Netflix Inc. has hired Environics Communications Inc. to lobby the Canadian government on its behalf, The Lobby Monitor reported this week. It has three new filings under Environics, represented by three different Ottawa-based consultants: Louis-Charles Roy, Alex Bushell and Greg MacEachern. All three filings are registered to address the topics of broadcasting and telecommunications, and Roy also has the topic of consumer issues in his registration. Netflix's new filings with Environics state that there "are no proposals for legislative change at this time.” Netflix has...
Telus Corp.’s Optik TV customers will now have access more than 1,000 National Film Board of Canada (NFB) films on their TV via a new app. Telus announced Thursday in a press release that the NFB app is now available to Optik TV subscribers in Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec. “Bringing homegrown content to Canadians through the NFB film app on Optik TV demonstrates Telus’ ongoing commitment to improving our customers’ entertainment experience while supporting Canadian Content creators,” Blair Miller, vice-president of content at Telus, said in the release....
Shifts in TV consumption reveal most Canadians aren't concerned about seasonality of popular TV shows, according to a new study conducted by Videology Inc. Videology said Thursday in a press release that 39 per cent of...
The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) said Tuesday it will be going across the country for a consultation process this fall. It said in a press release that the consultation process will include several components, including focus groups...
Netflix Inc.'s audience is already on par with two out of the three major U.S. television networks and will be bigger than all three in about a year, U.S. investment analysts said last week. Chase White and Barton Crockett of FBR Capital Markets & Co. said in a note issued June 24 that Nielson Co. does not issue...
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. ranks first among fitness-band makers for customer-satisfaction among U.S. residents, while Fitbit Inc. is second, according to a survey by J.D. Power and Associates. It said in a press release...
Cisco Systems Inc. announced Tuesday it is planning to acquire OpenDNS, a security systems company with offices in San Francisco and Vancouver. Cisco said in a press release that it will buy the company for $635 million US and use the aquisition to provide security for the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), which in Canada is expected to have an annual growth of 18 per cent and generate $6.5 billion revenue in 2018, with The Wire Report recently reporting on the growth and expansion of the IoT space. It said in the release that OpenDNS’ security will be on a...
The CRTC is asking for applications for radio stations in the Vancouver area, which it said in its “preliminary view” would “best be served by proposals targeting the ethnic...
Corus Entertainment Inc. announced Monday the launch of TreehouseGO, its first kids' app in a "full suite" of TV Everywhere apps based on its kids' television brands. The company said in a press release that the launch of the apps is part of a move to expand Corus’ digital content. The release said the app is safe and easy to...
Hexoskin, a Montreal-based maker of shirts that capture biometric information about people, said this week that its products were to become available on the Canadian website of Best Buy Co. Inc. as of Friday. The company said in...
The CRTC on Friday granted approval for seven non-Canadian television channels to be distributed in Canada, six of which were sponsored by BCE Inc. The stations approved, which Bell Canada sponsored, included: Radio...
The City of Montreal has started deploying free WiFi in parts of Montreal, according to a notice on its website. It said the service launched in Old Montreal and some surrounding areas on Thursday after getting funding from the...
New data from Media Technology Monitor (MTM) indicates growth in connections between television sets and the Internet. MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in a report released Thursday that 42 per cent of anglophone...
A new study from Digitalsmiths, a subsidiary of TiVo Inc., shows almost 60 per cent of TV-service customers in Canada and the U.S. are spending more than $100 US a month for their subscriptions, and about one in four are...
The CRTC said it was yanking the broadcast licences of five aboriginal radio stations, all operated by a company called Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc., for years of non-compliance with licence conditions and radio regulations. The...
Shaw Communications Inc. on Thursday reported a decline in its quarterly income with much of the drop attributed to a $55-million write-down taken on an abandoned IPTV project. Shaw said in a press release that it started work in 2013 on an "end-to-end IPTV solution," and then "paused" late last year to review the platform under development and assess other options. Ultimately, it decided to discard the work that had been done. The net effect of the writeoff amounted to $41 million after tax, Shaw said. Last year, Cogeco Cable Inc. announced a $32.2-million write-down on...
Pelmorex Media Inc. announced Thursday the launch of a new Weather Network app for Apple Inc.’s Apple Watch. “The Apple Watch is one of the must-have tech accessories this year and as Canada’s leading weather...
OTTAWA — Those in the wearables industry envision the day when their products are taking less direction from humans and doing more thinking for themselves — in other words, incorporating more artificial intelligence...
The proportion of Canadians connected to the Internet by fibre is rising and these people are more satisfied with their Internet service than others, according to market research data released...
