Rogers Communications Inc. appointed Hayden Mindell as its new vice-president of television programming and content at its Rogers Media division, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Rogers said Mindell will take on the newly created position and will “oversee, develop, and implement the programming and multiplatform strategy for all Rogers Media (non-sports) television assets,” including the “submission, development, and production of original Canadian programming.” Mindell, who was previously Rogers Media’s director of programming and general manager for specialties, first joined the company in 2001, the release said. The appointment is effective immediately, it added....
Canadian businesses should “dust off their copy” of Canada’ long-delayed anti-spam laws as Industry Minister James Moore is preparing to move on the file, experts say. Passed into law in December 2010, Canada’s anti-spam laws have stalled during the implementation process as the CRTC and Industry Canada consulted on a pair of draft regulations related to the law—first in June 2012, then again in January this year—neither of which resulted in new regulations coming into force. There were no further developments for months, until Moore, who became industry minister as part of a larger cabinet shuffle in July, invited stakeholders to a meeting last week to hear their concerns. “Everybody’s wondering what’s happening with it,” John...
The CRTC will consider applications to use the 102.7 FM frequency in the Toronto area, which could offer applicants an entry into Canada’s largest radio market. CRTC spokesman Guillaume Castonguay said when the regulator...
Nielsen Co. made its online campaign rating system commercially available in Canada. The company said in a release Monday that the rating “measures the audience of online advertising,...
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) launched a pilot program to boost international digital media co-productions involving Canadians. CMF said in a release Thursday that the $350,000 Digital Media Co-Production Incentive is “designed to stimulate digital media co-productions between Canadian producers and their international counterparts.” The...
Michel Houle will replace Rock Demers as the president of the Harold Greenberg Fund’s French-language committee, BCE Inc. said. In a release Friday, BCE’s Bell Media subsidiary said Houle has served on the fund’s board of directors and French-language committee for 11 years. It added that he has also been appointed to co-chair the...
Ten per cent of Canadian Internet users have four Internet-connected devices at their disposal: a smartphone, tablet, computer and Internet-connected TV, a new report from Media Technology Monitor said. The report, released Thursday by MTM, a joint research project between CBC/Radio-Canada and BBM Analytics, said the number rose from three per cent last year. In the past two years, tablet ownership increased to 32 per cent from four per cent, the report said, adding that “the incidence of connecting to the Internet via a TV set has grown nearly 2.5 times,” and smartphone penetration has doubled since 2010-2011. The computer was the most popular screen for online video, followed by the TV set and tablet, while the smartphone was the least popular, the report said, adding that...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Fund launched a new program to support existing digital media programs aiming to move to television, the non-profit organization said. In a release Tuesday, Bell Fund said the OnLine to OnTV program will...
Sun News Network has performed better than forecasted, reaching 4.9 million subscribers in 2012 and almost matching the channel's subscriber revenue projections under a business model involving...
The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) provided 574 projects with $371.8 million in funding in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the organization said. In an annual report released Tuesday, the CMF said it supported 489 “television and related digital media productions” which received a combined $322.1 million, and 85 “innovative and digital media projects,” which received $35.1 million in funding. That funding...
BCE Inc. has applied to the CRTC to add the Brazilian television network TV Record to the list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution in Canada. In its application, BCE said TV Record is “the largest and oldest running Brazilian TV Network broadcasting in Portuguese to over 150 countries.” It said the channel...
Lawyer Geoff White has joined the Public Interest Advocacy Centre's (PIAC) team as counsel. In his practice, White “provides advice and representation on legal and regulatory matters, with emphasis on telecommunications, broadcasting, media, competition law, and privacy,” PIAC said on its website. White is working as counsel to PIAC following Janet Lo's move to the federal Finance Department through...
Several broadcast companies are opposing the CRTC's proposed “news neighbourhood” regulations intended to help news channels like Sun News Network get a leg up in the broadcasting system. Shaw Communications Inc., Telus Corp., CBC/Radio-Canada, Cogeco Cable Inc., and a former senior...
