OTTAWA – The one thing most everyone agrees on is that Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be announcing a Cabinet shuffle early next week.
According to multiple reports, all ministers have been told to be in Ottawa this weekend and next week, meaning that the PM may have major changes in mind and not just some minor tweaking (Gordon O’Connor is certainly gone from National Defense, they say). But what will it mean for the two ministers overseeing the cable, radio, television and telecom industries?
Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, by any measure, has been a very successful minister who,…
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DARTMOUTH – Thanks to new stations in Calgary and Charlottetown, radio broadcaster Newfoundland Capital Corporation reported revenue growth of 7% to $26.2 million in the second quarter, ended June 30th and 6% to $45.7 million year-to-date, as compared to the same time frames from 2006.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were $7.2 million in the quarter and $7.3 million year-to-date. Excluding the effect of last year’s marketable securities gains, $6.7 million in the quarter and $8.7 million year-to-date, consolidated EBITDA improved $2.2 million in the quarter and $1.1 million year to date, says the company’s press…
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PENTICTON/KAMLOOPS – The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group has agreed to buy another British Columbia radio station.
If all is approved, Pattison will acquire country station CIGV-FM (GIANT FM) in Penticton, from Great Valleys Radio Ltd. The purchase price was not disclosed.
“This is a very important acquisition for our Broadcast Group as we have worked closely with the Robinson family over the past few months to reach and sign an agreement to purchase the Great Valleys Radio assets”, said Rick Arnish, president of The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.
“I knew Mr. Ralph Robinson, the founder of Great Valleys Radio,…
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OTTAWA – Michel Morin, has been appointed as a CRTC commissioner, announced Bev Oda, minister of Canadian Heritage.
Morin has spent more than 34 years in broadcasting and has been a journalist, economic news editor, leader of a team of journalists, and, most recently, chief editor of television news for both Radio-Canada and the French language news network RDI.
"His career encompasses a broad range of assignments, including program anchor and research assistant in Ottawa; parliamentary correspondent in Québec City; foreign correspondent in Paris; and journalist, desk editor, and chief editor for the past 14 years in Montréal," reads…
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HAMILTON – The CRTC approved Source Cable’s application for a video on demand license today.
The 18,000-customer cable company serves portions of southern Hamilton. It’s new license is effective from September 1st 2007 through the end of August 2014.
Click here for the full decision.
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GATINEAU – It took a second pass through the CRTC, but Corus Entertainment won approval for Cosmo TV today.
The category two digital channel, a partnership with Cosmopolitan Magazine owner Hearst Corp., will join the popular W in the broadcaster’s women’s division.
As we reported in February, the Commission denied the first attempt by Cosmo TV for a license saying it infringed on the genre protection of other Canadian specialties such as the FashionTelevision Channel and Star!.
This second time around, Cosmo agreed to some programming restrictions so it wouldn’t infringe on the protections of others, such as:
*…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canada’s major phone markets will soon be free from most local residential phone service controls as the CRTC has opened the floodgates to more deregulation.
The commission has approved applications from the ILECs to forbear Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau, Calgary, Edmonton, Hamilton, Victoria, Winnipeg, Quebec City, London, Rimouski, and many other cities.
They join Halifax, Charlottetown, Fredericton, and Fort McMurray, announced recently, as markets where the incumbent telcos will no longer need to get the commission’s approval to set local phone rates or introduce new services and packages because the regulator has deemed there is enough…
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TORONTO – BCE Inc. posted modest growth in the second quarter of 2007, posting revenues of $4.438 million, up 1.5% compared with the same period last year.
BCE’s operating income was up just 0.4% to $898 million, as higher EBITDA offset higher amortization and restructuring expenses.
The parent company experienced higher revenues at Bell Canada, Bell Aliant, and Telesat. However, Bell’s operating income declined 1.0% from Q2 of 2006, to $681 million.
There’s better news on the earnings per share front, as BCE’s net EPS was $0.83 for the second quarter, compared with $0.53 for the same period last…
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OTTAWA – A coalition of consumer advocacy groups is petitioning the federal cabinet to overturn the CRTC’s approval to raise payphone rates from 25 to 50 cents per local call.
The groups cite a public opinion poll of more than 1,000 Canadians conducted for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) in July showing that 75% of respondents agreed that 50 cents was too much to pay for a local payphone call.
The petition calls for the cabinet to overturn the rate hike, announced as part of the CRTC’s new price cap regime, and send the matter back to…
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TORONTO – Times are very good for Ted Rogers and company and its shareholders. Profits are swelling, the dividend is increasing, and customers are growing to all aspects of the business, except for basic cable.
Rogers Communications Inc.’s consolidated operating profits grew by 20% in the second quarter of 2007, the company announced today.
In the three months ending June 30, adjusted operating profits were $898 million, compared with $746 million in the same quarter in 2006. Consolidated operating revenue rose 16% in Q2 of 2007 to more than $2.5 billion.
The board of directors also more than tripled…
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