Amazon adds download option for Prime customers

Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime Video members in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Austria will now be able to download movies and TV shows for easy offline viewing at no additional cost, the company said in a press release Tuesday.

Amazon said that its over-the-top subscription streaming service will be the first ever to offer the option to download videos for both Apple Inc.’s iOS and Google Inc.’s Android platforms.

Netflix cuts ties with major movie group, focuses on exclusive content

Netflix Inc. will not renew its licencing agreement with Epix — a joint venture by Paramount Pictures Corp., Lions Gate Entertainment Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. — because it wants to focus on exclusive content, chief content officer Ted Sarandos said in a blog post Sunday.

He said that means some high profile movies, such as Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Transformers: Age of Extinction, will not be available on Netflix’ U.S. service after September.

CMF provided $365.5B in funding last year

The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) said Monday that it provided $365.5 billion in funding for television and digital-media productions last year.

That's up from $354.5 billion that it reported spending in the previous year's annual report.

The CMF said in a press release Monday that money spent in the 2014-15 fiscal year, which ended in March, triggered $1.3 billion in activity in the Canadian video-production industry, up 11.3 per cent from the year before.

Bell announces Amazing Race exclusive for Fibe customers

BCE Inc. said Monday that Fibe TV customers will have exclusive access to a spinoff series of The Amazing Race Canada.

It said in a press release that The Amazing Race Canada Auditions will be available, starting Sept. 2, on-demand on Channel 1 for Fibe TV customers, on what's known as TV1, formerly Bell Local. The show will be found in the community folders for Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City, as well as a to-be-launched community folder for Ottawa later on, Bell said. The content will also be available on the Fibe TV app, the company said.

Blue Ant seeks CanCon quota reduction

Blue Ant Media Inc. has asked the CRTC to require less Canadian content on its Cottage Life specialty channel for the remainder of its contract that expires in three years.

Blue Ant said in its application, which appeared on the CRTC's website Monday, that its licence mandates Cottage Life to have at least 80 per cent Canadian content during a broadcast day, and at least 50 per cent in the evening. It asked that the daily requirement be reduced to 50 per cent, with no change asked for in the evening quota.

CBS, Cablevision carriage agreement features streaming

CBS Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp. announced on Tuesday that CBS All Access and Showtime streaming services will be delivered to Cablevision’s Optimum Online customers as part of a multi-platform carriage agreement.

Quebecor shuts down Zik music service

Quebecor Inc. on Friday announced it has shut down its Zik music-streaming service, citing a pattern of consolidation in global industry for online music.

"Despite the efforts of many independent sites around the world, many have gone out of business or were bought by very large global companies," Quebecor said in a press release issued in French.

CBC sued for using U.S. YouTube video of storm: report

CBC/Radio-Canada is being sued by a resident of Buffalo, N.Y., for allegedly using a video he posted on YouTube without his permission, according to a report from the Canadian Press.

An article appearing online Thursday said the suit from Alfonzo Cutaia accused CBC of obtaining the video from Time Warner Inc.'s CNN, which is also named in the suit, and putting it on CBC's website with a CBC logo. Cutaia said CBC also uploaded the video to Yahoo Inc.'s Screen website, according to the report.

Vertical integration helps Canadian TV sector transition: analyst

The tendency of major players in Canada's television industry to be involved in both content and distribution is helping the sector deal better with issues such as cord cutting and a declining advertising market, according to an investment analyst.

Jeff Fan, a telecom analyst with Scotia Capital, in a research note issued this week contrasted the Canadian industry with the situation in the United States, where just one major TV-service provider, Comcast Corp., also owns TV stations.

Canadian OTT startup looks to take on the world

An emerging Canadian provider of over-the-top (OTT) video content hopes that reaching viewers around the world, and particularly those with very specific interests, translates into keys to success in the fast-changing television market.

Apple television service delayed: report

Apple Inc.'s plans to offer live Internet-based television to residents of the United States have been delayed, said a report from Bloomberg on Friday.

An article said sources have indicated talks are progressing slowly between Apple and broadcasters such as CBC Corp. and 21st Century Fox Inc. Price was reported to be a stumbling block as Apple seeks to provide a service for $40 US a month, about half the average cable bill in the United States. 

Sesame Street signs 5-year partnership with HBO

Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization, announced Thursday that its famous children's series Sesame Street will air its next five seasons on Time Warner Cable Inc.’s HBO.

The company said in a press release that it will be producing twice as much more content for the show than it has done for previous seasons and noted that during its five-year term with Time Warner, it will air on HBO GO, HBO On Demand and HBO Now, the company’s new Internet-only streaming service.

Videotron 4K box seen as cord-cutting prevention

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron announced Tuesday it will be releasing an ultra-high-definition (UHD) set-top-box for its customers, making it the first Canadian telecom provider to commercially release such technology.

Videotron said in a press release that the set-top-box processing speed will be 12 times faster than what is currently available in the market, allowing customers to navigate through content choices four times faster, record eight shows simultaneously, and store about 320 hours of standard HD content or 115 hours of UHD content.

Canadian company plans niche OTT channels

Toronto-based TableRock Media announced on Tuesday plans to launch niche Internet-based video channels for worldwide distribution, starting next year.

The company said in a press release that it would create channels dedicated to topics including guitars, aviation and motorcycles, which it described as "billion-dollar industries that attract a large consumer base within their categories."

It said it would offer a mix of original and acquired programming on these channels, including documentaries, films and hosted series.

Netflix customers should voluntarily pay sales tax: report

Canadian customers of Netflix Inc. are theoretically obliged to pay sales taxes on this service, even though Netflix does not collect the tax up front, the Toronto Star quoted a federal official as saying.

"In such cases, Canadian consumers are required to self-assess the amount of tax they owe to the Canada Revenue Agency,” a Finance Canada spokesperson, who did not want to be named, is quoted as saying in an article posted online Monday.

Bell mobile-TV opponents call it OTT service