Village Gamer

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has released statistical and financial information on Canadian television showing increased profits for all services for the broadcast year ending August 31, 2010.  The data includes information from conventional television stations and specialty, pay and pay-per-view television services, as well as video-on-demand services (pay and specialty services).

Conventional Television – Statistical and Financial Summaries 2006-2010
Pay Television, Pay-Per-View, Video-On-Demand and Specialty Services – Statistical and Financial Summaries 2006-2010

Revenues for private conventional television grew by 9% from $1.97 billion in 2009 to approximately $2.15 billion in 2010. Expenses during the same period increased by 1.7% from $2.01 billion in 2009 to $2.05 billion in 2010.  As a result, profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) improved significantly from a deficit of $116.6 million in 2009 to a profit of $11.5 million in 2010 for a PBIT margin of 0.5%.

Revenues for pay and specialty services grew by 11.1 % from $3.11 billion in 2009 to approximately $3.46 billion in 2010.  Expenses during the same period were 8.1% higher, going from $2.31 billion to $2.49 billion.  Therefore, PBIT for pay and specialty services improved from $728.6 million in 2009 to $877.3 million in 2010 for a PBIT margin of 25.4%.

The total revenues of $2.15 billion for private conventional television were generated from the following sources:

• $350 million in local advertising,
• $1.6 billion from national advertising,
• $65.9 million from the Local Programming Improvement Fund, and
• $117.9 million from other sources.

The total revenues of $3.5 billion for pay and specialty services were generated from the following sources:

• $1.58 billion from cable television subscribers
• $668 million from direct-to-home satellite subscribers
• $1.09 billion from national advertising
• $19.6 million from local advertising, and
• $99.9 million from other sources.

After stagnating in 2009, investment in Canadian programming increased by 12.6% for private conventional television and 8.8% for pay and specialty services.

Private conventional television spending on Canadian programming totalled $696.3 million, including $304.6 million on news programs, $50.9 million on documentaries and other information programs, $141 million on sports programming, $85.5 million on drama and $21.7 million on musical and variety shows.

Pay and specialty services spending on Canadian programming totalled $1.12 billion, including $179.6 million on news programs, $258.4 million on documentaries and other information programs, $353.2 million on sports programming, $143.6 million on drama, and $42.4 million on musical and variety shows.

In 2010, these sectors of the broadcasting industry employed 11,761 people and paid a total of $925.3 million in salaries. Private conventional television experienced a workforce decrease of 6.3% in 2010, while the pay and specialty services workforce remained relatively stable. Read the rest of this entry »

The Insurance Corporation of BC has launched an app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, that lets new drivers practice the driving knowledge test before taking the real test. The ICBC licensing mobile practice knowledge test can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store and also includes the complete Learn to Drive Smart guide, all driver licensing locations, and selected videos that are aimed at helping new drivers prepare for their test and be safe on our roads.

“Our customers have told us that they want more options from us that better connect with their lifestyle,” said Fred Hess, ICBC’s vice president of driver licensing. “Getting your first licence is an exciting time but it can also be an intimidating process. We believe this app will make it easier to practice, which we hope calms nerves and helps new drivers focus on learning to make smart driving decisions.”

The practice knowledge test app randomly generates 25 questions to replicate the real test, including how to successfully make a right-turn, drive in school zones, watch out for vulnerable road users and handle a vehicle that skids and loses control. Customers who score 100 per cent on a practice test are rewarded by unlocking bonus video content.

The app also includes a series of videos that help new drivers develop their skills on the road, including tips on passing the road test, how to adjust your speed relative to conditions and intersection safety. The app also identifies the driver licensing centre locations nearest to the customer, shows them how to get there, hours of operation and contact number.

“Our online practice knowledge test has proved extremely popular in improving our customer experience for new drivers and this app will offer another easy and convenient choice for them,” said ICBC’s chief customer and marketing officer, Jeff Schulz. “They can even share their practice test results with friends via Facebook, Twitter or email.”

The Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) aims to promote innovation and support the development of small and medium enterprises (SME) in Canada. The goal of CICP is to help bridge the pre-commercialization gap by purchasing innovations through a Call for Proposals. The Program targets innovations in four priority areas: environment, health, safety & security, and enabling technologies.

There are 19 pre-qualified innovation proposals from the first round of the program, and now The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSME) invites you to attend the Spring 2011 Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program (CICP) Forums taking place from 9:00 – noon on:

• June 20, 2011 Kelowna – Delta Grand Okanagan – 1310 Water St. in Kelowna
• June 21, 2011 Kamloops – Kamloops Convention Centre – 1250 Rogers Way in Kamloops
• June 27, 2011 Vancouver – Marriott Pinnacle – 1128 West Hastings St. in Vancouver
• June 28, 2011 Victoria – Hotel Grand Pacific – 463 Belleville St. in Victoria

Come out for a free coffee and learn more about the program – register today, it’s free.

