictures in
Saint John, has won first place in this year's Commonwealth Vision
Awards.
Canadian government says, until the end of the 1960s, Canada did not have a bona fide feature film industry. The National Film Board (NFB), created in 1939, was for many years the primary source of films designed to interpret Canada to Canadians and to other nations.
Columnist says a few months from now, an upstart music channel will make its debut on
cable television in more than one million Canadian homes and, in doing
so, Aux TV will carve out a place for itself in broadcasting history.
Don Newman completes his last Politics program for CBC Newsworld. He will sign off and a storied career will end its most significant chapter.
A leading shaper of cultural policy in Canada and a lifelong trade unionist, Mr. Siren died in Toronto on May 31 of pneumonia at 91.
A Canadian first, all of Team Canada's sledge hockey games during the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver will be broadcast.
Approximately 480 workers at Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper will vote this weekend on whether to give their union a strike mandate.
Breaking news from the CBC: It is no longer a TV network but a "content provider." This, according to the CBC's Richard Stursberg who was a keynote speaker at Tuesday afternoon's Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto.
Columnist says the cash-strapped U.S. TV networks looking north for dramas as there are obvious benefits (for Canadian networks) for a show to be broadcast simultaneously on Canadian and American prime time.
Article profiles the creators of Flashpoint, a top-rated drama about a Toronto-based SWAT team that airs on both CTV and CBS.
Columnist says a national regulatory strategy for digital media for Canada is long overdue.
Columnist says Canadian TV is at a very important point in its development and its time writers close the door on "sniping, snobbery and self-importance".
Columnist says Pierre Karl Péladeau doesn't quite have the reach of Orwell's Big Brother, but in Quebec, he comes pretty close.
Shaw Communications has launched an e-campaign against fee for carriage.
Guy Fournier, who resigned his post as chair of the CBC three years ago, has been named to the board of the revamped Canada Media Fund.
Arts columnist Kate Taylor will delve into thorny Canadian cultural issues at a pivotal moment as the recipient of the 2009 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy.
ACTRA and the Writers Guild of Canada have both spoken out against the CRTC's recent decision to not regulate new media.
The news that the CRTC will continue to exempt new media broadcasting services from its regulation got high marks from Internet service providers Telus and Rogers.
Following months of deliberation, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission says it would not impose the same domestic content regulation it applies to television and radio.
The head of CBC's English language operations says "So few people [in English Canada] are preoccupied with CBC TV."
A former creative head at the CBC says he has grown frustrated that Canadian kids TV is securing fewer dollars and broadcast slots.
Charles Dalfen, the chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission from 2002 to 2006, called the creation of new Canadian TV shows a matter of "national self-respect."
Canada's democracy would be enhanced if media organizations reformed some of their most basic practices and approaches, according to the winners of the 2009 Dalton Camp Awards.
In a speech at York University, Canadian author Margaret Atwood says the "cultural industries are under great stress everywhere".
The dean of the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto says the CRTC should regulate the amount of Canadian-content viewership rather than the amount of Canadian-content programming.
Cable company says local TV doesn't need saving and that Canada's major
broadcasters should be responsible for their own businesses instead of
looking for a new TV tax.
Columnist says Los Angeles agents and distributors deserve credit for recent U.S. network deals for Canadian series.
Performers are pleased by the CRTC's announcement that it will look into re-instating programming expenditures for Canadian programming this fall.
Rogers Media has launched the first Canadian all news radio Blackberry application offering up-to-the-minute news headlines, weather forecasts and live traffic updates for the Greater Toronto Area.
The president and CEO of Quebecor Media says "rather than using quotas and regulatory requirements... the evolution of Canadian broadcasting must be driven by the success of Canadian programming".
In a presentation to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, FRIENDS cites a survey that says three-quarters of Canadians believe annual support to the CBC should rise to at least $40 per Canadian per year.
A new study shows that large broadcast conglomerates that own both conventional and specialty channels are "well-positioned" to profit from domestic programming.
American journalism professor discusses how 'Corner Gas' has informed her perceptions of Canada.
Columnist advocates for a 'free market' approach to fix problems with Canada's television industry.
Columnist says CBC executives are really bumping up local news programming so that Coronation Street can air at 6:30 p.m., followed by Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.
Columnist says that Corner Gas dispelled the myth that "Canadians don't want to watch Canadian shows."