Hank Intven has retired from his position as a partner at McCarthy Tétrault, and as head of the firm’s communications practice group. In an emailed statement Monday, Intven said he will continue to serve as a counsel for the firm—working out of Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto—while taking on an adjunct professor position at the...
Rogers Communications Inc. received authorization from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to begin offering credit card services. The company said in a release Friday that it would roll out a pilot program...
Tom Anselmi resigned as chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., the company said Friday in a release. Anselmi joined MLSE in 1996 and was instrumental in the development of the Air Canada Centre, home to the company's Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2004 he was appointed chief operating officer and later named president of MLSE in September of 2012. "I am from this community, and I’m a huge fan of our teams, so being part of the growth of this organization into one that is admired in the industry has been a real privilege," Anselmi said in a statement. Tim Leiweke took over as president on June 30. "The entire organization, including our ownership group, is grateful to Tom for his many contributions to the success of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment over the years," Leiweke, now president and CEO of MLSE, said in a statement. Anselmi's last day at MLSE will be Sept. 13, the release said. MLSE, jointly owned by BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., owns and operates the...
The CRTC finalized changes to Canadian content development rules for radio, exempting commercial and ethnic radio stations with less than $1.25 million in revenues from making Cancon contributions. The regulator issued a...
When fans of Sporting Kansas City are watching a live game at the team’s 18,467-capacity stadium and miss a kick, play, or goal on the soccer pitch, they can catch up by pulling out their...
Videotron has applied to the CRTC for a licence to launch a new community TV channel catered to Montreal’s English-speaking community. In a release Thursday, the Quebecor Media Inc. cable subsidiary said the new channel, if...
The federal Conservative cabinet rejected a request to order the CRTC to review a decision to let CBC/Radio-Canada air commercials on its Radio 2 and Espace Musique radio networks. “[T]he Governor in Council, having considered the petition, is not satisfied that those decisions derogate from the attainment of the...
The Copyright Board issued its first decision on private copying since the Conservative government introduced regulations to exempt memory cards from the levy. The decision, issued Aug. 30 and covering the years 2012, 2013, and 2014, maintained a levy of 29 cents per disc on blank CDs. In November 2012, the Conservative government introduced regulations to exempt microSD memory cards from a possible copyright levy. The Canadian Private Copyright Collective (CPCC), the collective that collects the levy and distributes it to music copyright owners, said in a release Tuesday that it was...
Roku Inc.’s new Roku 3 streaming player is now available in Canada, the company said. In a post on the company’s blog Wednesday, Roku said the new device is its “fastest and most powerful streaming player to...
Overall Canadian TV subscriptions fell by a net 10,810 in the second quarter of 2013, a new report from IHS said. While Internet protocol television (IPTV) services gained customers, they were not enough to offset losses in cable...
Newcap Inc. is looking for opportunities to further expand its radio footprint in large Canadian cities after striking a deal to enter the “major leagues” of Canadian radio, said the...
BCE Inc. has found potential buyers for all of the radio stations it was required to sell as a result of its acquisition of Astral Media Inc. following an agreement to sell five stations to Newfoundland Capital Corp.’s Newcap Inc. subsidiary, the company said. In a joint release Monday, Newcap and BCE’s media subsidiary said Newcap will pay...
Advertising agencies are increasingly interested in the “new phenomenon” of second screen initiatives, “and are looking to hone in on second screen experiences that can generate...
The CRTC approved an application by non-profit group Lillooet Camelsfoot T.V. and Radio Association to acquire local community station CHLS-FM from the Radio Lillooet Society in Lillooet, B.C. The commission said in a decision...
Independent broadcaster Blue Ant Media Inc. will rebrand its specialty channel “bold” as the Cottage Life channel. The channel will launch on Sept. 4 with a free national preview, the company said in a release Thursday. The channel’s programming will focus on “themes like DIY, food, real estate and outdoor living,” the...
