Rogers says CRTC does not need to “expand” inquiry
By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers has told the CRTC that a lightning strike could have been the reason why some calls in Niagara region were being misrouted to dead air or allowing customers to hear the conversations of others.
Rogers said the event on July 25, which triggered a CRTC inquiry after media reports, affected a “single voice path” on its traffic and trunk facilities and impacted the inbound and outbound calls between Rogers and Bell customers. The cableco said it is unable to identify the number of affected voice customers…
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By Connie Thiessen
WildBrain has announced it’s ending its broadcast channel business, including Family Channel, Family Jr., WildBrainTV and Télémagino.
The kids’ and family entertainment purveyor said it has been unable to negotiate a new carriage agreement with Rogers to carry the aforementioned channels after the CRTC found the cable giant wasn’t subjecting them to an undue disadvantage. WildBrain says Rogers has subsequently told it that it intends to remove the channels from its distribution service in the coming months. Together with its failure to secure a similar deal with Bell following a similar CRTC decision, WildBrain’s Continue Reading
Rogers announced last week the recipients of its 2025 Rogers Youth Grants, which range from $5,000 to $25,000 and are awarded to non-profit and charitable organizations across the country that provide educational and employment programs to youth aged from 12 to 29 years old.
“This year’s recipients were chosen for their commitment to making a meaningful impact in the lives of youth facing barriers,” Navdeep Bains, chief corporate affairs officer at Rogers, said in a Thursday press release. “From homework clubs and coding camps to job readiness and college prep programs, these community organizations…
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Rogers announced Wednesday the expansion of its Rogers Xfinity Self Protection home security product, including the addition of more smart home devices and features as well as new plans with more flexible options.
New smart home devices include water sensors and door locks. The new Urgent Response feature enables customers away from home to connect to trained agents 24/7 who can contact local law enforcement closest to their home. This helps customers control and protect their homes from wherever they are through the Rogers Xfinity app, Rogers said in a press release.
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The CRTC has asked the Canadian Telecommunications Contribution Consortium (CTCC) — which oversees the operations of the commission’s National Contribution Fund (NCF) — to provide information on whether or not the proposed changes to the NCF’s collection practices put forward by Rogers in a Part 1 application are administratively viable.
In its June application, Rogers asked that the CRTC direct the Central Fund Administrator (CFA) to suspend requests for new contributions that support the commission’s $750-million Broadband Fund while instead drawing down contributors’ uncalled funds — amounts telecommunication service providers (TSPs) must be ready…
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Rogers said Thursday it has entered into an agreement to sell its portfolio of nine data centres to asset manager InfraRed Capital Partners.
The cable giant said it will continue to sell data centre services on behalf of the asset manager, which is part of Toronto-based financial services company Sun Life, and will provide network connectivity to those centres. The deal does not include its corporate data centres, which are used for network and IT purposes, it said.
“With nine Tier 2 and 3 data centres across key Canadian cities, the business has an established footprint, a strong operational team, and…
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By Connie Thiessen
Corus Entertainment has announced that Telus marketing exec Christopher Mercer is joining the company as Barb McKergow, senior vice president of advertising, gets set to retire this fall.
McKergow started her broadcast sales career with WIC (Western International Communications) in 1992, focused on national sales. She joined Canwest Mediaworks in 2000, moving on to Shaw Media for the next 14 years, where she ended her time as head of marketing ventures. She officially joined Corus in 2019 as SVP of national advertising revenue, holding the title of SVP of advertising sales for the past year, overseeing all advertising sales, revenue management, research, advanced advertising and data teams.
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The CRTC via an Aug. 12 letter is asking telecommunication service providers (TSPs), as well as intervenors, for their input on a potential increase to the $10-million revenue threshold for participation in the commission’s National Contribution Fund (NCF) and payment of annual telecom fees.
An April 2024 application by the Independent Telecommunications Providers Association (ITPA) had requested the revenue threshold be increased from $10 million to $25 million. Large telecoms, including Bell, Quebecor, Telus and Rogers, have argued against the increase, while the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) and the…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Canada’s largest broadcasters are asking the nation’s highest court to determine whether the Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) overstepped its authority when it effectively supplanted the Copyright Board’s decision in setting rates for the retransmission of distant signals.
Rogers, Bell, Telus, Videotron, Cogeco and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) are named as applicants on a leave to appeal application, filed late last week, which seeks clarification about whether a relatively new judicial standard of review called Vavilov — which prioritizes the reasonableness of a tribunal’s decision on review and restrains courts from immediately jumping to correct issues…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Shaw Rocket Fund is asking the CRTC to rule that Rogers must continue funding the Certified Independent Production Fund (CIPF) through to the next licence renewal period or hold a public consultation on its intention to cut off payments at the end of this month.
The fund, which bankrolls children’s programming, has been receiving $2.2 million in tangible benefits spread over seven years (around $300,000 annually) from the cable giant as a condition of its purchase of Shaw’s broadcasting assets, which was approved by the CRTC in 2022. At issue is the approximately $4.7…
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