DARTHMOUTH, N.S. – Newcap Inc., announced today that the CRTC has approved its $2.3 million purchase of CJUK-FM, Magic 99.9, from Big Pond Communications Inc. of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
This transaction is expected to close May 30, 2005. Newcap signed the purchase agreement last June.
“We have had a presence in Thunder Bay for over 15 years," said Rob Steele, president and CEO, in a release. "The purchase of Magic 99.9 will perfectly compliment our existing station, CKTG-FM, The Giant."
Thunder Bay is the largest metropolitan city in Northwestern Ontario and represents an important commercial base for NCC’s penetration…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC said Friday that Shaw Communications was not giving itself an undue preference when denying full pay-per-view service to Telus and it’s yet-to-be-launched digital television service, Telus TV.
Telus filed a complaint in November 2004 saying that Shaw Pay-Per-View was saying it would limit the movie titles made available to Telus TV – which therefore means Shaw has given its PPV and cable divisions “undue preference” and subjected Telus to an undue disadvantage, said the western telco.
Shaw, on the other hand, claimed agreements with certain U.S. movie studios prohibit it from making programming available to…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – As reported last week by www.cartt.ca, Astral Media executive Michel Arpin has been appointed as vice-chair, broadcasting at the CRTC.
As predicted here last week, Arpin is Astral’s senior advisor of government and regulatory affairs and spent from 1971 to 1979 at the Commission (overlapping current chair Charles Dalfen’s ’70s tenure there).
While at the CRTC in the 1970s, Arpin held the positions of director of operations and director general, programming. He has also served as vice-chair and chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, as director and secretary general of BBM, president of the Association canadienne…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – TV distribution newcomer Manitoba Telecom Services had its complaint over Shaw Cablesystems distribution of certain channels denied today by the CRTC.
But that doesn’t mean the rules aren’t about to change, again.
In August 2004 MTS, which operates a DSL-delivered digital television product in Winnipeg, asked the Commission for an expedited mandatory order, under section 12(2) of the Broadcasting Act, saying Shaw was violating the distribution and linkage (D&L) rules.
MTS complained that in and around Winnipeg, Shaw has been offering certain discretionary services (Family Channel and the U.S. superstations KTLA Los Angeles, WGN-TV Chicago, WPIX New…
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WASHINGTON – Stressing he does not know what the CRTC’s voice over IP decision will be, Bell Canada Enterprises CEO Michael Sabia said today that if it reads the way he thinks it will, the company will immediately appeal it to the Federal Cabinet.
Speaking at a media and telecom conference this morning in Washington, Sabia said he believes the Commission will side against the incumbent telephone companies (ILECs) and maintain certain regulatory restrictions on the likes of Bell Canada and Telus when it comes to voice over Internet telephony.
The CRTC’s VOIP decision is due out sometime next…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The run-down transmitter serving the 2,000 people in Saint Fulgence, Quebec, must stay, the CRTC ruled today.
Cogeco Inc.-controlled broadcaster TQS had petitioned the Commission for the removal of transmitter CKTV-TV-1 Saint-Fulgence, which broadcasts CKTV Saguenay (an affiliate of CBC’s French-language sister, SRC), on the grounds that the site needed extensive repairs and that most people in the region were already getting the TV signal by cable and satellite anyway.
The Commission denied the application by TQS inc. to remove the transmitter from its license.
TQS told the Commission that its agreement with the CBC, “per se…
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TORONTO – The owner of Pridevision TV and OUTtv says he may be forced to take Shaw Communications to court over what he says is unfair carriage of one of his channels by the large western cable company.
At issue is the way category one digital service OUTtv is being packaged on Shaw Digital Cable.
A little background: At launch and through its first years of existence, Pridevision was the category one (i.e. digital must-carry) gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered channel. It had lifestyle programming in the daytime and prime time hours and adult movies after hours.
At launch,…
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TORONTO – In advance of a CRTC ruling that is expected this spring, CHUM Limited has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Canada’s premier jazz station, JAZZ.FM91, to supply hosts, content, programming expertise and promotion for its proposed subscription radio service, CHUM Subscription Radio Canada (CSRC).
As part of the agreement, JAZZ.FM91 will contribute three to six channels in jazz formats such as contemporary jazz, blues, big band and/or jazz masters to CSRC. JAZZ.FM91 will also contribute airtime for the promotion of CSRC and involve key JAZZ.FM91 personnel and hosts, including President and CEO, Ross Porter, who…
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AYLMER, Ont. – Amtelecom Income Fund, the parent company of Amtelecom Communications, a cable and telephone company in southwestern Ontario, reported decreased revenues and earnings for the first quarter of 2005, ended March 31st.
For the first quarter of 2005, the Fund generated revenues from telecommunications, cable TV and Internet operations of $5.7 million, earnings before interest, taxes and amortization (EBITDA) of $2.7 million and net earnings of $1.0 million ($0.17 per unit). This compares to revenues from telecommunications, cable TV and Internet operations of $5.8 million, EBITDA of $2.7 million and net earnings of $1.1 million ($0.18 per…
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OTTAWA – While cable companies, telcos and others roll out service upon service, and have now made convergence a reality, government policy must reflect that, says the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association.
In its just-released annual report aptly entitled, On Demand, the CCTA points out how its members have launched voice services to go along with their digital cable and high speed Internet offerings – and in some cases, wireless, too.
A source of frustration to the industry as well have been the several Parliament Hill committees, often operating in their own little traditional silos. Recently, there are, or have…
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