GATINEAU – Broadcast distributors and programmers are divided over rules governing television service provision in Quebec and official minority language communities across the country. Some say current rules are doing a fine job, while others argue changes are needed to ensure a diversity of programming for these two markets in their submissions to the CRTC’s TV Policy Review.
In the official notice (BNC 2014-190), the Commission noted market forces alone won’t ensure the provision of “an adequate number of services to OLMCs,” and that it has instituted several measures, including minority language programming access rights and genre protection, to address…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco’s senior vice-president and chief financial officer Pierre Gagne left the company Monday for what was described as “personal reasons”.
Gagne has held the role of CFO and SVP of Cogeco Cable and Cogeco Inc. since 2009. Prior to that, he served as VP of Finance at Cogeco for over a decade.
"On behalf of the Board and our employees, I wish to thank Pierre for his contribution to the company”, said president and CEO Louis Audet, in the announcement. “I want to take this opportunity to wish him the very best in the next phase of his professional…
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GATINEAU – Independent broadcasters are telling the CRTC that they will lose their spots on the broadcast dial if the Commission decides to eliminate genre protection rules and access rights for certain types of programming because the big Vertically Integrated (VI) media and carriage companies have the incentive to muscle their way in with copycat channels, causing “significant harm to the system.”
Genre protection has been a staple of the Canadian broadcasting system for many years, giving niche services the opportunity a protected space in which to build audience share along with a stable source of subscriber revenue, but also…
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TORONTO – Cogeco Data Services has finalized a five-year partnership with Quebec-based Laurentian Bank to manage its corporate telecommunications program, the companies announced Tuesday.
Cogeco Data Services has pledged to increase the bank’s data capacity across Canada through a secure and privately hosted network, plus upgrade its entire telecommunications network and the technology infrastructure that supports Laurentian’s 225 offices and 425 ATMs.
"As a company that processes millions of transactions for clients across the country every year, industry-leading technology infrastructure is essential to Laurentian Bank's operations”, said Tony Ciciretto, president and CEO of Cogeco Data Services and Peer 1 Hosting,…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable said late Wednesday that it has written down its IPTV overlay project in Canada to the tune of $32.2 million in its third quarter, and will offer TiVo to its customers in Quebec and Ontario starting next year.
In its third quarter financial results, Cogeco said that it recognized an impairment of $32.2 million of property, plant and equipment, capitalized wages and borrowing costs related to an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) solution project on which its Canadian operations had worked. “As a result of the unexpected performance issues encountered with the platform, it had to be…
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TORONTO – Independent movie channel operator Hollywood Suite announced the launch of Hollywood Suite GO (HSGO) Tuesday, available on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android devices for subscribers through carrier partners Source Cable, Eastlink, Telus Optik TV, and Cogeco Cable.
Customers of each BDU can download the Hollywood Suite GO app immediately and take Hollywood Suite with them. Available at no additional cost for existing subscribers, HSGO gives movie lovers the freedom and the ability to enjoy their favourite movies in high definition with unlimited access whenever and wherever they want, says the company’s press release.
Optimized for Apple iOS and Android Devices,…
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MONTREAL – Viewers Choice, the 23-year-old pay-per-view service owned by Bell and Rogers and carried on cable providers in eastern Canada, is winding up operations and will shut down on September 30, Cartt.ca has learned.
Sources at two distributors said that Bell Media, which holds a majority stake in Viewers Choice, recently sent out notifications of the closure to those offering the service. Those companies include Rogers, Videotron, Cogeco, Eastlink, Bell Aliant, Source Cable and select other smaller providers.
Viewers Choice was set up in 1991 as a partnership between Astral Bellevue Communications Inc. (50.1 per cent), Rogers Pay Per…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable said Thursday that it is offering two new high speed Internet (HSI) packages with unlimited data transfer capacity for its Quebec and Ontario customers, where technology permits.
The packages, Ultimate 55 Unlimited and Ultimate 120 Unlimited, were designed to meet the needs of the most data-hungry consumers by offering them flexibility and peace of mind in their day-to-day Internet usage, reads the company’s news release.
According to Cogeco’s website, Ultimate 55 Unlimited offers download speeds of up to 55 Mbps and starts at $73.95 per month for customers who already subscribe to two other Cogeco services…
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VANCOUVER – Cogeco Cable subsidiary Peer 1 Hosting has named Kevin Paolino as senior vice president of sales.
In this role, Paolino will lead a sales force of nearly 100 people and is responsible for growing the sales organization and implementing strategies to further Peer 1’s topline revenue.
Paolino brings more than 20 years of direct and channel technology sales leadership, with a specific focus on sales growth strategies. He was previously the vice president of sales and marketing at Stratix Corporation, where he helped the company grow sales of its managed mobile services, and has also held senior sales roles…
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MONTREAL – Bell Media launched Super Écran Go Tuesday, a new service for instant and unlimited access to Super Écran programming from a computer (Mac or PC), iPhone, or iPad, and soon from Android devices.
Super Écran Go allows subscribers to view recent films and exclusive series on demand, including close to 500 hours of high definition content, where and when they like and on the platform of their choice, at no additional cost. It also gives Cinépop subscribers access to a selection of classic and hit films with Cinépop Go.
The newest addition to Bell Media’s slate of TV Everywhere…
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