As someone who works for a creative community organization, I would like to see this happen. There are indications that Shaw does not want any benefits to flow from the transaction. The state of television requires this shot in the arm, and for it to be planned sustainably. If the $200M do not flow into the communities and to Canadian content creators and programs, what is the good of the takeover besides aiding corporate expansion.
However, a public auction may reduce the value of the transaction in total and smaller less useful benefits would be the result.
The benefits system should not be a replacement for stable and longterm funding for Canadian programming. The possible benefits do not outweigh the ills of concentration of ownership.
Media giants meet privately in bid to kill $2B buyout of Canwest TV assets.
Categories: crtc, general, radio, Telecommunications, television
Tags: aspers, canwest, coalition of broadcasters, purchase, Quebecor, rogers, shaw, television
As Trina McQueen steps down and CBC continually wails about it lack of funds and falling advertising revenue, it’s great to see that it’s focusing on digital marketing strategies and new media (I’m being sarcastic).
The CBC should take a cue from the BBC and not try to do all good things at once. Maybe all the broadcasters who don’t own newspaper holdings (like CBC), should stop trying to have a huge online newservice. CTV, Canwest, and Quebecor are all vertically linked to newspaper holdings. It’s not a stretch on their resources (well that’s arguable given the losses of newspapers around the world).
CBC began as radio, moved in television, and then into the internet. Was the move to online news a bite to hard to swallow, and now is choking the CBC? It made a content sharing agreement with the National Post on sports, but can it do the same without violating the diveristy of voices guidelines of the CRTC? Do we want it to? Or do we want CBC to serve its public mandate?
Appointment to CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors.
I have to agree with Knopf on this, and add why just music? If the iPad is coming to Canada soon, and people are using video on iPhones, and other devices, shouldn’t this be extended to video devices?
If we’re going to start getting people to pay for things that may or may not indirectly affect the music industry, we should also start charging people to play music at their parties, weddings, and other gatherings. We should keep logs of when we hear music that we didn’t pay for and then make a taly and get taxed for that. And you know where most of that money would go? South of the border.
Canada: the branch plant of the American Music Industry!
EXCESS COPYRIGHT: Levy Myths, Strange Bedfellows and Taxing Technology.
