OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Bell Media won its desired 690 kHz spot on the dial in the Montreal radio market, while Cogeco Diffusion was shut out by a newcomer for the 940 kHz location.
The CRTC issued its decision Monday, granting Bell Media’s request for a frequency change for its TSN radio station from 990 kHz to 690 kHz. As Cartt.ca reported, Cogeco had applied for an English-language all-traffic station on AM 940 to accompany its French-language service Radio Circulation 730 that launched this fall.
The Commission also awarded two new AM radio licences for the market, which is currently served by 34 stations, 21…
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THE REACTION TO THE CRTC’s decision to quash usage-based Internet billing in favour of a couple of other options (complete with set rates) has been all over the map, with several hailing it as a win for consumers while others predict broadband rates will only rise because of it. Then again, there are also some in the middle taking a wait and see approach.
Dennis Beland, senior director regulatory affairs, Quebecor:
“The decision is a victory for artificial competition. We’ve always been defenders of facilities-based competition and if you take a step back and look at the…
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LAST YEAR AT THIS time, Kevin Crull was into week three of his transition from long-time telecom executive to the leader of the largest Canadian broadcasting company.
Now president of Bell Media, the company which owns the CTV and CTV2 conventional TV networks, 29 specialty channels including market leader TSN, 33 radio stations and the Sympatico.ca portal, Crull came over from Bell Canada’s telco side, having run Bell Residential Services for five years. For a decade prior to that he was a senior executive with AT&T and US West.
One of his final projects at Bell Canada was writing the business…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. has completed a private placement issue senior unsecured notes for a total of $35 million.
The company said Monday that net proceeds will be used to reduceCogeco’s bank debt.
Interest on these Notes, which mature November 7, 2021, is payable semi-annually in arrears on November 7 and May 7 of each year starting May 7, 2012.
www.cogeco.ca
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable is adding Sun News to its lineup in Ontario starting Tuesday.
For the past six months, Cogeco Ontario customers have been able to watch the channel via the old over-the-air Sun TV signal that is scheduled to cease operation at midnight on October 31. The channel, a joint venture between Quebecor’s TVA Group and Sun Media Corporation, will be available on channel 195 (SD) and 705 (HD), plus be added to Cogeco’s ‘Digital Select’ theme package.
“We always strive to provide the most interesting and relevant offering on the market”, said Ron Perrotta, Cogeco’s VP of marketing…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable CEO Louis Audet said yesterday that the existing subscription TV model of providing large multi-channel programming packages to customers will soon be a thing of the past as companies evolve towards a model of more choice and flexibility.
Speaking to financial analysts after the company’s release of its strong fourth quarter results, Audet said irrespective of the CRTC’s demand for a report on providing more choice to the consumer (as the Commission has demanded as part of its Vertical Integration Policy), the overall video market will push cable in that direction.
“It’s…
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MONTREAL – Surging fourth quarter profits helped drive Cogeco’s “strong” year-end results, the cable and media company said Thursday.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, Cogeco Inc. reported a 9.2% increase in consolidated revenue to reach $1.44 billion, while fourth-quarter consolidated revenue grew 12.5% year-over-year to $375.4 million.
Quarterly net income was $21.1 million, up almost 72% from $12.3 million in the same period last year, though the company recorded a $9 million net loss for the year due in large part to an $225.9 million impairment loss of recorded on its investment in its Cabovisao subsidiary in Portugal.
"Cogeco posted…
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TORONTO – Canadian telephone companies long sought a way to deliver a TV experience to their customers.
Bell Canada opted early on for a satellite solution, having come to realize during many technical trials during the 1990s that delivering a quality TV experience on par with what cable could offer was still years away.
Other Canadian telcos continued to test the delivery of digital television signals using various technological options through the 1990s and early 2000s. Cost, inefficient compression technology, and the physical limitations of the telco plant all held back viable solutions to the telephone company’s missing link when it…
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MONTREAL – Guy Laflamme has joined the board of Montreal-based ISP Colba.Net Inc, replacing Bertrand Bolduc as director of the company.
Laflamme was CFO of Vidéotron from 1975 to 1984 before launching Portuguese cable company Cabovisao, which is now owned by Cogeco.
No reason was given for Boluc’s departure from the role.
www.colba.net
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable has added almost 100 hours a month to its on-demand content in Quebec, aimed at women, cooking and home decor enthusiasts, and movie fans.
The new content includes Mlle Sur Demande, CASA Sur Demande, addikTV Sur Demande plus Cinepop Sur Demande, a Cogeco Cable exclusive. It is available now to Quebec-based customers who subscribe to one of these channels and have access to Cogeco On Demand.
"Our customers are real fans of the shows offered by Mlle, CASA, addikTV and Cinepop, but sometimes their schedules just don't allow them to tune in right at broadcast time, and they'd…
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