OTTAWA – Even though it is only carried by Bell and Eastlink thus far, new independent food and lifestyle channel Gusto announced late Wednesday it registered an audience reach of over 1 million Canadians in its first month of operation.
'We're delighted with this strong audience interest out-of-the-gate, and deeply grateful for the support from our early distribution partners – Bell TV, Bell Fibe and Eastlink," Gusto TV's vice-president and general manager Mark Prasuhn said in a press release. "With a varied lineup of first-run food and lifestyle HD programming, Gusto is clearly attracting audiences seeking a viewing alternative. As…
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SEVERAL SOURCES have told Cartt.ca over the past number of weeks that Rogers Communications has grabbed the over-the-top bull by the horns and has been signing a massive number of content deals and at least one significant partnership agreement (if not more) in an effort to battle back against Netflix in Canada by launching a new, national, OTT video portal.
Our multiple sources (all of whom requested anonymity for business reasons) have told Cartt.ca that Rogers is spending over $100 million buying all the video content windows available from as many rights holders (such as Disney/ABC, Warner Bros., 20th Century…
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OTTAWA – New food and lifestyle channel Gusto TV is now being served on Eastlink.
Available now on Eastlink channel 743, Gusto said that it will soon also be available via video on-demand and the Eastlink To Go app for the Web, tablet and mobile devices. The launch is being supported by Gusto TV in-market with television commercial spots on U.S. cable channels distributed by Eastlink, and out-of-home billboards around the Halifax region highlighting some of the channel’s top show hosts including Martha Stewart (Martha Bakes, Martha’s Cooking School); Rocco Dispirito (Now Eat This!); Carlo Rota (The Edible Road Show); and…
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MONTREAL – CTAM Canada’s newly elected board of directors for 2014 includes a number of familiar names and faces.
The executive committee is:
– Gary Pelletier from Stingray Digital as President;
– Drew Robinson from Shaw Media as Vice-President;
– Jennifer Salmon from CCSA as Secretary; and
– Jeff Taylor from Rogers Communications as Treasurer.
The newly elected 2014 board selected the new chapter executive along with committee chairperson assignments, following the last meeting of the 2013 board on December 10th.
Joining the organization are Valerie Heroux from Videotron, Anne Lavigueur from Cogeco, Lisa Purdy from BBC Kids, Andy Garrett from Eastlink, Leanne Shearer from Bell…
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TORONTO – Wednesday’s announcement by the federal government to curb domestic wholesale roaming rates was welcomed by at least one new wireless entrant, but panned by an industry analyst who described the move as “too little, too late”.
Wind Mobile chief regulatory officer Simon Lockie said that the decision makes it clear that the government “is taking the realistic and committed actions necessary to create a level playing field for competition in the wireless space”.
“Today's announcement shows that Prime Minister Harper's Government is serious about competition and serious about consumers”, he said in an emailed statement. “Minister Moore has said this…
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OTTAWA – Leveraging a long line of food and lifestyle programming already under his belt, Chris Knight is taking his next gig, Gusto TV, to the Canadian TV masses this week.
With shows like Cook Like a Chef, Licence to Grill, The Great Canadian Food Show and Road Grill part of Knight’s pedigree Gusto is “a natural extension” to what he was already doing. The concept behind the channel came in 2009, when as he says, he looked at media concentration that was taking place then and realized “I was running out of guys to make TV shows for.”
Thus…
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OTTAWA – Just 11 companies remain in the running to participate in next month’s auction of 700 MHz wireless spectrum.
The latest to withdraw is Toronto’s Catalyst Capital Group, a private equity investment firm which is one of the largest shareholders of the struggling Mobilicity, which is operating under the court’s protection. No reasons were given for its withdrawal, which leaves Bell, Eastlink, Feenix Wireless (Mobilicity founder John Bitove), Globalive (Wind), MTS, Novus Wireless, Rogers, SaskTel, TbayTel, Telus, and Videotron still in the running. See the full list here.
The auction is slated…
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OTTAWA – Turns out that creating actual public policy is far more complicated than a few easy sound bites about choice and protecting jobs.
While the federal government last week demanded a report from the CRTC on letting Canadians break up their subscription TV bundles by April 30th, the written direction to the CRTC from the Privy Council shows an argument that is far more complex than the throw away sentences about “protecting consumers” which were a part of the Speech from the Throne on October 16. It seems to be demanding a report on providing pick and pay without…
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OTTAWA – Forcing broadcast distributors to offer specialty services on a pick and pay basis may not result in big savings for consumers, Kevin Crull, president of Bell Media, said during a luncheon keynote speech at the International Institute of Communications Canada’s annual conference in Ottawa on Monday.
Crull’s comments come as the CRTC has undertaken a broad conversation with Canadians about the future of TV and as the federal government has all but told the industry it will force pick-and-pay upon it. After talking directly to consumers for a while, the Commission will…
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HALIFAX – Eastlink Wireless has rolled out new wireless plans for customers in Nova Scotia and PEI that it says offer more value, more choice, more flexibility and more transparency.
The company said Friday that due to customer demand, it has eliminated roaming fees within Canada; introduced ‘easyTabplus’, which reduces the time to eliminate the Tab to just two years; and is allowing customers to pick any plan and pair it with any device.
"We don't want to be like every other carrier," said Eastlink Wireless president Matthew MacLellan, in the news release. "Our goal…
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