TORONTO – Just as new rival Super Channel is launching EastLink, Bell ExpressVu, Cogeco, and Rogers digital customers will be able to see a free preview of The Movie Network November 9 to 11, the broadcaster announced today.
And out west, Bell, MTS, SaskTel and Telus will be offering Movie Central for free.
The free preview weekend will include Hollywood movies such as The Last King of Scotland, Invincible, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, Clerks II and School for Scoundrels; acclaimed HBO series including Entourage, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Big Love and Flight of the Conchords; and hit Showtime programming including Dexter,…
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TORONTO – National radio ad sales grew 6% in the fiscal 2007 broadcast year, and the first quarter of 2008 was also strong, according to data released Monday by the Canadian Broadcast Sales.
“This year’s growth of 6% built on last year’s growth of 6.4% clearly illustrates the continuing strength of radio,” said CBS president Patrick Grierson. “Results were largely driven by Ontario’s 15.3% growth, while British Columbia was up 7.4% and Alberta rose 6%.
The first quarter of fiscal 2008 registered a further 6.5% in bookings, according to CBS.
In 2007, the top six categories accounted for 62.5%…
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MONTREAL – Canadian Broadcast Sales has hired Veronica Low to spearhead its new venture into Quebec.
Coming over from Astral Media Radio, Low will be Director, Business Development, of CBS Radio Quebec and will be uniting three large forces in the Quebec radio industry Corus, Cogeco and Radio Nord. CBS Radio Quebec, under Low’s leadership, will bring three broadcasters under one purchasing umbrella and will offer a dedicated resource in the province for uniting advertisers with radio stations and listeners, says CBS.
“The combination of Corus, Cogeco and Radio Nord under this new initiative strengthens the opportunities to deliver…
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By Greg O’Brien
THE CANADIAN CABLE Systems Alliance annual general meeting is always a great time. Compared to some of the other events I attend through the year, it’s tiny. But it’s very useful and always well organized. I always come away from it having learned a lot – and finally having had some face-to-face time with people I normally only chat with via e-mail.
The “learnings” (not really a word, but it’s one everyone uses) this year were plentiful. From new technologies and services to future-gazing and concrete advice on how to approach video on demand.
But there was a bit…
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MONT TREMBLANT – When Cogeco Cable began rolling out video on demand about five years ago, “we thought we were building a virtual video store,” says the company’s director of affiliate relations JP Caveen.
Not any more, of course. VOD has moved leaps and bounds away from that.
Caveen was part of a video on demand panel organized by CTAM Canada held Monday afternoon during the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance 14th annual general meeting that included a programmer, an aggregator and three operators.
They were there to share their success stories and challenges with the independent cable companies who…
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MONTREAL – Radio-Canada said today it has served Cogeco Inc.-controlled broadcaster TQS with a notice of disaffiliation.
By virtue of a contractual agreement Radio-Canada’s Television programming is presently broadcasted thanks to an affiliation to TQS. The current contract will soon be up for renewal in August 2008. “Since Radio-Canada wants to have the means and tools required to fulfill its mandate and meet the needs of residents in Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Saguenay, we concluded that disaffiliation was the best possible solution to achieve these objectives,” says a press release from Radio-Canada.
“The broadcasting environment has changed radically since the…
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MONT TREMBLANT – There’s just a couple of days left to register for the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance annual general meeting.
Canada’s independent cable operators, their programming and technical suppliers and a distinguished cast of guest speakers will highlight the three days at the base of the mountain.
The event begins Sunday evening with the president’s reception from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and the real meat of the conference is Monday, with Tuesday set aside for the annual – and much anticipated – golf tournament.
Monday’s speakers will be:
* Dean Prevost, Chief Corporate Officer at MTS Allstream Inc.,…
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OTTAWA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR Dr. Michael Geist is Canada’s leading proponent of network neutrality, which, as you’ll read, has many definitions.
Despite the differences in definitions, it’s primarily about treating most bits of data equally so that the free flow of information prospers and opportunities can be available equally to all.
In newspaper columns and on television and in his blog, Geist revisits this issue frequently and believes it’s only a matter of time before it is front and centre in Canadian politics.
The Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-commerce Law, University of Ottawa recently sat down with…
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TORONTO – With several smaller cable operators looking to launch (and in the middle of launching) video on demand, CTAM Canada has put together a panel presentation on the topic for the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance annual general meeting next month.
"Building your VOD Business Plan" will feature a panel of experts expounding on about their VOD successes and challenges ranging from the ROI of VOD, securing content for the service and adver tising opportunities.
Delegates will also get a first-hand look at recent CTAM Canada research on VOD in Canada.
The panel members are: David Purdy, vice-president and…
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OAKVILLE – After steering Cogeco’s Ontario operations through a period of unprecedented growth over the past five years, Gaston Germain will move on to new challenges as president and COO at Pelmorex, beginning next month.
Staff at the parent company of The Weather Network and Météomédia were informed of the changes at the top last week which will also see company founder Pierre Morrissette retain his CEO title but begin to concentrate more on overall direction and strategy than the day-to-day running of the company.
Germain has a long history in the Canadian cable and television industry. Prior to…
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