- FCC Defends Authority To Loosen Newspaper/Broadcast Cross-Ownership
The FCC Wednesday filed a brief with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals defending its authority under then-Chairman Kevin Martin to loosen the newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership ban.
- Broadcasters Ask FCC to Loosen Up
As Comcast makes its case that owning a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal will be good for everybody, broadcasters are making a similar case that loosening media ownership rules will help them compete in a digital, multichannel environment.
- CTV Asks For "Urgent Regulatory Relief" For 'A' Channels
CTV says that only “urgent regulatory relief” can help to keep its struggling stable of ‘A’ channels afloat.
- FTC Asks For More Media Self-Regulation On Children's TV Protections
The Federal Trade Commission did not call for more regulation of the broadcast and cable industries to protect kids in the digital age, but it pointed to what it saw as some self-regulation issues with TV ads for music and movies.
- Court Lifts Cross-Ownership Ban Stay in US
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit lifted the stay on the Federal Communications Commission's ban on media companies owning newspapers and TV stations in the same market.
- Bloc Quebecois Bill to Regionalize CRTC Meets Opposition
Bloc Québécois private member’s Bill C-444, which would create a regional CRTC office in Quebec, met strong opposition from Conservative, Liberal and NDP MPs during a House debate on March 8, 2010.
- Quebec Lobbying Gov't for Regional Regulator
The Province of Quebec is lobbying the federal government to regionalize some CRTC responsibilities, a spokeswoman for the Quebec minister of culture told The Wire Report.
- UK Tightens Rules on Product Placement
Struggling U.K. commercial broadcasters breathed a sigh of relief when regulators officially sanctioned product placement in September. But regulators have recently announced that junk food and alcohol are excluded from the new rules.
- Broadcasters Feel No Impact From Elimination of Local Ad Limits
National broadcasters CBC and CTV say a CRTC decision that removed all limits on over-the-air television advertising has had little-to-no impact on their advertising models.
- Lenders Make Pitch to FCC to Loosen Media Ownership Rules
Lenders made a pitch to the FCC to loosen media ownership rules, saying that it was just about the only way to make broadcasters more attractive to the capital they will need to be competitive in the marketplace.
- Spain to Ban Some Diet, Beauty TV Ads Before 10 PM
Marketers in Spain could be banned from advertising certain beauty products and services before 10 p.m., as the government attempts to stamp out the growing number of eating disorders and improve the mental health of young women fixated on their weight and appearance.
- FCC Defends Crossownership Stay
The Federal Communications Commission says the stay on its current partial lifting of the ban on newspaper-broadcast crossownership should remain in place.
- Congress Votes to Turn Down Volume on TV Ads
The House of Representatives voted to level off the abrupt spikes in volume felt by U.S. television viewers during commercial breaks. The bill is aimed at stopping TV ads from playing noticeably louder than programs.
- Post Foods Commits to Children's Advertising Initiative
Post Foods Canada Corp., the producer of breakfast cereals like Honeycomb and Alpha-Bits, has joined the Canadian Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, created by Advertising Standards Canada (ASC).
- FTC Wants More Restrictions on Advertising Violent Content on TV
The Federal Trade Commission wants advertisers of violent movies, music and video games to do more to restrict advertising and promotion of that content, including on broadcast and cable TV.
- US Bill Could Place Limits on Food Ads Aimed at Kids
The Healthy Kids Act would empower the FCC to limit the amount of advertising for food/drinks with certain levels of trans fat, sugars and sodium to two minutes an hour on weekends and three on weekdays.
- Fee-for-Carriage Requires Rebalance of Regulatory System
Small, independent broadcasters are urging the federal regulator not to introduce a fee-for-carriage regime without taking steps to offset the potentially damaging impact on their business.
- CRTC Focused on Negotiated Fees for Carriage
The CRTC will hold steady on a distanced approach to the fee-for-carriage debate between local television stations and cable and satellite companies, according to high-level commissioner for the regulator.
- TV Alliance Wants Consumer Participation in Fee-for-Carriage Hearing
Consumer coalition TV Alliance is calling on Heritage Minister James Moore to ensure that consumers can participate in the upcoming public hearing on billing practices for TV services in Canada.
- Agreement Reached Over Part II Licence Fees
Heritage Minister James Moore and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters announced that the government of Canada and Canada’s broadcasters have decided to walk away from their Part II fee legal battle.
- Liberals Want Government Advertising Watchdog
The Liberals are proposing a system similar to one adopted in Ontario in 2004, which screens provincial government ads for partisanship and bans the use of any politician’s name, image or voice.
- Feds Tell CRTC to Look into Fee-for-Carriage from Consumer POV
"Our Government has a record of putting consumers first," said Minister Moore in the press release. "When it comes to the broadcasting system, our stance is no different."
- CBC Offers Solution to Model for Conventional TV in CRTC Submission
The CBC provides the Commission with a regulatory framework that would permit the CRTC to correct the current inequity that prevents broadcasters from receiving fair compensation for their signals.
- CRTC Approves More Commercials on TV
Following announcements by the CRTC, conventional television broadcasters are now free to air as many ads per hour as they wish, up from the maximum of 15 minutes per hour under previous regulations.
- Bell Drops Court Case Against CRTC
After CRTC's announcement this week to push its fee-for-carriage hearings back to November, Bell said that it will withdraw its court appeal.