BCE Inc.'s Bell Media division said Wednesday that the June 14 season finale of Game of Thrones on HBO Canada broke a record for the most-viewed pay- or specialty-TV broadcast of all time in this country. It said there were...
Google Inc. announced in a blog post Tuesday it will be adding to its current Google Play Music offering a free, ad-supported music streaming service. It will give users “a new way to find just the right music and ... artists another way to earn revenue,” said the post. The free, ad-supported version will initially launch in the U.S. and was to be available on the Internet Tuesday, and later this week on Google’s own Android operating system and Apple Inc.’s iOS, Google said. No information was provided on when or if it would be available in Canada. Google Play Music...
A mobile payment application owned and supported by Canada's three biggest wireless providers was announced Tuesday for Android and BlackBerry phones, while iPhone users are left waiting for Apple...
Verizon Communications Inc. announced Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of AOL Inc. The press release stated that “AOL is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon." Verizon had announced in May that AOL...
DHX Media Inc. announced Monday the company was approved to list and start trading on the Nasdaq on Tuesday. “Listing on the Nasdaq represents a significant milestone in the continuing evolution of DHX Media,” CEO...
The CRTC on Monday said commercial-radio revenue in Canada was down 0.5 per cent for the 12 months ended last August, describing the trend as “stable from the previous year in spite of competition from satellite, online and...
The Federal Court has ordered wireless carriers to provide information being asked for by the Competition Bureau as it looks into whether Apple Inc. engaged in anticompetitive practices related to sales of its iPhone. BCE Inc.,...
Industry Minister James Moore said Friday that he will not run in this fall's federal election. Moore said in a statement posted to his personal website that he will finish his term as MP before "going home to British...
As wearable technology moves further into the mainstream, thoughts are turning toward how individual privacy can be protected with such devices that track and transmit information as personal as health data and real-time location....
U.S. technology giant Intel Corp. has purchased Vancouver-based wearables maker Recon Instruments, the company said in a blog post Wednesday. Recon makes smart eyewear for sporting activities such as cycling and running. Recon...
The soured relations between CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais and Commissioner Raj Shoan extend beyond Shoan's court fight against worker-harassment findings and into arguments over travel expenses, according to a report. The Canadian Press reported that the email exchanges between the two, based on documents uncovered from an access-to-information request, show Blais has taken Shoan to task over proposed travel expenses for the 2015-16 fiscal year. The emails show that Shoan initially proposed a travel budget of $78,000 to visit cities such as Las Vegas, Amsterdam, New York City and...
OTTAWA — Amid grilling before the House of Commons heritage committee on Wednesday, Keith Pelley, president of Rogers Communications Inc.’s media division, repeatedly stated that despite recent cuts to news...
Shareholders of broadcasting-technology maker International Datacasting Corp. have rejected the proposed sale of its key assets to a San Diego-based company. International Datacasting,...
Music-streaming revenue reported by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) increased from $3.4 million in 2013 to $21.3 million in 2014, the organization said in a press release Tuesday. Its...
BCE Inc.’s CTV News announced Tuesday it has partnered with Facebook Inc. for coverage of this year's federal election campaign. CTV said in a press release the partnership starts immediately and continues until the...
Canadian TV providers are worried the wording the CRTC proposed to prohibit policies requiring 30-day notice to cancel TV services could be interpreted to apply to the cancellation of individual channels. Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc., TekSavvy Solutions Inc. and Eastlink all expressed the same concern in interventions posted to the CRTC website Friday and Monday, and asked the CRTC to clarify its wording. The CRTC said in November that it would forbid telecommunications companies from requiring subscribers to give a 30-day notice to cancel their TV, Internet and phone...
The number of cellular Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) connections globally will nearly quadruple between 2014 and 2019, technology research group 451 Research LLC said Monday....
Canadian-based activist group OpenMedia is trying to drum up support against measures in Europe that would introduce fees for search engines and aggregation websites that use text excerpts to promote links to news articles. OpenMedia said in a news release that the European Union is considering a policy for the harmonization of copyright laws across...
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner said in a report Monday that some targeted ads are tracking online behaviour related to “sensitive topics,” such as divorce and pregnancy, without...
The British Columbia Court of Appeal this week upheld an injunction against a certain company turning up in Google searches because the company is alleged to be infringing on the rights of another...
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) told the CRTC that evidence presented by other parties supports its case that Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.'s Shomi has not been distributed in line with...
The television channel of AOL Inc.'s Huffington Post, called HuffPost Live, has been approved for distribution in Canada, the CRTC said Friday. A notice on the commission's website, said an application put forward by the...
