Cogeco Cable Inc. expanded its video on demand library available in Ontario, the company said Wednesday. In a release, Cogeco said most of its digital television subscribers in Ontario now have access to nearly 7,000 titles, up from 3,000 in April. Rogers Communications Inc. is also expanding its video-on-demand service with new titles. David Purdy, senior vice-president of content at Rogers, said this month that he expects all broadcast distributors to at some point roll out on-demand content libraries that aren’t tied to TV subscriptions—as they are now—to better compete with online alternatives....
BCE Inc. division Bell Media said broadcast distributors' wholesale fees for access to the company's non-sports programming fell or rose less than the rate of inflation when multi-year licensing agreements were last renewed. In final reply comments to the CRTC for the regulator's consultation on BCE's deal to purchase broadcast company Astral Media Inc. for $3.38 billion, Bell challenged competing broadcast distributors that had said BCE was asking for unreasonable rates to...
Former CRTC commissioner Marc Patrone is joining Sun News Network as the channel's director of news operations for Western Canada, the Chronicle Herald reported Friday. Patrone, a former television journalist, completed a five-year term as a CRTC national commissioner on March 18. He is barred...
The Conservative government should take a look at the Copyright Board as its next move on copyright policy, said Michael Geist, the Canada research chair in Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa. “If the government is looking for the next copyright issue to examine, it might well focus on a board...
The rate of English-speaking Canadians using the Internet while watching television has more than doubled from seven years ago, a new report by Media Technology Monitor (MTM) said. In its “Multitasking – TV and the...
Canadian consumers are slowly embracing social TV habits, but the practice is still in its infancy, a new report by Media Technology Monitor (MTM) said. According to the new “Social TV” report dated May 16 and released Tuesday, MTM, a joint research project between CBC/Radio-Canada and BBM Analytics, said six per cent of Canadians talk...
Wind Mobile’s parent company VimpelCom Ltd. is keeping its options open in the Canadian market and is not yet committed to selling the new entrant carrier, Jo Lunder, VimpelCom’s CEO, said. In a conference call with analysts Wednesday, Lunder said VimpelCom is awaiting regulatory approval from Industry Canada for formal control of the Canadian carrier, and said it will determine what to do with Wind once that process is complete. “That’s the focus right now and then we—we will conclude that we do an organic growth play there, and ... that we merge with, try to...
U.S. Senator John McCain introduced a bill that would require American broadcast distributors to offer “a la carte” programming options for consumers who want to subscribe to individual TV channels instead of channel bundles. Introduced in the U.S. Senate on May 9, the bill, called Television Consumer Freedom Act of 2013, would codify...
The CRTC approved three applications by BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division to allow more programming flexibility on its Discovery World HD, Animal Planet and Investigation Discovery specialty channels. In a decision Friday, the commission said it will allow Discovery World HD to air religious, sports and music video programming. In a separate...
Additional safeguards intended to protect competitors and consumers from a larger stable of media assets under BCE Inc. are not enough for the broadcast regulator to approve its purchase of Astral...
Google Inc. launched a new U.S. music streaming service that allows users to access unlimited music online for $10 US per month, the company said. The new service, which the company announced Wednesday at its annual developers...
Ownership concentration in Canada’s media sector fell slightly in 2012, a new report by the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project (CMCR) said. In an analysis of CRTC data posted on its website Wednesday, the project said ownership concentration levels fell in 2012 in each of the conventional TV,...
Astral Media Inc. will help fund 27 English-language script development projects through its Harold Greenberg Fund script development program, the company said. In a release Wednesday, Astral said it will provide funding to four projects during their “treatment to first draft” stages, including Alias Grace, a Tangled Inc. production being...
Mobile wireless subscribers offloaded their Internet traffic onto fixed, or wireline, WiFi networks at a much higher rate than forecasted, Sandvine Inc. said in a new report. Sandvine's...
