OTTAWA – It’s only a $700,000 piece of punctuation.
That’s the assessment that came Monday after the CRTC sided with Rogers Cable over its unusual row with Aliant over a pole attachment contract that turned sour over the placement of a single comma.
Over a year ago, Aliant ended a five-year pole attachment contract early, saying that one clause of the contract, with a poorly placed comma, actually said the company could end its contract with Rogers any time it wished, with a year’s notice. The contract called for Rogers to pay the CRTC-mandated rate of $9.60 per…
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QUISPAMSIS, N.B. – This year’s Canadian Cable Systems Alliance annual general meeting will happen next month in Mont-Tremblant, Que.
Following the AGM on the morning of Sept. 24 will be a bulk purchasing trade show, the awards luncheon (with a keynote speaker to be announced), a CTAM presentation, and a CRTC reception for CCSA members only.
This year’s conference theme is “Pixel Nation.” “Pixel Nation, like technology, is a group of individual units that join together to form a solid and clearly defined structure,” the CCSA says. “CCSA members are these individual ‘pixels’ and collectively as one, are able to realize new ideas, fulfill…
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TORONTO – With the deal now mostly closed – pending CRTC approval of the regulated broadcast assets, of course – a number of Alliance Atlantis senior folks have left or are on their way out.
A memo to employees late last week, after the deal’s closure was announced, made official the moves of some of the senior staffers. "The portion of our broadcasting business that is subject to CRTC approval and its associated employees now resides within a trust," explains the memo. "The remainder of our broadcasting business now resides outside the trust within a company called CW…
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NEW YORK and TORONTO – As we first reported last week, Hearst Corporation and Corus Entertainment have CRTC approval to launch Cosmo TV.
The two companies issued a press release Thursday saying the new category two digital specialty channel aimed at young women based on the Cosmopolitan Magazine feel and content will launch in early 2008.
"Corus is delighted to have the opportunity to work with Hearst Corporation on this globally-recognized brand," said John Cassaday, president and CEO of Corus in the release. "With our past experience in creating successful niche-targeted television services and our expertise in marketing…
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WINNIPEG and TORONTO – CanWest Global Communications and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners announced late Wednesday that they have completed the purchase of all of the outstanding shares of Alliance Atlantis Communications for $53 in cash per share.
Specifically, AA Acquisition Corp., a subsidiary of CanWest, has completed the acquisition. "Concurrently with the completion of the acquisition, Alliance Atlantis’ broadcasting, entertainment and motion picture distribution businesses were reorganized and split into separate groups that will each be operated on a stand-alone basis, with certain other assets of Alliance Atlantis to be held separately," details the release.
The broadcasting businesses are held…
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OTTAWA – Canada has a number of newly reassigned cabinet ministers today, including new Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages Minister Josée Verner and new Industry Minister Jim Prentice.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a cabinet shuffle today that saw nine ministries gain new bosses. Click here for the Globe and Mail story on the whole shuffle.
As we reported last week, the two ministers with oversight of the Canadian cable, radio, television and telecom industries were shuffled to new gigs. Now-former Heritage Minister Bev Oda was reassigned and is Minister of International Co-operation while star cabinet…
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OTTAWA – It’s not just the creative side of the industry that objects to the purchase of Alliance Atlantis by Goldman Sachs and CanWest Global (and even the directors and producers aren’t totally united on that front).
The Association of Canadian Advertisers, while giving their blessing to the merger of CanWest’s and Alliance Atlantis’ substantial TV properties, also sounded an alarm, saying that even though a bigger, more robust CanWest will be much better positioned to compete with CTVglobemedia, there may now be too many individual specialty services under just two corporate umbrellas.
In its submission to the CRTC…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Ten-digit dialing will come to the 418 area code on in 13 months, the CRTC announced today.
The transition to 10-digit dialing will be gradually implemented beginning on June 21, 2008, and become mandatory by September 12, 2008.
Also, effective September 19, 2008, a new area code will be introduced in the region currently served by area code 418. Customers seeking new numbers in this area code could be given a number starting with area code 581.
"These measures are being taken to prevent the exhaustion of telephone numbers in the area code 418 region. The Canadian…
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TORONTO – Saying that the proposed sale of Alliance Atlantis violates Canadian media foreign ownership rules, the Coalition of Canadian Audio Visual Unions has told the CRTC the deal must be stopped.
CanWest Global Communications and Goldman Sachs agreed in January to acquire specialty broadcaster Alliance Atlantis for $2.3 billion in an unusual deal which will see Goldman provide most of the equity and retain ownership of the CSI TV show franchise while CanWest would get control of the Alliance Atlantis specialty channels. A new company which would contain the CanWest TV assets and those from AA, whose board…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment has agreed to sell its Quebec City AM news station, CHRC (Info 800 AM) to a local group which includes former Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy.
The purchase price was not disclosed and is subject to CRTC approval.
"Corus will continue to serve listeners with our two FM stations, Québec City’s CFOM-FM and Montmagny’s CFEL-FM, which now has increased power and regional reach," said Jacques Papin, vice-president, networks, Corus Québec, in a press release. "CHRC-AM is a natural fit for the proposed new ownership group given their strong affiliation with Québec City’s sports, arts and…
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