Google Inc. has opened talks to acquire the rights to the National Football League’s (NFL) “Sunday Ticket” subscription TV service, tech blog AllThingsDigital reported on Tuesday. U.S. broadcast distributor DirecTV currently holds the American rights to the Sunday Ticket service, which allows subscribers to watch out-of-market NFL...
Ted East will step down from his position as president of the Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters, The Hollywood Reporter reported Monday. East will leave the organization, which lobbies on behalf of film distributors, on Sept. 15 as the group “restructures and considers whether to find a replacement or out-source public affairs representation in Ottawa,” the U.S. entertainment news service reported. It added that the group is seeking to lobby new Heritage Minister Shelly Glover “to increase domestic broadcast spending, especially by pay TV operators, on homegrown films.”...
Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Videotron Ltd. and BCE Inc.’s media division reached a new agreement for Videotron to carry former Astral Media Inc. channels, allowing the companies to avoid CRTC arbitration. In a letter to the CRTC Friday, Kevin Goldstein, Bell Media’s vice-president of regulatory affairs, said the companies “have now...
A CRTC proposal to group national all-news channels in “news neighbourhoods” and to more closely regulate how they are carried by broadcast distributors will make Canadian news channels a more viable business opportunity, industry experts said. “I think that those two things...
Jennifer Smith will serve as the national sales director for CBC/Radio-Canada’s Radio 2 network when the station begins airing ads this fall, the Crown corporation said. In a release Monday, CBC’s revenue group said Smith will assume Radio 2’s top ad sales position while continuing to serve as the broadcaster’s director of sales...
The CRTC rejected two broadcasting complaints, one by the former Astral Media Inc. about Quebecor Media Inc.’s illico Club Unlimited service and another about CBC/Radio-Canada’s Explora specialty service, the...
The CRTC approved an application by BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division to allow more programming flexibility for its Comedy Gold channel. The CRTC said in a decision Thursday that the Category B specialty channel channel can now air news, reporting and actualities, and religious programming, as well as music video clips and music video programs. The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) opposed the application on the basis that it would “alter the service’s fundamental nature of service and dilute its brand,” the CRTC said. The commission said the channel cannot devote more than 10 per cent of its programming to music video clips and music video programs. The CRTC rejected in July a Bell Media request to allow its Book Television...
Eastlink introduced a new pick-and-pay option that will allow customers to add individual channels to their TV service packages, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Eastlink, a Bragg Communications Inc. subsidiary, said it...
Part of the process that helps determine the fates and ad rates for television shows in North America has remained essentially unchanged for decades. Thousands of television viewers across Canada and...
Alysia York-Suen Lau is the new legal counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), as former counsel Janet Lo leaves to join the federal finance department through an “interchange agreement,” PIAC said. In a notice posted on its website Friday, PIAC said Lo started a two-year stint with Finance Canada on Monday. It said York-Suen...
Facebook Inc. is launching a program that pairs up media agencies and Toronto-area small businesses, the company said. Facebook’s six-week “Grand for Good” program will team up local businesses in the Greater...
Shaw Media, a division of Shaw Communications Inc., is rolling out a new lifestyle specialty channel named Dtour. The channel will launch on Aug. 26 with a national free preview, the company said Thursday. “The exclusive...
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) said it supports the CRTC's decision to deny 13 applications for mandatory carriage under Section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act. The CRTC decision emphasized “making television services accessible and affordable for Canadians while encouraging competition and uniqueness of programming in...
Quebecor Inc. reported a loss of $45.1 million as revenues rose 0.8 per cent during its second quarter of 2013. For the three-month period that that ended June 30, revenues were $1.09 billion, up from $1.08 billion from the same...
BCE Inc. said it added a net 50,555 subscribers to its Fibe TV service in the second quarter of 2013, more than in any other quarter to date, as the company continued to expand its IPTV footprint. In a financial statement...
