The CRTC is consulting on a request to delete the conditions of distribution it imposed on Al Jazeera Arabic in 2004. The commission said in a notice Thursday that it had received a request from the Qatari-government owned Al Jazeera Media Network to delete the conditions, which stipulate broadcast distributors must monitor the network and censor comments deemed offensive. The network said in its request that no Canadian distributor had agreed to accept those conditions, due to the responsibility and added cost of monitoring the channel’s programming, and added that the channel is...
The CRTC has approved an application to change the frequency of ethnic radio station CJVF-FM Scarborough from 105.9 MHz, with an average effective radiated power of 45 watts, to 102.7 MHz, at 6.5 watts. The commission said in a decision Thursday that 105.9 FM Ltd. requested the change after another Toronto-area radio station, CFMS-FM Markham, was launched at the 105.9 MHz frequency. Under Department of Industry rules, low-power stations, which are not protected, have to cease operating when a station that does have protected status starts operating on the same frequency. “Further, the...
BCE Inc.’s media subsidiary reached a 12-year regional broadcast rights deal with the Ottawa Senators, the company said in a release Wednesday. Under the deal, Bell’s TSN and RDS channels will be the hockey...
Three million Canadian households have access to Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top streaming service, according to consulting firm Solutions Research Group. In a release Thursday, SRG said that number includes paid subscribers,...
Canadians who took part in a CRTC consultation “want more” from their television services, including more diverse and higher-quality programming, as well as more choice to subscribe to the individual channels they...
The value of Canadian independent television production dropped 9.8 per cent between April 2012 and March 2013, to a total of $2.67 billion, the Canadian Media Production Association said. Quoting...
The CRTC will hold a hearing on April 8 in Gatineau, Que., to consider the licence renewals of 10 TV conventional stations and seven specialty channels owned by Rogers Communications Inc., the commission said Wednesday. In a notice Wednesday, the CRTC said it would consider “the group-based approach to the licensing of the City television stations and specialty Category A services; programming changes relating to the OMNI multilingual ethnic television stations; an evaluation of Rogers’ compliance with the nature of service definitions for the specialty Category A...
If one academic had his way, you would have no problem watching the latest wacky and titillating commercials from the United States during the Super Bowl this Sunday. Not that this is the main reason...
Telelatino Network Inc., a private corporation owned by Corus Entertainment Inc., is rebranding its specialty channel TLN en Español as Univision Canada, the company said in a release Tuesday. Corus said it had reached a...
Less than 60 per cent of Telus Corp.’s Optik TV customers subscribe to a sports specialty channel, the company’s chief financial officer said. “If I ask people in the hall,...
In a report released Thursday, Media Technology Monitor said that 16 per cent of anglophones with a TV subscription indicate they are somewhat or very likely to cut the cord, compared to eight per...
The CRTC has approved an ownership transfer of two Ottawa radio stations from BCE Inc. to Corus Entertainment Inc., the commission said in a decision Friday. The stations involved are CKQB-FM, known...
The CRTC has approved the addition of Lifestyle Network, Cinema One Global and TV Record to the list of non-Canadian programming channels authorized for distribution, it said in a notice Friday....
Netflix Inc. reported on Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profit had grown about sixfold from a year earlier. The over-the-top television service provider said its net earnings for the three months ended Dec. 31 were $48.4 million US, up from $7.9 million US in the same quarter of 2012. Revenue...
Scott Moore has been appointed president of Sportsnet and NHL at Rogers Communications Inc.'s media division, the company said in a release Thursday. Rogers said Moore would leverage “the company’s cable, wireless...
If 2013 was the year that the idea of binge-watching as a phenomenon hit the mainstream, then 2014 may be the year that traditional broadcasters seriously get into the game. Broadcasters in Canada and the U.S. are buying up the rights to offer complete seasons of television shows on their websites, mobile TV and video-on-demand platforms, in an effort to help curb cord-cutting and to open up new advertising opportunities, including targeted ads. “The natural process of renegotiation...
The CRTC will be watching a Toronto radio station’s experiment with HD Radio to help gauge whether the technology has a future in Canada, and what that future might look like, the head of the...
