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RADIO/AUDIO/PODCAST:
The CRTC ruled on Wednesday Aug. 31 against the CBC’s application to continue commercial advertising on Radio 2 and ICI Musique beyond the initial three-year licence amendment. The CRTC found that CBC satisfied three of the four conditions placed on the initiative, but had failed to maintain satisfactory investment in radio, citing a $22 million drop in operating expenses over a two year period. It also said the CBC failed to meet ad revenue projections. The ruling is to go into effect today (Sept. 1). CBC says it will comply but it is not possible to do so by the end of the day. Read the decision here.
A plan to take Sirius XM Canada private got the green light from shareholders in a 14-minute meeting in Toronto on Aug 30. Nearly 66 per cent of minority shareholders supported the transaction ending months of opposition from dissident investors who felt the company was being undervalued. Upon closing, Sirius XM Holdings Inc., the US parent, would own most of the company’s shares. Two Canadian investors, Slaight Communications Inc. and Obelysk Media Inc., would each own 33.5 per cent of Sirius XM Canada’s voting shares, to satisfy foreign ownership restrictions. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation would divest its 12.5 per cent stake in the company. The arrangement is subject to Ontario Superior Court of Justice and CRTC approvals.
Classic Hits are out and Hot AC is in at Cogeco Media’s CFOM 102.9 FM in Levis, Quebec. The station will continue to brand as M FM 102.9, the name it’s had since 2014. While the station’s official city of license has always been Lévis, its studios are in Quebec City. The station had been a classic hits format since 2011.
Rogers Radio has teamed up with Shazam to present The Shazam @ 7 Countdown locally on KiSS 92.5 (CKIS-FM) in Toronto, 91.7 THE BOUNCE (CHBN-FM) in Edmonton, and KiSS RADiO (CKKS-FM) in Vancouver. The top 7 are determined by recently Shazam’d and trending tracks from across the country and are available on the stations’ websites, Facebook and Twitter pages, and apps.
Durham Radio launched 92.9 The Grand (CHTG-FM) on Sept. 1 from its new location in Haldimand County, Ontario. It was acquired from Vista Radio earlier this year. This is the seventh station in the Durham Radio group in Southern Ontario, including 94.9 FM The Rock (CKGE), KX96 95.9 FM (CJKX), CKDO 107.7 FM/1580 AM in Oshawa, KX-947(CHKX-FM) and WAVE.FM (CIWV) 94.7 FM in Hamilton.
CHRY Community Radio, which operates CHRY 105.5 FM in Toronto, has applied to the CRTC for a rebroadcaster in Scarborough which would operate at 92 watts on 105.3 FM. The move became necessary after CIUX 105.5 FM in Uxbridge launched in September 2015 causing interference for CHRY’s signal in the eastern suburbs of Toronto.
CIWS-FM, Whitchurch-Stouffville, Ontario’s community station, has rebranded as WhiStle FM and moved from 102.7 FM to 102.9 FM to gain more coverage in compliance with a CRTC mandate that community stations must also serve as emergency broadcasters.
University of Calgary campus radio station volunteer Kendra Scanlon has written a book to and celebrate the 30th anniversary and chronicle the history of CJSW 90.9 FM. The book is the result of more than a year of research and interviews with past staff. Get a free copy of We Make Radio: 30-Something Years of CJSW 90.9 FM here.
TV/FILM/VIDEO:
The CRTC’s new Policy Framework for Certified Independent Production Funds – released on August 30 – is generating passionate reactions from all sectors. Intended to provide more funding flexibility for producers in a multi-platform environment, the policy introduces significant and sweeping changes for CIPFs. These changes include eliminating the requirement that producers obtain a broadcast licence or development agreement to receive funding; reducing the number of Canadian certification points required to access funding; including co-ventures in productions eligible to receive funding; and allowing script, content development and promotion/discoverability initiatives to qualify for funding. Proponents laud the greater flexibility for producers in both triggering funding and on the creative side. While detractors oppose the point reductions as it further reduces the roles for Canadians in being required for Canadian content production without providing any corollary benefit or incentive for the creative community. The full decision can be found here.
Bell Media’s BravoFACT foundation to assist Canadian talent selected 12 female-led short film productions to receive a total of $560,400 as part of its ongoing Female Filmmaker initiative. Chosen from 146 applications and announced on August 31, seven of the selected projects also have female directors. The full list is here.
Entertainment One said it was open to a higher offer after rejecting ITV’s $1.7-billion (£1-billion) takeover proposal on August 10. But ITV has walked away saying the Canadian production company was unwilling to talk. eOne stock dropped 14 per cent on the news.
The federal ethics commissioner has ruled Liberal MP Kate Young acted improperly when she wrote the CRTC in support of CTV London’s (CFPL-TV) licence renewal application, where she had been a news anchor for many years. The August 24 ruling said Young, a parliamentary secretary, was in violation of the Conflict of Interest Act. She has apologized.
Disney Channels Worldwide has acquired the multi-territory broadcast and on-demand rights for the Toronto-produced animated series Polly and the ZhuZhu Pets from Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana. The 26 episodes will air on the Disney Channel in the U.S. starting September 12, followed by Europe, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, and the Middle East. A Canadian premiere date has not been announced.
Fairchild Television’s Category B service, Talentvision II, has – at the owner’s request – its licence revoked. The third-language, general interest, ethnic channel was licensed Feb. 22, 2013. Movie Central Ltd.’s request for revocation of its licence for the regional, English-language pay television Category A service Movie Central was also granted as was Encore Avenue Ltd.’s request for the regional, English-language pay television Category A service Encore Avenue.
Catherine MacLeod, President of Thinktv (formerly known as TVB), calls the CRTC order on simsub during the Super Bowl a goal-line fumble in a circumspect Aug 29 blog post on the organization’s website. Read it here.
ICI Radio-Canada Télé, Télé-Québec, TVA and V will air the unveiling of programming highlights for Montreal’s 375th anniversary in 2017 during a special 90-minute broadcast on on December 11.
SIGN-OFFS:
George Barr, 83, at the Stratford General Hospital on August 24. Barr worked at CFCH Radio in North Bay and was Vice President of Sales for CFRB Radio in Toronto for 21 years. He then became General Manager of CJCS Stratford for 12 years, retiring in October of 1992. Barr also sang professionally.
Dr. Joy Browne, 71, on Saturday, August 27. Browne’s long-running talk show was most recently syndicated by Genesis Communications Network. She began in talk radio in Boston but launched nationally from WOR Radio New York in the early 1990s. A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Joy Browne was ranked at #25 on the Talkers magazine 2016 Heavy Hundred – The Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America.
GENERAL:
CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games reached 32.1 million Canadians, more than have watched any previous Summer Games in Canada. Over the 16 days of coverage between August 5 and 16, CBC and primary broadcast partners TSN/RDS and Sportsnet, offered up 1275 hours of TV coverage. On the digital side, CBC reports more than 229 million total page views and nearly 37 million video views on their English and French language websites and apps.
CBC/Radio-Canada made its first quarterly report for 2016-2017 available online on August 30. Read it here.
ONLINE CHANNELS:
The European Union has ordered Ireland to recover up to 13 billion euros ($19 billion CAN) in illegal tax benefits given to Apple over the years. The bill includes unpaid taxes for 2003 to 2014, plus interest. The Irish government is looking to appeal, saying Apple paid the full amount of tax and no state aid was provided.
Momentum Marketing puts a visual to podcast usage stats from research done by Marketing Magazine. Where do people listen and what do they do while listening?
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