The confirmation that Teletoon and Turner Broadcasting will be launching a new Canadian version of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim before the end of 2012 may seem to be too little too late for those who had desired the channel in its prime years, but tell that to the countless internet denizens ruminating about its launch. Even websites that have been on unexplained, extended hiatuses for months are getting in on the action.
Posted in Animation, Anime, Television
Tagged Adult Swim, Adventure Time, Cartoon Network, Evangelion, FLCL, Teletoon
There is certainly a lot less confusion going around these days over the upcoming transition to digital television on August 31 than there was a few years ago. Unfortunately, a good portion of the public, namely those who have become perfectly content with their expensive cable and satellite packages, seem to be completely unaware of why this is so important. Anyone who thinks that picking up television signals for free with an antenna is a lowly, vestigial practice from the Cold War could certainly learn a lot from the growing number of Canadians embracing it, as well as the countries using it for innovation in mobile phone technology.
Posted in Policy, Social, Telecommunications, Television
Tagged mobile phones, over-the-air
Speculation has run rampant that Stephen Harper’s majority Tory government would spell certain doom for Canada’s public broadcaster. In light of this fear, former (and presumably current) Heritage Minister James Moore has stepped in to assure Canadians that funding for the CBC will not be decreased.
Marvel’s Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, a series that has already achieved infamy for its unabashedly whitewashed representation of history, saw its first DVD release this week. Astute observers may notice that the Canadian release of the first thirteen episodes bears a rather noticeable omission in its cover art, which can be seen below.
Posted in Animation, Home Video, Television
Tagged Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, The Spectacular Spider-Man
The credibility of television news is about to take a huge nosedive in the next of what seems like a series of astounding blunders from the CRTC. The Commission will soon allow Canadian news media to intentionally broadcast what is currently considered false or misleading information. And the deadline to oppose is this Wednesday. (UPDATE: Deadline for one of the submissions has been extended. More after the jump.)
Posted in News, Policy, Social, Television
Tagged CBC, CRTC, CTV, Global, Sun News, the world is ending
Word is finally spreading that the usage-based billing being implemented by Canadian internet providers this month is a really, really, really bad thing. In response, a Toronto rally is being organized for Friday 4 February 2011 followed by a Saturday rally outside Parliament Hill to communicate the dissatisfaction of pretty much all Canadian society. (Information is available after the jump for those who don’t use Facebook.) While it is likely to be an impressive demonstration, we must remember that all of this public demand may yield nothing more than a slightly less outrageous, but all-too-similar, compromise.
Posted in Animation, Film, Music, Net Neutrality, News, Policy, Social, Streaming, Telecommunications, Television, Video Games
The legislative committee for Bill C-32, the not-quite-tyrannical-but-still-potentially-disastrous copyright bill, is giving Canadians until the last day of January to voice their opinions on the matter. And so they should, as despite numerous improvements over its predecessors, the new bill still carries the same fundamental problems as always. More importantly, it doesn’t leave any way for these issues to be re-evaluated, which even American copyright law has allowed.
Crossposted from OpenMedia.ca:
While there has been considerable apprehension over Shaw’s demand for online streaming services to be regulated by the CRTC, Netflix is already two steps ahead in maintaining their competitive edge. The service has been accused of having an unfair advantage over conventional broadcasters thanks to the CRTC’s long-standing policy of not regulating Internet content. Rather than fight these accusations, Netflix has simply opted to do something that our conventional broadcasters would likely never do in an unregulated environment: willingly add a significant amount of Canadian content to their line-up.
The long awaited premiere of the latest animated series based on the DC Comics universe, Young Justice, has been met with abnormally high approval after the early debut of the series’ one hour pilot. The show has not only been praised for its exceptionally high animation quality and accessibility for non-super hero fans, but has also delivered extraordinary ratings for Cartoon Network in the United States.
UPDATE: Further research has indicated that I have made a critical error. CTV is not directly involved with Lake Shore, they were merely involved with interviewing the producers. A broadcaster has yet to step forward and provide full funding for the series, and as such the following rant is based largely around a hypothetical bogeyman.
Here is a wake-up call for those short-sighted enough to think that Sun TV News symbolized the modern devastation of Canadian television. A recently released “sizzle reel” has revealed that CTV’s long-rumoured knock-off of MTV’s obscenely over-exposed reality series, Jersey Shore, is not a joke.