BlackBerry Ltd. declined Friday to comment on a report that it was considering using Google Inc.'s Android software in an upcoming smartphone. Reuters reported Thursday that four sources with knowledge of the matter said...
The federal government and the CRTC have been unsuccessful in their attempt to have documents in the Federal Court case CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan has brought against the CRTC shielded from public view, for the time being. It...
In supplementary comments on a House of Commons heritage committee report on the feature film industry, the federal NDP and Liberal parties said government should have access to information about revenues and viewership of over-the-top (OTT) services. The NDP said public policy needs to be based on “facts, data and statistics,” and that it supports the recommendation made during the hearing that “it is vital for over-the-top services to be able to do what traditional platforms and media do, namely, provide government authorities with detailed information about their...
DHX Media Inc. announced Thursday it has licensed the new Teletubbies series exclusively to Viacom Inc’s Nickelodeon division in the U.S. The press release said the popular children’s...
A union representing media workers is asking the CRTC to hold a public hearing within the next month on cuts to Rogers Communications Inc.’s OMNI stations, and to reinstate eliminated ethnic newscasts. Unifor filed a Part 1...
Shopify Inc. said Wednesday it is working with Facebook Inc. to allow Shopify's own clients to sell and advertise products using Facebook’s “Buy” button. Shopify said in a blog post: “For the last year, we've been working closely with the team at Facebook to create a solution for Shopify...
Peter Steinmetz is the new chairman of Re:Sound Music Licensing Co.’s board of directors, the organization said Wednesday. The organization, which is the copyright collective representing musical artists and labels in...
Telus Corp. said Tuesday it will close all Blacks retail outlets by Aug. 8. The company said in an emailed statement that despite changes implemented over the last year at these photography-centric stores, it has been "unable to realize profitable growth and it would take considerable investment to adapt Blacks to ongoing change." Telus said: "Technological innovations have changed the way Canadians take and share photographs, with fewer of us using retail photo outlets." The company said 59 stores will be closed, most of them in Ontario. It added that 485 employees are affected by the closure, though they will be offered other positions within the company, including at Telus or Koodo retail outlets. Blacks has operated for 80 years, according to its website. It was purchased by Telus in 2009 for $28 million shortly...
The CRTC on Tuesday said it had approved some of BCE Inc.'s proposals for how to manage tangible-benefits payments relating to its acquisition of Astral Media in 2013, though one specific proposal...
Blue Ant Media Inc. announced Tuesday sales of more than 100 hours of nature and wildlife content from its factual, lifestyle, reality and documentary series catalogue for distribution in Eastern Europe and other international...
Com Dev International Ltd. on Tuesday announced a multimillion-dollar deal to develop satellite equipment. It said in a press release that it will develop multiplexers and switches that will be built over the next year in...
Over-the-top (OTT) messaging services are expected to see traffic levels triple globally by 2019 compared to last year's levels, but a lack of success in monetizing the product will lead to a decline in global revenue for the...
DHX Media Ltd., announced Tuesday that it will be premiering Degrassi: Next Class, a new series part of the Degrassi franchise, on Netflix Inc. The company stated in a press release that the show will be available on Netflix...
Apple Inc. announced Monday its new music streaming subscription service, called Apple Music. The company said in a press release that the service will be available via an app to subscribers in more than 100 countries starting...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Aliant announced Monday that its new data centre in Saint John, N.B. is now fully functional and open for business. The new $25 million data centre met the Tier III certification from the Uptime Institute,...
CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais touted the merits of "click to retail" as the next big thing for the future of media during a speech Sunday at the Banff World Media Festival. According to speaking notes released by the CRTC, Blais said: “Now imagine creating a sit-com set in a clothing shop. Now...
The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) announced Monday the results of its board of directors election. The release stated that Jamie Brown of Frantic Films was re-elected as chairman of the board. It named the following members that will make up the new board: From British Columbia, Brian Hamilton of Omnifilm Entertainment Ltd., Alexandra Raffé of Thunderbird Films Inc. and Cal Shumiatcher of Paperny Entertainment Inc. From Alberta, Tom Cox of Seven24 Films and Joe Novak of 1400 Months From Saskatchewan, Bob Crow of Angel Entertainment Corp. From...
Netflix Inc. announced it will be expanding its video-streaming services to Italy, Spain and Portugal. The company announced in two separate press releases on Thursday and Saturday last week that it would be available in the...
Ottawa-based e-commerce company Shopify on Tuesday said it has teamed with social networking website Pinterest to provide businesses a new way to sell things directly to online audiences. Shopify...