BBC Worldwide Canada, a division of BBC, appointed Michael Smith as senior vice-president of television sales, co-productions and digital distribution, the broadcaster said Monday. In a release, BBC said Smith’s appointment is effective immediately and that he will report to Matt Forde, executive vice-president of sales and co-production at BBC...
The CRTC said it approved two foreign TV specialty channels for distribution in Canada. In a decision Tuesday, the CRTC said it approved Ethnic Channels Group Ltd.’s request to add Aksyon TV International to the list of foreign TV channels that can be distributed in Canada. The Filipino-language, niche channel airs “news, information, documentary, talk, public affairs and Philippine sports,” the CRTC said. In a separate decision, the regulator said it approved Odyssey Television Network Inc.’s request to add Greek-language, general interest channel AlphaSat to the list. The Greek channel airs “entertainment, cultural, documentary, and news and public affairs programming,” the CRTC said. ...
The future of television in the next 10 to 20 years will be application-based as Netflix Inc. pushes traditional TV providers to innovate with online, on-demand models, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said. In a speech at...
Higher audience ratings in a shortened NHL season will not be enough to make up for a decline in revenues for CBC/Radio-Canada's Hockey Night in Canada, said Al Dark, general manager of CBC’s revenue group. The broadcaster's marquee NHL program drew record ratings of 5.15 million...
Any new condition on BCE Inc. that requires CRTC arbitration to resolve disputes before TV content distribution agreements expire would not be “necessary or appropriate,” and if it is imposed as part of its acquisition of Astral Media Inc., the provision should apply to the industry as a whole and not just BCE,...
The federal Conservative government could use new powers in its budget implementation bill to veto CBC/Radio-Canada's selections to fill senior management positions, including a vacancy for...
Shaw Communications Inc. launched delivery of its direct-to-home TV service over Telesat’s new Anik G1 satellite, Telesat said. In a release Wednesday, Telesat said the launch marked the start of commercial service on the Anik G1 satellite, which it launched last month....
The CRTC said it approved a Newcap Inc. application to launch an English-language, adult contemporary radio station in Clarenville, N.L. In a decision Friday, the CRTC said the station, if launched, could operate at 97.1 MHz on...
Netflix Inc. has more than 2.18 million Canadian subscribers and has become a “significant competitor” in the Canadian media environment, Tom Berry, the president of independent production...
Three Canadian production companies will charge monthly fees for subscriptions to their YouTube channels under a new pilot program announced by Google Inc. this week. In a post on its blog Thursday, YouTube, owned by Google, said...
BCE Inc. executives appeared before CRTC commissioners to make a final pitch for the company's proposed $3.38 billion purchase of Astral Media Inc., where they twice shot down suggested conditions...
BCE Inc. reported higher first quarter profits driven by strong earnings and lower costs at its wireless division. In a quarterly earnings statement released Thursday, Bell reported $566 million in profit in the three-month...
Telus Corp.'s first quarter profits rose by 13.5 per cent due to strong growth across its wireless and wireline services, the company said. In a quarterly earnings statement released Thursday, Telus reported $362 million in...
Data usage and subscriber growth powered BCE Inc. and Telus Corp. to higher first quarter wireless revenues as the two companies added more postpaid subscribers at a faster pace than rival incumbent...
BCE Inc., if its deal for Astral Media Inc. goes through, would take an unfair share of national English- and French-language television rights agreements and pan-Canadian advertising deals, Quebecor...
BCE Inc.’s $3.38-billion acquisition of Astral Media Inc. would reverse declining broadcaster support for English-language theatrical films, though more funding for films is needed, said Michael Hennessy, president and CEO of the Canadian Media Production Association said. Hennessy, who appeared before CRTC commissioners at a hearing Wednesday to discuss BCE’s reworked application to purchase Astral, said it’s necessary for BCE’s benefits package to contribute more to English-language film than what the company has already committed—$8 million over seven years—and pointed out that Bell has indicated it is willing to do so. “Not using this proceeding to substantially boost funding for English-language theatrical films would represent a huge, lost...
