OTTAWA – Does bigger necessarily mean better? Corus Entertainment appears to think so, and asked the government to support vertical integration in the broadcast industry so that Canadian players can better compete globally.
Speaking Tuesday before the House of Commons Standing Committee of Canadian Heritage, EVP and General Counsel Gary Maavara said that the arrival of non-Canadian new media players like Apple and Google mean that companies like Corus compete in the world market, even at the local level.
“The notion of a ‘domestic market’ is rapidly changing. It is complex and the most powerful players are not Canadian”, Maavara said….
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MONTREAL – Solid third quarter growth at Videotron helped to offset declines at Quebecor’s media division for its third quarter ended September 30th.
In its telecommunications segment, the company recorded gains in its customer base as follows:
– + 32,800 for cable telephone service;– + 32,100 for cable Internet access;– + 20,500 for cable television (including a 40,300 customer increase for digital TV); and– + 8,400 subscriber connections on mobile telephone service.
Videotron said that it ended the quarter with 1,098,100 cable telephone customers; 1,802,000 basic cable subscribers, including 1,182,300 subscribers to its digital TV service; and 1,233,800 Internet subscribers.
Three weeks after…
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MONTREAL – The rebound of the broadcasting advertising sector was a key factor in TVA Group’s third quarter results.
The Quebecor Media subsidiary reported that operating income in its television sector was up by 52.7% ($3.51 million) to $10.12 million compared with $6.67 million in the same quarter of last year. The company attributed the gain to a 62% increase in TVA Network’s operating income, which in turn was driven by an 8.3% jump in advertising revenues.
Its publishing sector, however, reported a 14% drop in operating income from $3.68 million in the third quarter of 2009 to $3.16 million in the third…
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OTTAWA – The country’s largest cable companies want the CRTC to treat them the same as Bell and Telus. At least, as far as the Commission’s rules on speed matching go.
In a petition submitted to Cabinet last week, Cogeco, Quebecor on behalf of Videotron, Rogers and Shaw asked that the Governor in Council vary, rescind, or refer back to the Commission its decision on Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-632 issued on August 30, 2010.
That decision, as Cartt.ca reported, was based on a public proceeding launched in May 2009 to consider whether incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and cable…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has changed next month’s hearing into Quebecor’s Sun TV News application to a non-appearing hearing.
Tuesday’s notice cites Quebecor’s decision to drop the “must carry” status for the category 2 English language all news specialty channel as the reason for the change.
The hearing is scheduled to begin November 19 in Gatineau.
www.crtc.gc.ca
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GATINEAU – Since all of the country’s biggest broadcasters (save CBC) will soon all be owned by Canada’s biggest carriers, the CRTC has announced a new proceeding to examine safeguards to prevent anti-competitive behaviour.
The proceeding will include a public hearing starting on May 9, 2011, in Gatineau, Que.
“The broadcasting industry is being significantly reshaped by a series of major transactions,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, chairman of the CRTC, in the press release. “As a regulator, it’s only prudent that we study the implications to ensure we have the right tools to deal with competitive concerns as they arise….
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MONT TREMBLANT — With the help of Telus, Mont Tremblant Ski Resort is launching a new mobile application – developed by Quebecor Media’s interactive marketing agency Nurun.
Free for users of iPhones and the Android smartphones, this tool will allow users to quickly locate any information on the resort they need, including promotional offers, programming, ski conditions, dining, lodging and more. The application features an augmented reality system enabling users to “live the full Tremblant Resort experience,” says the press release.
“The launch of the Tremblant application, possible thanks to the support of Telus, is another step in our mission to…
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OTTAWA – Telus is telling Industry Canada that it stands to lose as much as $200 million in an auction of the 2500 MHz bandwidth if the current spectrum swap proposal remains unchanged.
The company’s comments come as verbal sparring over the specific rules for transitioning wireless broadband spectrum in the band continued this month with interested parties arguing over transition deadlines and the amount of spectrum to be given back to Industry Canada for auction.
Telus says that adopting the department’s plan would result in incumbents retaining 21% more spectrum than they currently have. This “would be…
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OTTAWA – Quebecor Media Inc. surprisingly revealed yesterday that the company was no longer going to seek “must carry” status for its Category 2 English language all news specialty channel Sun TV News.
The revelation marks a stunning reversal from previous statements that the channel required must carry status to be able to compete with the other specialty news stations, CTV Newsnet and CBC Newsworld (the company’s last application to the CRTC said without must-carry, the business case couldn’t work). Now the company says it will work within current CRTC rules, which will require Quebecor to negotiate carriage…
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OTTAWA – Quebecor Inc. president and CEO Pierre-Karl Péladeau said the company is considering removing the "must carry" provision in an application for its English-language all news channel SunTV.
Péladeau made the comments immediately following a luncheon speech at the Canadian Club of Ottawa on Tuesday. While he didn’t say for sure that the company is going to drop its must carry bid, Péladeau talked about the challenges that SunTV is currently facing in the conventional TV market.
"We’ve been losing money in a declining market and a more competitive market," he said. During his 45-minute speech, Péladeau outlined Quebecor’s convergence…
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