CALGARY – The rumour mill had been spinning wildly over the past couple of days in Hamilton about the impending sale of Mountain Cablevision, but the buyer, announced this morning to be Shaw Communications, is a bit of a surprise.
Based in Hamilton, Ontario Mountain has approximately 41,000 cable customers and has been very successful adding services, too, with 28,000 Internet subscribers and 27,000 telephone customers.
The purchase price was not announced, but a cable company in the lucrative southern Ontario market with this many revenue generating units, expect the price to be north of about $300 million, sources have told…
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TORONTO – In a note to clients, BMO Nesbitt Burns media and cable analyst Tim Casey notes the Shaw Communications purchase price of Mountain Cablevision may be as high as $300 million (a whopping $7,300 per sub).
While saying the impact of the purchase is “slightly negative” for Shaw, Casey notes that industry contacts “have speculated a price in the $300mm range, implying roughly 12x EBITDA,” he wrote.
“The transaction is a surprise given Shaw’s Ontario assets are in Sault Ste. Marie, Kenora and Thunder Bay. We expect operating synergies will be limited.
“Given Shaw’s industry-leading track record regarding capital allocation, we…
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GATINEAU – According to the Campaign for Democratic Media, the CRTC’s hearing into network traffic management is about nothing less than “who will determine the way we use the Internet,” David Fewer, acting director of CIPPIC told commissioners Thursday morning.
Leaving network management practices up to the discretion of the networks owners can only invite disaster and make Canada “a backwater of online innovation,” he added. “The Canadian Internet is not simply the private property of Canadian ISPs.” (CIPPIC is the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic and a member of the CDM.)
While that may be true…
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GATINEAU – In back-to-back presentations this morning, the CRTC heard from two of Canada’s largest ISPs, Telus and Cogeco Cable, one of which uses no Internet traffic management techniques (yet) and one which uses them all the time.
Each want the same thing, however: to be left alone to manage their networks how they see fit.
Telus, the big western-based telco, uses no traffic management technology right now on either its retail consumers or wholesale business clients, said senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs Michael Hennessy. But it wants the freedom to be able to deploy them, if needed, in…
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TORONTO, MONTREAL and OTTAWA – Three of Canada’s largest BDUs were quick to express their mutual disappointment with Monday’s CRTC decision, and hinted that it will be the consumer who will be hit the hardest.
Rogers said that the introduction of the “major new consumer TV taxes” should have Canadian consumers “very worried”, and vice-chair Phil Lind predicted that the new fees could cost its customers an additional $50 – $100 per year depending on their cable package.
“Today’s CRTC announcement says that, not withstanding earlier rulings by the CRTC and notwithstanding the lack of support by the Canadian…
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GATINEAU – Earlier this week, the CBC attempted to give the CRTC a little advice before the Regulator releases its public notice announcing the September hearing into an overhaul of the regulation of the TV business in Canada this coming Monday.
As reported by Cartt.ca, this past Monday the CBC offered up a proposed new distribution order which would govern new fee-for-carriage negotiations between broadcasters and cable and satellite companies (actually, the broadcasters are trying to “re-brand” the fee-for-carriage battle to one entitled value for signal, but we digress…)
Together, Shaw Communications, Telus, Rogers Communications, Cogeco and Bell…
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HAMILTON – Clearcable Networks will hold the 2009 Clearcable Technology Summit for mid-market cable service providers on July 9-10, 2009 near the Cogeco Ontario headquarters in Burlington, ON.
With sessions ranging from Multi-homing, to DOCSIS 3.0/RFoG, and SIP, the Summit will emphasize growth of existing residential voice and data services, and showcase Clearcable’s development of commercial and small business services.
Contact Clearcable at 1-866-679-0737 or via e-mail at info@clearcable.ca for details.
www.clearcable.ca
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TORONTO – National radio sales fell 13.9% in the third quarter of 2009, according to data from Canadian Broadcast Sales (CBS).
Over 82% of the shortfall occurred in four major categories – the Government sector was down by 54%; alcoholic beverages dropped by 32.5%; the financial services category was down 25%; and telecommunications dipped 20%. The retail and restaurant categories captured almost 30% of the total revenue spent.
“On the bright side, the consumer economy appears to be showing positive signs in these trying economic times,” said CBS president Patrick Grierson, in the press release. “National Retail increased revenue share to…
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MARKHAM, ON – Telecom veterans John Piercy and Ian Collins are joining Atria Networks as CEO and president, respectively.
Piercy joins Atria from Mountain Cable in Hamilton, ON, where he has been president for the past five years. He brings 26 years of telecom industry experience to the position, through stints at BCE Capital, Onsite Access Canada, Leitch Technologies and AT&T Canada.
Collins was previously the acting president at Cogeco Data Services (formerly Toronto Hydro Telecom Inc.). He has also worked at Hamilton Hydro, its FiberWired telecom services division, and Ontario Hydro.
Piercy and Collins will start July 6, replacing…
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TORONTO – Rogers, Bell, Telus, Cogeco, Eastlink and the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) have banded together to file a complaint with the CRTC alleging that CTV has violated the Broadcasting Act by airing a “one-sided and unbalanced coverage” of its own advocacy campaign.
As reported by Cartt.ca, CTV has been promoting its ‘Save Local TV’ campaign across its television properties in an apparent attempt to pressure the government and the CRTC for fee-for-carriage. But incorporating the campaign into their local newscasts violates the Broadcasting Act and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters own Code of Ethics, say the group of BDUs.
"While we…
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