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Link: Updating Cancon rules for Internet age comes with political baggage

From Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail:

Link: Updating Cancon rules for Internet age comes with political baggage
Ever since the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission first decided to exempt “new media” from regulation back in 1999, federal jurisdiction over content delivered via the Internet has proved mainly theoretical. If Ottawa wanted to intervene to make Canadian programming more discoverable online, it would certainly help if the government asserted its role by updating the Broadcasting Act, last revised in 1991. And if the government wanted Internet service providers, who don’t compensate the content creators who help build their profits, to contribute to the system, it would definitely need a whole new law – because in 2012 the Supreme Court ruled that ISPs are not broadcasters. Continue reading. 

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Industry News

Emerald Code, a new series about girls and STEM, gets the green light

From a media release:

Leading production company Shaftesbury, along with its digital studio Smokebomb Entertainment and branded entertainment agency shift2, welcome Shaw Rocket Fund as a partner on multi-platform digital series Emerald Code (20 x 3 mins), going into production this Spring. Shaw Rocket Fund joins an exciting roster of previously announced partners including Ubisoft and Let’s Talk Science. The series, aimed at inspiring and empowering girls 8-12 to pursue their interests in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) subjects in school and in life, will star newcomers, and real-life best friends, Anwen O’Driscoll and Star Slade, and will be directed by Michael Seater (Life with Derek, Murdoch Mysteries). A companion docu-series is also in the works (10 x 3 mins) that will celebrate real-life kid heroes of coding.

Emerald Code follows 15-year-old Simone Lang who, after discovering web design and programming at summer camp, is amazed at everything she can create by herself with science and technology. Inspiring her friends to do the same, Simone and her pals soon realize that they have tons of ideas and inventions that can make their lives easier, more connected, and more fun. They navigate the complicated and confusing world of high school by learning new skills and exchanging ideas in order to create unique and useful tools. Soon, Simone and friends are solving problems, coming up with wild schemes, and most importantly, cracking the code to living an awesome high school life!

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Industry News

CMF announces 2017-2018 program budget, guidelines and deadlines

From a media release:

The Canada Media Fund (CMF) announced today Program Guidelines for the 2017-2018 fiscal year. The CMF also announced it is committing $349.7M to support Canada’s television and digital media industry in 2017-2018. The breakdown of the 2017-2018 program budget can be accessed here.

The CMF program budget is supported by revenue estimates for the coming year based on contributions from the Government of Canada; Canada’s cable, satellite and IPTV distributors; and recoupment and repayment revenues from funded productions. The program budget reflects a stable contribution from the Government of Canada and an expected decline in contributions from Broadcast Distribution Undertakings to the CMF for the year to come.

“We understand that a program budget decrease of 5.8 per cent will have an impact on Canada’s audiovisual industry. Faced with declining revenues, we remain committed to making our programs as efficient and accessible as possible. We have reduced the CMF’s administration budget to direct the most funds possible to our programs,” explained Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, CMF. “Our funding programs align with the CMF’s corporate objectives, requirements established by Canadian Heritage, and are the result of an analysis of results from 2016-2017 and important feedback from stakeholders.” Continue reading.

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ZoomerMedia announces new fitness TV series for OneTV: Anjelica’s Dance Workout

From a media release:

ZoomerMedia founder and ONETV Executive Producer Moses Znaimer has announced the premiere of Anjelica’s Dance Workout. The company’s newest original fitness series will premiere during a Canada-wide month-long free preview of the ONE: GET FIT channel all April long. Anjelica’s Dance Workout will air daily at 8 am ET and 7 pm ET starting Monday, April 3.

Starring Anjelica Scannura, Toronto-based dancer, actor, comedienne and co-artistic director of Ritmo Flamenco Dance and Music Ensemble, Anjelica’s Dance Workout is a 30-minute exercise show that incorporates Flamenco, Bellydance, Brazilian, Irish, and contemporary world dance into an easy-to-follow and fun cardio routine for all ages, shapes, and sizes. Each episode is designed and target a specific muscle group, and of course, always the abs!

Viewers can follow along with the exotic and colourfully costumed Anjelica and her dancers as she takes them through a warm-up, the how-to basics of a particular dance technique, the workout, and cool down.

Anjelica is accompanied by special guests including her mother and co-artistic director of Ritmo Flamenco, Valerie Scannura, and local dancers Liane Dozois, Matt Eldracher, Theresa Gesualdi, Sherie Marshall, Ethel Nañes, Damian Norman, Rachel James, and Shakeil Rollock.

Moses, whose only previous excursion into the exercise genre had been the sensational “20-minute workout” on Citytv, conceived Anjelica’s series after he booked her to lead the daily stretch breaks at his annual ideacity conference in 2015, and again in 2016. Anjelica’s dance moves, combined with her natural ability to engage and entertain the audience, led him to cast her as the star of a new fitness series for ONETV, whose programming inspires viewers to GET FIT and transform themselves into the best they can be.

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Link: What Canadian TV series should be revived?

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From Jim Bawden:

Link: What Canadian TV series should be revived?
The big news on American TV these days concerns the revival of past series hits. Gilmore Girls is back for a limited run and I’m, watching and enjoying it as I find out what happened to the original characters.

So I’m thinking back on all the Canadian TV sets I was on and wondering which ones could be successfully revived. The new Anne Of Green Gables is all the ratings rage on CBC-TV these days. So why not revive some other big hits over the years? Continue reading. 

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