TORONTO — Rogers Sports and Media is asking Canadians to #SpeakUp against systemic racism and discrimination, announcing today the return of Citytv’s iconic Speakers Corner as a digital platform for Canadians to share their thoughts and opinions via video.
“With racial inequality, hatred, and discrimination still so prevalent, we as a society must do better. We have a unique responsibility to engage Canadians in conversation through our media assets and help be a catalyst for positive change by amplifying voices that have not always been heard with equal measure,” said Jordan Banks, president of Rogers Sports and Media, in the…
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MONTREAL — Music service provider and broadcaster Stingray announced today its music TV channels Stingray Karaoke and Qello Concerts are now available on Rogers Ignite TV.
The two services will be available in free preview for Rogers Ignite TV customers until July 2 and after that, each costs $7.99 per month. Ignite TV customers can access the channels by saying “Stingray Karaoke” and “Stingray Qello” into their voice remote.
“We are excited to grow our partnership with Stingray and give Ignite TV customers access to even more curated music content across multiple channels,” said Eric Bruno, senior vice-president, 5G, content and…
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SMI launches in Canada today
By Greg O’Brien
MOST PEOPLE BUYING or selling advertising will likely tell you a rate card is merely the beginning of a conversation – and what clients actually pay is sometimes far different than the published price.
What ad buyers, and to a lesser extent, broadcasters, publishers and others, have long craved is a reliable way to figure out what ads truly cost in the market and beginning this month, they’ll be able to know that with Standard Media Index coming to Canada.
Since its launch 10 years ago in Australia, SMI has become a trusted source…
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MONTREAL and VANCOUVER — Canada’s 5G networks are starting to shape up, with Bell Canada announcing Tuesday it will use radio access network (RAN) equipment from Ericsson for its national 5G wireless network, including for its high-speed Wireless Home Internet service for rural customers.
Bell’s national network sharing partner, Telus, announced separately today it will use equipment from Ericsson and Nokia to support the buildout of its 5G network. Bell has already announced Nokia as a key 5G supplier. Telus has said previously it was planning to push ahead with Huawei tech for its 5G infrastructure outside of…
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TORONTO — The indieNET group of independent TV broadcasters announced Tuesday its joint Fall 2020 upfront presentation will be done as a digital broadcast on Thursday, June 18.
indieNET’s virtual upfront presentation, hosted by Airtime Television Sales and featuring CHCH TV, YesTV, CHEK and NTV, will announce new fall programming and celebrate the fifth anniversary of the indieNET partnership. The digital broadcast will be available for clients and advertisers to stream online live and on demand, too. The news release says invitations will be sent to media planners, buyers and industry members in the coming days.
“We’d been challenged to adjust…
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GATINEAU — As part of the CRTC’s ongoing wireless policy review, the Commission has directed Bell Mobility to disclose information previously designated as confidential regarding cost estimates related to the implementation of seamless roaming.
The order comes in a procedural letter dated May 29, in which the CRTC says Bell Mobility must “disclose its estimate of the per-border initial setup and ongoing maintenance costs associated with seamless roaming.” Bell is to provide the information to the Commission by June 5.
The request for disclosure came from Cogeco Communications in an April 30th letter submitted to the CRTC.
The Commission notes in…
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KELOWNA, B.C. — With this summer’s planned opening of Rogers’s new call centre in Kelowna delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company has begun the virtual hiring of 350 new employees, who will work from home until the new complex can be opened safely.
As reported in September 2019, the new customer solution centre (pictured) will occupy 32,000 square feet on Dickson Avenue in Kelowna’s Landmark District.
Employees at the new centre are expected to handle approximately one million Rogers and Fido customer interactions each year, according to the news release. New employee roles for both Rogers and…
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GATINEAU — On Monday, the CRTC initiated a proceeding to examine the offer and promotion of accessible wireless plans by wireless service providers and the extent to which these plans meet the needs of Canadians with various disabilities.
All retail wireless service providers are required to offer accessible wireless plans and to promote those plans in ways that are accessible, including through stores, websites and customer service representatives.
The aim of the proceeding, however, is to look at how wireless service providers are complying with these requirements, whether differences exist between primary and flanker brands, whether the plans currently offered and…
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GATINEAU — The CRTC now says it will expedite an application made by Rogers to review and vary the Commission’s decision in April which gave Bell more time to deploy one-way toll-free (TF) trunks between the two companies’ networks, as part of an ongoing dispute over toll-free call routing.
When the Commission posted the R&V application filed by Rogers to its website on May 27, it set June 26, 2020 as the deadline for interventions. The following day on May 28 in a procedural letter, the Commission revised the deadline to June 8 for interested parties to respond…
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MONTREAL — In an all-cash transaction valued at $1.04 billion, BCE announced Monday it is selling 25 data centre facilities located at 13 sites to global interconnection services provider and data centre company Equinix Inc.
“This transaction reinforces Bell’s strategy to focus investment on the network infrastructure, content and services necessary to advance how Canadians connect with each other and the world. Equinix, with its expanding platform of data centres here in Canada and worldwide, is well-positioned to maximize the opportunities these facilities represent for Canadian businesses in an increasingly global and interconnected data sector,” said Mirko Bibic, president and…
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