MONTREAL—The “horse trading” of content and channel carriage rights between large, vertically integrated broadcast companies increases wholesale carriage fees for independent...
The CRTC opened a consultation on more than 100 radio licence renewal applications this week. In three notices of consultation Tuesday, the CRTC said it was consulting on renewal applications for 78 commercial radio stations...
Astral Media Inc. president and CEO Ian Greenberg requested—and did not receive—a personal meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper to discuss the CRTC’s decision last fall to...
Canada’s federal privacy commissioner will lead a team of international privacy enforcement agencies as they search for websites with poor privacy practices in an inaugural Internet Privacy Sweep initiative, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner said. In a release Monday, Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said her office will lead privacy...
Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary TV Group Inc. reported a net loss of $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2013 despite improved operating incomes in its TV and publishing segments, TVA said in an earnings report Tuesday. In a release, TVA said its television division generated $663,000 in operating income in the first quarter, up from a loss of $4.96 million during the same period a year earlier. The improved earnings, the company said, resulted from the “positive impact” of deconsolidating the financial results of its Sun News channel, and from a $1.74 million rise in operating income across its over-the-air TVA Network “despite a 7.6% decline in advertising revenues.” “Our French-language specialty services registered a 23.4% increase in subscription revenues, confirming the growing popularity of our specialty services and their content,” Pierre Dion, TVA’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We are also very pleased by the audience response to 'La Voix,' which drew an average...
MONTREAL—Wireless and TV provider Rogers Communications Inc. told CRTC commissioners that the regulator should order BCE Inc. to divest popular pay TV channel The Movie Network, with HBO, as...
Google Inc. will roll out subscription channels on its YouTube Inc. online video service as early as this week, the New York Times reported Monday, citing sources with knowledge of the plan. Under...
As part of BCE Inc.’s deal for Astral Media Inc., the companies stand by their plan to sell or shut down Montreal radio station TSN Radio if the CRTC does not make an exception to its rule for radio market ownership, said...
Rogers Communications Inc. appointed Michka Mancini as vice-president of it digital sales at its media subsidiary, the company said Monday. In a release, Rogers said Mancini will be based out of Toronto and lead one of Rogers...
SiriusXM Canada will add seven more Canadian channels to its subscription satellite radio service this month, the company said. In a release Monday, Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. said it will carry four new Canadian-made...
Fresh off the completion of the sale of its television assets to Rogers Communications Inc., theScore Inc. secured $16 million in private financing to develop and market its sports mobile applications. In a release Monday,...
Newfoundland Capital Corp. Ltd.’s Newcap Inc. subsidiary is no longer considering a sale of its Alberta broadcast division after failing to reach a deal for the radio services, the company said. Newcap said in January that...
The CRTC is consulting on licence renewals by two FM radio station stations that asked to change their licence conditions, the commission said. In a notice Monday, the CRTC said Canadian Hellenic Cable Radio Ltd. has asked for...
MONTREAL—BCE Inc.’s $3.38 billion acquisition of Astral Media Inc. will provide more scale and stability for Bell’s assets in the broadcasting sector, particularly for local TV stations declining in revenues, BCE and Astral officials told CRTC commissioners. A panel of 17 Astral and Bell officials appeared before commissioners Monday to open a weeklong hearing on BCE’s reworked application to acquire Astral, a radio station and specialty channel owner, after the regulator denied the company’s initial application last fall, citing concerns about BCE’s market power, competition, and a deal that it said wasn’t in the public interest. BCE officials...
Catalyst Capital Group Inc. hired four consultant lobbyists in Ottawa to communicate with the government about spectrum licences and telecom policy, the federal lobbyist registry shows. Newton Glassman, managing partner of Catalyst, a private equity firm, told The Globe and Mail this week that he is interested in owning a...
