AS THE DEADLINE APPROACHES for submissions in the CRTC's hearing to examine our plan to unite Astral and Bell Media, competitors are already revving up their rhetoric.
Last week in a blog post, Telus's director of regulatory affairs, Anne Mainville-Neeson, road-tested the company's lines on why "vertical integration in the broadcasting industry can be harmful.” This position conveniently overlooks the fact that the federal Competition Bureau has comprehensively reviewed and cleared the proposed Astral-Bell Media transaction, and that the CRTC is of course conducting its own comprehensive analysis.
It also ignores the fact that the CRTC already has a…
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HALIFAX – The SCTE Ontario Chapter is holding its Spring Meeting and Vendors Table Top Day April 16 at the Best Western Plus Chocolate Lake Hotel located in Halifax, N.S.
The Vendor Table Top Trade Show, which runs 12:30-2:00 p.m. and 3:30-4:30 p.m., allows you to see firsthand some of the exciting products currently available in the industry.
2013 SCTE Halifax Agenda, Technical Sessions
The Value of SCTE: Robin Fenton, Director, Chapter Support, SCTE
Deployment Considerations for Fibre-To-The Home Architectures: Fritz Amt, Technical Sales Manager, Commscope
QAM Leakage & High Frequency Ingress/Egress Interference: Nick Chunka,…
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WHAT IF SPORTS RIGHTS are getting so expensive that they blow up the traditional affordable bundle of TV channels?
Every sport is demanding more cash from broadcasters, who willingly pay and who then pass those costs along to the cable/satellite/IPTV carriers, who then must pass it on to their customers, those TV-watching sports fans who just have to get their Leafs/Canucks/ManU/golf/curling/darts/skiing fix, no matter the cost.
And those costs have been leaping of late. The wholesale fees charged by TSN to Canadian carriers, for example, have more than doubled in two years (to $2.21/subscriber/month if carried on basic, according to sources,…
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OTTAWA – While it may be a stretch to suggest that Canada’s glaring lack of a digital economy strategy is directly damaging our economy, witnesses to Parliament’s Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology this week noted that there are places reaping significant benefits from just such a plan, albeit on a regional basis.
Catherine Middleton, a professor at Ryerson University and the Ted Rogers School of Management, pointed to the success of Chattanooga, Tenn., as an example that Canada and Canadian cities should strive to achieve. There, the municipal utility has built out a Gigabit per second broadband network,…
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TORONTO – With outgoing Wind Canada CEO Tony Lacavera having told Cartt.ca that he loves auction rules set by Industry Canada because it shows the federal government is committed to seeing a fourth national wireless player emerge strongly, Bay Street is now wondering if Lacavera’s former backer, Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, will risk diving deeper into the Canadian wireless market.
Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan wrote in a research note to clients last week that there are numerous reasons not to invest in the Canadian wireless market, yet…
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DENVER, COLO – Viewers of World Fishing Network (WFN) can now net the best deals in booking fishing guides after the network partnered with ReserveFishing.com, the world’s first real-time fishing guide booking system. Utilizing ReserveFishing.com’s proprietary booking technology, visitors to WorldFishingNetwork.com can now quickly research, compare and book a fishing guide in a matter of minutes. The technology will be available to WorldFishingNetwok.com visitors in the coming weeks.
“As we continue to refine the online fishing experience at WorldFishingNetwork.com, we’re always looking for ways to deliver more value and convenience to anglers. Partnering with…
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GATINEAU – Wireless industry stakeholders are still at loggerheads over a number of issues pertaining to a wireless code of conduct. They include three-year contracts, the co-existence of the code with provincial consumer protection legislation and notifications of data and fee caps, among others.
On these matters, the Big Three – Bell Canada, Rogers Communications and Telus – remain united. They all agree that banning three-year contracts as has been suggested by some consumer advocates and the new entrants isn’t necessary given the clear language on earlier termination fees (ETF).
The ETF formula, in conjunction with the unlocking and cancelation policies,…
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OTTAWA – Rural and remote broadband was back on the agenda at the Parliamentary Industry committee this week.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) used its appearance to call on the federal government to take the next step in ensuring that Canadian consumers and businesses in rural and northern communities have access to the same networks and broadband speeds as those in urban regions of the country.
Daniel Rubinstein, a policy analyst at the FCM, told the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology on March 19 that while programs such as Broadband Canada: Connecting Rural Canadians has…
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TORONTO – The multiscreen environment of the typical Canadian living room these days has profound implications for broadcasters as they figure out how to reach and maintain their audience, said a number of industry experts who spoke Wednesday at the Digital Media Summit in Toronto.
“We are now multitasking across multiscreens,” said Neil Shankman, head of large advertiser and agency marketing for Google Canada, during his keynote address Wednesday morning. “Some people describe it as a four-screen world. Other people describe it as a one-screen world, because the screen that is relevant is the one you’re looking at.”
Shankman said content…
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TORONTO – The real-time interactive nature of social networking presents both opportunities and challenges for digital news organizations, as their audiences increasingly take on the roles of contributors and critics. That was the message from digital media experts who participated in a panel discussion about the impact of social media on the broadcasting industry at the Digital Media Summit, held in Toronto this week as part of Canadian Music Week.
“Sports is one of the few remaining television properties that still is primarily live,” said Kenny Norton, digital marketing manager for sports broadcaster theScore. “The thing with sports and especially…
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