GATINEAU – With a light dusting of snow outside and a grey beginning to yet another week of talking about paying for conventional television signals, you’ll hopefully forgive us for feeling just a little like this.
This is the fourth hearing inside of two years (and the second one in the past month!) whose focus is on compensating local TV broadcasters for their signals). This one, as CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein pointed out right at the start, will not set policy, but instead will inform a report to be filed in the new year with Canadian Heritage Minister…
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TORONTO – Nickelodeon in Canada will offer over eight million households a chance to sample its kid friendly programming over the holidays thanks to a month long free preview.
From December 15 through January 18, the newly launched channel will be available on Rogers (channel 231), Shaw Direct (channel 182), Shaw (channel 135), Cogeco (channel 142) and Bell TV (channel 559).
Nickelodeon in Canada is a licensing agreement between MTV Networks International and Corus Entertainment.
www.nickcanada.com
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TORONTO – The Movie Network launched two additional high-definition channels on Wednesday, MExcess HD and MFun! HD.
Available free of charge to TMN subscribers, the new channels will mirror the programming available on MExcess and MFun!’s respective standard-definition channels.
“With the addition of these new channels, The Movie Network and its classic movie service, Mpix, have five HD channels collectively and boast the most HD movies of any network in Canada,” said Domenic Vivolo, SVP of marketing and sales for Astral, in the announcement.
The channels are available on Rogers and Cogeco Cable immediately. They will launch with Bell TV next week, and…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications continued cutting its workforce this week as news broke on just how many positions have been eliminated by the cable, wireless and media giant of late.
While a number of folks on the media (primarily in magazine publishing) side were let go earlier in the year, Canadian Press reported Thursday that a total of 900 positions have been or are currently being eliminated.
Rogers VP communications Terrie Tweddle confirmed to Cartt.ca that this week’s news is the continuation of what we reported in October and that the number of positions eliminated are primarily in the management…
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TORONTO – Could Rogers and Cogeco be joining forces?
Rogers announced Thursday that it has purchased 3.2 million subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Cable, and 1.62 million subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Inc., in cash purchase prices of $116.6 million and $46.4 million respectively, exluding commissions.
In the announcement, Rogers said that it is acquiring the shares “for investment purposes”, and that it has “no current intention of acquiring ownership of or control or direction” over any additional shares at this time.
The deal means that Rogers now owns 9.79 million subordinate voting shares of Cogeco Cable, or approximately 29.8% of the…
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TORONTO – The high definition television subscribers of Bell TV say they love their nature and sports channels, according to a new Angus Reid survey done for independent broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV.
Leading the way is Oasis HD, a nature and natural history channel owned and run by Toronto-based High Fidelity HDTV Inc. According to the survey, Oasis HD is the high definition television channel most-often talked about or recommended to others.
Among the 505 Bell TV subscribers surveyed – who had at least one HiFi channel – Oasis HD ranked ahead of Bell’s other HD offerings (see chart).
"We have known…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable said that it is broadcasters’ “rampant spending to purchase major US network programming” that is at the real root of what ails the industry, not simply the erosion of market share and advertising revenue.
In a statement released after its appearance at the CRTC hearings Tuesday, the cable co said that granting broadcasters the right to charge compensation for signal “would be irresponsible and inappropriate”.
"Compensation for signal is only a partial and inappropriate solution to a much broader problem," said president and CEO Louis Audet, in a statement. "We are entitled to ask why the broadcasters…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable has added three new service packages to its home phone service.
The ‘basic line’ package includes unlimited local calling; the ‘select’ package includes unlimited local calling, the choice of two calling features and 100 long distance minutes in Canada and the U.S.; while the ‘freedom’ package offers unlimited local calling, the choice of five calling features and unlimited long distance calling in Canada and the U.S.
"Cogeco Home Phone truly is what our customers are looking for: flexibility, choice and competitive price”, said Ron Perrotta, VP of marketing and strategic planning, in the announcement. “Plus, there are…
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IF YOU JUDGED BY the various ad campaigns, Facebook pages and Twitter streams, you’d be thinking that the hearing beginning today in Gatineau is only about whether or not conventional broadcasters should get a fee for their signal.
Well, granting the broadcasters the right to negotiate a fee for carriage of their local TV signals is a foregone conclusion. I’m convinced this will happen. The term “negotiation for value” – which has begun to replace “fee-for-carriage” in the industry lexicon – was coined by CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein himself earlier this year and while I’m not necessarily opposed to…
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MONTREAL – Following the lead of its peers, Cogeco Cable’s Canadian operations continued to grow during the recession, the company reported today. The company continues to struggle in Portugal, although it is reporting some positive indications there.
Fourth quarter 2009 consolidated revenue increased by 8% to reach $307.8 million, when compared to the corresponding period of the prior year. Driven by increased revenue-generating units combined with rate increases and the financial results generated by the acquisition of Cogeco Data Services in the last quarter of fiscal 2008, fourth-quarter Canadian operations revenue went up by $34.8 million, or 15.8%.
However, the company’s…
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