TORONTO – In his speech to shareholders during Corus Entertainment’s annual general meeting on Thursday, company president and CEO John Cassaday decried the state of government policy when it comes to TV and radio regs.
“While it is true that companies such as Corus have performed well in the past, in this time of unprecedented technological change and global flows, we cannot take the future prosperity of our sector for granted,” he said.
What follows is an excerpt of his written speech:
Our view is that the agencies responsible for regulating our industry are not sufficiently aligned behind the…
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THE WAY NEW CHANNELS serving niche after niche after have succeeded on both sides of the border should mean that no one will question any longer whether or not we “need” a fishing channel, or a soccer channel or a gaming channel.
And Insight Sports, the owners of World Fishing Network and GOLTV Canada – and operators of Canadian Gaming Television – is banking on the fact it has tapped into a trio of still underserved niches.
It’s not like Insight doesn’t know the TV industry. It’s not like the networks aren’t very well financed, either. Insight Sports has…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Wireless phone number portability will come to Canada six months sooner than the major wireless carriers said they could make it happen.
In a decision released late this afternoon, the CRTC is requiring Canadian wireless telephone companies to implement wireless number portability (WNP) by March 14, 2007, in most of Canada. Today’s decision follows a public notice issued on September 16, 2005, in which the Commission invited comments on several issues related to the implementation of WNP.
The decision will see Canadians be able to take their phone numbers with them, no matter for which wired or…
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TORONTO – Hockey icon Mark Messier has signed a marketing deal with XM Satellite Radio and XM Canada, the companies announced today.
Messier will promote XM in Canada and the U.S., especially the satellite radio company’s NHL package. In addition, XM will be the sole presenting sponsor of the New York Rangers on-ice ceremony to retire Messier’s No. 11 jersey at Madison Square Garden prior to the Rangers vs. Edmonton Oilers game on January 12. The sponsorship is part of XM’s comprehensive marketing agreement with the Rangers; XM is the official…
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VANCOUVER – "We are on track to exceed all of the 2005 consolidated targets we set a year ago for revenue, earnings and cash flow" said Robert McFarlane, executive vice-president and CFO of Telus, in a press release Friday.
"Notably, we accomplished this despite a four month labour disruption experienced in Western Canada. The acceptance of a new collective agreement in November and the ongoing strong growth in the Canadian wireless industry positions Telus for continued financial success, as reflected in the 2006 targets announced today,” he continued.
“These targets reflect our expectation for strong growth in both revenue…
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TORONTO – At its annual general meeting Wednesday in Toronto, CHUM Limited elected Denise Donlon to its board of directors.
"Denise Donlon’s keen understanding of the Canadian broadcasting system, together with her past experience as a leader in the music industry in Canada, make her an ideal addition to the CHUM Limited Board of Directors," said Jim Waters, chairman.Donlon (right) was president of Sony Music Canada from 2000-2004. Of course, prior to that, she held a number of executive positions with CHUM Television including vice-president and general manager of MuchMusic and MuchMoreMusic and director of music programming…
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TORONTO – The 2006 Canadian Telecom Summit is already rounding into fine shape.
Keynote speakers include Nortel CEO Mike Zafirovski, Canadian telecom pioneer Terry Matthews, Telus CEO Darren Entwistle, Avaya CEO Don Peterson, Vonage founder and CEO Jeff Citron, IBM Canada CEO Dan Fortin and a host of other industry leaders.
The Canadian Telecom Summit, now celebrating its 5th year, is Canada’s leading industry event, attracting more than 500 of the most influential people who shape the future direction of telecommunications in Canada. The 2006 edition will take place from June 12 to 14th at the Toronto Congress Centre….
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IN QUEBEC, YOU HAVE TO GO DEEP into a conversation with a private TV network manager before you’ll hear even a hint of excitement about the visual and audio pleasures that await viewers of HDTV.
“Sure, we’re anxious to see all that,” finally confesses Richard Baril, Operations Director for RDS, the all-sports network and sister station of TSN. “For viewers, especially if they’ve ever seen an HD broadcast, they’d like to have it tomorrow.
“But as a manager and administrator,” he quickly adds, hearing the adding machine toting up the bills, “there are enormous costs, and I understand the…
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IT IS NOW AS IT WAS in the beginning: If you’re involved in producing programming or commercials in the high definition format, you’re most likely still trying to make video look like film.
But today, almost exactly 16 years after Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre was on the receiving end of the first major, mainstream HD broadcast seen in Canada – a fight transmitted from Las Vegas pitting Sugar Ray Leonard against Roberto Duran – the momentum in the battle for TV screens here is beginning to favour video.
Producers are becoming accustomed to the idea of originating content on…
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TORONTO – Industrial design students at three Ontario institutions will be able to compete for cash prizes donated by Bell Canada by designing futuristic communications products.
Third-year students enrolled in industrial design programs at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) and Humber College in Toronto, along with Carleton University in Ottawa, will be eligible for the Bell Canada Student Design Competition. A total of $10,000 in cash prizes will be awarded.
Students will design a next-generation communications product individually or in teams of two. The top five designs from each schools will be reviewed next April by…
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