By attending the CICP Innovation Forum, you will have the opportunity to:

• Learn about the CICP and other Government of Canada programs that support innovation
• Meet face to face with Government of Canada representatives
• Find out what new innovations local businesses are working on

Forum Agenda

9:00am – 10:30am (Information session)

The agenda for each Forum is similar – there will be information sessions for businesses on CICP as well as on the Scientific Research & Experimental Development Tax Incentive Program, the Industrial Research Assistance Program, Department of Foreign Affairs & International Trade and Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada Programs during the first portion of the event from 9:00am – 10:30am.

10:30am – Noon (Networking and Tradeshow)

The second portion of the event runs from 10:30am – noon and during this portion businesses are invited to showcase their innovative goods and services to government. (Please note that there will be no tradeshow at the Kamloops event.)

If you have any questions about CICP, please do not hesitate to contact Scarlett Chan, Regional CICP Coordinator, at 1-866-602-0403 or visit the CICP web site.

In its first seven months of operations, the BCTIA‘s Centre4Growth initiative has already exceeded its Year 1 projections, including servicing over 100 clients in its CEO’s-in-Residence program. Through the assistance and guidance received at Centre4Growth, client companies have raised a total of $5.5M in new revenue and investment and expanded their workforce by a total of 31 new employees. The Centre4Growth is a new entrepreneur services initiative from the BC Technology Industry Association that provides a number of services to start-up and emerging technology companies in BC.

The mandate of the Centre4Growth program is to boost the capacity of BC’s technology entrepreneurs and their management teams, with the goal to further grow and develop BC’s innovation economy.

“It’s one thing to start a new technology company, but it’s another thing to grow that company from 5 employees to 25 or better yet, 100 employees,” said Pascal Spothelfer, President & CEO, BCTIA. “Through our research and advocacy efforts, we’ve heard a lot from entrepreneurs and investors about the need to grow the management capacity within our tech companies. Centre4Growth is without a doubt addressing these challenges, our client load proves there is a need, and our results in just seven months indicates that Centre4Growth is working.”

The core of the Centre4Growth initiative is a one-on-one coaching program provided by seasoned CEOs-in-Residence. By working directly with these experienced technology executives, tech entrepreneurs receive confidential coaching, as well as referrals into other C4G services designed to assist in the growth of their companies. Read the rest of this entry »

Canadian casual developers are invited to the Casual Connect Conference, taking place in Seattle this July 19th through 21st. The conference attracts over 2,000 industry professionals with a cutting edge lecture series and highly popular nightly networking events. Join more than 50 Canadian companies that are expected to attend this year’s conference and take advantage of the following:

• $100 discount off the Premium Registration for the first 50 companies – Contact your local Trade Commissioner for details.

• Send and receive meeting requests with companies prior to the conference

• Access to free on-site meeting space during the conference

• Informational breakfast briefing with local industry experts on July 19

• Networking events held at the Invest in Canada booth on-site

• Inclusion in the Canada Company Directory to be distributed at the event (please feel out attached document)

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) is asking Canadians to provide data and information on online broadcasting services and their impact on the Canadian communications system as per Broadcasting and Telecom Notice of Consultation CRTC 2011-344.

“The digital environment is providing Canadians with more programming choices than ever before,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC. “Canadians have access to libraries of online content that can originate from anywhere in the world, and which can be watched on different screens. This fact-finding exercise will give us a better understanding of the dynamic and innovative environment as it continues to evolve.”

As part of its mandate to supervise the Canadian broadcasting system, the CRTC has investigated similar technological and consumer trends in the past. For example, in 2006, the CRTC prepared a report on the future environment facing the Canadian broadcasting system. In 2009, the CRTC released a report on broadcasting services in official-language minority communities.

The CRTC is gathering data and information:

• at the request of the most significant members of the Canadian communications industry, as expressed in a letter dated April 1, 2011, and
• further to a resolution of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which was included in its March 2011 report, Impacts of Private Television Ownership Changes and the Move Towards New Viewing Platforms.

Interested parties are invited to comment on a number of topics related to the digital environment. They may submit their comments by June 27, 2011, either by completing the online form, by writing to the Secretary General, CRTC, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2, or by fax at 819-994-0218.

Telefilm Canada is pleased to announce that five diverse French-language feature-film projects, of which one is a minority Canadian co-production, can move forward thanks to various production programs under the second round of the Canada Feature Film Fund’s selective component for 2011-2012.

For the second year running, Telefilm Canada has increased the amount of the envelope normally allocated to the selective component thanks to savings tied to greater efficiency.

