By David Farrell
Jeff Vidler: Rather than regulate the Internet, offer broadcasters regulatory relief
“Here in Canada, the government and the regulator are trying to find a path towards continuing to protect Canadian cultural content. And it’s having a hard time. “As it looks to level the playing field between broadcasters who are regulated to meet Canadian content quotas and their on-demand competitors like Netflix and Spotify, the government is considering legislation that would regulate the online content providers. That’s easier said than done. For one thing, you can’t obviously force an on-demand audience to consume a prescribed amount of Canadian content. Rather than regulate the Internet, a more sensible solution might be to provide broadcasters regulatory relief. Otherwise, the cruel irony is that the one window where Canadians are assured of being exposed to at least some Canadian content is in danger of having its curtains drawn by the hands of its on-demand competitors.”
Elmnt FMs with Orybt Media create residential school awareness PSA
Elmnt fm’s Ops Manager Dave Charles is crusading to turn the residential school scandal into a positive awareness campaign and put the spotlight on Indigenous peoples nationwide, and perhaps ratchet up pressure on Ottawa to fix a long list of problems these people face in communities across Canada that are lacking in so many opportunities and basics such as a fresh water supply.
Writing the column, Charles explains: “Our hearts have been broken yet again by the discovery of 215 children killed and buried in unmarked graves near a Residential School in Kamloops B.C.
“It’s time to stand up and let the world know that this must never happen again.
“We have created a spot that we’re airing every day from now until the end of 2021 to show support and respect to those children’s memories and families.
“The creative is from our Indigenous Manager Matthew Bisson, produced by in-house production director Glenn Knight, and voiced by the Elmnt FMs’ creative director, Jonathan O. Shaw.
“As Operations Manager of Elmnt fm in Toronto and Ottawa we need to remind our audience of these atrocities,” Charles says. “We must let everybody know that this genocide must never happen again.
“During June, which is national Indigenous month, we have all the major broadcasters airing this PSA to bring awareness about what happened with Residential Schools during our history.
“Please let other broadcast companies know that this spot is available to be aired, with our gratitude.”
Canada’s video game industry under scrutiny by Heritage
(A) briefing note suggests a new phase for Canada’s video-game industry, as the government shifts from seeing foreign investment as a way to create jobs, to instead representing potential raids on valuable intellectual property that was created with the help of grants, tax breaks, and the publicly subsidized education system. – Bianca Bharti & Stefanie Marotta, Clinton News Record
David Bray breaks down the Numeris PPMs for Canada's top 5 markets
Covid continues to impact radio revenues across Canada. In addition, there have been a variety of issues concerning diary markets. Let’s see if we can find some good news in the latest PPM radio ratings released today. The new PPM release from Numeris completes the thirteen-week period covering March 1 to May 30, 2021. Once again, all listening for this period occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, sometimes yielding unusual results.
Let’s look at the five PPM markets.- breakdowns in full link here.
News Bytes
Netflix is filming a “fictionalized” series about Spotify, inspired by the book Spotify Untold. Six 45-minute episodes are scheduled to release in 2022.
– Bell Let’s Talk Post-Secondary Fund Implementation Grant is now open. The $1M fund offers as much as $100K to successful programs meeting Fund criteria.
– Bell MTS Centre, home of the Winnipeg Jets, is to be renamed Canada Life Centre, effective July 1 as part of a new 10-year sponsorship deal with the building's owner.
