By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau is investigating whether Videotron employees artificially inflated online reviews of the Helix IPTV platform – and potentially other company products – in public forums, according to new court files asking the court to compel the Montreal-based company to hand over documents to advance the inquiry.
The watchdog said it’s of the preliminary view that the company’s employees may have violated competition law by “promoting, directly or indirectly, the supply or use of its products” and business interests through “deceptive” means. As the investigation is ongoing, the Bureau said it has not concluded any…
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TORONTO — The Canadian Media Guild (CMG) has sent a letter to the CBC’s senior management team, urging them to take action to dismantle structural racism in the corporation, according to a blog post Tuesday.
The letter was written by a group of Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) and allied CBC employees, and signed by 247 current and former CBC employees from across Canada, according to the blog post.
In the letter, the CMG repeats its previous call for temporary employees of the CBC to be converted to full-time staff. In June, the union asked the federal…
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The Book of Negroes miniseries, Jackie Robinson documentary among the highlights
TORONTO — In recognition of Emancipation Day, which commemorates the abolition of slavery across the British Empire on August 1, the CBC later this month will offer special programming which showcases Black creators, artists and stories from across Canada and around the world.
From July 26-28, CBC will present an encore broadcast of its award-winning original miniseries The Book of Negroes, based on the acclaimed novel by Lawrence Hill. The six-part series originally ran on CBC TV in January 2015 and went on to win 10 Canadian Screen Awards. Starring…
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TORONTO — The Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada (IAB Canada) will hold a four-day virtual event next week examining the advanced TV space with digital content presented from some of the biggest names in Canadian media, research and advertising.
Topics to be discussed during IAB Canada’s “Advanced TV Week” include viewing trends and usage rates, the Canadian broadcaster and device landscape, connected TV and OTT video apps, social TV, advanced TV measurement and programmatic TV.
“By the end of the week participants will have the knowledge and insights to begin incorporating advanced TV tactics into their media planning right away,” reads…
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IQALUIT, NU – The Inuit TV Network announced its upcoming launch Thursday on Nunavut Day.
“It is our collective aspiration to strengthen Inuktut in all aspects of life for Nunavut Inuit,” said Aluki Kotierk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, which is investing over $2.4 million in the channel, in the press release. “I am especially thankful to Inuit TV for their vision to bring Inuit culture and language into our homes and ensure Inuit have access to information in the majority language of the territory.”
Currently, there is a lack of Inuktut programming on Nunavut television to balance the daily…
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TORONTO — CBC Radio announced today Ismaila Alfa (pictured) will be the new host of Toronto’s morning radio show, Metro Morning, starting on Monday, August 24.
Alfa has been a CBC Radio broadcaster and journalist since 2008, and he is currently the host of Winnipeg’s afternoon radio current affairs program Up to Speed. He has also been a guest host on Metro Morning since Matt Galloway’s departure at the end of last year to host The Current.
Alfa will say goodbye to Winnipeg listeners this month, and the search for a new host of Up to Speed starts right away, says…
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GATINEAU — In two separate decisions today, the CRTC denied applications for new radio station licences in Vancouver, B.C. and Grande Prairie, Alta., saying neither market can support an additional radio station at this time.
Rogers Media had filed the licence application for the Vancouver market, where it currently operates three commercial radio stations and also a rebroadcasting transmitter, CKKS-FM-2, which Rogers wanted to convert to an originating station with the new licence.
In total, 22 commercial stations serve the Vancouver market, and a joint opposing intervention to Rogers’ licence application was submitted by incumbents Bell Media, Corus Entertainment and Stingray…
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TORONTO — The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and CBC Sports announced Friday the full schedule of games for the CEBL Summer Series, which tips off July 25.
This will be the first live professional sports action to take place on home soil in Canada since the Covid-19 outbreak in March and the suspension of live sports league competition. (Major League Baseball today announced its 60-game schedule for 2020, which will see the Toronto Blue Jays start their shortened season in Tampa Bay on July 24. The NHL also announced today, if return-to-play goes as planned, playoff games are tentatively…
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MONTREAL — Bell Media announced Monday it has hired Lucie Quenneville (pictured) as the new general manager of programming and acquisition strategies for Bell Media in Quebec, effective July 20.
Reporting to Suzane Landry, Bell Media’s vice-president of French-language content development and programming, Quenneville will be responsible for programming and acquisition strategies for the V specialty channel and for Crave’s French-language programming.
The new appointment marks Quenneville’s return to the V network, where she worked for six years from 2006-2012, first as director general of development and acquisitions, and then vice-president of programming and acquisitions. From 2013-2016, she was Quebecor Media’s…
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CANADA DAY IS GOING virtual this year, and CBC/Radio-Canada is preparing to showcase a full day’s worth of celebrations from coast-to-coast-to-coast on its TV, radio and digital platforms.
Special Canada Day programming will air on CBC TV, ICI Radio-Canada Télé, CBC News Network, ICI RDI, CBC Radio One, ICI Radio-Canada Première, CBC Music, ICI Musique, and the CBC Gem and ICI TOU.TV streaming services.
“This will be a Canada Day like no other. During this remarkable period of social distancing, reflection and change, the national public broadcaster is proud to bring the country together in a virtual celebration of…
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