The CRTC on Monday announced it has administratively renewed the broadcasting licences for various television programming undertakings, networks and broadcasting distribution undertakings from Sept. 1, 2026 to Aug. 31, 2027.
These licence renewals cover the large broadcasting groups of Bell, Rogers, Quebecor, Corus and Blue Ant, as well as smaller broadcasters including APTN, Accessible Media, Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC), OUTtv, Pelmorex Weather Networks, Stingray, Super Channel, TLN Media Group, TV5 Quebec Canada and ZoomerMedia, and BDUs operated by Cogeco, SaskTel and Telus.
The broadcasting regulator said the administrative renewals are necessary to allow the various undertakings to…
Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC said Thursday that Bell must pay for all corrective work to attach third-party equipment for which it did not issue an invoice to Quebecor before the regulator ruled that all such work must be done by the structure owner at its own expense.
The clarification favours Quebecor, which asked the regulator late last year to decide on a dispute with Bell that dealt with the status of permit applications that had yet to be fully approved by Bell when the CRTC in January ordered the telcos to make the necessary corrective work…
Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
Quebecor executives said Thursday the company is preparing to be “more commercially aggressive” in western Canada.
“Lots of opportunity out west. Our market shares are lower. We are actively working on improving the network. We were facing performance and quality issues in some areas; we’re actively working on that,” Chief Financial Officer Hugues Simard said on the company’s second-quarter earnings conference call.
“We also have a plan to be more commercially aggressive out west because it is an area where there’s no reason for us where we can’t be as successful in the west as we were in Ontario…
Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
The News Forum (TNF) is alleging Cogeco and Quebecor’s Videotron are not giving it television package treatment demanded by CRTC regulation.
The independent national news service, which broadcasters must offer to their subscribers under the 9.1(1)(h) rule, claims in separate but nearly identical Part 1 applications that the aforementioned broadcasters are excluding it from packages that include incumbent news networks CBC and CTV, thereby giving those services an advantage over it.
“Broadcasting Order CRTC 2022-297 requires BDUs to distribute TNF, CBC News Network, and CTV News Channel, and to include those services in…
Continue Reading
Freedom Mobile last week announced customers on all of its plans have been enabled for access to its 5G+ network at no additional cost, provided they have a compatible device, SIM card, and are within a Freedom Mobile 5G+ coverage area.
Freedom also announced it is expanding its 5G and 5G+ network footprint across Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, bringing improved connectivity to more than 500,000 additional Canadians. Freedom’s recent network expansion efforts have introduced new 5G and 5G+ coverage in several communities, including: Barrie, Kingston, Niagara Falls, St. Catharines, Waterloo and…
Continue Reading
Corus says it is adding news gathering roles
By Connie Thiessen
Unifor says the latest round of layoffs at Corus will impact 43 unionized workers across the country, with most of those job losses in Alberta.
The union says an estimated 28 positions are set to be eliminated in Alberta, two in British Columbia, five in Winnipeg, two in Saskatoon, three in the Maritimes, and three in the Ontario region.
Corus confirmed to Cartt’s sister publication Broadcast Dialogue on Thursday it’s centralizing television production for its Global News stations in Edmonton and Calgary in Toronto as part of programming changes…
Continue Reading
By Ahmad Hathout
Quebecor’s opposition to Corus’s recapitalization plan is not one grounded in concern for the public interest, but is a prayer to one day purchase the struggling media company, alleges Corus.
“This is clearly not an organization aiming to perform a public service, it is one striving to achieve through a regulatory approval process what it was unable to achieve in private negotiations: acquisition of Corus at a value of its choosing,” Corus claims in its reply submission, dated last week.
In its intervention, Quebecor asked that the CRTC hold a public hearing to listen to alternative…
Continue Reading
Quebecor still interested in buying Corus; Corus has supporters for recap plan
By Ahmad Hathout
Approving the transfer of Corus’s licensed services to a new company that will be controlled by a group of debt holders will threaten the viability of the largest independent private broadcaster in the country, Quebecor Media is claiming to the CRTC.
To relieve $500 million in debt, Corus agreed to transfer its assets to the new company (NewCo) which will be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and be majority held by Canadian investment funds, including Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. The CRTC launched…
Continue Reading
By Connie Thiessen
A group of minority shareholders has formally filed its opposition to Corus Entertainment’s proposed $500-million debt-for-equity recapitalization plan, urging the CRTC to demand full transparency or reject the takeover entirely.
As part of the recapitalization plan, Corus is seeking to move its CRTC licences to a new company. The majority shareholders of that Newco will be lenders who will forgive approximately $500 million worth of debt hanging over the media company. The transfer would end control by the Shaw Family Living Trust and position investment firm Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. as the largest…
Continue Reading
Quebecor Content on Tuesday announced a licensing agreement with Disney+ to bring five one-hour, made-in-Quebec drama series to the platform for streaming in Canada.
Distributed by TVA Distribution, Quebecor Content’s original series Mouse Trap is set to join Disney+ soon, with Chaos, Mégantic, Son of Mine and IXE-13: Racing for the Uranium already available to stream, according to a Quebecor Content press release Tuesday.
“We’re incredibly proud to see these five standout Quebec series join the Disney+ catalogue,” Luana Ann Church, Quebecor Content’s vice president of development, acquisitions and distribution, said in the press release. “Showcasing them allows global audiences to experience the full depth, authenticity and creative force…
Continue Reading