- FCC Revisiting Kids TV Rules
The FCC is opening an inquiry into its children's TV rules. That was the word from Chairman of the commission at a hearing in the Senate Commerce Committee on what, if any, changes Congress should make to the Children's TV Act.
- Quebec Groups Want Stricter Rules for Child Ads
The Quebec Coalition on Weight-Related Problems is calling for national legislation to end all advertising of unhealthy foods targeting children, rather than counting on marketers to regulate themselves.
- ASC's Report on Children's Food Advertising
The report details the progress made by leading food and beverage companies participating in this program to change the landscape of children's food and beverage advertising.
- Heritage Committee's TV Report
While the Heritage Committee avoided the issue of fee-for-carriage in its TV report, it made 18 recommendations.
- Fee-for-Carriage Issue Going Back to CRTC
A report by the House of Commons Heritage Committee makes no recommendation about whether broadcasters should be able to charge cable companies for carrying their signals.
- BDUs and Broadcasters Should Negotiate a Fee
The CRTC chair said that rather than regulating a new, set, fee-for-carriage, it would be better to have distributors and broadcasters get together and come up with their own payment plan.
- Fee for Carriage Campaign Launched
CTV has launched an online campaign to position itself in the battle against cable companies over fee for carriage.
- CBC Speaks to Heritage Committee
With the decline in advertising, the CBC president and CEO said the over-the-air business model was broken not just for the private networks, but also for the public broadcaster.
- CTV Presents Plan to Deal with TV Crisis
Speaking before the Heritage Committee, CTV called for swift federal action to address the crisis in local Canadian television.
- Rogers and Quebecor Speak to Heritage Committee
Speaking to Parliament's Heritage Committee, executives from Rogers Communications called the TV industry a cyclical one that will be highly profitable once the economy rebounds. There is thus no need for fee-for-carriage.
- U.S. Children's Group Wants Ratings for Ads
The Children's Media Policy Council wants the FCC to fix the V-chip/ratings system, including adding ratings for "inapproriate TV commercials."
- Government Considers Fund for Broadcasters
The federal cabinet is considering a $150 million fund for private broadcasters to help save local TV stations and their newscasts.
- Helping Out Private TV Broadcasters
Broadcasters have been lobbying Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office to ask for relief in the form of regulatory changes.
- Fee-For Carriage Revisited
Conventional TV broadcasters are renewing their requests for a fee-for-carriage after a recent CRTC financial report showed that the profits of the biggest private broadcasters dropped by almost 93% in 2008.
- Supreme Court Will Hear Broadcast Fee Case
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has persuaded the Supreme Court of Canada to hear its case on whether the CRTC is a de facto tax collector for the federal government.
- Green Ad Claim Regulations in the U.S.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is re-examining its "Green Guides," the main tool in federal regulation of green advertising claims, which came out in 1992.
- FTC Report on Marketing Food To Kids
In its report on marketing food to kids, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found no area of kids-oriented food marketing that would require regulation.
- Proposed Levy on ISPs
Broadcast content producers want the CRTC to impose a levy on Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to support Canadian content. As broadcasting moves to the Internet, ACTRA feels that this levy is necessary.
- Regulating New Media Broadcasting
In May 2008, the CRTC called for comments on whether it was necessary to repeal a 1999 decision by the Commission to exempt new media from regulation.
- Groups Want Product Placement to be Regulated
A coalition of 23 advocacy and consumer groups want the FCC to adopt a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on product placement and product integration.
- Tighter Rules on U.S. Drug Ads
Leading drug manufacturers such as Merck, Johnson & Johnson, and Pfizer are agreeing to a six-month moratorium on advertising new drugs to consumers and will limit how doctors are used in their ads.
- Loud Commercials on U.S. TV
Rep. Anna Eshoo of California introduced a bill that would address the issue of loud commercials and apply it directly to the TV industry.
- Bill C-327 on TV Violence Defeated
The House of Commons decided that Bill C-327 should not proceed further. On May 13, it adopted the Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage which made the recommendation.
- ACA's Advertising Wish List
At the CRTC's BDU and specialty hearing in April, the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) will propose that TV advertising should be allowed on video-on-demand programs and that the 12-minute per hour advertising cap on specialty TV shows should be maintained.
- Equitable Portrayal Code
The CRTC approved the Equitable Portrayal Code proposed by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB). This code contains standards for the portrayal of all identifiable groups and replaces the CAB's Sex-Role Portrayal Code of Television and Radio Programming.
- FCC Ruling On Media Ownership Challenged
The FCC approved a new rule that would end the ban on radio and TV broadcasters owning newspapers in America's top markets. A bipartisan group of lawmakers filed a measure to nullify this controversial ruling, however.
- Bill C-327: Reducing Violence on Television
The goal of the bill is to " 'contribute to solving the problem of violence in society by reducing violence in the programming offered to the public, including children,' " reports Broadcaster Magazine.
- Food Advertising to Children
To help curb childhood obesity, Toronto's board of health wants the government to ban food and beverage advertising aimed at children under 13.
- CRTC's New Media Ownership Policies
On January, 15, 2008, the CRTC came out with new policies to ensure a diversity of voices is maintained in the Canadian broadcasting system.
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