TORONTO – Bell Globemedia and CHUM Limited announced yesterday evening that approximately 6.7 million common shares of CHUM, representing more than 99% of the issued and outstanding common shares, have been tendered to the offer BGM made in July to purchase CHUM.
In addition, approximately 19.2 million non-voting class B shares of CHUM have been tendered to the Offer, and notices of guaranteed delivery for tenders of approximately 750,000 class B shares have been received, representing in total more than 93% of the issued and outstanding class B shares, says the press release.
BGM has now declared the offer to…
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OTTAWA – Broadcasters’ requests to be paid for their signal by cable and satellite companies will remain a part of the TV Policy Review, the Commission told Telus this week.
As exclusively reported by Cartt.ca last week, the western telco petitioned the CRTC to drop discussion of fee-for-carriage due to the changing nature of the broadcast industry both globally (WIPO) and at home (BGM’s proposed CHUM purchase). That and the fact the Commission ruled in 1993 that such fees were beyond its scope of influence.
Broadcasters look at specialty services and the wholesale fees they collect and would like…
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OTTAWA – Moses Znaimer has now officially returned to broadcasting.
Today the CRTC approved his company’s purchase of classical music radio station CFMX Toronto from Trumar Communications, which is owned by Martin Rosenthal. MZ Media will pay $12 million for the station, it’s digital license and Cobourg repeater.
Znaimer, as most will know, is an accomplished Canadian broadcaster best known for his many years shaping the TV brands of CHUM Ltd. He was a co-founder of Citytv after starting his career with CBC.
Since the station has never been profitable, said Znaimer’s submission, he asked that the transaction not…
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OTTAWA – For all the concern about MP3s, streaming, wireless listening and other new technologies that are supposed to hammer radio, there sure are a lot of companies and people sure they want to launch new stations.
The CRTC announced today it will hear 24 applications for stations in Medicine Hat, AB, and Regina and Saskatoon, SK. Only one of the applications is for a frequency change, the rest (eight in The Hat, six in Regina and nine in Saskatoon) are for brand new stations of various formats and from various companies. As reported by Cartt.ca, the Commission Continue Reading
TORONTO – After passing the Competition Bureau and CRTC tests, Bell Globemedia announced today that it has completed the closing of its new ownership structure.
The CRTC approved the new ownership structure on July 21st and on August 18th the Competition Bureau rubber-stamped it. The decisions clear the way for BGM to implement the changes to its ownership structure announced on December 2nd of last year, including the investment by each of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) and Torstar Corporation, and the increased investment of Woodbridge Corp.
All three purchased stakes from Bell Canada Enterprises for a total…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC told Canadians the rights when it comes to telephone service today.
The Commission issued a edict telling all incumbent local exchange companies (ILECs: Bell, Telus, SaskTel, etc.) that they must include this statement of consumer rights on their web sites and in their printed directories. New local competitors do not have to print the document but the Commission encouraged them to do so.
The 4,700-word Commission document "restates key consumer rights with respect to local home phone service, in a clear and comprehensible manner," says the CRTC press release.
"The CRTC has, in the past,…
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WHO COULD BLAME CANADIAN lawyer Richard Warman for taking a shot with the CRTC last week? What would you do if someone used the web to threaten to kill you, or urge others to do it? Use as many tools as might be at your disposal to protect yourself, I should think.
As you may have read in a number of media reports over the past few days, an Virginia man, Bill White, has called for the Ottawa man’s death (and the death of all Jews, for that matter) and even posted his home address, too, in case someone…
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OTTAWA – There’s a regulatory skirmish crawling through the CRTC right now over who gets to program for the diaper and rattle set (think Baby Einstein-type of shows and not as old as Dora the Explorer).
While the potential new viewers spend a lot of time asleep or with their fingers up their noses, pondering the mystery of their blankie, the positions drawn by the parties are as old as Canadian TV regulation. One side (usually a cable company) wants a foreign channel in. The other (usually a programmer) wants it kept out so it can launch its own service in…
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CALGARY – Saying it’s just being consumer-friendly, Shaw Communications today added Rainbow Media’s American Movie Classics to its analog channel lineup.
Shaw is believed to be the first Canadian carrier to offer the 24-hour classic-movie-based network (which also offers some original content, too), even though the channel has been on the CRTC’s eligible satellite list for years.
What’s always held AMC back were the Canadian copyrights it didn’t have, an issue "that’s been dealt with," Shaw Communications president Peter Bissonnette told Cartt.ca this afternoon.
AMC has the Canadian rights to most of its programming and for the titles that…
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IN APRIL OF THIS YEAR, A&E Networks was the first of the American cable channels to reveal their "upfront" presentation to throngs of media buyers, advertising executives and other assorted folk.
I wasn’t there, of course, but I’m sure it was a slick presentation with some of the stars of all of its cool new – if a bit jarring – programming. (When you’re used to "Biography" and "Murder She Wrote" reruns, shows like Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels and Criss Angel: Mindfreak seem a little out there for A&E.)
What was notable in the Broadcasting & Cable report…
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