22 Arts WWW.PGCITIZEN.CA | FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2011 Cord cutting could hit 200,000 homes in Canada in 2012 Michael Oliveira The Canadian Press TORONTO — Somewhere in the ballpark of 100,000 Canadian households are estimated to have cut the cord in the past year, choosing to drop their expensive TV package in favour of free over-the-air signals or the growing collections of streaming content online. A similar number is projected to follow suit in 2012, but those in the TV business aren’t too concerned about those figures. If you ask Canada’s largest broadcasters, they’ll universally tell you the so-called cord cutting phenomenon is far from their biggest worry. They don’t deny that cord cutters exist, and in fact, most say they know at least a few personally. CBC’s vice-president of English services Kirstine Stewart says her own sister no longer has cable. But they just don’t believe we’re on the Entertainment crossword cusp of a shakeup that will forever change how Canadians view TV. “There’s certainly a lot of buzz out there that makes it feel like some sort of tipping point has occurred [but] I think [that’s] probably two to three years out - plus,” said Kris Faibish, executive director of strategy and business development for the CBC’s English services. “But you can see some interesting things beginning to happen.” Lots of Canadians have indeed cut the cord but when you take a look at the overall picture, they still represent just a tiny fraction of TV subscriber numbers, which are still growing, said Brahm Eiley of The Convergence Consulting Group. “Everybody has a cousin or a friend who’s a cord cutter but it’s basically statistically insignificant,” said Eiley. “No one should have a heart attack - but it is definitely there.” In the fall, Eiley estimated that of the 11.7 million TV subscribers in the country less than one per cent were bound to cut the cord by year’s end, while a similar percentage was expected next year. Cord cutting has been going on for years in the U.S., but the trend has been very slow to catch on - even with much better online options to view content, including Hulu, a larger selection on Netflix, and better prices to get or rent TV shows and movies through iTunes. “The fact is it took the U.S. four years to get to two per cent and the pace will be slow here as well,” Eiley said. “In Canada, there really hasn’t been any evidence of cord cutting, this will probably be the first year that it’ll register statistically.” For those who can reliably pick up high-definition signals with an over-the-air antenna, cancelling a TV package may not be that difficult. The big Canadian and American networks can be accessed that way, although sports, specialty and premium channels won’t be picked up. It’s also getting easier and easier to view a wealth of material online, and broadcasters are actually competing to offer up the most web content - although it’s not cord cutters they’re looking to please. Canadians are world leaders when it comes to viewing all sorts of video content online - measurement firm comScore reports the average Canadian Internet user watches about 304 online videos a month -and networks are tapping into the trend. “There might’ve been a point of view a number of years ago that all this viewing on other platforms was a bad thing, that somehow it was signalling the demise of television or something like that, and I don’t think that’s the way it’s viewed anymore,” said Barb Williams, senior vice president of content for Shaw Media. She described the growth of online viewing through GlobalTV.com as “persistent and yet I would still characterize it as slow movement.” Madonna to release album with Live Nation Ryan NAKASHIMA The Associated Press ANSWERS on page ACROSS 1. Film starring Mandy Moore and Shane West 10. Alfred Hitchcock’s wife 11. Film starring Colin Hanks 14. Initials of a Canadian actress of the early days of cinema 15 .___-Pan 16. She played Alex Rousseau on Lost 19. Initials of the actress who appears mostly off-screen on Desperate housewives 20. Her first film role was as Kay Butler in The Laughing Policeman 22. Belles on Their_____ 24. Sean Wei _________ (actor from Alberta) 25. Bill of My Favorite Martian 26. He played Cliff Huxtable’s father on The Cosby Show 27. Initials of the actress who played Weena in The Time Machine 28. San (birthplace of Barry Bostwick) 29. A Bridge Far 30 .____About Eve 31. Initials of an actor known for his role on L.A. Law 32. Royal ________ (medical drama on TV) 33. Initials of the actress who was in Pulp Fiction 35. Hands 37 .____of Consent 38. One of Donald Duck’s nephews 40. Parker who was in Kiss Them For Me 41.Tompkins who was in Murphy’s Law DOWN 1. Film starring Jack Nicholson 2. 2004 film shot primarily at the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario 3. Olson who starred in Watercolors 4. Road to_____ 5. Grant (Canadian animator, filmmaker, and actor) 6. Bob who played The Robot on Lost in Space 7. Initials of an actor who was on Friday Night Lights 8. Guidance counsellor at William McKinley High School 9. Cedar_____ 12. Across-the-street neighbour of Darrin and Samantha Stephens 13. He was the voice of Donald Duck 15. Initials of the actor who played the lead in the detective series Shoestring 17 .