The Office of the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner has launched an “examination” of a fundraising event involving Heritage Minister Shelly Glover that a Liberal MP says illegally sought donations from people in the cultural community. A letter Liberal MP Ralph Goodale sent to the Ethics Commissioner...
The CRTC said in notice Wednesday that it has approved a new commercial radio station for Meaford, Ont., located about 180 kilometres north of Toronto on the south shore of Georgian Bay. The FM station will broadcast at a...
CenturyLink Inc. said Tuesday it has changed the name of its data-hosting division from Savvis to CenturyLink Technology Solutions. CenturyLink, a telecommunications firm based in Monroe, La., in November announced a Savvis data...
Verizon Communications Inc. said Tuesday it has reached a deal to purchase Intel Corp.’s Intel Media division, which is focused on developing cloud-television products and services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Quoting anonymous sources, Bloomberg reported the sale price is less than $200 million US. Verizon said in a press release the transaction “will accelerate the availability of next-generation video services, both integrated with Verizon FiOS fiber-optic networks and delivered ‘over the top’ to any device.” Verizon said the acquisition is...
The CRTC said Tuesday it approved a new community FM radio station in Prince Edward County, Ont., located about about 200 kilometres east of Toronto. The commission said in a notice that the station will be operated by Prince...
Independent broadcaster Blue Ant Media Inc. is launching an international distribution unit and has appointed Solange Attwood its new senior vice-president of international operations, the company said in a release Monday....
There are about 21,000 people in Ontario whose jobs are related to the development and distribution of mobile applications, the Information and Communications Technology Council said in a report released Thursday. The report...
Patrick Jutras is the new senior vice-president of sales for Quebec at BCE Inc.’s media division. The company said in a release Thursday that Jutras would “lead the integrated Bell Media sales teams for all of the...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division on Thursday announced Nanci MacLean as the new vice-president of production and Justin Stockman as the vice-president of specialty channels. The company said in a press release the...
Facebook Inc. said Thursday that it is launching a trending feature that will highlight the most talked-about topics on the social network. The company said in a posting to its website that Facebook users will find the new...
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. said Wednesday it elected Sleep Country Canada president Christine Magee to its board of directors. Magee replaces Pierre Boivin on the board of the satellite radio operator. Boivin resigned after...
Rogers Communications Inc.’s media division is launching a new premium specialty channel on April 1, the company said in a release Tuesday. Rogers said FXX would be “a younger-skewing funnier extension of FX...
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said Wednesday that Google Inc. breached Canadian privacy law by using individuals’ health information to provide them with targeted advertisements. The office said in a release that it launched an investigation after a man with sleep apnea complained that after doing online searches for medical treatments, he was “followed” by advertisements relating to his condition when visiting websites that had nothing to do with sleep...
A fee dispute between U.S. satellite-TV provider DirecTV and the Weather Channel culminated in the latter being taken off of the service on Tuesday. Bloomberg reported David Kenny, CEO of the station’s parent firm, Weather...
Satellite-radio broadcaster SiriusXM Canada Holdings Inc. said in a release Tuesday that it will simulcast three Business News Network (BNN) programs. Sirius said it would broadcast the programs, which air on the BCE Inc.-owned...
Shaw Communications Inc. reported a gain in first-quarter earnings amid some declines in both its cable and satellite TV-service subscriptions. The broadcaster and provider of TV, Internet and phone service said in a release...
Television and radio broadcasting company Corus Entertainment Inc. reported higher first-quarter earnings compared to a year earlier as it recorded gains in TV advertising and subscription revenue. The owner of TV stations such...
Increased sales of larger, “phablet” smartphones will drive growth in mobile data consumption in 2014 as more consumers use the bigger devices to watch more mobile TV, consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLP said in its annual media and technology predictions. In predictions released Tuesday, Deloitte said larger smartphones with screen sizes between five and 6.9 inches will account for 25 per cent of global smartphone sales in 2014, totalling about 300 million phablets sold...
