TORONTO – Rogers Communications today reported its first quarter 2022 financial results, which show total revenue increased 4% to $3.6 billion compared to the same quarter in 2021 and adjusted EBITDA increased 11% to $1.5 billion.
“Each of our businesses delivered better revenue and profitability than expected,” said Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers, during a conference call with investors today.
Wireless revenue grew 3% to $2.1 billion, cable revenue grew 2% to $1 billion and media revenue grew 10% to $482 million, according to a press release announcing the Q1 results.
Total service revenue was reported to have increased by…
Continue Reading
Updated with comment from petitioner, dotmobile.
OTTAWA — The federal cabinet has denied a petition today to overturn a decision by the CRTC that only allowed a limited group of wireless service providers to force negotiations to use national telecom facilities, saying it believes the decision will provide consumers with greater choice and bring down prices.
Mobile virtual network operator Data on Tap (dotmobile) filed the petition in May 2021 to reverse the part of the CRTC’s decision that excludes full MVNOs like itself from participating in those mandatory negotiations. The decision by the regulator…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL — Cogeco Inc. announced yesterday that its revenues and profits increased in its fiscal second quarter compared to the same period last year, with activity south of the border helping drive those numbers.
For the period ending on February 28, revenues increased by 14.5% to $748.1 million and profits increased 7.8% to $118.8 million versus the comparable period last year, with carry from its purchase last year of the broadband facilities of WideOpenWest in Ohio and organic growth in the US, as well as the purchase of Quebec’s Derytelecom in late 2020.
Revenues from American broadband services — called…
Continue Reading
AS THE FEDERAL government works towards modernizing Canada’s broadcasting system through Bill C-11, its intentions for the future of the country’s national public broadcaster remain murky at best.
The mandate letter provided to Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez makes it clear the government intends to modernize CBC/Radio-Canada, but what that will look like, how it will be done and when remain mysteries.
Among other things, the minister’s mandate letter says the Corporation’s mandate should be updated “to ensure that it meets the needs and expectations of Canadian audiences, with unique programming that distinguishes it from private broadcasters.”
CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate is not…
Continue Reading
CALGARY — Shaw Communications today announced its financial results for the second quarter of its 2022 fiscal year, reporting year-over-year decreases in its consolidated revenue, adjusted EBITDA and net income.
For the quarter that ended February 28, 2022, Shaw’s overall revenue decreased by 2% to $1.36 billion, adjusted EBITDA dropped slightly by 0.8% to $632 million, and net income fell 9.7% to $196 million, compared to the same quarter of fiscal 2021.
During Q2 2022, Shaw added 16,892 new wireless customers, consisting of 8,632 postpaid net additions and 8,260 prepaid additions. This is notably less than the company’s…
Continue Reading
QUISPAMSIS, NB — The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) said today it has called on the CRTC to stop Rogers Communications “from shutting down the satellite delivery of television signals to thousands of Canadians living in rural communities and the Far North.”
Just prior to the Commission’s March 24 approval of Rogers’ purchase of Shaw Communications, which includes Shaw Broadcast Services (SBS), “Shaw announced that a critical component of the SBS service, known as HITS-QT Plus, would be shut down by year end,” according to the CCSA’s press release.
The CCSA has been calling on the…
Continue Reading
By Douglas Barrett
AS BILL C-11 WENDS its stately way though the legislative process, one issue crops up that has seemingly not been batted about before in the context of the new legislation. And it’s a pretty basic one: the definition of a Canadian program.
Both the current Broadcasting Act and Bill C-10 authorized the CRTC to determine by regulation “what constitutes a Canadian program for the purposes of the Act.” In a new approach, Bill C-11 in section 10(1.1) requires that in making such regulations the Commission “shall consider” five specific policy questions. As many as three of those questions,…
Continue Reading
Despite ongoing concerns from Canadians
By Amanda OYE
IT WAS NOT that long ago a major topic of discussion in the country was concern about the authorized distribution of the Russian state-funded English-language channel RT.
Cartt.ca readers will recall Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez tweeted to say the government was also concerned and looking into its options. Soon after, service providers began dropping the channel from their channel lineups.
Within the week, the government passed a motion to order the CRTC to “hold a hearing to determine whether RT (formerly known as Russia Today) and RT France (collectively RT) should be…
Continue Reading
By Howard Law
IT’S FIVE YEARS since the Public Policy Forum published The Shattered Mirror calling for Facebook and Google to become major funders of the journalism ecosystem that their digital advertising oligopoly impoverished.
Bill C-18 the Online News Act will do just that. The legislation is about a year behind the Liberal government’s schedule, having been derailed last spring by the Conservative filibuster of the Netflix Bill C-10 and a federal election.
That unanticipated delay after years of lobbying by news publishers discouraged most of them enough to sign take-it-or-leave-it deals with Google and Facebook on compensation for…
Continue Reading
Also proposes $5M for new Changing Narratives Fund
OTTAWA – While Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez has sought to reassure Canadians the CRTC will have the resources it needs to take on the new responsibilities proposed for it in the recently introduced Bills C-11 and C-18, today’s budget provides a few actual details.
Tabled by the federal government today, Budget 2022 proposes to provide the CRTC with $8.5 million over two years, beginning in 2022-2023, “to establish a new legislative and regulatory regime to require digital platforms that generate revenues from the publication of news content to…
Continue Reading
