Search Results for: cogeco

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

Louis Audet to step aside at Cogeco; Jetté promoted to CEO. And no, it’s not for sale, thanks

MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Communications today announced Philippe Jetté will become president and CEO of both public companies effective September 1st, 2018. Current CEO Louis Audet, who has been in the role for 25 years, recommended Jetté and on that day, Audet will become executive chairman of the board. The companies are publicly traded, but the Audet family owns control of the voting shares. Jetté (pictured at left with Audet at the press conference Tuesday), an electrical engineer by training, joined Cogeco as senior vice-president and chief technology and strategy officer in 2011, after running his own consultancy for a… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Gusto preps tasty new lineup for freeview

TORONTO – Just in time for summer, Bell Media’s Gusto is cooking up a free preview with sizzling new programming. The food and lifestyle channel has assembled a summer schedule that includes new original series Where To I Do?, starring design expert Tommy Smythe (The Marilyn Denis Show); Dog Tales Rescue, a docu-series following King City, Ont.’s Dog Tales Rescue and Horse Sanctuary; and Bonacini’s Italy, featuring world-renowned chef and MasterChef judge Michael Bonacini.  Celebrity gourmet Nigella Lawson makes her Gusto debut by whipping up her favourite comfort meals with her latest series,… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Cogeco to disconnect some cottage country villages

BALA, Ont. – According to a report in a local news outlet in Muskoka, Cogeco Connexion is cancelling its TV services in and around Bala, Ont. as of June 5, 2018. Customers there and in seven other surrounding villages have been notified by the company that it is pulling out of the region – one which it provides only an analog cable TV service to about 120 subscribers. Bala is about 25 kilometres northwest of Gravenhurst, Ont. A company spokesperson told Cartt.ca that this is a business decision where it made more sense to leave the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

Cogeco to buy 10 radio stations from RNC Media for $18.5M

MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. is buying 10 regional radio stations in Quebec and Ontario for $18.5 million from RNC Média. Cogeco Media already owns and operates 13 radio stations, including talk network stations 98.5 FM in Montreal, 106.9 FM in Mauricie, 107.7 FM in Estrie and 104.7 FM in Outaouais; Rhythm FM network stations 105.7 in Montreal, 100.1 in Mauricie and 93.7 in Estrie, CIME 103.9 in the Laurentians, 96.9 CKOI, The Beat 92.5 and Radio Circulation 730 AM in Montreal, as well as FM93 and M102.9 in Quebec City. The new stations are located in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (Planète 104.5 in… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Bravo readies new dramas for spring freeview

TORONTO – The second season of hit drama The Handmaid’s Tale will headline Bravo’s nation-wide free preview  that will kick off April 24. The Bell Media-owned service said that other high profile premieres rolling out during the freeview include original Canadian crime drama series Carter, starring Jerry O’Connell, on May 15 at 8:00 PM ET, plus detective crime drama Hard Sun, which will make its exclusive Canadian series premiere on May 6. Season two of the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning The Handmaid’s Tale will debut with a two-episode premiere event on April 29 at 9:00 PM ET.  Viewers wishing to catch… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Cogeco’s American broadband services drive Q2 profits, revenues

MetroCast acquisition “progressing according to plan” MONTREAL – Cogeco Communications said that deferred income taxes related to U.S. tax reforms helped to power a jump in profits for its second quarter ended February 28, 2018. Profits of $141.8 million, of which $138.9 million was attributable to the owners of the Corporation, skyrocketed 84.9% from the $76.7 million posted in the comparable period of fiscal 2017.  The company said late Thursday that this was mainly as a result of the $89 million (US$70 million) reduction in deferred income taxes related to the recent U.S. tax reform and the improvement of adjusted EBITDA,… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Cogeco, RAMQ, ink agreements with ATW Tech’s VuduMobile

MONTREAL – ATW Tech subsidiary VuduMobile Inc. has renewed its agreement with Régie d’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) for its cloud-based text messaging communication solutions related to the new governmental program Rendez-Vous Santé Québec serving family medical clinics in Quebec. The agreement was renewed for one year, through June 30, 2019, with no changes to the amount, terms and conditions, the company said in a news release. VuduMobile also announced the addition of the Montreal radio station 98.5 FM to its agreement with Cogeco Media, plus the renewal of that agreement for an additional three years.  Listeners of… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Ontario ISPs band together to fight pole rate increases

TORONTO – Internet service providers of every size and shape (except one big one) have launched a new coalition to rally Ontarians to help them battle large proposed rate increases for utility pole attachments. While some local hydro companies have been pushing rates far higher, the Ontario Energy Board wants to set a standard rate across the province of $52 per pole per year, far above the current rate of $22.35. The three largest utilities, Hydro One, Toronto Hydro and Hydro Ottawa, have already boosted their rates to $41, $42 and $53. Such rate increases for pole attachments will only… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

Cord-cutting slows thanks to Shaw’s BlueSky TV

However, it's likely just temporary OTTAWA – While Canada’s publicly traded television service providers lost almost 20% fewer TV subscribers in 2017 versus 2016, this is likely a temporary positive turn in a long road of permanent TV subscriber declines in the future, according to new research released Wednesday. Ottawa-based research and consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services found that BCE, Rogers, Shaw, Vidéotron, Cogeco, and Telus combined lost approximately 166,000 in their respective 2017 fiscal years, down from an estimated 205,000 lost in the previous year. Boon Dog partner Mario Mota credited the improved cord-cutting numbers for 2017 to the… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

CBSC’s Courtemanche among WCT annual award winners

OTTAWA – Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) chair Sylvie Courtemanche has been named Woman of the Year by Women in Communications and Technology (WCT). Prior to joining CBSC in January, Courtemanche (pictured) was a senior executive at Corus for both regulatory matters and government relations.  She has also held roles as EVP policy and regulatory affairs for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, legal counsel at the CRTC, and had her own consulting practice related to broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada. Cogeco Connexion was named company of the year, and WCT also named 9 other recipients of its annual awards, which recognize… Continue Reading