OTTAWA – It’s rare when the incumbent wireless carriers and the new entrants find themselves on the same side of an issue, but the response to a Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) appeal of the CRTC’s wholesale wireless decision last month is one of those occasions where the normally combative firms see eye to eye.
CNOC has appealed portions Telecom Regulatory Policy 2015-177, saying the Commission erred in fact and made errors of law in not granting mandated mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) access to the radio access networks (RANs) of the wireless carriers. The second…
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TORONTO and MONTREAL – Disney Channel and La chaîne Disney officially arrived in Canada this week.
Corus Entertainment said that the channels are available in most markets now, and will be available in 10 million households by Thursday via distribution partners Bell Aliant, Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV, CCSA members including Eastlink and Access, Cogeco Cable Canada, MTS, Rogers, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Telus and Videotron. SaskTel customers will have access to the new service in the coming weeks.
Disney Channel is a 24-hour kid-driven, family-inclusive television network that taps into the world of kids and families through original series and…
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A BRIDGE IS A musical term meaning a bit of a song which gets you from the verse back to the chorus. We thought the term was a good one to characterize Peter Bissonnette, an accomplished musician, as well as the outgoing president of Shaw Communications (his official last day was yesterday).
Bissonnette has worked in cable for more than 30 years, the last 25 of which for Shaw Communications. He’s been president of the company since 2000, working under company founder JR, and then both his sons, Jim and Brad Shaw – and has much prior experience working for…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable subsidiary Atlantic Broadband has completed the acquisition of the cable system owned by MetroCast Communications.
The US$200 million deal, announced in June, will see Atlantic Broadband expand to approximately 565,000 primary service units (PSU) in five operating regions – Western Pennsylvania, Miami Beach, Maryland/Delaware, Aiken, S.C. and Eastern Connecticut.
“Nearly three years after our initial entry into the U.S. market, we are pleased to be continuing our geographic expansion into key growth markets," said Cogeco Cable Inc. president and CEO Louis Audet, in Thursday’s announcement. "This transaction enhances our growth profile through the planned launch of…
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MONTREAL – Stingray Digital Group has received a five year renewal of its broadcasting licence from the CRTC for its national pay audio service Stingray Music.
Under the terms of the renewal, Stingray will contribute each year a minimum of 4% of the annual gross revenues earned by its pay audio programming undertaking to eligible third parties associated with Canadian content development allocated as follows:
– 25% to FACTOR;
– 25% to MUSICACTION,
– 5% to Community Radio Fund of Canada and;
– 45% to Stingray Music Rising Star to discover, encourage and promote new Canadian artists.
"We are pleased by with the CRTC's…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s publicly traded television service providers combined lost almost six times more TV subscribers in the first half of 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, and almost double what they lost in all of 2014, according to new research released Wednesday.
Ottawa-based research and consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services also found that BCE, Rogers, Shaw/Shaw Direct, Vidéotron, Cogeco, Telus, and MTS (IPTV subscribers only) combined lost approximately 113,700 TV subscribers in their respective fiscal 2015 first and second quarters, up significantly from the 19,200 lost in the same quarters in 2014, and almost double…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment has announced that Teletoon Retro will cease to exist as of September 1st.
The company's Cartoon Network Canada will be shifted into its place for those TV providers who don’t already carry that channel, two carrier sources have told Cartt.ca. Both sources asked not to be named as they do not have permission to speak publicly on the matter but have been told by Corus representatives that is the plan.
While some had assumed that the channel would be rebranded as a Disney service, since Corus now owns the rights to that programming going forward and will…
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CHARLOTTE, NC — Cogeco Cable Canada’s English-language subscribers can now enjoy a one-month preview of FOX Sports Racing before it’s added to the channel lineup on Cogeco’s Sports Life tier.
“FOX Sports continues to show a strong commitment to the Canadian motor sports community, and we’re happy to make FOX Sports Racing available to our customers,” said Anne Isabelle Roussy, VP Marketing and Product Development for Cogeco Cable Canada, in a FOX Sports press release.
FOX’s dedicated motor sports network has been bolstering its schedule recently, with the addition of the Rockstar Energy Drink Motocross Nationals being held this summer…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. credited favourable exchange rates plus growth in its cable divisions, both here and Stateside, for a 4.1% increase in third quarter revenues and a 86% jump in profits.
The Montreal-based company said late Tuesday that revenue for the period ended May 31, 2015 was $557.8 million, up from $536.1 million in Q3 last year. Profits of $66.3 million, of which $22.6 million is attributable to owners of the corporation, reflected improvement of the adjusted EBITDA combined with last year's impairment of property, plant and equipment of $32.2 million, partly offset by increases in financial expense and…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications could rake in more than $300 million for selling off The Shopping Channel and is allegedly actively seeking bids on the broadcast retailer.
According to a report from Reuters, Rogers began the sale process six weeks ago and is now in the second round of bids. Liberty Interactive Corporation is one of the bidders, according to a source quoted in the report, while other interested parties could include U.S. home shopping channel operators HSN Inc. and EVINE Live Inc., which runs ShopHQ, as well as private equity firms.
The Shopping Channel is part of Rogers' media…
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