OTTAWA – This could be the beginning of the end for foreign ownership restrictions on Canadian companies.
Today, Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, and Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, announced the creation of a Competition Policy Review Panel which will be chaired by former Bell Canada Enterprises CEO Lynton Wilson.
"The global economy has changed significantly in the last decade," said Minister Bernier, in a press release. "Trade agreements have opened national markets, while international investments have reached unprecedented levels. These changes increase our standard of living as firms take advantage of untapped investment opportunities, create more jobs and…
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OTTAWA – A new telecom report recently published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) says that mobile phone customers in Canada enjoy some of the most competitive wireless prices around, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association said today in a press release.
"According to the OECD’s recently published biennial Communications Outlook 2007, Canadian customers fare significantly better than their neighbours in the US and Mexico in almost all usage categories," reads the release from the wireless industry’s lobby group.
"This report, as well as other recent studies, offers even further evidence that true competition in the wireless…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Offering local telephone service just might be working out for Canadian cable operators.
For anyone paying attention to the increasingly positive results for Canadian cable operators of late, the CRTC’s figures on the industry, released today, will come as no surprise.
Total revenues for cable companies passed $6 billion in 2006, a 12% increase over 2005. Subscribers also grew and profits before interest and taxes (PBIT) for cable companies totalled $1.4 billion in 2006, and the PBIT margin was 22.92%.
However, within the report itself on the Commission’s site, comparisons from year to year are not…
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TORONTO – Radio and TV owner Corus Entertainment reported another strong three months today.
“We enjoyed another solid quarter with strong ad sales in radio and television,” said John Cassaday, president and CEO, in the press release. “Our program investments at W Network and Movie Central are driving growth in these key brands and our focus on attracting and retaining strong local talent for our radio properties resulted in another strong ratings performance in the most recent industry survey. We continue to feel we are well positioned to capitalize on Canada’s continued strong economic growth.”
Consolidated revenues for the…
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OTTAWA – CanWest Media Works Inc. is arguing CRTC approval of its $2.3 billion acquisition of Alliance Atlantis Communications would “create a viable and healthy competitor for CTVglobemedia in the domestic broadcasting television sector.”
The Winnipeg-based broadcaster also tells the CRTC to view the purchase as “both a reflection of, and response to, changing dynamics, trends and technologies in the domestic and international media industry (esp. a rapidly fractured media landscape; changing viewing patterns and erosion of media boundaries).”
The comments were made in CanWest’s application seeking CRTC approval of the acquisition. The documents were made public Friday, when…
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OTTAWA – While operating revenues for TV broadcasting companies continue to rise, profits fell sharply last year according to Statistics Canada.
Overall, revenues for the television broadcasting industry just topped $6 billion in the 2006 broadcast year, ended August 31, 2006. That’s a gain of 8.2% over 2005 and was the third largest year-over-year revenue increase in the past decade.
Ad revenue for the whole Canadian TV industry rose 7.6% to $3.3 billion, while subscription revenues jumped 11.3% to $1.6 billion, continues the Statscan report.
However, profits before interest and taxes for private conventional television fell 62.5% from $242.7 million…
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MONTREAL – At about 6 a.m. this morning (Saturday), Bell Canada Enterprises entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a private investor group led by Teachers Private Capital, the private investment arm of the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and two U.S. private equity firms, Providence Equity Partners Inc. and Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC.
The all-cash transaction is valued at $51.7 billion (US$48.5 billion), including $16.9 billion (US$15.9 billion) of debt, preferred equity and minority interests. The BCE board of directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote to accept the offer.
The equity ownership of BCE would be as…
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FAIR IS FAIR, RIGHT? On Tuesday, Cartt.ca presented one side of the advanced wireless auction debate through an interview with Videotron CEO Robert Dépatie.
On Wednesday, Rogers Wireless president Rob Bruce (pictured below) sat down – along with RCI vice-president, regulatory, Ken Englehart – with Cartt.ca editor and publisher Greg O’Brien to swing back, so to speak, and talk about RCI’s reply comments to Industry Canada on the potential for new rules on this auction and what they hope will happen.
What follows is an edited transcript.
Greg O’Brien: Well, let’s start with today’s filing. What does it say…
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THE ARGUMENTS FILED yesterday with Industry Canada on each side of the advanced wireless spectrum auction debate haven’t changed in a month, but circumstances have.
Reply comments on the spectrum auction framework were due into the ministry yesterday. As most will recall, the established players want an unfettered auction for new spectrum that will enable all sorts of new applications and services beyond just voice while potential newcomers want it good and fettered. The fight is still the same.
The three incumbents, Bell Canada, Rogers Communications and Telus, all argue the same thing as they did 36 days…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – With the Commission’s report on what ails the Canadian Television Fund due out tomorrow afternoon (the CRTC under the new chair sure is speedy these days!) Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw sent a letter to CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein making it quite clear his feelings on the whole matter.
Shaw, and then Videotron, both suspended their payments to the fund this past winter thanks to a number of long-standing complaints. Mr. Shaw said then and since that because the money was coming from Canadians through their cable and satellite companies they should have better…
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