Actor Dave Foley says he is in favour of a quota system for Canadian film, just like the one that is credited with kick-starting the Canadian music industry.
Magazines Canada uses FRIENDS as a model to build a network of citizens to advocate on behalf of the Canadian magazine industry.
Canadian celebrities press the Conservative government to bolster support for film and other cultural industries.
FRIENDS' submission to the CRTC recommends that the quality and quantity of Canadian programming – especially local programming - be maintained as part of the private conventional television licence renewal process.
Columnist says the recording industry landscape has shifted in a way that few could have foreseen 38 years ago when CanCon was born.
Op-ed writer says cultural magazines provide an essential service to the nation as incubators of creative innovation and should not be valued solely on circulation.
CBC spokesman says "Ads on radio are not currently among the things that are being looked at."
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek voices concern over the possibility of politicians influencing programming decisions on Canada's public broadcaster.
The Heritage Minister discusses funding for the CBC, Canadian content and the potential of ads on CBC Radio.
The CBC's board of directors, faced with a possible $200-million shortfall, has approved a budget for the coming year that includes deep cuts.
The CBC has abruptly cancelled a scheduled meeting with Heritage Minister James Moore, acknowledging the planned encounter fuelled perception of political interference.
FRIENDS says if TV networks don't provide high-profile promotion and reserve online space for Canadian shows and news broadcasts, Canada's broadcasting industry will suffer.
Observers say complex international licensing deals threaten the Canadian TV broadcast industry because viewers seeking online content will find ways to bypass the networks.
CanWest's restructuring plan includes the Asper family keeping control of the company.
Cable and Satellite company appointments to the Board of the Canada Media Fund cause the national executive director of ACTRA to question the Heritage Minister's intentions towards Canadian content.
In a radio interview, FRIENDS spokesperson, Ian Morrison, discusses the implications of amalgamating the Canadian Television Fund, the Canada New Media Fund and Aboriginal Television fund.
Critics of a proposed integrated media fund say that a condition for multi-platform distribution will mean innovative new media projects likely won't qualify for funding, since they are too edgy for TV.
Rogers has proposed offering its cable customers a Web site where they could view popular television programs free of charge as a way to promote Canadian Internet content.
The Canadian government has rejected a proposal by the CRTC to curb domestic broadcasters' spending on U.S. series.
Canadian Heritage Minister says Canadian viewers will have better access to Canadian programming on all media platforms following the creation of the Canada Media Fund.
Political editor says it is time for broadcasters to stop blaming new technologies and regulations for their financial problems and start attracting viewers by producing quality Canadian programming.
An analysis of the 2006 census reveals that artists are declining as a percentage of the overall Canadian work force.
Broadcasters call for lower local programming obligations and ending priority programming requirements in primetime.
Rogers is asking the federal broadcast regulator for permission to program more sitcoms, movies and hockey games on the Outdoor Living Network.
Columnist says the CRTC has limited its new media hearings by explicitly excluding issues such as net neutrality and the potential regulation of user-generated and non-commercial content.
Speaking Notes for Hubert T. Lacroix, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBC/Radio-Canada, to the Empire Club of Canada.
FRIENDS says a proposal from cable and satellite companies on the sale of advertising would have a negative impact on television broadcasters at a time of great financial peril, likely resulting in further reductions in local service.
FRIENDS says a CBC revenue shortfall is as high as $125 million, and that watertight, multi-year acquisition of American shows have contributed to the corporation's woes.
FRIENDS says it is reasonable to extend the same public policy and Broadcasting Act support for Canadian content in all media, including new media.
FRIENDS presentation to the CRTC on possible regulation changes for Canadian broadcasting in new media.
CBS has signed a deal to co-produce its second cop drama with CTV after the Canadian network last year brought it "Flashpoint" during the WGA strike.
The CRTC chair says the commission is inclined to introduce a condition of license for English-language broadcasters requiring a 1-to-1 ratio between Canadian and non-Canadian programming expenditures.
Cultural groups say introducing Canadian content regulations for radio helped strengthen Canada's domestic music industry and the same could be done for the country's new media creative community.
Canadian arts groups say the time has come to protect homegrown content by making Internet distributors obey the same rules applied to radio and television broadcasters.