Citing the affordability of television services, the CRTC denied 13 applications for mandatory carriage on basic TV, granting just three new must carry licences to nonprofit channels. Among the 13 denials were two high-profile applications for mandatory carriage: Sun News Network and for an all-Canadian film service called Starlight: The Canadian Movie Channel. CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said in a statement that the regulator is making sure “that television services remain affordable for Canadians by imposing reasonable rates for services offered on the basic service.” A...
The CRTC denied Sun News Network's application for mandatory carriage on basic TV packages while opening a consultation on a proposal to give Canadian all-news channels “must offer” licences and requiring distributors to group them together on the dial in “news...
Employment Minister Jason Kenney said the government introduced further changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including a new $275 processing fee and additional advertising requirements. The advertising requirements will double the length and reach of employers’ advertising to increase Canadians’ awareness of available jobs, a...
Rebecca Shropshire is the new director of digital sales at CBC/Radio-Canada's revenue group, the public broadcaster said. Shropshire will be responsible for “establishing digital sales and business development strategies for all program properties in support of CBC Revenue Group targets and objectives,” the Crown corporation said in a release Tuesday. Shropshire was previously vice-president and director...
The CRTC approved an application for a Banff, Alta. English-language commercial FM radio station and two applications for English-language specialty audio services. The commission said in a decision Tuesday that it approved an application by the Banff Centre to launch an FM radio station, which would operate at 107.9 MHz and with an “Adult...
Cogeco Cable Inc. appointed Louise St-Pierre as president and chief executive officer of its Canadian cable division, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Cogeco said the “unanimous” decision reflects efforts to “adapt” its corporate structure, following acquisitions of U.S. cableco Atlantic Broadband Inc., completed in December, and Canadian network operator Peer 1 Network Enterprises Inc., completed in April. It said St-Pierre’s appointment will bring its decision-making capacity “closer to the field of operations,” and will positively affect product innovation, customer service and the company’s financial performance. “This nomination and the concomitant adjustment to our organizational structure will allow us to accelerate the...
Television providers have had a few years now to get used to online competition from over-the-top streaming services, though they should brace for more. As early as this year, they will be facing a new generation of online...
Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary TVA Group Inc. reported revenues of $111.5 million in the second quarter of 2013 that ended June 30, down from $113.5 in the same period a year earlier. The company said profits were $6.98 million...
The CRTC opened a consultation on purchases of radio broadcasting assets. My Broadcasting Corporation has applied to purchase CJMB-FM Peterborough, to obtain a broadcasting licence to operate an FM radio station serving Carleton...
More than half of Canadians are now smartphone users, according to a report released by Google Inc. The report, dated May 2013, found that smartphone penetration rose from 33 per cent in 2012 to 56 per cent this year. It also found that 79 per cent of smartphone owners won’t leave home without their devices, while two-thirds reported using them...
Toronto application developer Polar Mobile Group Inc. launched a new “native advertising platform” that will allow publishers using the company’s applications a greater ability to use targeted ads in their newsfeeds, the company said. In a release Monday, Polar Mobile said its new MediaVoice product allows users to integrate sponsored...
Watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting asked the federal cabinet to direct the CRTC to reconsider allowing CBC/Radio-Canada to air ads on its Radio 2 and Espace Musique radio channels. In an...
An rising number of anglophone Canadians are watching full TV programs over the Internet, Media Technology Monitor said in a new report. MTM, a joint research project between CBC/Radio-Canada and BBM Analytics, said in a July 25 report on video streaming that 28 per cent of anglophone Canadians watched a complete episode of a TV program online in March...
Google Inc. introduced a new device that will allow users to play video and audio files on their televisions while controlling the content and playing options through their mobile devices or computers. Google’s new Chromecast device, launched in the U.S. Wednesday and priced at $35 US, is capable of streaming online content on high definition TVs...
