AFTER SIX YEARS, SATELLITE radio produced its first-ever profit in Canada when earlier this month SiriusXM Canada reported it was $3.3 million in the black for the first quarter of fiscal 2013.
For executive chairman John Bitove, that Q1 result is vindication after plugging away just as XM Canada to begin with – in competition with Sirius Canada – and then finally merging with it in 2011 two years after the American satellite radio companies combined themselves. Satellite radio faced numerous launch obstacles, chiefly convincing people to want to pay for radio in the first place,…
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AMONG CANADIAN TELEVISION executives, no one is more active on Twitter than Kirstine Stewart. Some feel Twitter is an waste of time and it sure can be if you let it, but for Stewart, EVP of English Services at the CBC and a smart user of the social network, Twitter is a good way for @KStewartCBC to listen to Canadians, get her message out – and even make her personal opinions known, about more than just the CBC.
Of course, her tweets are often back-slapping congratulations for this or that CBC program doing well in the ratings (there have…
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TORONTO – The wraps are finally coming off a historic landmark building in Kitchener which is being transformed into the new home for CBC Radio One 89.1.
On March 11th the CBC Kitchener-Waterloo FM station will officially open its doors as it begins airing its local radio morning show. The station will also have an interactive digital presence that offers “local news, weather, community information, commentary, local guest columnists, traffic and more,” says the CBC.
"Canadians have long told us they want local service. We have been looking forward to connecting with the community and…
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OTTAWA – Will it be a 9(1)(h) Christmas in April for some Canadian specialty channels? After much delay, the CRTC has set a date to hear applications for the mandatory distribution of specialty channels (some new, some not) on Canadian BDUs.
The hearing will take place April 23 in Gatineau and the deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers is February 20, 2013. The hearing will also take a look at existing channels that are currently distributed on a mandatory basis (APTN, AMI, etc) and will assess whether these services “should continue to benefit from such distribution,…
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TORONTO – CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada is facing off on the 2nd screen in a big way this Saturday to kick of its 60th season. Budweiser is sponsoring Facebook and Twitter pages where fans can login during national broadcasts and interact with in-game features that reflect the live game action.
HNIC says Hockey Night in Canada: 2nd Screen presented by Budweiser gives viewers new ways to interact and engage with the game through smartphones, tablets and computers. Fans can login at Facebook and test their knowledge and try their luck at predicting team and…
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CALGARY – With the NHL schedule finally underway this Saturday, Shaw is offering free previews and special pricing on NHL Centre Ice and TSN Jets for Shaw and Shaw Direct customers.
"We love hockey and know our customers want to get in on all the action of 2012-13 NHL season," said Peter Bissonnette, President, Shaw Communications Inc. "This year, in addition to the many sports channels that are included as part of our basic cable and satellite packages, we're also excited to offer free previews and special pricing on NHL Centre Ice and TSN Jets."
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IROQUOIS, Ont. – Ross Video founder John Ross has been awarded the Order of Canada the company announced Monday.
Nominated for his contributions as a technology innovator, developing products at the forefront of broadcast engineering, Ross will accept his insignia at a ceremony to be held at a later date. The Order of Canada is the highest honour a Canadian citizen can receive and the list was announced by the Governor General on December 30, 2012.
“My fascination with engineering began with an electronics book I discovered at the age eight,” said Ross, in the company’s press release. “By the time…
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OTTAWA – The promise of more regional and children’s programming as well as more programs of national interest (PNI) were not enough for some of CBC/Radio-Canada’s detractors. In final comments to its licence renewal filed this week, many suggested that the public broadcaster needs to still do even more Canadian programming than it committed during replies stage.
ACTRA said the CRTC shouldn’t been fooled by CBC’s request for flexibility, which has usually been synonymous with airing less Canadian content. Nor should the CBC shouldn’t be able to use its fiscal challenges as an excuse to its lessen its obligations. “Without…
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MARKHAM, ON – “Re-commercialization of CBC Radio is a terrible idea” and would be “extremely detrimental to smaller market operations” says Douglas E. Kirk, President, Ontario Association of Broadcasters (OAB).
In a letter to the CRTC dated Dec. 11, Kirk responds to the CBC’s proposal made at its recent license renewal hearing that it be allowed to run commercial ads on its radio properties and responded to the CBC’s claims regarding revenue growth.
In the letter Kirk questions whether CBC Radio is actually facing a “financial crisis” given the $327.3 million in parliamentary appropriation it…
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TORONTO – With the Supreme Court ruling the CRTC does not have the authority to require cable and satellite companies to negotiate with local broadcasters it now needs to focus attention on local stations says the Canadian Media Guild.
“The CRTC must now focus its attention on helping the local stations that really need it: those run by public and community broadcasters,” says Marc-Philippe Laurin, president of the CBC branch of the Canadian Media Guild.
The so-called value-for-signal scheme, proposed by the CRTC in 2010, would not have included CBC/Radio-Canada, the largest national network…
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