MONTREAL – Seems as though in the burgeoning new media world, holding a broadcast license is less of “a license to print money.”
Quebec broadcaster TQS today said it has “obtained an order by Québec Superior Court under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act with a view to protecting TQS and its subsidiaries from claims by creditors and allow it to reorganize its operations,” in the official press release.
In other words, TQS – a broadcaster 60%-owned by Cogeco Inc, and 40% by CTVglobemedia, is now under bankruptcy protection.
Issued for a period of 30 days, the order also applies…
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TORONTO – International TV Internet broadcaster JumpTV announced today it has partnered with Quebecor Media’s Canoe.TV to broadcast selected channels on a free to consumer, ad-supported, basis within Canada.
The Canoe network attracts approximately eight million unique visitors per month in Canada, says the press release, and includes content sites such as Canoe.ca, Canoe.qc.ca, La Toile du Quebec, Canoe Money, the TVA network site and the LCN site.
Recently launched Canoe.TV will initially carry five of JumpTV’s premium international television channels: MBC1 (Arabic), CVM TV (Jamaica), AAJ TV (Pakistan), Sahara Filmy (India) and RTP International (Portugal). The number…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor Media Inc. said today it will try to take its interactive marketing agency, Nurun, private.
Following a proposal received from a large Nurun Inc. shareholder, acting on behalf of itself and certain other shareholders of Nurun representing in the aggregate a majority of the common shares of Nurun, excluding Nurun common shares held by Quebecor Media, QMI has entered into lock-up agreements under which such holders have irrevocably and unconditionally agreed to tender their shares to an offer by Quebecor Media to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Nurun at a price of C$4.75 per…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor Media CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau said Wednesday evening in a quickly arranged press conference that his company will definitely participate in the advanced wireless spectrum auction and will spend $500 million to build a broadband wireless network in Quebec – and will consider taking it national, too.
"This policy in favour of greater competition will translate into better technology, more services and lower prices for Canadian consumers," said Peladeau. "As a content company, Quebecor Media (which owns broadcasters TVA and SunTV, the Sun Media group of newspapers, Canoe.ca and a number of other media outlets) is…
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EVEN FOR A PROPONENT of spectrum set-asides, mandated roaming and mandated tower sharing, the rules surrounding the 2008 advanced wireless spectrum auction, which were released Wednesday afternoon in Toronto by Industry Minister Jim Prentice, aren’t quite a slam dunk.
MTS Allstream’s regulatory chief Chris Peirce was pleased Industry Canada had accepted his, and others’, argument that a leg up was required for newcomers to enter the space and increase wireless competition in Canada, but was non-committal about putting the rules into practice. “At a policy level, the government and the ministry have clearly gotten it. They understand that…
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TORONTO – Industry minister Jim Prentice is expected to make an announcement later this afternoon on the rules for Industry Canada’s auction of new wireless frequencies next year.
Quebecor and MTS Allstream have been pressuring the government for rules that favour newcomers so they can get a piece of the action more cheaply than in a wide open auction.
The Industry minister will made his announcement at 4:05 p.m. today at Le Royal Méridien King Edward Hotel in Toronto. A question and answer session for the media will follow the announcement.
As well, there is a media lockup for…
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QUEBEC CITY – Canoe.TV, a web broadcast of original material and content from traditional sources, launched Wednesday. About 50 titles are currently available with more than 400 choices expected within the next year.
“Canoe.TV positions our Canoe.ca portal and Quebecor Media at the leading edge of the rapidly growing online video phenomenon that is being driven by strong consumer demand,” Quebecor Media Inc. president and CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau said during a presentation at a conference entitled Monetizing Digital Media.
“News and sports are strong, but some of the biggest growth is online viewing of entire episodes of shows developed…
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TORONTO – Canada’s big three wireless incumbents will be wearing handcuffs when the advanced wireless spectrum auction begins on May 27, 2008.
Industry Minister Jim Prentice was in Toronto this afternoon to announce the rules of engagement when the federal government auctions off the 105 MHz worth of spectrum. The auction itself will take two to three weeks.
Of that spectrum, 40 MHz will be set aside for new wireless entrants to bid on alone. The remaining 65 MHz will be open to everyone. “The spectrum being set aside amounts to less than 14% of the total mobile spectrum…
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GATINEAU – In its final appearance back in front of the CRTC this afternoon, CanWest Global responded to requests and demands raised by the Commission panel and interveners over the past couple of days – and presented several alterations to its shareholders agreement covering the purchase of Alliance Atlantis with the help of Goldman Sachs.
As previously reported on several occasions by Cartt.ca, investment banker Goldman Sachs is providing the bulk of the equity financing ($650 million-plus) for this $1.4 billion acquisition while CanWest is kicking in some money ($260 million) and its own broadcasting assets. The deal also…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC announced yesterday that it has junked its idea to allow limited access to confidential information between parties in a dispute.
As first reported by Cartt.ca, the Commission said about a month ago it was “of the view that there may be instances where, in order for a party to be able to participate meaningfully in a proceeding, it must receive some access to confidential information. In order to allow for meaningful participation while respecting the confidential nature of certain information, the Commission proposes to grant confidential access under certain conditions in broadcasting and telecom…
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