Will its popularity save the bundle or will its rising costs help kill it? An exclusive Cartt.ca investigation into how the sports fan supports the whole system.
IT’S RATHER UNLIKELY the typical member of Leafs Nation has any idea that his devotion to the blue-and-white leads to the making of the likes of Bomb Girls, Murdoch Mysteries, Orphan Black, Rookie Blue, Destinées, Heartland, Toute la verité and dozens of other Canadian TV series.
However, the money which that fellow and all sports fans (true blue, bandwagoners or casual viewers) pay for the likes of TSN, Sportsnet, their offshoots and other smaller…
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A FEW YEARS AGO, when digital video recorders first appeared on the scene, many predicted big trouble for the TV industry. Broadcasters sued or threatened to.
After all, if people could record their favourite shows and zip through commercials when watching them hours or even days later how long would it take advertisers who want their messages to be seen and acted on rightnow to lose faith in television's all-encompassing power?
But while many feared the power of the DVR (or PVR), those on the sports side almost welcomed it as an affirmation of the drawing power of that content. They…
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THE SHEER SIZE OF the recent National Hockey League broadcast rights deal with Rogers Communications — an unprecedented $5.2 billion for 12 years – is enough to bend the mind of even the most plugged-in industry watcher.
But what's equally staggering is how fast this all came together. The biggest deal in Canadian broadcast history was conceived and born in the space of about two months. “I've never seen a deal come together this quickly or this smoothly," says Rogers Media president Keith Pelley. “It's really amazing when you think about it."
Driving the need for speed was the lack of…
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OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau has officially sanctioned Telus’ proposed acquisition of Public Mobile.
The Bureau said Friday in a statement that it has issued a No Action Letter (NAL) with respect to the acquisition after determining that “the proposed transaction is unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in the sale of mobile wireless telecommunications services in Southern Ontario and Greater Montreal." Such a letter confirms that the Bureau has reviewed a specific proposed transaction and concluded that it will not, at this time, challenge that proposed transaction before the Competition Tribunal under the merger provisions of the Competition…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) is providing more than $10.7 million to 18 new interactive digital projects as part of its Experimental Stream second round of funding for production support.
The Experimental Stream encourages the development of innovative, interactive digital media content and software applications. Projects funded under the Experimental Program are to be developed for commercial potential by the Canadian media industry or public use by Canadians. Funding is allocated according to a selective process using an evaluation matrix.
The projects include eight games for children, tweens, young adults, and sports enthusiasts; nine interactive digital media platforms to…
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OTTAWA – Ericsson has been named a new program ambassador for the Wireless Amber Alerts program, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) said Tuesday. By signing up all corporate cell phones to the program, Ericsson in Canada has become part of a growing network of supporters.
Wireless Amber Alerts assist law enforcement agencies in providing the public with immediate and up-to-date information about a child's abduction, and to solicit the public's help in the safe and swift return of the child. The program is run in cooperation between Canada's wireless telecommunications industry, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Ontario…
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AT THE 2013 Canadian Telecom Summit, just a day after the CRTC released its Wireless Code of Conduct, Commission chairman Jean-Pierre Blais told delegates, essentially, what’s good for your business should be good for the customer – and vice versa.
In his June 4 speech, he quoted Mary Kay Ash, the enormously successful founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics – a brand built on direct personal relationships who said: “Everyone has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, 'Make me feel important.' Never forget this message when working with people."
Blais went on to note: “Mary Kay…
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SCARSDALE, NY – American satellite operator Hunter Communications has launched in Canada with an aim to provide coverage – and competition – in Canada’s north.
Hunter said that it is selling satellite space segment now on its hosted payload, first using the Satmex 5 satellite that will then be supplemented with additional capacity on Satmex 7 in approximately two years. The Satmex 5 satellite has been positioned to serve all of North America, with an emphasis on northern Canada, and the company said Satmex 7 will have an even more tailored coverage of northern Canada. With an orbital position of…
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TORONTO – Call this a case of bad news, good news.
The bad news is that TV Everywhere still faces some serious hurdles before it can really take off for cable operators, telcos and other video service providers. The good news is that video-on-demand (VOD) may be on the cusp of reaping significant ad revenues for Canadian pay TV providers.
These twin assessments of the market for advanced video services emerged from the packed CTAM Canada Broadcaster Forum held Wednesday at Toronto’s Westin Harbour Castle Hotel. In back-to-back panel sessions, cable operators, programmers, equipment vendors, online experts, audience measurement specialists and…
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POTSDAM, GERMANY – The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) has been named the new Canadian Presenting Partner for the international co-production training and networking program Trans Atlantic Partners (TAP).
The move means that the CMPA will join the Erich Pommer Institut in Potsdam, Germany and New York-based Independent Filmmaker Project as presenting partners for TAP 2014. The international co-production market Strategic Partners will remain a key component of Module 2 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, continuing to offer TAP producers invaluable access to the world market as part of the annual TAP program.
“We are…
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