Quebecor Media Inc.’s French-language specialty channel TVA Sports has reached a deal to broadcast portions of CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. In a release Thursday, CBC said the...
Rogers Communications Inc.’s The Score specialty sports channel reached a two-year deal with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) for the multiplatform rights to eight international basketball events, Rogers said....
The CRTC will launch a “conversation” with Canadians about their television services this year and review its “basic service objective” regime in 2014, the commission said in...
CBC/Radio-Canada will write to the federal government to voice its concerns over an aspect of the government’s budget implementation bill that it said would reduce the Crown corporation’s ability to manage its relationship with its employees. In a statement posted on CBC’s corporate website Wednesday, the public broadcaster said budget bill C-60, which would give the federal government the ability to control some of the collective bargaining negotiations of four Crown corporations including the CBC, could have “unintended consequences” on the successful operation of some of those agencies. “It is important that these consequences are understood and addressed,” CBC said. “We will be writing to the Government to share our concerns about C-60, and to request a meeting to ensure that Ministers have...
The CRTC approved BCE Inc. division Bell Media Inc.’s request to redirect tangible benefits associated with its 2011 purchase of CTVglobemedia Inc. In a decision Thursday, the CRTC said it approved Bell’s request to...
About 1,700 classic titles removed from Netflix Inc.’s online library this week will affect U.S. subscribers only and have no impact on Canadian users, Netflix said. Online news service Mashable reported Wednesday that...
Video-on-demand services are not a competitive alternative to the proposed Canadian film channel Starlight: The Canadian Film Channel, film industry backers of the proposed channel told commissioners. At the CRTC’s final...
Sun News Network said the possibility of a “news neighbourhood” regulation for the grouping of news channels on the TV dial would be helpful as the Quebecor Media Inc. news channel told CRTC commissioners it would fold if its carriage issues are not addressed. “Our application...
Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) will launch five new channels in Canada in collaboration with Indian broadcaster Doordarshan (DD), the broadcaster said Wednesday. In a release, ATN said the new channels will include DD India, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Urdu and DD Sports. DD India, an Indian satellite TV channel, is a general interest...
Telus Corp. said its Optik TV “on the go” app for mobile and online TV viewing now offers on-demand movie and TV show rentals. The company said in a release that customers can rent titles on-demand from a list of more...
A measure in the Conservative government’s budget implementation bill would allow it to step into the collective bargaining process at CBC/Radio-Canada and is an “assault on workers’ rights and public broadcasting,” the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) said. Division...
Bell Aliant Inc. reported operating revenues of $684 million in the first quarter of 2013, rising by $2 million from the same quarter in 2012. Growth in TV, Internet, wireless, and other revenues offset declines in local and long...
A proposed video-on-demand service to feature Canadian-made films wouldn’t be enough to ensure Canadian consumers have access to those films, Peter Murphy, national policy manager of the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) told CRTC commissioners Wednesday. Instead, consumers want a service like the proposed channel Starlight: The Canadian Film Channel, which would promote Canadian films and make them easier for consumers to find, Murphy said at a CRTC hearing into broadcasters’ applications for mandatory distribution on basic TV packages. David Purdy, senior vice-president of content at Rogers Communications Inc., told commissioners last week that Roger’s growing stable of Canadian films on its video-on-demand service would provide Canadians with access Canadian films....
The CRTC is consulting on the Saskatoon radio market’s ability to support additional stations. In a notice posted on its website Wednesday, the commission said it is also seeking comments on whether it should open a consultation for new radio stations to serve the Saskatoon market. The CRTC said in the notice that upon assessing...
Ron Close was appointed to the position of president and CEO of Pelmorex Media Inc., the company said Wednesday. In a release, Pelmorex, the parent company of The Weather Network, Météomédia, Travelers Network, Beat The Traffic and eltiempo.es, said Close will replace Pierre L. Morrissette in the position, who has been chairman and...
