WINNIPEG and OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Thanks to a late closing date on the transaction itself, the CRTC hearing into the CanWest Global/Goldman Sachs purchase of Alliance Atlantis will now happen on November 19th.
It had been scheduled for next Wednesday at the Commission headquarters in Gatineau and it appears the Regulator wanted the change.
The CanWest press release issued late this afternoon said the company has "received notice from the… CRTC that the hearing into its application to transfer Alliance Atlantis’ regulated properties to CanWest will be held on November 19, 2007."
"The delay is a result of the later…
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ANYONE WISHING A BIT of a preview of January’s hearings on broadcast distribution undertaking and specialty services policy changes need only speed through Shaw Communications intervention in the CanWest Global/Goldman Sachs purchase of Alliance Atlantis proceeding.
The three page document outlines in very brief terms what Shaw – and likely other cable companies – will be looking for once that policy review comes around.
Shaw didn’t object at all to the proposed merger but the company rarely misses a chance to state its case on where it believes the regulator should be heading.
"In combination with other recent…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC wants to delegate dealing with unsolicited telemarketing call grievances to the new Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services.
Set up just last month (at the behest of the federal government) the industry-funded CCTS is supposed to resolve complaints about telecom carriers from consumers and small businesses in our new deregulated telecom sphere.
However, with the establishment of an official do not call list on the horizon, too, the Commission doesn’t want the national DNCL operator to have to deal with telemarketing complaints (by people who are on the list who still receive unwanted calls,…
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IF THERE HAS BEEN a Canadian television channel that has struggled more with its programming, carriage, ownership and identity than OUTtv, which began its life in September 2001 as Pridevision, we don’t know of it.
The original category one digital specialty service license went to a surprising place to begin with. The CRTC, preoccupied at the time with trying to uplift smaller broadcasters, gave the must-carry digital license to what then was Headline Media, the owners of what has become The Score, a straight-male all-sports station where no one had experience in the gay community.
Granted, Headline did partner…
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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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