A group wants the federal government to mirror its blanket restrictions on tobacco ads, citing addiction and its effect on sports.
The agreement would see Canadian news continue to be shared on Google’s platforms in return for the company making annual payments to CBC News and Radio-Canada in the range of $100 million, a source with knowledge of the negotiations said. The federal government and Google agreed on the regulatory framework earlier this week, a government source familiar with the talks said.
The international partnership deal will see Canadian-made scripted and unscripted series land on Fox in the U.S.
Meta’s decision to block news links in Canada this month has had almost no impact on Canadians’ usage of Facebook, data from independent tracking firms indicated on Tuesday, as the company faces scorching criticism from the Canadian government over the move.
Exclusives
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday accused Facebook of putting profits over people’s safety during the emergencies created by Canada’s record wildfire season. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced earlier this summer it would keep its promise to block news content from Canada on its platforms because of a new law that requires tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.
Meta is facing severe criticism for its policy of blocking news content in Canada while wildfires rage in British Columbia. “Right now, while wildfires are causing evacuations in the NWT and endangering lives, Meta is blocking news about them on Facebook and Instagram,” tweeted Chris Bittle, Liberal MP for St. Catharines, Ontario. “They did this in Australia, and it made dangerous situations worse. Meta’s actions to block news are reckless and irresponsible.”
Among other remarks, the organizations’ joint statement said: “Meta – a nearly trillion-dollar company – repeatedly chooses to restrict news content for its users to avoid compensating news producers for the value it gains on their vital journalism. These retaliatory tactics demonstrate Meta’s monopolistic dominance over the advertising marketplace and its ability to dictate how radio and TV broadcasters, newspapers and others can reach audiences online.”
Meta has begun the process to end access to news on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada, the company said on Tuesday. The move comes in response to legislation in the country requiring internet giants to pay news publishers. Meta’s communications director, Andy Stone, said the changes will roll out in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday, the Canadian government announced that it will cease all ad spending — about $7.5 million per year — on Facebook and Instagram. The decision comes after Meta and Google blocked Canadian news in opposition to a law requiring technology platforms to compensate publishers for linking to their content.
After the nation’s senate passed the Online News Act yesterday, Meta confirmed it will remove news content from Facebook and Instagram for all Canadian users, but it remained unclear whether Google would follow suit for its platforms.
Citytv has greenlit a crime drama set in Canada’s largest city and based on Dick Wolf’s mega-franchise.
Meta is preparing to block news for some Canadians on Facebook and Instagram in a temporary test that is expected to last the majority of the month. The Silicon Valley tech giant is following in the steps of Google, which blocked news links for about five weeks earlier this year for some of its Canadian users in response to a controversial Liberal government bill. Bill C-18, which is currently being studied in the Senate, will require tech giants to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online.
Alphabet Inc.’s Google is rolling out tests that block access to news content for some Canadian users, the company confirmed on Wednesday, in what it says is a test run of a potential response to the government’s online news bill.
Canada’s Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications said on Monday they extended the deadline for their C$20 billion ($15.01 billion) merger to Feb. 17 from the end of January, as the companies await government approval. The deal requires the final approval from Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne for the transfer of spectrum licenses held by Shaw’s Freedom Mobile unit to Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron.
According to a statement, WildBrain Television, a Canadian kids and family broadcast network, said that Family Channel, its flagship broadcast network, has greenlit three new content projects across live-action and […]
Pixellot, a provider of AI-Automated sports video and analytics solutions, today announced its collaboration with HomeTeam Live, a live streaming app for amateur sports leagues. Pixellot’s technology will provide streaming […]
Pluto TV is — finally — bringing its free, ad-supported streaming service to Canada. Launching in the fall of 2022, Pluto TV Canada will include more than 100 curated channels and more than 20,000 hours of content, all available for free across a range of devices and with no registration required.
Law&Crime, the legal and true crime network, is now available on Samsung TV Plus in Canada, joining The Roku Channel and River TV as partners providing access to the network […]
Rogers Communications has agreed to buy rival Shaw Communications in a C$20 billion ($16 billion) deal that unites Canada’s two largest cable providers.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has announced that the U.S. streaming giant will open a new office in Canada and hire a content chief dedicated to commissioning local originals. In a blog post, Sarandos said Netflix has spent CAD $2.5 billion (US$2 billion) in Canada since 2017 and it’s time to double down on its presence in the country, which has provided members with shows including Anne With An E and Workin’ Moms.
The U.S. media group, which shoots Star Trek: Discovery locally, will launch the CBS Stages Canada complex, with six soundstages, in mid-2019.
Vice is looking for a new Canadian roost for its Viceland cable network. The bootstrapping media company and the Canadian cable distributor have ended a joint venture in a Vice production studio and Viceland.
Under an agreement with the government of Canada, Netflix has agreed to invest a minimum of $500 million Canadian (about $400 million U.S.) in original productions in the country over the next five years. Netflix will establish a permanent, multipurpose film and TV production presence in Canada — the first time that the company has done so outside the U.S.
On Feb. 5, Canadian viewers of the Super Bowl for the first time will be able to watch those flashy Super Bowl ads live on TV for the first time. Before this year, Super Bowl commercials were blocked in Canada because the Canadian broadcaster was allowed to substitute its ads for U.S. ads on the American feed. This year’s change has infuriated the NFL>
The first step in Canada’s government-mandated plan is partial. At first, pay TV providers only have to offer slimmed-down basic package for $25, with theme packs like sports or entertainment channels as add-ons. Some U.S. cable and satellite companies are already starting to offer slimmer packages, such as Sling TV from Dish for $20 a month. Full channel choice, or a la carte, is due in Canada by the end of the year.
Canada’s federal broadcast regulator is holding hearings examining the current state and future viability of local TV programming, with an emphasis on the health of local TV stations and local news programming. In a study submitted prior to the hearing, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting warned that nearly half of Canada’s local TV stations could go off the air by 2020 at a cost of nearly 1,000 jobs unless they receive money to boost local programming.
In a bid to tap the burgeoning English-speaking Hispanic market in the U.S. and around the world, Mexican media giant Televisa has moved to co-produce a host of English-language TV productions with Canada, starting with spy thriller series Duality starring Dougray Scott (Hemlock Grove, Desperate Housewives, Taken 3). Televisa will offer the debut series at Mipcom.
