Independent ISP pushing voters to get pledges to lower rates from election candidates
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – The Federal Court of Appeal will look into whether the CRTC was correct in its May decision to revert back to older, more expensive bulk internet purchase rates set in 2016.
The court said it will review the case in a decision dated last Wednesday after independent internet service provider (ISP) TekSavvy, which buys network capacity from the larger telecoms, filed an appeal of the decision in June. The larger carriers include Bell, Rogers, and Telus.
The CRTC originally set lower final rates in a 2019…
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TORONTO – Bell Media announced yesterday its specialty channels and programs were some of the most popular with adults aged 25-54 for the 2020-21 broadcast year on entertainment specialty TV, according to Numeris data.
Bell had five channels rank in the top ten entertainment specialty channels for the age group including CTV Comedy, Discovery, CTV Drama, CTV Sci-Fi Channel and Much, according to a press release.
Furthermore, Bell had four of the top 10 most-watched series on entertainment specialty TV in 2020-21 for adults 25-54.
According to data provided to Cartt.ca by Bell, Star Trek: Discovery on CTV Sci-Fi ranked in the number…
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Has also been a “pillar” of the CCSA board, chairperson says
By Amanda Oye
BRANDON, Man. – Westman Communications Group’s board of directors announced yesterday its president and CEO Dave Baxter (above) is retiring effective March 2022.
“The Board of Directors would like to thank Dave for his dedication and commitment to growing the Cooperative over the last 26 years and wish him our very best on his well-deserved transition into retirement,” said Westman board chairperson, Jason Roblin, in the press release.
“Westman has grown to be an employer of choice for many people in Manitoba, accomplished through Dave’s leadership and vision for…
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TORONTO – Sportsnet today announced its regional broadcast schedules for the upcoming NHL season.
The network is set to “deliver all 82 Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks games this season, plus 56 exclusive Toronto Maple Leafs games on TV and streaming platforms,” a press release says.
The regional “schedule will reach viewers across Sportsnet East, Ontario, West & Pacific, Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet 360, with national coverage also available on CBC, Citytv, OMNI Television and across the Sportsnet Radio Network throughout the season.”
Starting Oct. 15, 58 regional Canucks games will air on Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet 360.
Sportsnet…
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By Ken Kelley
Evoking the name of founder Ted Rogers, Rogers CEO Joe Natale said he sees a certain irony in Bell Canada filing its opposition to his company’s impending tie-up with Shaw on broadcast grounds.
“In Rogers’ 60-year history, we’ve always been the challenger, and in many ways, kind of standing up against the larger players in the market, the challenger to Bell on many fronts,” Natale said, speaking at BMO’s virtual Media and Telecom Conference on Tuesday.
“And there’s a high degree of irony in Bell looking at us as being a bigger player. Ted Rogers is probably smiling…
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By Ken Kelley
Cogeco president and CEO Philippe Jetté insists his company will not be restrained by borders.
While the company boasts significant business operations south of the border via Atlantic Broadband, the U.S.-based Cogeco subsidiary scored a blockbuster deal this past June when it acquired WideOpenWest’s broadband systems in Ohio for $1 billion. Passing approximately 688,000 homes and businesses in the Cleveland and Columbus areas, WOW Ohio serves approximately 196,000 Internet, 61,000 video and 35,000 telephony customers.
“We’re very excited about this acquisition,” Jetté told BMO’s Tim Casey, who served as the moderator for the bank’s 22nd annual Media…
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By Ken Kelley
Has media streaming reached peak oversaturation? It is a question Corus president and CEO Doug Murphy pondered during his appearance at BMO’s 22nd annual Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday.
While discussing the similarities between linear and digital advertising with moderator Tim Casey, Murphy acknowledged that regardless of how the public consumes television content – whether via a traditional cable television subscription or by an offering such as Corus’ wildly popular StackTV, which he said continues adding upwards of 100,000 subs per quarter – channel surfing appears to be an underrated, and arguably underappreciated, phenomenon.
“StackTV has demonstrated…
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Meeting notes show pole replacement and refurbishment listed as significant barrier, but it’s about speed
By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Rogers and Cogeco were among several internet service providers that met with stakeholders in the Ontario government in November 2020 to address wireline pole attachment issues in the province – but the rates to attach equipment were not identified as a significant barrier, according to notes from the meeting obtained by Cartt.ca.
At around $43 per attachment, per pole, Ontario has the country’s highest cost to attach telecommunications equipment on the wood poles, which run along highways and are a primary alternative…
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TORONTO — Rogers Sports and Media announced today sports media personality Cabral Richards (better known as Cabbie) is returning to Canada to join Sportsnet as executive producer of sports betting content.
“There are few media personalities anywhere who have achieved instant first-name recognition and who resonate strongly with a diverse set of audiences,” said Andrew Sutherland, vice-president of original content at Sportsnet, in a press release.
“Cabbie’s style, enthusiasm, and originality are unrivaled, and his addition to Sportsnet is another exciting step in our expansion into sports betting and continued content innovation.”
Most recently, Cabbie was co-host of B/R Betting Show for…
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TORONTO — Torstar Corporation announced today Chris Johnston, a long-time reporter at Rogers Sports and Media’s Sportsnet, is joining NordStar’s new gaming venture as its senior NHL insider.
NordStar Capital is the parent company of Torstar, having acquired the media business last year.
Johnston (above) has been hired to take a leadership role covering the Toronto Maple Leafs and the National Hockey League in general for the as-yet-unnamed gaming company’s sports betting business. Johnston’s work will also be syndicated to other publications, including the Toronto Star.
“Considered one of North America’s top hockey insiders covering the inner workings of the NHL, Johnston has spent…
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