____Eyes 18. Final____ 19 .____Birdie 21. Film based on the 1970 short story Button Button (with The) 23. Actress Raven-_____ 25. Half of the name of Barney and Betty Rubble’s son 34. Actor Olsson from Nova Scotia 36. Jason of My Name is Earl 37. 2001 science fiction film, for short 39. Knocked LOS ANGELES — The Material Girl is finally going to make good on her promise to produce new albums under an all-encompassing rights deal worth $120 million that she signed with concert promoter Live Nation more than four years ago. Madonna will release a new album in late March through Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records, the label said Thursday. Live Nation Entertainment Inc. will participate in the profits, if the album does well. It will be her first album in five years and is part of a three-album agreement with Interscope. It will follow the late January release of the single Gimme All Your Luvin’ and her halftime performance at the Super Bowl on Feb. 5. Madonna broke from her longtime music backer, Warner Music Group, and was among the first of a host of megastars that Live Nation signed to huge rights deals that would give the concert promoter a share of revenue from touring, merchandise, fan clubs, sponsorships and even recorded music. MADONNA Her deal covered 10 years. Other pricey deals around that time included artists Jay-Z, Shakira, Nickelback and U2. Live Nation has never had the ability to record, promote and distribute albums, so it has tied up with traditional recording companies to make its so-called 360 deals work. Jay-Z released his first album under his deal, The Blueprint 3, with the help of Warner Music’s Atlantic label in September 2009. Watch the Throne, the rapper’s collaborative album with Kanye West, came out in August with an assist from Universal’s Def Jam. Madonna’s manager, Guy Os-eary, said in a statement that “we couldn’t be happier” with the new arrangement. “We anticipate a very bright future at our new home.” The expensive signings have not quite worked out as expected for Live Nation. It issued $25 million in new stock to pay Madonna in October 2007, but later found itself on the hook to make up the difference in cash when its stock price collapsed. Live Nation shares closed at $8.23 on Thursday, down from $21.45 the day it closed the deal with Madonna. It also took a $13.4 million writedown on the deals in the first quarter of 2010 as it revised downward their expected value. The company, which merged with Ticketmaster in early 2010, has generated some sales from the deals, however. Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet tour, which began in August 2008, went on to gross more than $400 million, giving her the crown for the most successful tour ever by a solo artist. Katy Perry tops Adele to earn distinction as MTV's 1st artist of the year David BAUDER The Associated Press NEW YORK — Katy Perry’s run of No. 1 singles has earned her the distinction of becoming MTV’s first artist of the year. Perry topped Adele after a spirited discussion among MTV’s internal panel of experts, the network said Thursday. Adele’s Rolling in the Deep was chosen top song of 2011, said Amy Doyle, the network’s chief of music programming. MTV also declared Skrillex its electronic dance music artist of the year over David Guetta. Different parts of MTV would make best of lists in the past, but the network wanted to establish a franchise that brought all its online and TV arms together and emphasized MTV’s music roots, Doyle said. The network, established in 1981, hopes it becomes an annual thing. Seven panelists made the final choice, and their deliberations were featured in MTV programming this week. Rolling in the Deep was an obvious selection as top song, Doyle said. Runners-up were Nicki Minaj’s Super Bass and Rihanna’s We Found Love. “I loved the song the moment I wrote it,” Adele said. “The melody and the beat added some conviction to it. I think that’s why people connected with it.” Perry’s achievement of tying Michael Jackson’s Bad as the only albums to yield five No. 1 singles was particularly impressive, Doyle said. Along with the title cut, California Gurls, E.T., Firework and Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) all topped the charts. She’s trying to beat the record with the current single The One That Got Away. “You just really felt her presence in pop culture throughout the year,” Doyle said. Skrillex, whose real name is Sonny Moore, describes his music as a combination of “dubstep, electro and glitch.” MTV included the category of best electronic dance music artist to pay tribute to the way the style is taking off with its young viewers, she said. MTV also asked its viewers to vote on their choice of the best live performances shown on MTV all year. Their choice was Hurricane by Thirty Seconds to Mars.