MONTREAL – Fifteen independent companies, today lodged a complaint with the CRTC over the business practices of Bell Canada they say is unfair.
The document ultimately strives to end what the Quebec ISP Coalition calls the "unfair conduct of Bell Canada with regards to the provision of high speed Internet services."
The Coalition’s two main complaints relate to Bell Canada’s "taking advantage of its dominant position" regarding its high speed basic Internet access, and that its long-term, so-called promotional rates are unfair.
"Bell Canada gives with one hand and takes with the other," said Sophie Léger, spokesperson for the…
Continue Reading
CAMPBELL RIVER and CALGARY – As of Wednesday afternoon, 10,000 Campbell River TV customers were still without most of their TV channels.
As reported by cartt.ca yesterday, Shaw Communications, which owns both networks that CRTV relies on for distant signals, had shut off the microwave system delivering U.S. over-the-air signals and had cut off access to most other Canadian TV signals delivered by Shaw satellite division Cancom.
The problem, says Shaw, is that CRTV is encouraging customers to go to the town of Courtenay – a Shaw Cable region about 45 kms south – purchase digital set top boxes there…
Continue Reading
DARTMOUTH, N.S. – The CRTC has approved Newcap Inc.’s $1.8-million purchase of Winnipeg station CHNR-FM “The Breeze” from CKVN Radiolink System Inc.
The transaction, originally announced in February, is expected to close within 60 days.
"The completion of this purchase is important to Newfoundland Capital because it represents the Company’s first entry into Winnipeg, which was one of Canada’s highest radio revenue growth markets last year," said Rob Steele, president and CEO, in a release. "This strategic acquisition represents another step in building a geographically diverse presence across Canada."
Newcap “will continue its course of sourcing new, expanding markets…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Today, the CRTC added six new foreign, third-language TV channels to the eligible satellite list.
Sponsored by the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association, the new additions are: Channel One Russia Worldwide TV, NTDTV, Phoenix North American Chinese Channel, PTV-Prime USA, RTPi, and TV Globo.
"The authorization of additional foreign third-language services allows distributors in specific markets to offer diverse programming to many ethnocultural communities," said Michael Hennessy, CCTA president. "Third-language services often provide a different perspective to world events and are an excellent complement to the current Canadian line-up.
“The addition of new services reflects the cable industry’s…
Continue Reading
CAMPBELL RIVER, B.C. – As general manager Jim Forsyth feared, Shaw Communications revealed the depth of its anger Tuesday afternoon and shut down most of the distant TV signals for Campbell River TV.
“We’ve been disconnected by Shaw from just about everything. The microwave system has been turned off and all of our digital services are off and the vast majority of our satellite channels are off,” Forsyth told www.cartt.ca Tuesday evening.
CRTV is preparing a court injunction to force Shaw to turn its Cancom feeds and microwave distribution back on, said Forsyth, who added Shaw executives have yet…
Continue Reading
DARTMOUTH – Charlie Keating, a giant in the Canadian cable television industry – in all senses of the word – died of cancer Tuesday morning. He was 72.
Now, the term “larger than life” may seem a cliché to some, but there wasn’t one person contacted by www.cartt.ca on the passing of the founder of Dartmouth Cable TV (which later became Nova Scotia’s Access Communications) who didn’t use the term.
“He was a great industry individual and a great man in his own right,” said John Thomas, president of Delta Cable. “He was a remarkable man and a wonderful…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – When Maclean’s magazine was able to buy the supposedly confidential phone records of Jennifer Stoddart, Canada’s Privacy Commissioner, and publish a cover story last week on what looks like a potentially scary security loophole, the big three wireless carriers – all of whom were mentioned in the article – sprang into action.
And, with each company counting on huge wireless growth in the Christmas season and throughout 2006 and 2007 (all companies saw record levels of subscriber growth in 2005) all moved quickly to try and repair the damage.
First out of the gate was Bell Canada….
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Politics came to the winners’ podium Saturday night at the Gemini Awards when outspoken Vancouver producer Chris Haddock (DaVinci’s City Hall) got on his soap box after snagging honours as co-writer of the movie The Life.
In the media room after he picked up his prize, Haddock was blunt: "The broadcasters are making buckets of money these days, big buckets, and aren’t throwing it around." He added it’s high time CRTC commissioners required broadcasters to hand out much more than they do now where Canadian content is concerned.
The comment followed a post-award back stage question about…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC put out a call today for radio station licenses for Medicine Hat, Alta.
As is its practice, the Commission received an application for a broadcasting license to provide a commercial radio service for the town of about 61,000 and opened up a call for other applications. As is normal, it did not name the applicant.
The deadline is January 17th, 2006.
Medicine Hat, which is about a three-hour drive southeast of Calgary, is a Pattison Broadcasting town. Jim Pattison Group owns CFMY (MY 96 FM), Country 1270 CHAT, as well as CHAT-TV.
CJLT Alive 99.5,…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC Friday scuttled a bid by broadcasting veteran Wendell Wilks to launch a local TV station for the Niagara region.
The founder of Edmonton’s ITV (which is now Global Edmonton) told the CRTC at a June hearing in Niagara Falls that the area is so poorly served by the existing Canadian TV broadcasters that it needs its own station.
However, perhaps sensing that the southern Ontario market is already pretty well served by TV (not to mention pretty well fragmented), there were no other competing applications.
Besides being HD-ready at launch, TVN (as reported by…
Continue Reading
