CALGARY – Shaw Communications has named Vito Culmone as its executive vice-president and chief financial officer, effective June 1, 2015.
With more than 25 years of experience as a financial professional, including 15 years as a senior financial executive, Culmone (right, in his LinkedIn photo) most recently served as CFO for Calgray-based WestJet Airlines Ltd., where he built a strong reputation for his ability to build sustainable shareholder value, reads the announcement. He also has held leadership positions at Molson Inc. and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
"We are excited to attract one of the country's top business and financial executives to become…
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TROIS-RIVIÈRES, QC – Cogeco Cable launched a customized version of TiVo to its Quebec-based cable customers Monday, some five months after first rolling it out in Ontario.
The Cogeco TiVo's fully integrated advance search function explores live television as well as recorded, on-demand and online content, according to the announcement, plus offers full integration of Netflix into the platform. Netflix subscribers can access the content this service offers through the TiVo platform by way of a simple unified search, without having to use additional external devices. TiVo also helps users discover new content by providing personalized recommendations, plus…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) was quick to agree to Thursday’s proposal by the CRTC that it take on the job of dealing with complaints from TV viewers and administer a code of conduct for the industry.
CCTS said that it told the Commission last year during the Let’s Talk TV proceedings that it would accept the new ombudsmen role, should the Regulator decide to create one.
“The CRTC’s proposal that we apply our expertise to this new role is an expression of its continued confidence in our organization,” said CCTS Commissioner and CEO Howard Maker,…
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TORONTO – Retail advertising continued to generate the most complaints from Canadian consumers in 2014, closely followed by the leisure services category, says the Advertising Standards Canada (ASC).
In its annual Ad Complaints Report, the ASC said that it received 130 complaints about the retail advertising category, followed by 101 for leisure services (travel and accommodation services, entertainment services, and bars and restaurants), and 85 for non-commercial, a category that includes advertising by governments, charities, advocacy groups, and other not-for-profit organizations. Telecommunications ranked seventh out of the ten categories, with 45 complaints. More than half (54%) of complaints submitted were…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – In an effort to further “empower” Canadian TV viewers, the CRTC unveiled a new draft code to help viewers resolve disputes with their television service providers, and directed broadcasters to ensure that Canadians with disabilities have greater access to content adapted to their needs.
Thursday’s announcements are the fifth and final decision stemming from the Commission’s TV Policy Review, known as Let's Talk TV.
Under the proposed code of conduct, TV service providers would be required to provide easy-to-understand agreements to their customers, notify them of changes to their services, and clarify the terms surrounding issues such as the addition…
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MONTREAL – Stingray has been chosen as the main music content partner for Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment system, the companies said Wednesday.
Air Canada's enRoute In-flight Entertainment offers over 600 hours of free, on-demand entertainment including movies, TV shows and music.
Through its partnership with Stingray, Air Canada customers also now have access to expertly curated music content, including themed music playlists, genre-based music playlists, music video playlists, concert videos, and music documentaries.
"As a Canadian company, we are thrilled to mark our debut in the in-flight entertainment industry with Air Canada, the largest Canadian airline," said Stingray president and…
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TORONTO – TVO is partnering with DHX Media on the development of a new children's animated series based on the 'George Greenby' books by world-renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and his daughter, author Lucy Hawking.
The new series is geared towards school-aged kids and explores various aspects of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), including space exploration and physics. Each episode promises to turn big science concepts into bite-sized information for kids, with a whimsical take on how the universe works. The series is slated to have 39 half-hour episodes and will also include an interactive component for mobile and…
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TORONTO – Alek Krstajic has been named the new CEO of Wind Mobile, and founder Anthony Lacavera is stepping away from the company’s day-to-day operations to take on the role of honorary chairman, the company announced Monday.
Krstajic replaces former CEO Pietro Cordova who “has transitioned away” to rejoin the Vimpelcom group, according to the announcement. No stranger to the Canadian wireless industry, Krstajic was founder and CEO of fellow new wireless entrant Public Mobile, bought by Telus in 2013, plus was previously president of Bell Mobility and SVP at Rogers Cable.
"We are very happy to welcome Alek as…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC continued to remake the Canadian broadcasting system in its latest Let’s Talk TV decision. Broadcasting Regulatory Policy 2015-96 forces TV distributors to offer a $25 entry-level package along with pick and pay and small bundles for discretionary services.
The highly anticipated decision is the second-in-a-series that have ushered in considerable changes to the domestic broadcasting ecosystem, one that has seen the dramatic rise of on-demand viewing to the detriment of appointment linear TV. This latest decision focuses to a much greater extent on consumers and how they will interact with TV programming and their TV servcie…
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TORONTO – TeraGo is buying Canadian enterprise cloud service provider RackForce Networks for $31 million, the companies said Thursday.
TeraGo said that the acquisition, which is expected to close on or about March 27, 2015, increases the scale and reach of its data centre and cloud services business. Specifically, due to the addition of RackForce's GigaCenter in Kelowna, BC, the move increases TeraGo's data centre footprint from 40,000 to 58,000 square feet of raised floor space and available power from 6MW to approximately 13MW.
Based in Kelowna and in operation since 2001, RackForce Networks says it is the country's largest enterprise…
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