Search Results for: crtc

Radio / Television News

O’Farrell to leave CAB

OTTAWA – Canadian Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell announced today he will be leaving the association early in 2009. He has been CEO of the organization since January of 2002, succeeding Michael McCabe. “It’s never easy to move on from something you passionately believe in, but after seven years and a lot of thought, I have concluded it’s time for me to take on new challenges,” said O’Farrell, in a statement. “I will miss the team of dedicated professionals at the CAB with whom I have worked to strengthen the Canadian broadcasting system in a remarkable… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Rogers granted all-news channel license

TORONTO – Rogers has received CRTC approval to launch a local, 24-hour news channel in the Greater Toronto Area. Programming for the new channel will consist of local news, traffic, weather, business, sports and entertainment information “devoted exclusively to residents in the Greater Toronto and commuting areas”, the decision read. The channel will also include news items from other Rogers owned media properties including The Fan 590, 680News, Sportsnet, the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Rogers publishing division (With titles like Maclean’s, Flare, Chatelaine and Canadian Business). "We are extremely pleased with the CRTC decision today," says Jamie Haggarty, executive vice-president… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Family, friends, pack church to say goodbye to Ted

TORONTO – It was an overflow house of hundreds of family, friends, politicians and Canadian business glitterati who gathered in Toronto’s St. James Cathedral on a grey, rainy Tuesday morning to pay their final respects to Ted Rogers, the founder of Rogers Communications and one of the leading lights of Canadian business. Rogers died December 2nd of heart disease at the age of 75. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, former PM Brian Mulroney, Shaw Communications founder JR Shaw and his son, CEO Jim Shaw, Telus CEO Darren Entwistle, Bell Canada CEO George Cope, Astral chairman Andre… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: CEO’s premise has a flaw

HUBERT LACROIX’S EXCELLENT article on CBC’s web and digital activities has one flaw, it aggrandizes the audience numbers of cbc.ca, which by any measure are small compared to conventional CBC TV and radio. M. Lacroix would do well to read my CRTC report on measuring audience success, which defines terms like audience reach (Click here for that) Audience reach is the measure used for the web primarily because it conceals the fact that very few people actually visit most individual web sites with any frequency. Here is how I defined reach: "Reach is sometimes called cume audience… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Luxe TV comes to Canada

GATINEAU – Luxe TV has been added to the eligible satellite services list for distribution on a digital basis in Canada, the Commission announced today. Videotron applied to the CRTC in June to add the French-language satellite service which originates from Luxembourg. The channel offers programming "dedicated to shows, magazines and documentaries all related to the world of luxury," said Videotron’s application. www.crtc.gc.ca Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

With Bell deal probably over, Telus hookup a possibility

TORONTO – With the privatization of Bell Canada looking like it’s dead, what with the release last week that KPMG can’t deliver a positive opinion on the solvency of the big telco post-deal, speculation has run rampant that Telus might still be interested in merging with Bell. Scotia Capital analyst John Henderson issued an investor’s report saying that he believes there’s a 15% chance Of “Belus” happening. Telus did seriously want to kick Bell’s tires back in mid-2007 when the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and its partners put together its deal to buy Bell, but the western telco Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Industry Canada delay means CTV wants to direct-feed its HD in nine markets

TORONTO and GATINEAU – CTVglobemedia wants to be able to deliver the high definition signals of nine conventional TV stations to cable, satellite and telco TV distributors via a direct fibre feed, rather than over the air, the CRTC announced today. The nine stations are: CJCH-TV Halifax; CFCF-TV Montreal; CJOH-TV Ottawa; CHRO-TV Pembroke; CHRO-TV-43 Ottawa; CKVR-TV Barrie; CKY-TV Winnipeg; CKCK-TV Regina; CFRN-TV Edmonton; CIVI-TV Victoria. “The licensee also notes that Commission policy, to this point, has not required BDUs to provide simultaneous substitution with respect to HD television signals offered by direct feed only. CTVgm submits that the simultaneous… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Rogers to buy Kingston radio company

TORONTO – Rogers Broadcasting has agreed to buy up Kingston’s K-Rock 1057 Inc. The independent radio company launched rock stations K-Rock 105.7 FM (CIKR FM) in 2001 and KIX Country 93.5 FM (CKXC FM) in 2007 in partnership with Rogers. It will sell 100% of its ownership to Rogers, pending CRTC approval. "This is a great opportunity for Rogers to expand our presence in Kingston, a market in which we’ve been involved since 2000," said Paul Ski CEO for Rogers Radio. "K-Rock has led the Kingston market because of its strong bond with listeners, advertisers and community organizations. We… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Look to puts self on the block

TORONTO and MONTREAL – Look Communications has obtained permission from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to hold a shareholders meeting to approve a plan to permit the sale of some or all of its key assets, it was announced today. Look’s key assets include approximately 100MHz of contiguous licensed spectrum in Ontario and Quebec covering approximately 18 million people; a mobile broadcast license which has been renewed by the CRTC to August 2011; approximately 30,000 broadcast and Internet subscribers; two network operating centers (Toronto and Montreal) plus 26 one-way broadcast sites and 10 two-way broadcast sites; and approximately $300… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Lind challenges Regulator to keep speed up; says bigger companies may be the answer to OTA TV

OTTAWA – While businesses can make mistakes by altering course too quickly, industry regulators make most of their mistakes by moving not quickly enough, Rogers Communications vice-chairman Phil Lind said Monday evening at a conference in Ottawa. He was the keynote speaker – pinch-hitting for company founder Ted Rogers, who is still in a Toronto hospital – at opening dinner of the International Institute of Communications Canadian conference in Ottawa. (While Cartt.ca will be there tomorrow, we were sent a copy of Lind’s speech, which is represented in this story). With CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein doing the intro… Continue Reading