“We are looking at a very wide-ranging line-up of titles for movie theatres, which will draw audiences,” said Carolle Brabant, Executive Director of Telefilm Canada. “From cinéma d’auteur, with Rafael Ouellet‘s Camion, to films having wide audience appeal with Podz‘s L’Affaire Dumont, Telefilm is delighted to present projects that reflect the broad diversity of talent in Canada.”

“This second round of selections for fiscal 2011-2012 underscores our intention to promote talent in all its forms and at all levels,” said Michel Pradier, Director of Project Financing at Telefilm Canada. “Our selections include projects from seasoned creators as well as promising new talent, in a variety of genres. This bodes well for our industry.”

Following (in alphabetical order) are the French-language projects recently selected under the second round of decisions for the Canada Feature Film Fund’s selective component for 2011-2012:

L’Affaire Dumont
Based on a true story. In Boisbriand in 1990, corner-store delivery man Michel Dumont, a father of two young children who is separated from their mother, is accused, tried and sentenced for a sexual assault he claims he didn’t commit. During his trial, Michel falls in love with Solange, a young single mother who believes he is innocent. While in jail, Daniel and Solange get married and Solange decides to take on the monumental task of overturning his conviction. Michel’s case, a contemporary retelling of the David vs. Goliath story that unfolds over a 10-year period, has serious repercussions for the very concept of innocence.
Director: Daniel Grou, a.k.a Podz (7 jours du talion, 10 ½, C.A. Conseil d’administration, Minuit, le soir and Les Bougons : c’est aussi ça la vie)
Producer: Nicole Robert – Go Films
Distributor: Alliance Vivafilms
Writer: Danielle Dansereau

Alice
Alice lives in a home with five other intellectually disabled persons and works part-time in a bank. She has a crush on Martin, whom she met at the recreational centre where both are members of a choir made up exclusively of intellectually disabled singers. While the choir gets ready to take part in a world choral festival in Montréal, Alice and Martin look for an opportunity to consummate their love. Things take a dramatic turn when Martin’s mother, who vigorously opposes her son’s relationship with Alice, pulls him out of the recreational centre.
Writer-director: Louise Archambault (Familia)
Producers: Luc Déry and Kim McCraw – micro_scope
Distributor: Christal Films Distribution

Avant que mon cœur bascule
Sixteen-year-old Sarah, standing alongside a highway, pretends to be in trouble. Duped drivers pull over to help—and are robbed. This is how Sarah meets Marc, a history teacher whom she likes. Under the teen’s gaze, the man dies. Sarah’s life will never be the same again.
Director: Sébastien Rose (Comment ma mère accoucha de moi durant ma ménopause, La vie avec mon père and Le Banquet)
Producer: Paul Barbeau – Reprise Films Inc.
Distributor: Metropole Films Distribution
Writers: Sébastien Rose and Stéfanie Lasnier

Camion
Germain is a seasoned trucker. One day, he is involved in a traffic accident that results in the death of a young women, and his world comes to a halt and he starts to fall apart. When he learns that the lumber mill where he works is going to close, Germain loses the one thing in his life that allowed him to forget the terrible accident. Only a few years away from retirement, Germain becomes more and more apathetic, a state that worries his eldest son, Samuel. Samuel goes off to a remote part of the United States to look for his brother Alain, so that they can both return to the house where they grew up and offer their father a bit of hope and support—and make sure he doesn’t do anything that can’t be undone.
Writer-director: Rafael Ouellet (Le cèdre penché, Derrière moi and New Denmark)
Producer: Stephanie Morisette – Coop Vidéo de Montréal
Distributor: K-Films Amérique

Hors les murs
France-Belgium-Canada co-production (minority Canadian)
Paulo, a young pianist whose life is almost settled, meets Ilir, a bass player originally from Albania. It’s love at first sight for the two, but their love story is soon overtaken by life’s unexpected twists and turns. The boys are brutally separated when one of them ends up in jail for a minor gaffe. Will their love survive the separation?
Writer-director: David Lambert
Producer: Daniel Morin – Les Productions Cinématographiques Boréal Films Inc. (Canada), Red Star Cinéma (France), Frakas Productions (Belgium)
Distributor: K-Films Amérique

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection wants families of missing children to know that they don’t have to search alone. On the eve of International Missing Children’s Day, the Canadian Centre is launching MissingKids.ca – Canada’s national missing children resource centre.

MissingKids.ca complements the important work of law enforcement by offering families additional resources to help find their missing children. The service provides a central place for families to register their missing child to request support from a trained caseworker, as well as critical educational information to help prevent children from going missing.

“Today’s launch of MissingKids.ca signals an important step forward in the effort to find children who have tragically gone missing,” said the Hon. Rob Nicholson, M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. “Our Government is committed to doing our part and will continue to work with our partners to keep our nation’s children – our most valuable treasures – safe and free from harm.”

