Search Results for: cogeco

Cable / Telecom News

CORRECTION: 2008 Canadian CommTech show dates set

KELOWNA – The CommTech Show will return for its third year to the beautiful Okanagan Valley next spring on May 14 and 15 providing two days of back-to-back seminars hosted by Industry experts as well as an expected sold-out exhibitor forum with over 50 exhibitors representing thousands of products. An earlier version of this story had the wrong dates. Cartt.ca regrets the error. Over 50 companies attended the 2007 trade show and seminars and attendees included buyers, corporate safety experts, operations management, sub-contractors, inside & outside plant technicians, planning engineers and educators from the cable, telco, wireless, college, municipal and… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Cogeco raises $147 million

MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable said today its public offering of three million subordinate voting shares announced on July 19, 2007 has closed, for gross proceeds of $153.45 million, "The subordinate voting shares are being distributed to the public pursuant to a short form prospectus filed with securities regulatory authorities in each province and territory of Canada through an underwriting syndicate led by BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and including CIBC World Markets Inc., GMP Securities L.P., Scotia Capital Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc. and National Bank Financial Inc.," says the press release. The offering will result in net proceeds to Cogeco… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Cogeco Cable to raise $153 million via share issue

MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable Inc. has entered into an agreement with underwriters to raise $153 million through a share issue. A syndicate of underwriters led by BMO Capital Markets, including CIBC World Markets Inc., GMP Securities L.P., Scotia Capital Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., and National Bank Financial Inc., have agreed to buy on a bought deal basis 3 million subordinate voting shares by way of a short form prospectus. Each voting share will cost $51.15, for gross proceeds of $153.45 million. The net proceeds will be used to reduce debt and for “general corporate purposes,” Cogeco says. The offering… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telecom industry launches consumer complaints agency

OTTAWA – Canada’s telecommunications companies have launched an agency to hear complaints from consumers that can’t be resolved by the telcos or the CRTC. The office of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) opened its doors in Ottawa on Monday. It was created in response to a request from Industry Minister Maxime Bernier that telephone service providers work together to create an independent, industry-funded agency to handle complaints that fall outside the CRTC’s jurisdiction and that consumers and small businesses have been unable to resolve directly with their service provider. The request was tied with the federal… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Cogeco adds WGN HD

MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable has launched WGN HD, a U.S. digital specialty channel from Chicago, the company announced today. "As we continue to invest in our state-of-the-art cable network, we will continue to launch new HD channels as they become available," said Ron Perrotta, vice-president, marketing of Cogeco Cable. WGN HD (channel 293) will be available for free to the majority of Cogeco digital cable subscribers who are paying the $6 HD access fee and who also subscribe to its movies package. "Our digital cable service has been gaining popularity with more than 43,000 new subscribers in the three… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Cogeco upgrades guidance thanks to hot cable performance

MONTREAL – Over the third quarter of fiscal 2007, ended May 31st, revenue at Cogeco Inc. increased by 46.2% reaching $277.4 million and operating income before amortization improved by 44.4%, to stand at $95.5 million. While Cogeco operates a number of radio stations and has majority control of Quebec conventional broadcaster TQS, it’s the cable side – in Quebec, Ontario and Portugal, that’s really driving the company. “The cable subsidiary continued to exceed the last financial projections. Revenue generating units (RGUs) are up as well as overall financial results. The media sector improved its revenue mainly due to the performance of… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

National radio sales climb 6.1% in Q3

TORONTO – Business continues to boom for private radio in terms of national ad sales, which rose 6.1% in the third quarter of this fiscal compared with the same time last year, according to figures from Canadian Broadcast Sales. CBS says that bookings for the fourth quarter of the broadcast year are on track to climb 9.9% from Q4 last year, with even bigger gains predicted for the first quarter next year. “In the near term, radio will continue to enjoy the positive momentum of the past several years. The early revenue pacing for the first quarter of 2008… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Germain leaving Cogeco

BURLINGTON – Gaston Germain announced today he is stepping down from his position as vice-president, Ontario. On October 15 he will start as president and COO of a Canadian programming service, which was not named in the press release. Until then he will remain at the head of Cogeco Cable’s Ontario operating unit. "I wish to express my gratitude to Cogeco’s management for giving me the leeway to contribute to the evolution of a great company and establish, for all Cogeco employees in Ontario, a solid ground to perform," said Germain in the press release. Company president and CEO… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

SNAP JUDGMENT: Hard to envision Bellus happening

By Greg O’Brien IF THERE WERE NO big bogeymen around to scare the federal government into re-jigging an open wireless spectrum auction to favour such things as spectrum caps, or spectrum set-asides – and then mandated roaming – there is now, with the announcement that Telus is an active participant in the expected sale of Bell Canada Enterprises. The press release arrived just after 8 p.m. last night and even though it means little right now, you’ve got to believe that the folks in Ottawa at Industry Canada who are deciding on the rules for the advanced wireless spectrum auction… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

The TUESDAY INTERVIEW: CPAC president Colette Watson

LAST WEEK THE Cable Public Affairs Channel celebrated its 15th anniversary of bringing Canadians the nitty gritty of politics. As the only place where you find federal Parliamentary debates, committee meetings, inquiry hearings, political talk shows, some international flavour and of course, Question Period, it’s also just about the only Paris Hilton-free media outlet in the world, which perhaps explains why it’s often on in our house… But, just because Canadian cable companies created it, own it, and politicians on the Hill love it, CPAC still, like any other traditional media outlet, has its challenges. While it was a… Continue Reading