OTTAWA – A consensus may be emerging which says while we need to change the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts, that can be done only as long as those changes don’t involve any playing in my sandbox.
We had this feeling when the Privacy Commissioner appeared and said, essentially: We’re doing fine but please give us more enforcement powers inside the communications business
Then today (Tuesday) when the CRTC appeared in front of the Senate Committee studying change into the two Acts on Tuesday morning, the same thing happened. Senator Rosa Galvez asked “If your situation is the…
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Cable technologists embrace DAA as a complement to DOCSIS 3.1, fibre deep and other technologies
ATLANTA – Believing their industry's hybrid fibre-coax (HFC) networks have plenty of life left in them, cablecos are pushing forward with distributed access architectures (DAA) designed to enable them to boost capacity for gigabit and other advanced services.
Speaking here at the annual SCTE Cable-Tec Expo show last week, top cable technologists from North America and Europe said they are turning to on DAA and new versions of the industry's DOCSIS broadband specs to meet the bandwidth demand with their existing networks. Rather than junk their…
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GATINEAU – With the large Canadian telecom players reading the writing on the wall (where it appears the Commission is seriously considering some sort of new code of conduct for telecom sales practices) a few of the larger carriers last week set out some ideas for commissioners to consider while they deliberate.
Each company last week essentially told the CRTC during its hearing into telecom sales practices the same thing: “There’s no problem with us when it comes to selling wired or wireless products and services to Canadians.” If there is, added most of the intervenors, the problem stems mainly…
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TORONTO – CBC is digging into its archives for its new music series which promises historic performances and candid interviews with the biggest names in music over the past 60 years.
Hosted by by Amanda Parris and Tom Power, the six-part series From The Vaults spans 60 years of Canada’s music history, with highlights including Sammy Davis Jr. in his first ever solo television special Parade on CBC, Shania Twain performing on CBC’s The Tommy Hunter Show at the age of 14, and Leonard Cohen’s television debut on CBC’s Take 30 in 1966.
Producer Banger Films sorted through 600 hours of content…
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GATINEAU – Back in August, when the CRTC and researcher Ipsos launched a survey on what Canadians think of the sales practices of Canadian telecom companies, much private (and some public) hue and cry arose from the carriers across the country.
The tight timeline for Ipsos to finish the survey and the weak overall structure and wording of the questions could only lead to negative answers, they said. They were right. The results came back substantially negative, but does that mean they have a point? Does the survey’s supposedly skewed queries mean the results should be tossed out?
Consumers and consumer…
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TORONTO – Long-time CHUM radio host Roger Ashby said Thursday that he is retiring from the morning show on CHUM 104.5 after 50 years with the station.
“It’s easy to get up early every morning when you love your job and the people you work with,” said Ashby, in a statement. “Of course, I couldn’t have done it without the amazing (co-host) Marilyn Denis. From the first moment we met, I knew she was the right person to spend my mornings with. And our success over the decades would not have happened without the dedication of our longtime listeners.”
Ashby’s farewell broadcast…
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GATINEAU – If we may paraphrase some of the reaction by TekSavvy, Tbaytel and Eastlink representatives Wednesday morning in front of the CRTC it would be: "It seems strange to mandate us to continue being nice to our customers."
These three smaller independents (respectively, a wholesaler, a municipally owned telco and a regional wired and wireless carrier) also all had the same story to tell when it came to the dubious sales practices which have been so far outlined by consumers during the CRTC’s Telecom Sales Practices hearing this week in Gatineau:…
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TORONTO – Tickets are now on sale for the annual CTAM Canada Broadcaster Forum scheduled for Tuesday, November 13 beginning at 1:00 PM.
This half-day event will bring together thought leaders to discuss technology, trends, research and the strategies impacting our industry in the years ahead. More details and updates to follow shortly. .
The event will take place at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto and will be followed by a networking reception. Tickets, available here, are $75.00 for CTAM Canada members.
www.ctam.ca
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TORONTO – SOCAN exec Michael McCarty has been tapped as the 2019 inductee to the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame.
McCarty will be honoured at the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Awards gala dinner on May 9, 2019 at Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto.
As chief membership & business development officer at SOCAN, McCarty is responsible for leading a department of 40 people across Toronto, Montreal Vancouver, Los Angeles and Nashville engaged in building a roster of 150,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers that includes Canadian music creators like Drake, Alesia Cara, The Weeknd, Shawn Mendez, Frank Dukes, Mudah Beats, Keith Power, Andrew…
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COO role won’t be filled
TORONTO – Barb Williams, executive vice-president and Chief Operating Officer of Corus Entertainment, will be leaving the company on October 31st, the broadcaster announced early Wednesday.
Williams joined Corus as part of its acquisition of Shaw Media on April 1, 2016 and has “played a key role in the successful integration of the two companies and creating a compelling vision for the future”, reads the announcement.
As a result of the “strong and highly experienced leadership team” that she developed and leaves behind, Corus added that it will not replace the COO role.
"Barb's support and dedication has been…
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