Corus Entertainment Inc. named Colin Bohm to run its children’s programming specialty services Nelvana Studios and Nelvana Enterprises, the broadcaster said. In a release Wednesday, Corus said it appointed Bohm as vice-president of television and head of its Corus kids division. The company said it also created “co-heads for distribution and licensing” at Nelvana Enterprises who will report to Bohm. Antoine Erligmann will be co-head in charge of Nelvana’s Europe, Middle East and Africa distribution, while Andrew Kerr will be the co-head in charge of the Americas and Australasia, the company said....
Andrea Rosen, the CRTC’s chief compliance and enforcement officer, is retiring and leaving the commission at the end of September, Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said. Rosen, former deputy commissioner of the federal Competition Bureau, established the CRTC’s compliance and enforcement...
Mobile providers Telus Corp. and Bragg Communications Inc. could pay higher prices to access TV content on wireless devices following a mobile TV rights deal announced last week between BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., said Janet Lo, legal counsel at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre...
Rogers Communications Inc.’s operating revenue rose slightly to $3.2 billion for the second quarter of 2013 from $3.1 billion at the same time last year. The company released its second quarter financial results Wednesday, reporting profits of $532 million from $413 million during the same period a year ago. The...
The CRTC approved foreign specialty channels TV Naija, Afrotainment Music HD, Afrotainment HD and Africa Box Office for distribution in Canada. Soundview Entertainment Inc., located in Mississauga, Ont., had applied to the CRTC to bring the U.S. channels into Canada, and in regulatory documents filed in March, competitor Afromedia Communications Inc....
Waterloo, Ont.-based startup WestonExpressions Inc. launched a device that turns televisions and digital signs into displays that customers can interact with by tapping their smartphones to buy products, or receive coupons, apps or games, the company said. In a release Tuesday, WestonExpressions said the new device “gives displays the ability to understand when a consumer is walking by, looking at or interacting with a smartphone which triggers different content to appear based on the consumer’s level of interest.” It said customers who pre-order the device in advance of its release this fall will receive the device and two months of service for $99....
Canadian consumers need incentives to make the switch to environmentally friendly electronic bills, SaskTel said in response to CRTC questions about telcos' charges for paper billing. SaskTel, a provincial Crown...
CBC/Radio-Canada refused to air television ads that criticize a new federal law that undermines the public broadcaster’s independence from government, watchdog group the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting said. In a release Monday, Friends said CBC refused to air the ads, commissioned by Friends, because they were critical of a part of Bill C-60...
Paula Gignac is the new global chief marketing officer at marketing company Exchange Lab Inc. The new role is effective immediately, and Gignac will be “responsible for defining and leading the company's global marketing objectives and strategy, while working hand in hand with both global and country general managers and marketing teams to localize and implement it,” a release said. She will also...
The CRTC temporarily suspended its final offer arbitration process for a carriage dispute between BCE Inc. and Quebecor Media Inc. to give the companies more time to negotiate a deal. In March,...
Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Groupe TVA purchased Les Publications Charron & Co. Inc., which owns magazine La Semaine. In a release Thursday, Groupe TVA said the acquisition is part of the company's strategy to remain a market leader in magazine publishing in Quebec. Claude J....
Apple Inc. acquired Locationary Inc., a Toronto startup that focused on location data, the Canadian Press reported. CP reported Friday that Apple confirmed the acquisition, though it would not say how much it paid or why it bought the company. According to its website, Locationary uses “revolutionary real-time blending technology that can merge...
BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. have reached a deal to license rights to each other’s sports and over-the-air television content for distribution on their mobile platforms, the companies said. In a release Friday,...
Regional B.C. cableco Coastline Broadcasting Ltd. has reached a deal to acquire Teliphone Corp.’s Internet protocol television (IPTV) assets, Teliphone said. Teliphone, a Teliphone Navigata-Westel Inc. subsidiary that offers home phone, Internet and other digital services, said in a release Friday that Coastline will use the IPTV assets to expand its own IPTV service. It said Coastline currently serves about 800...
