QUEBECOR’S GROUPE TVA FORMALLY filed in December its appeal in Federal Court against a CRTC decision that forced it to continue to provide a sports channel signal to Bell customers.
But the submission to the court came before the Supreme Court of Canada determined in a set of cases late last month how it would exercise its ability to review decisions made by administrative bodies such as the CRTC – otherwise known as the standard of review. Bell was successful in having the highest court in the land reverse a 2016 decision by the CRTC that said it could…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Communications announced today its U.S. subsidiary Atlantic Broadband will purchase Thames Valley Communications for US$50 million.
Thames Valley is a broadband services company operating in Southeastern Connecticut. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close within three months, says the press release.
The deal will see Atlantic Broadband add approximately 10,000 customers to its operations in Connecticut and “allows Atlantic Broadband to expand its presence in a market where the company is already well established following its acquisition of MetroCast’s Connecticut broadband operations in 2015,” reads the release.
“We always look to expand our…
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HAMILTON — Cable 14 announced Monday it will provide both live broadcast and online streaming coverage of the first two meetings to be held in the Red Hill Valley Parkway Inquiry (RHVPI), which is investigating the circumstances surrounding the failed disclosure of a six-year-old safety report regarding the roadway.
The RHVPI will hold a public meeting in Hamilton on January 9, 2020, where the inquiry’s commissioner, Justice Herman Wilton-Siegel, will speak about the status and process of the inquiry, and the public will have a chance to ask questions about the timetable and procedures, including the participation of the public….
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MONTREAL – When Cogeco Connexion announced in 2018 its next generation video platform would come via MediaKind’s MediaFirst TV Platform, it said the new product would be in the market by the end of 2019.
While it is currently being tested in employee and other friendly homes, the company won’t be taking it to its Ontario and Quebec customers until sometime in the first quarter of 2020, a spokesperson told Cartt.ca this week.
“We’re getting ready to launch it progressively in 2020,” said Marie-Hélène Labrie, the company’s senior vice-president of public affairs and communications in an interview. Once launched, the…
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TORONTO — With the much-anticipated premiere of Star Trek: Picard scheduled for January 23 and the return of Doctor Who on New Year’s Day, CTV Sci-Fi Channel is giving viewers an early Christmas present with the launch of a nationwide freeview that starts December 19 and runs until January 30. CTV Sci-Fi Channel also has a number of blockbuster marathons scheduled to wrap up 2019.
The all-new Star Trek: Picard series will see Patrick Stewart reprise his iconic role as Jean-Luc Picard. During the 10-episode first season, Stewart will be joined by other familiar faces from the Star Trek franchise,…
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No surprises in the documents
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – As expected, Rogers, Shaw, Vidéotron, Cogeco and Eastlink have filed an official Review & Vary application with the CRTC, requesting changes to Telecom decision 2019-288—the final rates for aggregated wholesale high-speed access services (HSA).
The themes are similar to what was filed with their appeals to the courts and to federal cabinet.
The cable carriers focused on “new facts and circumstances and on errors of fact and principle” that questions how the Commission arrived at its much-delayed decision.
“The Commission has announced an imminent review of its approach to setting…
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MONTREAL — Cogeco Communications announced today Ken Smithard, president of its Cogeco Connexion subsidiary, will be leaving the organization at the end of January 2020. He has been with the company for two decades.
Smithard is departing to pursue personal interests, the company said in a short news release. A recruitment process for his successor is being launched, the company said.
“On behalf of my colleagues and the entire Cogeco Communications team, I wish to thank Ken for his 20 years of dedication to the company and his tireless work,” said Philippe Jetté, president and CEO of Cogeco Communications, in…
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MONTREAL — TTP Media, the independent broadcaster which has been trying for almost a decade to launch two news-talk AM radio stations here, has faced yet another setback. A windstorm in late November has knocked both stations off the air, and it will be several weeks before they're transmitting again.
Nicolas Tétrault, a real estate agent and former politician who is one of three partners behind the company, told Cartt.ca that the storm caused damage to a lot of equipment at the transmission site on the Kahnawake Mohawk reserve south of Montreal. This included damage to the power supply,…
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GATINEAU – A number of companies are worried about Bell getting bigger.
In July 2019, Groupe V Media announced it was selling for $20 million its five conventional stations to Bell Media. V, previously known as TQS, has had a long story of financial and regulatory problems and its acquisition by Bell had been rumoured for quite some time. (Photo at right are the stars of the V show Ne Jamais Faire à la Maison, or Never do this at Home, Marie-Soleil Dion and Jonathan Roberge.)
On October 29th, the CRTC issued it Notice of Hearing with a short intervention period ending…
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OTTAWA – The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) said today it received nearly 19,300 complaints from Canadian telecom and TV customers, an all-time high in the organization’s 12-year history.
Given we’re also at an all-time high for wireless and broadband customers in Canada, not to mention how recent news and noise surrounding telecom companies in Canada have likely helped more Canadians realize the CCTS can help, such an increase is not surprising.
Canadians, said the CCTS annual report (which tallies complaints for the 12-months ended July 31), complained most often about…
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