Rogers Communications Inc. is spending more than $100 million to buy rights from both American and Canadian content owners in order to launch its own over-the-top video service, Cartt.ca reported Thursday. In an emailed statement...
Postmedia Network Canada Corp., operator of newspapers and news websites across Canada, reported on Thursday an $11.8-million first quarter net loss for the three months ended Nov. 30. Postmedia, which owns brands such as the National Post, the Montreal Gazette and Canada.com, said in a release it earned $6.7 million at the same time last year....
Rogers Communications Inc. said Wednesday it has renewed its long-standing partnership with Major League Baseball, extending its Sportsnet channel's multi-platform broadcasting rights to hundreds of games a year for the next...
Sony Corp. will launch a “cloud-based” TV service in the U.S. this year, Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony subsidiary Sony Computer Entertainment, said Tuesday in a speech at the CES technology trade show...
Carriage negotiations between broadcasters and the broadcast distributors who deliver their channels to consumers will focus on finding the right “penetration-based” price rates in a...
At least two content collectives are asking the Federal Court of Appeal to review a decision the Copyright Board made in November regarding interest payments in the reallocation of tariffs for distant...
BCE Inc. said Monday that Lucy Collin has been appointed Bell Media’s vice-president of marketing, innovation and integrated sales for English Canada. She will report to Luc Sabbatini, president of sales at Bell Media, and also work in cooperation with Nathalie Doré, who holds the equivalent position for Bell Media in Quebec, the company...
BCE Inc.’s RDS French-language sports channel announced a 12-year regional broadcast deal with the Montreal Canadiens that it says makes it the team’s official broadcaster through to the 2025-26 season. RDS said it...
The CRTC approved Corus Entertainment Inc.’s acquisition of the Historia and Séries+ specialty channels, as well as full ownership of Teletoon Canada, the commission said. In a decision Friday, the CRTC said it had approved Corus’ application to acquire full ownership of specialty broadcaster Teletoon Canada, and will permit the company — which already owns a 50 per cent stake in Teletoon — to acquire the remaining 50 per cent from BCE Inc.’s media subsidiary. As part of the decision, the commission said it was imposing additional licence conditions on Corus “to limit the potential for anti-competitive behaviours,” due to the size of Corus’ “suite of television services” following the acquisition and its shared ownership...
The CRTC has approved an application by 0859291 B.C. Ltd. to have its CHEK-DT television station in Victoria added to the list of stations eligible to receive funding from the Small Market Local Production Fund. In a decision...
The CRTC is granting must-offer status to Canada’s national all-news specialty services and will require broadcast distributors to offer those channels on a standalone basis, though not...
BeIN Sport, a sports specialty television network owned by Qatari Sports Investments, which is affiliated with the Qatari-government owned Al Jazeera Media Network, has partnered with the Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. to launch in...
The CRTC is consulting on the acquisition of five BCE Inc. radio stations by Newfoundland Capital Corp. subsidiary Newcap Inc., the commission said Wednesday. The deal for CHBM-FM and CFXJ-FM in Toronto, and CKZZ-FM, CHHR-FM and...
Facebook Inc. said Tuesday it would start testing video advertisements that start playing in a user’s newsfeed as soon they come into view. It said in a release that this week a “small number of people” would view video ads for the movie Divergent, set to be released next year. The video would not have sound unless the user clicks or taps on the video, or it is played in full screen. Videos will only play on mobile devices if they have already been downloaded from a WiFi connection, as not to add to data costs of a mobile plan, Facebook said. “This is an initial, limited test,” Facebook said in the release. “We will let you know if/when you'll begin seeing more video content begin to play as it comes into view.”...
BCE Inc. said Tuesday it has renewed a multi-year agreement to get exclusive Canadian rights to content from U.S. sports broadcaster ESPN for its sports channels, TSN and RDS. The companies said in a release that the content...
Espial Group Inc., an Ottawa-based provider of TV service software, said Tuesday it would begin providing Norway’s biggest cable operator with technology for its video-on-demand and time-shift TV services. Espial said Canal Digital Kabel-TV AS will use its video-delivery platform, Espial MediaBase, for these...
