OTTAWA – WildBrain has filed a heavily redacted Part 1 application accusing Bell of disadvantaging its children’s programming to the benefit of Corus in the English-language markets.
“The origin of this application is the disadvantageous treatment of the WildBrain Services by Bell,” alleges the application, which is nearly entirely redacted. “We do wish to note, however, that by creating this disadvantage for the WildBrain services, Bell is providing a direct advantage to the sole direct competitor to these services in English markets.”
The application is in relation to the distribution of Family Channel, Family Jr., WildBrain TV, and Telemagino.
The company said…
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By Connie Thiessen
Corus Entertainment has undertaken a reorganization of its audio division.
“We can confirm we’ve made a number of changes in our audio business as part of leadership turnover and continued enterprise efficiency reviews,” a Corus spokesperson told Broadcast Dialogue, in an emailed statement Thursday afternoon. “We are continuously working to improve workflows and invest into roles that better position us for the future.”
Among those caught up in the restructuring is Larry Gifford, National Director of Talk Radio, who had been with the company since 2016. Based in Vancouver, Gifford – an alum of 710 ESPN Los Angeles, 97.3…
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By Ahmad Hathout
CHATHAM, Ont. – TekSavvy has filed a Part 1 application with the CRTC requesting that the regulator provide it access to a building in its home town so it provide fibre internet services.
The largest independent internet service provider said it has requested access to the building at 175 Churchill Park Road in Chatham on December 9, 2021. The owner of the multi-dwelling unit allegedly said later that month that it was being courted by another service provider and asked TekSavvy what it could be willing to provide in return for access. In February 2022, the building owner…
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By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL — Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau declared Thursday that the Canadian market is in a “different world” following the company’s acquisition of Freedom, as it saw good reception to its new wireless offers that are expected to heat up the promotional period later this year.
“The market suddenly became more competitive in Ontario,” Peladeau said during a second-quarter earnings conference call with analysts Thursday. “We should not be surprised.”
“We can’t completely anticipate what will take place in the future, but this is certainly where we are today — a different world,…
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Large cuts hark back to time Telus threatened 5,000 cuts during wireless review
By Ahmad Hathout
Telus announced Friday it is cutting 6,000 jobs across its telecom and information technology business, which president and CEO Darren Entwistle partly attributed to getting ahead of regulatory changes.
The job losses are split across Telus and its IT business Telus International, with losses of 4,000 at the former and 2,000 at the latter.
“It is with heavy heart that we are seeking to reduce 6,000 staff positions across our global footprint,” Telus said in its second-quarter results release, adding it is also “offering early retirement and…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Bell CEO Mirko Bibic said Thursday that the telecom has a tiny amount of lead cables left in its network as it moves toward replacing the legacy cables with fibre, following a report from the Wall Street Journal last month that alleged the toxic substance was lingering in America’s telecommunications cables.
The Journal report alleges when the cables still in service degrade, the lead spreads to the surrounding environment, allegedly posing a health hazard. AT&T, working with regulators, has since denied the health hazard claims related to its own cables and has suspended the removal of them from…
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Commission may launch public consultation on matter
OTTAWA – The CRTC is asking the country’s largest internet service providers via letter for comment on whether it should mandate participation in a data project in collaboration with Innovation Canada to track fixed wireless internet performance.
Participation is currently voluntary and requires that the fixed wireless service providers contacting all of its subscribers on the federal objective speeds of 50 Mbps download and 10 Mbps and higher and providing them material asking them if they are willing to participate in the study.
But the commission said that, while there have been a number of…
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By Connie Thiessen
The deadline for interventions in Bell Media’s request for regulatory programming relief passed late last week with 19 submissions received by the CRTC, the majority making the case against the broadcaster’s proposal.
Bell is specifically seeking a reduction in Canadian programming expenditures (CPE) from 30 to 20 per cent; a reduction in minimum PNI (Programs of National Interest) expenditures from 7.5 to 5 per cent; and an expansion of the current PNI categories to include analysis and interpretation, music and dance, variety, game shows, general entertainment, human interest, and reality television. In return, it’s proposing to increase its independent production…
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Large telecoms emphasize need for mobile wireless projects
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Service providers are providing mixed responses to the CRTC’s proposal to use the Broadband Fund to subsidize the ongoing cost of operating networks it helps build, with responses ranging from not expanding its use beyond its current boundaries and allowing for its use for that purpose.
The CRTC launched a proceeding in March to broaden the scope of the $750-million fund supported by telecom revenues, from which three rounds of funding had been opened.
The commission – surveying the influx of other federal broadband programs since the emergence of…
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By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said Wednesday the company is weighing its options, including possibly appealing a decision by the CRTC to pick Quebecor’s rate for access to the national carrier’s wireless network.
“We’re reviewing it,” Staffieri said about the decision. “As you would expect, we’re considering next steps, including potential appeals.”
The regulator said in its decision that while both offers for access met the policy objectives, it was Quebecor’s price that provided the regional player with an opportunity to market more data and therefore more plans.
Rogers said in its original pricing pitch that…
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