THE PROBLEMS START WITH the title.
Harnessing Change (the report on the future of programming and its distribution in Canada) reflects a long history of Canadian governments and the CRTC sticking fingers in holes in the dike of broadcasting policy and regulation, to keep out invading hordes, while communications technologies undermine the dike's foundations — from without and from within — because Canadians have consistently been early, eager and rapid, adopters.
Little wonder that it was Canadian Marshall McLuhan who coined the phrase "the medium is the message": Communications media influence societies more than the content that…
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TORONTO – “There’s no doubt in our minds that the power of the bundle is true and helps us in grabbing more market share,” said Quebecor’s Jean-François Pruneau Wednesday during Scotiabank’s Telecom, Media and Technology Conference held in Toronto.
“This is an infrastructure business. The more the company has, the more savings we can realize and pass onto the customer. Vidéotron has a strong reputation of being innovative about services, but also about the way we approach the customer dynamic with respect to promotions and value add,” said the broadcaster, cable company and wireless operator’s CFO.
“Whether you’re talking about services…
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OTTAWA – The Federal Government has ordered a public inquiry into the alleged high-pressure sales tactics used by the country’s biggest telecommunication companies.
Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, said Thursday that the Feds have directed the CRTC to conduct the inquiry and ensure that “Canadians have an opportunity to be heard and these issues are carefully considered”. The Commission will have until February 28, 2019 to complete the inquiry and file a report that must contain potential solutions to ensure Canadian consumers are treated fairly.
The Minister Bains also asked the Competition Bureau to assist the…
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WE’VE HEARD NOTHING but discussion and debate since the official launch of the review of the Broadcasting Act – along with the Telecom and Radiocommunication Act – and with another year of discussion and debate on the horizon, the best first course of action to solve the tricky and complex policy challenges ahead is to ask (and answer) the right questions in the right order – and right now.
I’ve thought of five extremely important questions which should be answered first, ahead of anything else. I’d argue much of the discussion around proposals such as combining the two Acts should come…
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TORONTO – Given how Canadians now consume video, and from where, measuring the level of industry consolidation here based on share of linear TV viewing is wrong, Corus Entertainment CEO Doug Murphy told an investors conference in Toronto Wednesday morning.
Appearing at the Scotiabank Telecom, Media and Technology conference, Murphy would not comment on yesterday’s Globe and Mail report which said Shaw Communications and the Shaw family is looking to sell the company. “I’m not prepared to comment on articles, rumours, or speculation,” he said.
What he was prepared to talk about was the bright future he…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has extended the deadline for comments on a proposal that would require all Canadian telecommunications service providers to implement technology to block calls with blatantly illegitimate caller identification.
The Commission initially called for comments on this matter last November. It extended the deadline date on Wednesday after denying a request made by Bell Canada in January for, among other things, changes to the scope of the current proceeding and direction concerning confidentiality claims made by certain parties to the proceeding.
The CRTC directed that parties to this proceeding refile their interventions, where necessary, on the public…
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BANFF – Kevin MacLellan, chairman, global distribution and international for NBCU, today sat in conversation with Barbara Williams, EVP and COO of Corus Entertainment, and gave a tour de force account of where he sees the business going and where Canada fits in.
NBCUniversal was honoured as the company of distinction this year.
MacLellan, 51, started as a producer and grew up in Brooklyn when that ‘hood wasn’t yet cool. He was the youngest of eight children in an Irish Catholic family where his dad made ends meet by installing AT&T phones. Probably his biggest break came with the harsh and…
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Richard Lachance named special advisor at Cogeco Inc.
MONTREAL – Michel Lorrain will succeed Richard Lachance as president of Cogeco Media effective September 1st, the company said Tuesday.
On the same date, Lachance will become special advisor at Cogeco Inc. where he will oversee the integration of the 10 RNC Média regional radio stations that the company acquired in April, though that deal is still awaiting CRTC approval.
Lorrain (pictured) has been with the Cogeco for 11 years, most recently as EVP of Cogeco Media, a role he has held since last July.
“The appointment of Michel Lorrain as President of Cogeco…
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SO, WE’VE NOW HEARD a bit of what Heritage Minster Mélanie Joly thinks about the review of the Broadcasting, Telecom and Radiocommunication Acts, thanks to her Sunday Banff keynote, ably reported on by Cartt.ca’s Bill Roberts.
With another year of discussion and debate on the horizon, however, the best course of action to solve the tricky and complex policy challenges ahead is to ask (and answer) the right questions in the right order – and right now. I’ve thought of five extremely important questions which should be answered first, ahead of anything else.
I would argue much…
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MARKHAM, ON – Ice Wireless and Sugar Mobile parent Iristel has filed a lawsuit against Rogers valued at over $147 million alleging breaches of contract on two occasions.
In a statement of claim dated May 23, 2108, Iristel accuses Rogers of breaking an oral Peering Agreement reached between the two in May 2013 that allowed for a direct connection to exchange traffic in Toronto. Iristel says Rogers broke that agreement in May 2016, while it was in the final stages of the testing process and after it had already racked up approximately $600,000 in costs.
Iristel also alleges that Rogers…
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