In a survey of 1,500 U.S. viewers who watch TV by streaming it online, 61 per cent “binge watch” TV shows regularly, Netflix Inc. said. The company said in a release Friday that the majority of respondents defined...
Canada’s Competition Bureau is has initiated a formal inquiry into Google Inc.’s search and advertising activities following a preliminary probe that found signs of anti-competitive behaviour, the Financial Post reported. The report said the bureau found evidence that Google was using its position as the dominant search engine in ways that...
Moody’s Investors Services said Thursday that Canadian regulators could "respond" to Rogers Communications Inc.’s recent $5.2-billion, 12-year broadcasting deal with the National Hockey League. In a report,...
Chris Peirce is retiring from his position as chief corporate officer at Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.‘s MTS Allstream business unit. The company said in a release Friday that Peirce’s retirement would be effective Dec. 31. Peirce joined the predecessor of MTS Allstream, AT&T Canada, in 1999, it said. “Mr. Peirce made...
International Channel/Canal International (ICI) launched on Dec. 11, said Sam Nouruzi, vice-president and general manager of the channel. The channel is now available on television services offered by Quebecor Inc. subsidiary Videotron and on BCE Inc.’s Fibe TV, Nouruzi said in a brief...
BCE Inc. is making 10 of its French-language specialty channels available on a free preview from Dec. 12 to Jan. 12. The company said in a release Thursday that the channels offered will be Canal Vie, Canal D,...
The Toronto Maple Leafs franchise was the one National Hockey League club not to vote in favour of the 12-year, $5.2-billion broadcast and digital-rights agreement between the league and Rogers Communications Inc., the Toronto Star reported. The article said that during an NHL board of governors meeting this week, the Leafs — represented by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) chairman Larry Tanenbaum and CEO Tim Leiweke — abstained from voting on the agreement, which gives Rogers exclusive rights for the broadcast of NHL games nationally in Canada for more than a decade,...
Google Inc.’s YouTube will bring in about $5.6 billion US in advertising revenue this year, according to an analysis from research firm eMarketer Inc. Its report said this is a 51.4 per cent increase from last year. After paying its advertising partners and video content creators, YouTube would net $1.96 billion US, eMarketer said, which is up...
The CRTC has approved an application by My Broadcasting Corp. to acquire the Peterborough, Ont., English-language specialty radio station CJMB-FM from 4352416 Canada Inc. The commission said it would not require tangible benefits...
It’s a familiar refrain — a viewer flipping through hundreds of channels, complaining there’s nothing to watch. Consumers today have access to more content than ever, not only...
The National Film Board of Canada said Tuesday that Tom Perlmutter is stepping down as its chair and as the government’s film commissioner as of Dec. 31. A release on the NFB website said Perlmutter is leaving his role “to devote himself to thinking and writing about the long-term issues affecting the arts and public cultural...
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must do more to entice broadcasters to take part in an “incentive auction” of their broadcast airwaves if it wants to reallocate that spectrum for mobile use, the head of a U.S. broadcast coalition told American senators Tuesday. “The FCC has not attracted the critical mass of spectrum sellers that will be necessary to have a successful auction,” Preston Padden, executive director of Washington-based Expanding Opportunities for Broadcasters Coalition, said during a meeting of the Senate’s commerce, science and...
The CRTC has approved an application for a licence to operate a low-power, English-language commercial FM radio station in Barriere, B.C., the commission said Tuesday. The programming for the station, which would operate at 93.1...
David Philips is the new president and chief operating officer at BBM Analytics Inc., the company said in a release Monday. Philips joined BBM Analytics at its launch in 2006, and served as its vice-president and general manager, it said....
BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division on Monday said it has expanded an existing agreement to provide coverage of the National Football League in Canada. Bell Media said in a release the new deal adds to an existing arrangement...
The CRTC is consulting on one application for a television station licence and seven applications for radio station licences, the commission said. The CRTC said in a notice Monday it would consider an application for a national...
VMedia Inc., a provider of Internet-protocol television services in Ontario, announced Monday it is launching a "pick a pack" service called UChoose. VMedia is offering customers who subscribe to its basic or...