Canadian media sector, watch out. Shelly Glover’s path to cabinet included a 19-year career with the Winnipeg police, which at times involved going undercover as a sex trade worker, raiding crackhouses and investigating gangs. The Manitoba MP worked as a patrol officer and spokeswoman for the police service before entering politics. Even as she was being sworn in to cabinet by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Monday, she hadn’t left the police service behind. Glover remains a patrol sergeant, currently on a leave of absence. In taking on the new portfolio of the Heritage Department, the former investigator will be thorough, said Destiny Watt, Glover’s co-campaign manager...
BCE Inc. division Bell Media has a new organizational structure for its sales division, the company said in a release Tuesday. The re-organization follows the company’s acquisition of the former Astral Media Inc. The Wire...
Newcap, owned by Newfoundland Capital Corp., is selling its radio broadcasting licence for Fort McMurray’s CHFT-FM to Harvard Broadcasting Inc., Newcap said in a release. "This was a unique situation in a market where...
Quebecor Media Inc. is asking the CRTC to review the definition of “indeterminate contracts” in its wireless code to “level the playing field” in Quebec’s wireless market, said Serge Sasseville,...
The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) reached a tentative deal with CBC/Radio-Canada on two new collective bargaining agreements for CBC’s English-language TV and radio services, the groups said. The agreements, effective Sept....
Corus Entertainment Inc. outlined changes to its executive team as it prepares to more closely align its television and radio businesses, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Corus said it will appoint Doug Murphy as the company’s new executive vice-president and chief financial officer, effective Sept. 1. Murphy, currently the company’s executive vice-president and president of Corus Television, will report to Corus CEO John Cassaday, the company said. According to the release, Corus will make other changes to its executive leadership team, primarily by adding responsibilities to existing executives’ portfolios. “The changes capitalize on our strengths and streamline decision-making across our Television and Radio businesses, as we prepare for the integration of our new assets, and grow the Corus brand in Canada...
Sun Media, a Quebecor Inc. subsidiary, is cutting 360 jobs and closing 11 of its newspapers, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Sun Media said it is closing the Ottawa, Edmonton and Calgary editions of its 24 Hours news service, a free daily newspaper designed for commuters. It said it is also closing eight other newspapers in Quebec, Ontario,...
The CRTC has rejected a request by BCE Inc.’s media division to allow its Book Television specialty channel to air more drama and comedy programs. In a decision Wednesday, the CRTC said it denied Bell Media’s request...
BCE Inc., the country's largest converged media and telecom company, finally acquired Astral Media Inc. and its “must have” pay service TMN last month, after the CRTC gave its blessing to the $3.38-billion deal. The companies said the transaction, which would give BCE ownership of...
The American television industry's annual revenues of $150 billion US would be cut nearly in half if broadcast distributors moved to an a la carte model, said a report by research firm Needham...
More than 30 managers and executives have left BCE Inc. division Bell Media in the past two weeks following a corporate reorganization and merger with the former Astral Media Inc., according to...
The CRTC should hold a public hearing related to staff and ethnic programming reductions at Rogers Communications Inc.’s OMNI television stations, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) said. In an application filed with the CRTC on June 26, the union said Rogers’ broadcasting subsidiary, Rogers Broadcasting Ltd.,...
Independent broadcaster Blue Ant Media Inc. will rebrand its specialty channel eqhd as the Smithsonian Channel this fall. In a release Monday, Blue Ant said the change will mark the first international expansion for the U.S.-based Smithsonian Channel. It said the Smithsonian Channel’s programming is “largely inspired by the assets of the...
Rogers Communications Inc. has settled a two-year dispute with the Regional Municipality of York over how to divide the costs of burying overhead cables, and established a new agreement with the...
