GATINEAU – Channel Zero's Bloomberg TV Canada is asking the CRTC for a broadcasting licence, just weeks ahead of its one year anniversary on the air.
The Commission confirmed Monday that Channel Zero’s application is one of eight that it will consider at a hearing scheduled for December 7 in Gatineau. Interventions are due before November 2, 2106.
The Canadian business and financial news television channel launched November 17, 2015, but was exempt from licensing until it hit the 200,000 subscriber mark, in keeping with Broadcasting Order 2010‐689, Appendix 1.
“The service is filing this application since it has exceeded…
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MONTREAL – Videotron, Bell and Cogeco were quick to jump on the CRTC-commissioned broadband report that determined that Internet service providers (ISPs) largely meet or exceed their advertised download and upload speeds.
In a statement, Videotron noted that the report found that its actual download speeds averaged 106% of its advertised speeds between March 15 – April 14, 2016, when the data was collected, and upload speeds were 103% of the advertised speeds.
"Videotron has been an Internet trailblazer: we were pioneers more than 20 years ago and were among the first to offer high-speed service in Québec. Year after year,…
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TORONTO – SiriusXM Canada is back in the black after reporting an 837% jump in profits for its 2016 fiscal year.
For the year ended August 31, 2016, net income was $49.7 million compared to last year’s $6.8 million net loss, while revenues increased 4.7% from $325.9 million to $341.3 million. Adjusted EBITDA was $84.4 million, up 6.5%, from $79.2 million year-over-year.
Sirius XM Canada saw self-paying subscribers grow 4.3% from 1.93 million last year to 2.00 million in FY2016, resulting in a total subscriber base of 2.83 million.
For the fourth quarter, revenue was up 4.4% to $87.4 million year-over-year, net income grew 73.9%…
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GATINEAU – The full results of a first-of-its-kind independent, national study on broadband performance in Canada shows that Internet service providers (ISPs) largely meet or exceed their advertised download and upload speeds.
Participating ISPs in the survey (announced last year and for which preliminary results were made public in the spring), conducted by SamKnows and which was commissioned by the CRTC, included all the main wireline service providers in Canada, with the exception of Sasktel, which declined to participate, said the CRTC in a press release this afternoon.
The data collected will…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – Canadians who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired now have a new way to communicate thanks to Wednesday’s launch of the new national video relay service (VRS).
This made-for-Canada service enhances the ability of Canadian’s whose first language is American Sign Language (ASL) or Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) to conduct calls via video relay service with hearing people through a professional ASL or LSQ interpreter.
VRS calls are placed using a high-speed Internet connection through a computer, tablet or smartphone and an operator facilitates the conversation between the two parties by relaying the conversation between sign…
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WINNIPEG – Bell and MTS have announced plans to bring faster broadband and wireless Internet to Winnipeg’s Innovation Alley as the two companies continue to work closer together while awaiting all approvals of BCE's proposed purchase of the Manitoba telco.
The two companies announced a three-year sponsorship of Innovation Alley Tuesday that will see the technology hub become the launch point for the deployment of Gigabit Fibe Internet and LTE-Advanced wireless in the province. Bell said that would offer access speeds up to 20 faster than those currently available in Manitoba.
The move is part of the combined entity's plan to…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media is buying Tillsonburg Broadcasting Company Limited (TBCL) as it adds to its radio assets in Southwestern Ontario. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Family-owned and operated TBCL owns the radio broadcasting licenses CJDL-FM (Country 107.3) and CKOT-FM (Easy 101) that services markets including Tillsonburg plus larger centres like London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Woodstock, and St. Thomas. Rogers already owns four stations in that region: CHST-FM (102.3 Jack FM) in London and CKGL (570 NEWS), CHYM-FM (CHYM 96.7), and CIKZ-FM (Country 106.7) in Kitchener.
Along with the current team, part-owner and general manager Carolyn Lamers will remain with the…
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OTTAWA – Registration is now open for the 14th annual International Institute of Communication – Canadian chapter conference scheduled for November 16 -17 at the Shaw Centre in Ottawa.
Dubbed ‘Towards an Innovation Agenda for the Communications and Media Sector’, the confab will bring together leading communications sector players from government, industry and other areas to discuss the developments and policies that influence innovation. Highlights include:
– A keynote address from CRTC chairman and CEO Jean-Pierre Blais;
– An expert panel will explore the positive ways in which big data is being harnessed to drive Canadian innovation and productivity, plus showcase digital…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) say they are doing what is required of them to meet rules on an entry level small package of TV channels, and that calls from consumer groups for additional provisions on promotions and set top box prices are unwarranted.
Eastlink noted its in final reply that a request from the Consumers’ Association of Canada (CAC) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) to include comparison charts explaining the differences between tiered services and the small basic package should be denied.
“As noted by other parties during the hearing, when one takes into account both…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking for feedback on its plan to merge regulations for specialty and pay television services into a single set of regulations, to be known as the Discretionary Services Regulations.
Currently, the Pay Television Regulations, 1990 and the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990 govern discretionary services. The Commission’s proposal, which stems from the Let's Talk TV proceeding, suggests streamlining the licensing of programming services into three broad categories:
– television services (over-the-air conventional and community television stations and provincial educational services);
– discretionary services (all pay and specialty services); and
– on-demand services (pay-per-view and video-on-demand services).
“The Commission considers that…
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