TORONTO – Looks like Telus customers won’t have to wait until December 2nd to reap the benefits of the CRTC’s new Wireless Code, as the carrier today announced new two-year plans for consumer and small business customers.
Available as of July 30, the new Telus SharePlus plans will feature unlimited nationwide talk and text and the ability to share data with multiple subscribers on the same account. Customers can choose their own mobile device (which comes with unlimited talk and text), and then select from a range of data plans ranging from $15 for 250 MB…
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TORONTO – Despite gains in net profit (thanks largely to the sale of non-controlling interests in Food Network Canada) and specialty TV advertising revenue in its fiscal third quarter, Corus announced Thursday that the company will miss the low-end of its profit guidance for FY2013.
Net income attributable to shareholders for the three months ended May 31, 2013 was $89.9 million, a 108% increase compared to $43.2 in the third quarter of 2012. The hefty jump is a result of the company’s sale of its non-controlling interests in the Food Network Canada for $55.4 million.
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MONTREAL and TORONTO – BCE Inc. today officially completed its $3.2 billion acquisition of Astral Media Inc., just a little over a week after receiving approval by the CRTC for the merger.
The company also announced its first set of initiatives as it moves to satisfy the various conditions set by the CRTC as part of the merger approval. They include a new Discovery-branded French-language specialty channel that is scheduled to launch by the end of the fiscal fourth quarter. Bell Media will also expand its GO TV Everywhere products to include French-language stations Super Écran,…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment announced today the appointment of Mario Cecchini to oversee the company’s radio and conventional television stations in Eastern Ontario.
Cecchini, who was until today Astral Radio’s senior vice-president of sales and marketing, will join Corus on Sept. 2. Previously, he was vice-president of Corus Québec with responsibility for Corus’ Québec radio holdings until he left for Astral in March 2011.
He will also be responsible for the Québec specialty television assets and Ottawa radio stations to be acquired from…
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DARTMOUTH, N.S. – Newcap Inc. announced Thursday it will acquire the broadcasting license for radio station CHNI-FM in Saint John, N.B., from Rogers, pending approval from the CRTC.
“This licence is a great fit for our company as it expands our presence in New Brunswick and represents our entry into the Saint John market. We are eager to serve and become part of the community,” Newcap president and CEO Rob Steele said of the announcement.
Newcap, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Newfoundland Capital Corporation, has 88 radio broadcasting licenses across Canada.
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TORONTO – A group of Canadian telcos, including Rogers, Bell, and Telus, have filed a court motion seeking leave to appeal from certain sections of the CRTC’s wireless code they say are unclear about when the code actually comes into effect.
In a motion filed by the Big Three, along with MTS Inc., NorthernTel, SaskTel, Télébec, and Société en Commandite, the companies contend that the CRTC overstepped its jurisdiction by attempting to make the code “retrospectively applicable” to wireless contracts that were created before the code comes into effect on December 2, 2013.
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MAKE NO MISTAKE, it was a long road, but BCE Inc. finally won the right to purchase the most coveted licensed assets owned by Astral Media. However, CRTC decisions are so much more nuanced than a simple “yes” or “no”.
So below we give you our first impression of the decision broken down by the number of points Bell won with the Regulator – and lost.
WIN: No additional divestitures. Bell executives said repeatedly through the whole process that it could live with certain conditions – even some unprecedented, stringent ones, but it would not proceed with the deal if the…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today approved the $3.2 billion purchase of Astral Media by BCE Inc., but Bell’s regulatory people have MUCH paperwork to file before July 29th in order to satisfy the various conditions of the approval. That said, there doesn’t appear to be anything surprising in the decision which could scuttle the transaction.
As most are well aware, this is the second time Bell attempted to purchase Astral, as the Commission said no to the original 2012 deal last October.
Bell executives pronounced themselves pleased Friday morning, and so they are obviously okay with all the conditions, all of…
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OTTAWA – Will the CRTC approve the deal to let BCE Inc. take control of Astral Media? After weeks of speculation (and 15 months since its intitial bid for Astral was announced), that question will finally be answered Thursday, as the CRTC has confirmed it will release its decision about the Bell/Astral merger June 27, at 4 p.m.
Cartt.ca editor and publisher Greg O’Brien will be in Ottawa tomorrow at the media lock-up at 2:30 p.m. to view the decision just prior to its official release. CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais will address the…
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THE SWIRL OF RUMOURS has to be difficult on the folks who work at Bell Media and Astral Media, what with the flurry of emails, tweets and phone calls we’re experiencing. It’s reached a fever pitch.
What we can tell you is this. From discussions with those who know at the Commission and at the two companies, we expect the decision to be announced this week (something we first noted days ago). While many thought the decision would be released today (Tuesday, the 25th), we don’t believe that to be so, since we were also told…
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