Bloomberg says company chairman wanted up to nine senior executives gone
TORONTO – Rogers CFO Tony Staffieri left the company due to “a high-level power struggle” during which the company’s chairman attempted to unseat the company’s CEO, the Globe and Mail reported last Friday.
Staffieri’s abrupt departure from Rogers was announced by the company on Sept. 29. No explanation was given at the time.
The Globe and Mail has since reported unidentified sources said Staffieri had developed a close relationship with Rogers chairman Edward Rogers, had ambitions to be CEO and “frequently butted heads” with Joe Natale, the company’s current…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC is now allowing Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc. (CPAC) to participate in the proceeding dealing with the broadcast side of the proposed Rogers/Shaw transaction as an interested party, thereby granting it several new rights.
In a letter dated Oct. 7, the CRTC authorized CPAC to appear at the upcoming hearing into the matter in its own right and granted CPAC the right for its representatives to participate in any in camera discussions that may be held regarding its governance.
The CRTC also granted CPAC “the right to file a reply to intervenors in accordance with section 27…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Adapt or die.
This is both the main message of the movie Moneyball and an apt description of what is going on at Rogers Sports and Media right now.
“We are rapidly redefining what’s possible at the intersection of technology, sports, and media because it’s the companies that deliver world-class immersive and interactive digital experiences that will win the hearts and minds of consumers,” Jordan Banks, president of Rogers Sports and Media wrote in a Linkedin post yesterday.
The company is thinking “about ‘media’ differently – not just as a line of business, but as an essential form of connective…
Continue Reading
TORONTO — Rogers Sports and Media announced today the eighth season of Rogers Hometown Hockey, presented by Hyundai and Desjardins, will get underway on Oct. 16 and 17 — the first weekend of the NHL season — in the Township of North Dumfries, Ont.
The weekend’s festivities will be followed by the first pre-game show of the season on Monday, Oct. 18 leading into the New York Rangers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs broadcast on Sportsnet, which will also be available to stream on SN Now.
“Returning in a reimagined format, the free, fan-favourite festival will feature a full weekend of…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Rogers’ Sportsnet announced today it has officially relaunched SN Now with more choice for fans and more content.
The relaunch, originally announced in August, includes a refreshed user interface as well as an enhanced technology foundation, which will “deliver the best fan experience, highest quality streaming, and most personalized viewing available anywhere in sports media,” a press release says.
“The richer, personalized user experience for SN Now is innovated by Deltatre, while the cloud-native streaming platform runs on Firstlight Media’s microservices architecture, together delivering improved video quality, reduced latency, and enhanced viewing features.”
In the future, new features and…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Sales of Rogers’ 2021 orange shirt, designed by two-spirit Ojibway artist Patrick Hunter, raised $150,000 for the Orange Shirt Society and the Residential School Survivors Society (IRSSS), the company announced today.
Rogers’ orange shirt campaign was launched in 2020 and raised over $250,000 over two years. “Earlier this year, Rogers also donated an additional $50,000 to the IRSSS,” a press release says.
“We are working tirelessly to support survivors of Residential Schools and their families through programs and services for the Youth, 2SLGBTQ+, Elders and Families,” said Angela White, executive director of IRSSS, in the press release.
“This funding will…
Continue Reading
Cartt.ca spoke to some smaller players about their plans
By Ahmad Hathout
After late October, Innovation Canada is expected to begin licensing portions of the 3.5 GHz spectrum it auctioned off earlier this year, so Cartt.ca asked some smaller providers what they plan to do with it.
The auction, completed in July, involved 23 applicants gunning for 1,504 licenses. The government sold the licenses for a total of $8.9 billion.
As tensions mount among larger providers over whether Quebecor’s Videotron should be allowed to build out west – Bell and Telus alleged the company cannot because it does not have adequate base facilities…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – WildBrain Television announced today its fall lineup for Family Channel and Family Jr., which include several exclusive Canadian broadcast premieres.
“This October, WildBrain Television is handing out treats for the whole family to enjoy,” a press release says.
New programming includes Game of Talents (pictured above), which will premiere exclusively on Family Channel on Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
Hosted by Wayne Brady (Let’s Make A Deal, Whose Line Is It Anyway?), the show “infuses the spectacle of a large-scale variety show with a clue-centered, high-intensity investigative game, pitting two teams of contestants against each other as they attempt to…
Continue Reading
By Ken Kelley
WHAT DOES THE future of television advertising look like in Canada? It was this rather weighty topic, along with several others, that were explored in depth during a virtual Mediatel event held on Wednesday.
It should go without saying that without the right content, companies like Corus, Bell and Rogers would be singing a very different song. However, the future of television advertising is complex and companies need more than great content.
Corus executive vice-president and chief revenue officer Greg McLelland believes it is critical for companies to meet customers on the platforms of their choice. With more options…
Continue Reading
Panelists talk C-10, competition and of course, the Rogers/Shaw deal
By Lynn Greiner
TORONTO – Every ISP Summit, a highlight session is the regulatory panel. The CRTC always seems to generate enough controversy to make the panel entertaining as well as interesting.
This year was no different.
Moderated by Monica Auer, executive director of the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications, the panel featured two CRTC alumni who are less than impressed with the way the organization has operated recently.
Konrad von Finckenstein, a consultant and arbitrator, was CRTC chair from 2007 to 2012, and Timothy Denton, now chairman of the Internet…
Continue Reading