The Conservative government’s new anti-counterfeiting bill passed committee stage with amendments and was referred back to the House of Commons for further debate, a parliamentary committee said. In a report published...
The CRTC will not expand a complaint against BCE Inc.’s Mobile TV service to encompass other wireless providers. Ben Klass, a master's student at the University of Manitoba, filed an application with the CRTC earlier...
Shaw Communications Inc. can continue to enroll new subscribers in its Local Television Satellite Solution (LTSS), a free satellite TV program, for a “final” 12 months, the CRTC said. In...
The CRTC said in a notice on its website Thursday that it approved an advertising exception for CBC/Radio Canada regarding sponsored programs on its Radio 2 and Espace Musique stations. The decision allows the public broadcaster to broadcast advertisements on Radio 2 and Espace Musique during programs that are available only because they are sponsored. Such programs, in exchange for financial contributions, include references by an announcer to the effect of, “This program has been made possible through the co-operation of (name of company)” or “This program was presented to...
As Canadian regulators move toward a possible pick-and-pay TV regime in Canada, some industry analysts in the United States are warning of the effect such a move toward “unbundling” would have south of the border. A...
Netflix Inc. and CBC/Radio Canada have expanded their licensing agreement, adding CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries, as well as new seasons of series like Republic of Doyle and Heartland, to Netflix’s streaming service....
Knight TV Inc. will launch a new specialty channel focusing on food and lifestyle on Dec. 11, the company said Tuesday. The channel, called Gusto TV, will be available on a few preview through BCE Inc.’s Fibe TV and...
V Interactions Inc. is acquiring the French-language specialty channels MusiquePlus and MusiMax from BCE Inc.’s media division. Bell Media was required to divest the channels as part of its acquisition of Astral Media Inc....
As the holiday shopping season begins, shoppers in electronics stores might find their eye caught by a new type of television set—one that offers a more detailed, crisper and richer picture than its high-definition brethren. Companies such as Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. have released various versions of ultra HD, or 4K TVs, which have a resolution that’s about four times higher than regular high-definition sets (3,840 by 2,160 pixels as compared to 1,920 by 1,080 for “full” high definition), but adoption of the technology is still very much in its infancy....
The Copyright Board of Canada has established a new tariff rate for the retransmission of distant television signals between 2009 and 2013, raising the total amount owed for such signals this year by about $15 million, the board said. In a decision released Friday, the Copyright Board said it will require television service providers to pay an...
International Datacasting Corp., an Ottawa-based provider of digital content distribution technology, announced a number of changes to executive ranks Monday, including the appointment of Steven Archambault as chief financial officer. In a release, IDC said Archambault replaces Rick Clements, who IDC said will stay with the company until Jan. 31 to...
The CRTC certified Telus Corp.'s proposed Telus Fund as a new independent production fund, the commission said. In a decision Friday, the CRTC said broadcast and video-on-demand distributors will be allowed to direct some of their required annual Canadian programming contributions to the Telus Fund to help finance “the creation of programming portraying social and technological innovation in the field of health...
Netflix Inc. has reached a content-licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Inc. to distribute the American studio's feature films and TV reruns in Canada, the company said. In a release Friday, Netflix said its deal with NBCUniversal, a Comcast Corp. subsidiary, will allow the company to distribute the studio's...
MONTREAL—When Cogeco Inc. introduced its pick-and-pay cable-TV offering in Quebec a decade ago, it had to find a balance between profitability and satisfying customers, and the challenge will be...
SiriusXM Canada Holdings Inc. said Thursday it launched a new radio that gives listeners of its satellite radio service “more control over content.” The company said in a release that the Onyx Plus radio, currently available for sale at some retailers, gives subscribers “even more...
DHX Media Ltd. will ensure other independent children’s TV producers maintain access to four former Astral Media Inc. channels after reaching a $170-million deal to purchase those channels from BCE Inc., DHX president Steven DeNure said. Halifax-based DHX said in a release Thursday that it had reached a deal to...