Using new technologies, MissingKids.ca uses innovative online search tools that bring a modern approach to the traditional way of searching for lost or missing children. From the online registration process to the use of social media and wireless technologies, the service helps parents understand and leverage these helpful tools to locate their missing children. The Canadian public can also sign up to receive missing child alerts so individuals may become a part of the search for the nation’s missing children.

“We live in a different world today than the one we lived in just five short years ago. New technology and social media tools have not only profoundly changed the way we live and interact with one another, but they have created new opportunities in the search for missing children,” said Lianna McDonald, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. “MissingKids.ca will provide a national voice on missing children issues and a coordinated approach in the search for missing children. It will capitalize on new technology and coordinate prompt, efficient dissemination of public alerts.”

This past March marked the 20^th anniversary of the disappearance of Michael Dunahee, who was four years old when he disappeared from a Victoria, BC sports field on March 24, 1991. His mom Crystal said the MissingKids.ca program will bring new hope to searching families.

“Twenty years is a long time to be searching, but with MissingKids.ca – we have renewed hope of receiving new information to help us find Michael,” said Crystal Dunahee. “Any time families can access new resources to assist them in locating their child gives them reason to be hopeful and optimistic.” Read the rest of this entry »

You can wait for Hollywood to come to you, or you can go to Hollywood and bring some home. In February, executives from the Canadian province of Ontario’s talent-rich tech cities went to the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles promoting pixel-perfect business conditions for expanding entertainment companies. A successful meeting with American United Entertainment LLC’s CEO Robert Rodriguez (Managing Director of American United Media Fund, LLC.) has quickly created a $40 million investment in media, film and television production infrastructure representing three to four upcoming feature films, television and/or digital media projects.

Pleased to discover Ontario’s open-arms approach to the film production and digital media industries, Rodriguez, whose backers include a who’s-who of Hollywood heavy hitters including Bill Mechanic of Pandemonium Films (former Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment), Arnold Rifkin of Cheyenne Enterprises (Producer of “Die Hard”), Toronto-based Kevin Hicks, and Thomas Sherak of Revolution Consulting (currently President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences), who’s in charge of distribution for the company. One of American United Entertainment’s upcoming feature films is “Your Perfect Angel,” directed by comedy director Donald Petrie, who also directed Sandra Bullock in “Miss Congeniality” and Kate Hudson in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”

“Toronto’s an incredible city to do feature films and digital media, and thanks to the Ontario Technology Corridor and their many government and private sector partners, we’ve had our eyes opened to the possibilities for American United Entertainment expansions in gaming, special effects and social media,” says Rodriguez. “The fact that our industry is a provincial priority and there’s a wealth of graduates from colleges and universities as well as veteran production talent and companies makes Ontario a very compelling place to expand our business.”

“We are thrilled to welcome American United Entertainment to Canada’s digital entertainment heartland,” says Gerald Pisarzowski, Vice-President Business Development with the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance (GTMA), an Ontario Technology Corridor partner. Pisarzowski and his Ontario Technology Corridor colleague Blair Patacairk, Senior Director, Investment, for the Ottawa Centre for Regional Innovation, met with Rodriguez last February on a foreign direct investment trade mission that also included meetings at San Francisco’s Game Developer’s Conference 2011. Read the rest of this entry »

IMD, a top-ranked global business school based in Switzerland, today announced the findings of its annual World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY), which places Canada in seventh place, retaining its position from last year. Neighboring USA, along with Hong Kong, were on the top of list as the most competitive countries, both slightly ahead of last year’s winner, Singapore.

Published since 1989, WCY ranks and analyzes how an economy manages the totality of its resources and competencies to increase the prosperity of its population.

IMD’s WCY indicates that Canada’s top key attractiveness indicators include the country’s stable policy, skilled workforce, reliable infrastructure and high educational levels. Canada’s competitive strengths lie in its high level of resilience, efficient financial system and dynamic business culture. The country also ranks first for its ‘Image Abroad.’ In terms of weaknesses, there are concerns about relocation threats and vulnerability to commodity-dependency.

Additional 2011 WCY findings:

• Sweden jumps to fourth place from sixth, highlighting the competitiveness of the Nordic model
• Germany shines and gains six ranks to tenth position thanks to increased exports and a more flexible labor market
• Qatar, Korea and Turkey continue their ascent in competitiveness

IMD also released its first Government Efficiency Gap results, which compares a country’s government and business efficiency to determine whether countries have “the government they deserve.”

According to the findings, there is little gap between government and business efficiency in Canada, showing that the two reinforce one another and are well synchronized. On the contrary, overall competitiveness in the US was ‘rescued’ by its business efficiency. Read the rest of this entry »