Comwave applies to provide TV service in Ontario

A Toronto-based provider of Internet and phone service is looking to enter Ontario's television-distribution market, according documents on the CRTC's website. Comwave Networks Inc. has applied for a broadcast distribution licence in several of the province's markets, including areas in and surrounding Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Kitchener, Windsor and London, the CRTC said on its website Wednesday. It is one of the applications the commission will consider at a hearing in Gatineau, Que., on Oct. 28. The company is known to many for its use of former NHL hockey player Tie Domi in advertisements for its voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) services. It said in a briefing to the CRTC that it intends to launch Comwave TV as an IPTV service that would be distributed via third parties through DSL or cable. It said the service would "offer a full selection of Canadian and other programming services, as provided for by regulation, comparable to the selection of programming services offered by the established cable and satellite companies." Comwave said it would be "of particular value for Comwave customers who currently do not subscribe to a cable or satellite broadcasting distribution service, offering them access to a wide range of Canadian news, information and entertainment programming. "COMWAVE TV will also offer consumers an innovative alternative to existing cable and satellite services, with attractive pricing and packages," the company added. It told the CRTC that approving such a service is "in the public interest" because it would allow for a "high-quality, cost-effective alternative BDU service for consumers in some of Canada’s most competitive markets." It added: "Approval of this Application will result in more competitive prices, wider programming choices and a more robust selection of licensed Canadian BDU services for consumer(s) to choose from at a time when they are faced with an array of choices including unregulated broadcast streaming over the Internet and to mobile devices." The application comes at time when the TV industry is facing profound changes. The CRTC will start hearings on Sept. 8 that will consider a number of revisions to industry regulations, including requiring service providers to provide customers with the option of choosing individual channels — often called pick-and-pay — beyond a basic package of local over-the-air channels, community channels and others deemed to be in the pubic interest. Comwave said in its filing that its basic package would be comparable to what TV service providers currently offer and would including the main conventional U.S. networks. Beyond that, it said customers could buy discretionary channels on a standalone basis, create their own packages or choose "thematic tiers." It also said it would make video-on-demand services available. The Wire Report was unable to reach officials at Comwave to expand on the company's plans for television service. Barry Kiefl, president of Canadian Media Research Inc., said in an email that a service that combines linear channels with video-on-demand at a "favourable price" could have buyers. However, with Comwave targeting those that currently do not subscribe to TV services, Kiefl noted that "the number of homes that have actually pulled the plug on cable is still very small." — With reporting by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Comwave applies to provide TV service in Ontario

News | August 27, 2014

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Comwave applies to provide TV service in Ontario

News | August 27, 2014

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