TV/FILM/VIDEO:
The Canadian Media Producers Association’s annual economic report on screen-based media production in Canada shows $2.6 billion was spent in the Canadian television segment over the year. Most of it was in TV series such as Saving Hope, Série noire and Vikings. Canadian television broadcasting revenues were $7.1 billion in 2015, down three per cent from the previous year. The entire report is available HERE.
Bell and Rogers will remove TSN and Sportsnet from bundled cable packages available to businesses with a liquor licence. Bell said the new rates are designed to more accurately reflect the commercial use of the sports channels and the value they represent to commercial establishments. Postmedia reports smaller bars with less than 100 seats will be charged about $120 monthly for both channels, on top of existing fees, with the cost increasing according to seating capacity. The new prices, effective May 1, will also apply to customers who subscribe to those channels through a third party such as Shaw or Telus.
Rogers, Shaw/Shaw Direct, BCE, Vidéotron, Cogeco, TELUS, and MTS – as a whole – continued to lose a record number of TV subscribers in 2016. But, according to Ottawa-based consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services, not as many. Cable companies, it says, lost considerably fewer subscribers and IPTV providers saw subscriber growth significantly slow. The providers lost a record 202,000 TV subscribers (or 2 per cent of the total market) in their respective 2016/2017 fiscal years, up from 160,000 lost in their 2015/2016 fiscal years.
About 55 so-called ‘Free TV’ Android box retailers will continue to be blocked from selling the devices after the Federal Court of Appeal in Montreal dismissed their appeal of an injunction banning the sale of the controversial devices. Bell, Rogers and Vidéotron won the temporary injunction in June. The boxes allow users to stream pirated TV and movies for a one-time fee, typically about $100. Bell and Rogers say the decision bolsters their legal argument that the boxes are a clear case of copyright infringement.
TVO documentary Migrant Dreams has been awarded the 2017 Canadian Hillman Prize for Journalism. Migrant Dreams is a critical examination of migrant labour in Canada and tells the story of a group of women, mostly from Indonesia, who came to work in Ontario greenhouses as part of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program. The film exposes harsh working and living conditions and exploitation by corrupt recruiters and a broken system. The Sidney Hillman Foundation has named writer/director/producer Min Sook Lee, producer Lisa Valencia-Svensson, executive producer Rose Gutierrez and TVO’s executive producer of documentaries, Jane Jankovic as recipients.
Kew Media shareholders have approved the Toronto-based investment company’s acquisition of five production companies. The company announced in early February, its intention to acquire Bristow Global Media (BGM), Architect Films, Frantic Films, Media Headquarters Film and TV and Our House Media, as well as film and TV distribution company Content Media Corporation (CMC). Valued at $104.1 million, the companies acquired own a combined 6,000 hours of content.
For the first time in five years, the 2017 JUNO Awards broadcast will be expanded to two-and-a- half hours. Punk-rockers Billy Talent, country star Dallas Smith and indie quintet July Talk are the latest performers confirmed for the April 2 CTV broadcast.
CBC Sports has struck a broadcast partnership agreement with the Toronto Wolfpack rugby league club of the Kingstone Press League 1. All matches throughout the 2017 season will be live-streamed and available on demand at CBCSports.ca, as well as the CBC Sports app for iOS and Android devices within Canada.
Vancouver animation studio Bardel is producing the Angry Birds Blues television series – the hotly anticipated spinoff of the Angry Birds movie. Partnering with Rovio Entertainment, 30 of the two- to three-minute episodes have already been produced and began airing March 10 on Rovio’s ToonsTV. The list of companies the studio has collaborated with includes Nickelodeon, DreamWorks, Disney, Warner Bros., and Cartoon Network-Adult Swim.
Cogeco Connexion has introduced a new TiVo 4K PVR allowing its Quebec and Ontario customers to access ultra-high-definition programming. The company is also launching TSN 4K, providing 4K coverage of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC and more. Cogeco says new 4K channels will be added to its portfolio in the coming weeks
Frankly Inc. has partnered with OUTtv to support and manage its new over-the-top (OTT) video subscription offering, OUTtvGo. The LGBTQ television network, which was recently acquired by Vancouver-based private equity firm Stern Partners, is expanding its offerings beyond its cable channel and into alternative platforms.