In recent years, it has almost become conventional wisdom in the industry that sports content is a good way for broadcasters to buffer themselves from trends toward cord-cutting and online video, and...
CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said Thursday that rules regarding Canadian content for radio stations might change to help stations compete in the digital age. According to speaking notes for a presentation to the Western...
CBS Corp. said Wednesday that it will offer Showtime as an over-the-top (OTT) streaming service to customers of Apple Inc. in the United States, starting next month. The launch will coincide with the premiere of two new seasons of Showtime’s hit shows Ray Donovan and Masters of Sex on July 12, CBS said in a press release. CBS said the new service will be available on the Showtime app for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches, as well as for Apple TV customers, for $10.99 US per month. Showtime spokesman Frank Marchesini said in a phone interview that more partners are being sought, and that...
The CRTC said Thursday it will hold a public consultation to review the structure and mandate of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS). The consultation will include a public hearing, which will...
Some companies have disputed the notion put forward by Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. that their video-streaming service Shomi has been made available to other service providers. In filings to the CRTC...
TORONTO — There has never have been a better time than now to be a consumer of television, it was said during a panel discussion Wednesday at the Canadian Telecom Summit, but it was also discussed how big changes are afoot,...
BlackBerry Ltd. announced in a press release Wednesday that it will demonstrate its new automotive software, which allows for wireless updates, at this year's TU-Automotive Detroit auto show. The new software will help automakers reduce maintenance costs and expensive recalls, improve customer satisfaction, and keep...
Industry Canada announced Wednesday the new appointment of Robert Blair as the new chairman of the Copyright Board of Canada. Blair was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario in November 2003 and served for 12 years as a...
The new Mobility Report published Wednesday by Ericsson predicted that Canadian smartphone data usage will grow five times between 2014 and 2020, the company said in a press release. Ericsson...
Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. both used Numeris data Tuesday to proclaim their sports channel is No. 1 in the market, a virtual tie that Rogers said was enabled by its hockey content....
DHX Media Ltd. announced Tuesday that its full-service international licensing agency, Copyright Promotions Licensing Group (CPLG), will expand business offices to the Middle East, Turkey and Greece. The company said in a press...
The number of third-party applications for smart wearable devices is expected to surge from 2,500 last year to 349,000 by 2019, International Data Corp. said Tuesday. The research company said in a news release that most of these apps will be consumer oriented, though there is an opportunity for apps in the enterprise space. It said apps targeted specifically for enterprise-related tasks currently make up about 10 per cent of what’s available for smart wearables, and that is anticipated to grow to 17 per cent over the next four years. IDC said Apple Inc.’s Apple Watch will...
The Federal Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed the Canadian Media Production Association’s attempt to appeal the CRTC’s decision to eliminate terms of trade agreements, in what a former...
Google Inc. announced Monday changes to its privacy and security settings. It said in a blog post the changes will include an easier way of managing user privacy controls, as well as the creation of a new website that answers questions about privacy and security settings. In the past, account holders had to sift through several of the search...
BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday in a press release it reached a settlement agreement in its disputes with Ryan Seacrest's Typo Products LLC. The release said that Typo will permanently discontinue the sale of its...
In North America, Netflix Inc. now accounts for 36.5 per cent of peak period, downloaded network traffic, a new report from network management provider Sandvine Inc. said, up from 34.9 per cent...
As demand to be connected to the Internet on non-smartphone mobile devices increases, so do the sales of such products, according to Gartner Inc. The company said in a press release Friday that more than 112 million cellular-embedded mobile PCs, tablets and mobile hotspot devices will be sold worldwide in 2015, up 5.6 per cent from last year. “Mobile access is not just about smartphones,” Tracy Tsai, Gartner research director, said in the release. “Consumers and business users alike want to connect multiple mobile devices to the Internet at an affordable cost or at an...
The CRTC said Thursday that it will review the application process and methods for determining tariff rates for large cable and telephone providers selling wholesale high-speed Internet access. The CRTC said it will review the...
An undue preference complaint against Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.’s streaming service will proceed despite the companies’ plans to widen its availability. On Wednesday, Rogers and Shaw...
International Data Corp. said Thursday that worldwide shipments of tablets and 2-in-1 devices will decline in 2015. It said in a press release that there will be an annual decline of 3.8 per cent from last year for 221.8 million...
Optimal Payments PLC, an Isle of Man-based company that provides transactional technology, said Thursday it has bought Montreal-based Fans Entertainment Inc., which created a consumer mobile app for fans attending Montreal...
DHX Media Ltd. announced Thursday that it has signed a deal with Hulu to premiere Dr. Dimensionpants to its U.S. subscribers. Josh Scherba, senior vice-president of distribution at DHX, said in the press release that he is happy...