Profits at Newcap Inc.’s parent company, Newfoundland Capital Corp. Ltd., reached $2.1 million in the first quarter of 2013, the Atlantic Canada broadcaster said Thursday. In a financial earnings report, Newfoundland Capital said profits for the three-month period that ended March 31 were up 162 per cent from $0.8 million in the same period the...
The House of Commons heritage committee, with support from government MPs, recommended that the Conservative government work with the video game industry to recruit more foreign workers in Canada, even as the government removed some key elements from its temporary foreign workers program. In a report on Canada's...
Canadian broadcasters’ diminishing appetite for documentary programming caused documentary production to fall since 2008, said Lisa Fitzgibbons, executive director of the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC). In a telephone interview, Fitzgibbons discussed a draft DOC report, to be released publicly in May, that found the number of documentary projects in Canada fell from 591 in 2008-2009 to 457 in 2010-2011, causing total documentary production spending to drop by 21 per cent, or $105 million, during the period. The draft report, provided to The Wire Report and titled “Getting Real 5,” was compiled by Nordicity Group Ltd. and says the drop in production has accounted...
The regulatory group at Shaw Communications Inc. found out Monday morning, before going on a panel at a CRTC hearing in Gatineau, Que., that a key member of their team had died. Charles King, 47, worked in Ottawa as Shaw's vice-president of government relations, and had fallen ill with cancer last year for the second time after successfully...
The CRTC approved Rogers Communications Inc.’s acquisition of The Score Television Network Ltd. and its Category A specialty channel, as well as Rogers’ request to relax some of the channel’s licence conditions, the CRTC said. In a decision Tuesday, the CRTC said it cleared the $167 million acquisition, announced last August, and said...
The National Film Board (NFB) is seeking international partners for a new “multiplatform destination” to showcase documentaries from around the world, the federal agency said. In a release Tuesday, the NFB said it is “driving an initiative” to launch a service that would give subscribers “privileged access to documentary...
Cord cutters are rising as a percentage of Telus Corp. customers who are cancelling their TV subscriptions, the company said. At a CRTC hearing Tuesday on applications for mandatory carriage of TV channels under 9(1)(h) of the...
The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) asked the CRTC to look into Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Inc.'s production arrangement with Animiki See Digital Production Inc. Michael Hennessy, president of the CMPA, told CRTC commissioners at a hearing Tuesday that most of APTN's production is conducted through Animiki See, requiring...
Kirstine Stewart, CBC/Radio-Canada’s executive vice-president of English services since 2010, left the Crown corporation to head Twitter Inc.’s new Canadian office. Adam Bain, Twitter’s president of global revenue, said in a Twitter message Monday that Stewart will become the first employee and managing director of Twitter Canada....
Tangible benefits spending related to the acquisition of TV broadcast assets reached a record $177 million in the 2011-2012 broadcast year, Ottawa-based consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services Inc. said. In a release Monday, Boon Dog said of the $177 million spent for the year ended Aug. 31, 2012, $113.5 million or 64 per cent, went to on-screen...
Rogers Communications Inc. is aggressively licensing new Canadian films for its video-on-demand platform to better compete with TV rival BCE Inc., not as a way to head off an application for a new Canadian film channel mandated on basic cable, said David Purdy, Rogers’ senior vice-president of content....
Astral Media Inc. launched a new mobile application that aggregates news and content from its business units for clients, the company said. In a release Friday, Astral said the new business-to-business news application features client cases, a calendar of events, brand portfolios, sponsorships and partnerships, and “international media creativity cases.” Developed by Montreal-based app developer Okam inc., the app is available for devices that run on Apple Inc.’s iOS platform or on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, Astral said....
The CRTC is asking broadcast distributors for information on the dial positions of news channels they carry following questions from commission Chair Jean-Pierre Blais last week about the possibility of creating a “news neighbourhood” regulation for the grouping of news channels. Sun News Network, an all-news...