The CRTC is consulting on seven applications on TV and radio licenses, the commission said in a notice Friday. The commission will consider whether Canadian Documentary Channel L.P. can acquire specialty channel Documentary and an application by Rogers Communications Inc., on behalf of Mountain Cablevision Ltd., to acquire licences “as part of an intra-corporate reorganization,” the notice said. The broadcast regulator will also look at applications for licences to operate two ethnic radio stations in Montreal and English-language FM radio stations in Barriere, B.C., Meaford, Ont., and Prince Edward County, Ont. The deadline for interventions is Aug. 13....
The CRTC denied an application by Newcap Inc. to move CKKO-FM Kelowna’s transmitter onto a mountain and change its transmitter class, the commission said in a decision Friday. Newcap had...
New research by comScore Inc. said 16 per cent of Canadians have cut the cord, the Canadian Press reported Thursday. The study, commissioned by Google Inc., found that 35 per cent of respondents watch only TV, while 45 per cent...
Sirius XM Canada posted a profit of $776,119 in its third-quarter of 2013 compared to a loss of $4.2 million in the third quarter of last year, parent company Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. said in a release Thursday. Over the first nine months of 2013, the company posted a profit of $8.1 million, compared to a loss of $10.3 million last year, it said....
Canada's largest media companies should head into the CRTC's upcoming TV policy review with a “united view” to avoid new regulations, said Corus Entertainment Inc. chief executive John Cassaday. On a conference call with analysts Thursday for the company's third-quarter earnings, Cassaday said he...
Corus Entertainment Inc. reported lower TV and radio profits in part due to a softer advertising market. According to its third-quarter financial results for the three-month period that ended May 31, 2013, reported on Thursday, television revenues were $153 million in the quarter, down from $154 million in the same period a year earlier. Radio revenues fell three per cent year-to-date, to $200 million in the third quarter from $204 million a year earlier. The company's total profits for the quarter were $68.2 million, down from $75.6 million a year earlier. "The third quarter was...
The CRTC has rejected a request by BCE Inc.’s media division to amend The Comedy Network’s broadcast licence, citing concerns the channel wouldn’t have aired enough Canadian programming. In a decision released...
The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a case that will consider whether police can glean information from unlocked cellphones without a warrant, the court said. In a release Thursday, the Supreme Court said it will hear an appeal by Kevin Fearon, who was convicted of armed robbery after the police officers who...
Facebook Inc. opened a two-person office in Montreal, The Canadian Press reported Wednesday. The employees will “serve businesses looking to expand their presence on the social network,” CP said. The move...
France removed a provision in its copyright law that gave courts the power to suspend the Internet services of users who repeatedly infringed copyright, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication said in a release. Aurélie Filippetti, the minister of culture and communication, released an official decree to remove the...
Bell Media, the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) are supporting a new festival designed to showcase Canada’s television programming to Canadians and international audiences. In a...
Inukshuk Wireless Partnership has agreed to drop its lawsuit against broadband equipment manufacturer Vecima Networks Inc. after reaching a deal to acquire some of Vecima’s radio spectrum, Vecima said. In a release Monday,...
The Conservative government removed advertising and news agencies from its “cultural industries” exemption in the free trade deal being negotiated with the European Union, according to an internal German analysis of the agreement. Negotiators are meeting in Ottawa this week to discuss the Comprehensive Economic...
Further changes came to the CRTC's communications staff following Amanda Cliff’s appointment as the commission’s executive director of communications and external relations in April. Guillaume Castonguay, formerly...
Mario Cecchini, previously Astral Radio’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing, will join Corus Entertainment Inc. on Sept. 2. He will be responsible for the company’s Eastern Ontario radio and conventional television stations, as well as for the Quebec specialty TV and Ottawa radio stations Corus is set to acquire from BCE Inc. following its takeover of Astral Media Inc., Corus said in a release Thursday. “We look forward to his expertise and leadership in this role as we prepare to enter the Québec specialty television market, pending regulatory approval,” John Cassaday, chief executive of Corus, said in the release. Corus plans to acquire the remaining 50 per cent ownership stake of Teletoon (French- and English-language versions), Teletoon Retro, Cartoon Network, and Télétoon...