A proposed scenario would see Internet service providers pay 3 per cent of their subscriber revenue - roughly $100-million - to a fund that would help produce Canadian programs for the Web.
While the call for new media regulation "doesn't mean the CRTC should regulate videos of kids or singing dogs on YouTube," says actor Colin Mochrie, inaction could mean "our stories will get lost and our culture will drown in a sea of non-Canadian content."
Heritage Minister James Moore has announced the government is going ahead with plans to create a new $75.5-million Canada Periodical Fund.
Columnist says the CBS/CTV co-production "Flashpoint" has opened doors for Canadian Producers in Los Angeles.
Canadian actor says if the CRTC doesn't create shelf-space and funding for Canadian new media content, "our culture and our industry will drown in a sea of foreign content".
Carleton University professor compiles a list of factors that could affect the outcome of the CRTC hearings on new media.
Columnists says much of the CRTC new-media hearings will concentrate on whether there should be additional funding of Canadian programming for the Internet and wireless devices.
Industry analyst says the CRTC may loosen some traditional media restrictions for broadcasters in exchange for concessions in new media.
FRIENDS says the prime responsibility of the CRTC is to ensure that a certain amount of Canadian content in the audio-visual system - including the Internet - is available to Canadians.
CRTC commissioners say they are considering a proposal that would require CTV, Global, CITY-TV and other TV Networks to spend the same amount on Canadian programming as they do on U.S. shows.
Canada's broadcast regulator says it wants to allow one-year licence renewals to conventional television broadcasters because of the financial issues faced by the industry.
ACTRA is optimistic the CRTC will heed Canadian performers' concerns that private TV broadcasters must do more to support Canadian programming.
Columnist says the CRTC is expected to announce a new kind of television licence designed to give some of the country's cash-strapped small-market TV stations some relief in an economic downturn.
FRIENDS says a mandate to ensure shelf space for Canadian programming puts pressure on the CRTC to reconsider fee-for-carriage.
Article profiles options for Canadians that want to watch geo-blocked content from websites such as Hulu and TV.com.
A survey done for the Department of Heritage found almost three-quarters of Canadians are familiar with home-gown musicians and one-third of all music we listen to is Canadian.
Article profiles "geo-blocking", a system that blocks the transmission of Internet TV channels to certain parts of the world.
The national executive director of ACTRA says by not making a significant investment in Canada's cultural industry, the Conservatives passed on an opportunity to create thousands of well-paying, creative, skilled jobs and in turn stimulate the Canadian economy.
CRTC vice-chair responds to an article that questions the appropriateness of his comments concerning Canadian drama programming.
Columnist calls comments from the vice-chairman of the CRTC about not being interested in television comedy and drama 'indiscreet' and 'out-of-touch'.
Columnist says CTV and Canwest are considering shutting down smaller stations across the country, fearing that some local markets may never again be profitable in a TV industry where dollars are increasingly migrating to cable.
New music show featuring Canada's emerging independent music acts bypasses TV and launches on the Internet.
Data show Canadian films made up 3% of domestic theater receipts earning $26.7 million in 2008, with eight of the top-10 homegrown releases coming from Quebec.
Industry sources say both XM Canada and Sirius Canada have hired investment bankers to negotiate terms of a possible merger.
CBC Radio 2 listeners have selected the top 49 Canadian songs that best defined the country's image for Barack Obama.
BBM Nielsen data show the CTV/CBS co-production "Flashpoint" delivered 1.74 million viewers for its latest episode.
Columnist says Canadian broadcasters are seizing on a new revenue stream by acquiring digital rights of popular U.S. series for their broadband and entertainment portals.
Canwest wants to loosen the rules governing its newsrooms and has asked the CRTC to lift certain conditions of licence at its E! and Global stations.
Article profiles strategies used in other parts of the world that could be implemented to preserve and enhance the lives of Canadian artists.
The CRTC has granted Rogers the license to operate a baseball TV channel with 15% Canadian content in its first year of operation.
Article profiles Stephanie Azam, the head of Telefilm Canada's English Canadian market.
A memo to the FRIENDS Steering Committee describes scenarios by which CBC management could cut services if a Conservative Party plan to slash the public broadcaster's Parliamentary allocation by $200 million were to be implemented.
Columnist says Canada deservers a great deal of credit for brightening up the television landscape.
Researcher challenges the notion that the arts are the exclusive purview of an urban elite.