The president of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s Canadian unit is calling for policy-makers, businesses and academics in Canada to come together and help prepare the country for the coming of 5G networking technology. At a...
At some point this summer, Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.’s Shomi streaming service will be made available to customers of other TV and Internet service providers...
Canada’s data usage over Internet protocol networks will triple by 2019 in comparison to what it was last year, according to Cisco Systems Inc.’s latest Visual Networking Index report that was released Wednesday....
A number of Canadian broadcast distributors have taken issue with aspects of the CRTC’s proposed code governing the relationship between TV providers and their customers, including the requirement that distributors must notify customers when a channel changes its terms of service. In interventions that had to be filed by Monday, Telus Corp. called that notification proposal a “bizarre requirement,” adding that there is “no reciprocal requirement for channels to alert TVSPs [television service providers] of any programming changes.” “A TVSP has no control...
Anglophone Canadians who use social networks spend an average of about three hours more each week online than Internet users in general, according to a report released Wednesday. Media Technology Monitor (MTM), a project of...
Stingray Digital Group Inc. announced Tuesday that its initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange will include 22.4 million voting shares for total proceeds of $140 million. Based on these prices, market capitalization...
The CRTC is asking that certain information requested by commissioner Raj Shoan in a Federal Court case he has brought against the government not be released. A letter notes that Shoan, who was accused of workplace harassment...
Charter Communications Inc. announced Tuesday it is acquiring Time Warner Cable Inc. for $78.7 billion US, including the assumption of debt. At the same time, Charter Communications said in a press release that it is buying a...
BCE Inc. on Tuesday announced the release of a new Fibe TV app, which it said will allow customers to access this TV service anywhere, at any time, on any screen. The new app gives Fibe TV subscribers access to over 7,000 hours of on-demand programming and can be downloaded for free for Apple Inc.'s iOS devices or those running on Google Inc.'s Android operating system, said a press release from Bell. Users can use the app to watch Fibe content on their mobile devices or use the app as a remote control for watching it on a television, the company said. "The Fibe TV app truly changes the game in television by bringing the full power of the Fibe experience to your mobile devices," Rizwan Jamal, president of Bell residential services, said in the release. "With more channels than any other app and a feature-rich,...
MONTREAL — Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron has launched a new app for Apple Inc.’s smartwatch that the company hopes will increase discoverability of channels available though its cable packages and appeal to early...
Quebec and Ontario are making the case to federal political parties for more financial support for CBC/Radio-Canada. The offices of Jean-Marc Fournier, Quebec’s minister of Canadian intergovernmental affairs, and Madeleine...
Facebook Inc. said Monday that its users in Canada will receive Amber Alert notifications to help find missing children. Amber Alert notifications will be sent to residents living in the area where the child is missing, Facebook...
OTTAWA — Streaming video services like CraveTV and Shomi can and must be regulated as broadcasting entities in order to ensure funding for Canadian programming, the Canadian Media Production...
CRTC vice-chairman of broadcasting Tom Pentefountas told those at the Future TV Advertising Forum in Toronto Thursday that the industry is entering "an exciting new era in broadcasting" that will allow many industry participants, including advertisers, to "excel in a fast-evolving environment."...
Ontario public broadcaster TVO said Friday it is terminating an agreement with White Pine Pictures Inc. for a documentary on Premier Kathleen Wynne and seeking to refund $114,075 that it says was paid to the company. TVO said in...
Copyright-enforcement company CEG TEK International said recently that it’s seen a significant fall in the piracy of its clients’ content in Canada over the past few months, which it attributes to the inclusion of...
Corus Entertainment Inc. said Wednesday it has reached a deal with BCE Inc. to receive CTV programming for three TV stations in Ontario. It said in a press release CKWS-TV in Kingston, CHEX-TV in Peterborough and Channel 12 in...
Kevin Crull, former president of BCE Inc.'s Bell Media unit, will join Sprint Corp. as chief marketing officer at the end of this month, Sprint said Wednesday. The company said in a press release that Crull will report to Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure and his responsibilities will include customer acquisition and retention, and digital and social efforts. “Kevin did an amazing job at Bell Media and I expect him to do even better at Sprint,” Claure said in the release. Sprint noted accomplishments such as Bell's acquisition's of CTVGlobemedia and Astral Media, and the launch of its CraveTV streaming service. Crull left Bell Media's last month in the wake of a controversy over his reported interference in CTV's news coverage of the CRTC. With Sprint, Crull joins the third-largest wireless service provider in the...