Quebecor Inc.’s TVA Group Inc. will pay Rogers Communication Inc. more than $120 million a year to air French-language National Hockey League broadcasts under a new 12-year, deal announced this week, the Globe and Mail reported. In a pair of press releases Tuesday, Rogers said it reached a $5.2-billion deal to acquire the exclusive Canadian...
Technological developments that impact the way consumers watch broadcast content will help determine whether CBC/Radio-Canada will continue to air NHL hockey games five years from now, said Scott Moore, president of broadcasting at Rogers Communications Inc.’s media subsidiary. In a pair of press releases Tuesday, Rogers said it reached a $5.2-billion deal to acquire the exclusive Canadian broadcast and multi-platform rights to national NHL content for the next 12 years. It also reached...
Rogers Communications Inc.’s new 12-year deal for the broadcast and multi-platform rights to National Hockey League games is a $5.2-billion bet that Canadians will pay to maintain access to NHL...
Rogers Communications Inc. on Monday said 86 per cent of respondents in a survey it commissioned want more choice and flexibility in the channels that are included in their TV subscriptions. The Harris/Decima survey also found that 60 per cent of respondents would be willing to pay extra per channel and 64 per cent like having access to TV packages...
Government amendments to a private member’s bill that aims to remove an exemption from the federal Access to Information Act for CBC/Radio-Canada would have the opposite effect and result in more legal disputes between the public broadcaster and the federal information commissioner, independent MP Brent Rathgeber...
Nokia Corp. said Thursday it has launched a new music streaming service called Nokia MixRadio with Play Me in 31 countries, including Canada. The company said in a press release that the service becomes a “personalized radio station that is unique to every user.” It uses artist choices, “favourite” selections, song skips and...
The CRTC approved an application by Hunters Bay Radio Inc. to operate an English-language, community FM radio station in Huntsville, Ont., and its surrounding areas. In a decision Thursday, the commission said the station would broadcast 126 hours of local programming each broadcast week, including at least nine hours and 40 minutes of newscasts. It added the station would operate at 88.7 MHz....
The CRTC should ban BCE Inc. from allowing its mobile subscribers to access Bell Mobile TV content on their smartphones and tablets without it counting against those subscribers’ monthly data caps, a new CRTC application said. BCE’s Bell Mobility subsidiary allows its wireless subscribers to access up to 10 hours of TV programming,...
The NDP introduced a private members bill that would ban TV blackouts for some live sports events. MP Glenn Thibeault introduced in the House of Commons Tuesday Bill C-552, which would ban blackouts for live sports events taking...
Royalty rates and how they might apply to music-streaming services—including those that have yet to come to Canada—are poised to be a significant part of hearings at the Copyright Board of...
A group called the U.S. Television Coalition said Tuesday it is encouraged by the CRTC’s current review of the way television is regulated in Canada as well as by bilateral talks happening...
BCE Inc. has launched CTV Go, an online service that allows viewers to watch live and on-demand programming from its CTV and CTV Two channels. The company said in a release Tuesday that the service includes “livestreams of both networks’ complete schedules,” access to 60...
Rick Brace, the president of specialty channels and CTV production at BCE Inc.’s media division, will retire at the end of the year, the company said. Bell said in a release that Brace will retire after a “nearly...
The CRTC’s review of the future of television services should bridge the gap between consumers’ desire to have more flexible programming options and the high cost of standalone services, said Kevin Crull, president of Bell Media. The CRTC launched last month a “conversation” that asks consumers for their ideas about the future...
Montreal-based social media measurement group Seevibes acquired French social media measurement firm TvTweet and is opening an office in France. The company said in a release Monday that the move would “jump-start its development in Europe.” Seevibes launched a service that ranks...
The CRTC’s public consultation on the future of television services needs to take into account the impact over-the-top services have had on the TV ecosystem, said Robert Dépatie, Quebecor Media Inc.’s president and chief executive. In a letter sent to media this week, Dépatie said that online, over-the-top services, such Netflix Inc., aren’t regulated by the CRTC and so do not have to fund or produce Canadian programming, unlike companies like Quebecor’s Videotron Ltd. subsidiary. “As a result, the production of Canadian content is jeopardized,...