Supreme Court Justice Morris Fish will retire at the end of the spring session, the court said. In a release Monday, the Supreme Court said Fish informed Justice Minister Rob Nicholson of his intention to retire, effective Aug. 31, after 10 years on the bench. Justice Fish played a role in Supreme Court decisions on several high-profile broadcasting...
The CRTC should not grant any new mandatory distribution orders and should freeze the wholesale rates of channels that already have one to prevent the cancelation of television subscriptions, independent broadcaster Blue Ant Media Inc. said. Raja Khanna, Blue Ant’s chief executive, told commissioners at a hearing Friday that mandatory...
Organizational restructuring at video game developer Electronic Arts Inc. could lead to the shutdown of Vancouver-based studios Popcap Vancouver and Quicklime Studios, the Financial Post reported Thursday. FP cited news sources Polygon and GameInformer and said former EA employees broke the news of the shutdown on Twitter Thursday. “So Quicklime...
The CRTC should grant mandatory distribution orders on an exceptional and “narrow” basis and only to affordable channels that match all of the commission’s criteria, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) said. Janet Lo, PIAC’s legal counsel, told commissioners at a hearing Friday that the prices of subscription television services are increasing at a higher rate than other Canadian communications services, making basic TV service unaffordable. “Since the commission deregulated basic television service in 1997, the average monthly rate for basic service has doubled,” she said during the fourth day of a two-week hearing into applications for mandatory distribution licences. Many broadcasters seeking mandatory distribution, also known as 9(1)(h)...
A private members bill that would give more power to Canada’s privacy commissioner and require private sector companies to report data security breaches is a positive piece of legislation though it is unlikely to become law, experts say. NDP MP Charmaine Borg’s private members bill C-475 would amend the...
Independent IPTV provider VMedia Inc. told CRTC commissioners that, if the regulator decides to reject the mandatory carriage application for Starlight: The Canadian Film Channel, the company plans to launch a new Canadian film...
Four American “Afrotainment” specialty channels would benefit, not hinder, Afromedia Communications Inc.’s African Movies and Entertainment Television (AMET TV) service if they are allowed to launch in Canada, the company applying to bring the channels to Canada said. In regulatory documents filed with the CRTC this week, Soundview...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division launched a new apprenticeship program designed to help develop the “next generation” of TV producers in Canada, the company said. In a release Wednesday, Bell Media said it will provide up to $1 million a year to the Producer Accelerator Lab program, which will provide hands-on training in both the...
Filmmakers and producers backing a proposed all-Canadian film channel faced questions from CRTC commissioners about why the Canadian public should fund their channel and whether they considered launching the service on an online platform. A 19-member panel of backers for the service, called...
A Waterloo-region CBC/Radio-Canada radio program that was pulled this week due to a regulatory hurdle will be back on the air Friday after the CRTC approved an FM radio application for Paris, Ont., CBC said. CBC said Tuesday that...
The CRTC opened consultations on seven broadcasting applications, including one renewal and six requests to operate new services. In a notice posted on the commission’s website Tuesday, the commission said it is seeking comments on Canadian Teen Television Network Inc.’s application to renew its specialty channel licence, which is set to...
The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) published a new standard designed to give broadcasters, TV providers and cable operators greater control over when users can fast-forward through on-demand content and advertising, the group said. In a release Tuesday, SCTE said the new standard, called SCTE 130-10 and published in a document...
MTS Inc. will begin deploying its fibre-to-the-home FiON network in Stonewall, Man., this summer and expects the service to be available in the area later this year, the company said. In a release Thursday, MTS said its rollout of the fibre network will give Stonewall residents access to its IPTV service, MTS Ultimate TV, as well as the company’s “newest and fastest” Internet plans. The expansion, it said, is part of a multi-year program to bring FiON to more than 20 communities across Manitoba. Other communities where the network is available include Selkirk, Steinbach, Dauphin, Thompson, The Pas, Neepawa, Carberry, Minnedosa, Killarney, and in parts of Winnipeg and Brandon, MTS said....
Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Videotron Ltd. released an illico.tv on-demand TV application for Google Inc.'s Android platform. In a release Wednesday, Videotron said the launch of the illico.tv Android app follows that...
The Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc. faced questions Wednesday about what it would do if it lost its 9(1)(h) mandatory carriage fee as the channel puts more programming free online and sees TV...
The CRTC launched into two weeks of hearings Tuesday to consider a number of “exceptional” channels applying for mandatory carriage on basic TV packages. At least that's how the applicants for the special licences describe their proposed or existing channels. They would make exceptional contributions to...
Quebecor Media Inc.’s Sun News Network should receive regulatory protection as a “new entrant” in Canada’s broadcasting market, said Kory Teneycke, vice-president of the specialty channel. “What we’re asking for is very similar with what happened in the wireless spectrum auction, which...
Production companies spent $1.2 billion in on-location filming in Toronto in 2012, up 5.9 per cent from $1.13 billion a year earlier, a new report by the city said. In a “Film, Television & Digital Media: 2012 Year in Review” report presented to the city’s Economic Development Committee on Tuesday, Toronto’s economic development and culture division said production spending on major film and television productions reached $1.01 billion in 2012, up from $957.82 million the previous year. Spending on commercials reached $98.2 million in 2012, the report said, up from $97.68 million the previous year. Production spending on animation reached $81.0 million and music videos reached $1.22 million, growing by 6.9 per cent and 0.1 per cent, respectively, from 2011,...
The CRTC approved an application by Newfoundland Capital Corp. Ltd. subsidiary Newcap Inc. to operate a commercial English-language FM station in Wainwright, Alta., the commission said. In a decision Tuesday, the CRTC said it approved Newcap’s request to open a new FM station to replace its CKKY Wainwright AM station. The commission noted Newcap...
Radio broadcasters should build their brands and be willing to innovate to maintain listeners in a changing media environment in which traditional broadcasters “no longer rule the roost,”...
GATINEAU, Que.—CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais opened the regulator’s hearing on mandatory distribution applications by warning broadcast companies applying for the special licences that consumers are concerned about affordability in their TV services and that they want more choice in the channels they receive....
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner is looking at Bill C-475, a private members bill put forward by NDP MP Charmaine Borg that amends the Privacy Act. The private members bill was read a first time in the House of Commons on Feb. 26, and would require organizations to notify the federal privacy commissioner of any incident where there was...
Rogers Communications Inc. reported higher first-quarter revenues and profits as the company’s wireless data revenues rose on smartphone customer additions, Rogers said in a quarterly financial statement Monday. In a...
Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) launched Star Network-India channels Star Utsav and Star Jalsha, the company said Monday. In a release Monday, ATN said it signed licensing agreements under which it has been granted exclusive rights to the two channels that are part of Star Network-India, affiliated with Fox International Channels, a...
Southshore Broadcasting Inc., which plans to become Canada’s first “multiplex” TV broadcaster later this year, says other local, over-the-air TV stations can use the technology to save spectrum, money and better serve viewers in their communities. Multiplexing, a practice widely...
Rogers Communications Inc. expanded its Anyplace TV service with an app that works on smart TVs made by LG Electronics, Rogers said. In a release Friday, Rogers said the application is the “first on demand video app of its kind in Canada” to work with smart TVs. The Anyplace TV service, which is also available through personal computers,...
Arris Group Inc. completed its acquisition of Motorola Mobility LLC’s “Motorola Home” business from Google Inc., the company said. In a release Wednesday, Arris said it paid Google $2.2 billion US and issued the company 10.6 million Arris shares to complete the deal, which was first announced in December. The deal, the release said, will allow Arris “to transform how service and content providers deliver entrainment and communications” by creating a “global player in video delivery and broadband technology.” Shaw Communications Inc. uses platforms operated by Arris and Motorola in its digital cable operations, predominantly in Western Canada....
