NEW YORK – Anaïd Productions’ The Liquidator has been picked up in the U.S. by A+E’s FYI TV. The half-hour series, which has been broadcast for four seasons in Canada on Rogers Media’s OLN and in over 100 countries, will start airing this Friday December 6, at 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
The “King of Deals”, liquidation master Jeff Schwarz (pictured), is the star of the series where viewers are taken inside his unpredictable and unconventional buy-and-sell deals. His is the owner of Direct Liquidation, one of the biggest liquidation houses west of the Rockies.
He’s a flea…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – The CRTC today launched an online survey in an attempt to better understand the needs, behaviours and habits of Canadians regarding their mobile wireless services.
The survey, announced this morning, forms part of the CRTC's review of mobile wireless services, which began in February 2019. “The survey results will help determine whether further action is needed to ensure that the needs of Canadians are being met in the mobile wireless market,” says the press release.
Canadians have until December 31, 2019, midnight PST to complete the survey.
The CRTC will hold a public hearing starting on February 18, 2020, in…
Continue Reading
However, Bell has not given itself an undue preference, the Commission says
OTTAWA — Although the CRTC has determined Bell has not provided itself with an undue preference when it comes to how toll-free calls are currently routed in Canada, the Commission does agree with Rogers that Bell should deploy one-way toll trunks to connect to Rogers switches in the Bell operating territories in which Rogers also provides service. Bell now has 150 days to comply with the Commission’s directive.
After several months of attempted negotiations with Bell, Rogers in May filed a Part 1 application asking the CRTC to settle…
Continue Reading
THE CONTINUED ASCENT of Netflix, followed by new online rivals like Disney+, Comcast's Peacock and Apple TV+ – each brimming with original programming to woo new subscribers – threatens to replace the great unbundling of cable TV with the great rebundling of streaming services.
That's the warning of U.S. cable pioneer and top industry strategist John Malone (right), who told his Liberty Media (he’s chairman) investor day last week there's a big downside to simplifying online TV subscription sign-ups by packaging streaming services together.
"This is frankly the mistake that the cable industry made over the years, of agreeing to save…
Continue Reading
Innovative broadband policy is driving investment
By Ken Campbell and Reef Read
U.K. LABOUR LEADER, Jeremy Corbyn recently announced, as part of his election platform, he would nationalise the telecom broadband infrastructure in that country and provide free broadband to all residents.
This sent a shockwave through the U.K. telecom industry.
Planned investments from the many new private fibre companies entering the market were stalled and pending transactions were stopped as investors reconsidered fibre infrastructure investment until after the U.K. election.
For his part, Tory party leader Boris Johnson has announced his government would force an accelerated deployment of fibre to all U.K. residents…
Continue Reading
ISED arm twists itself into knots trying to give MVNO its stamp of approval, but this could be a good compromise
IF I’M RUNNING ONE of Canada’s existing wireless companies, I’m relieved after reading the Competition Bureau’s most recent submission to the CRTC’s Wireless Policy Review.
However, if I’m hoping to launch a new mobile virtual network operator once the CRTC updates said policy, I might be crying into my beer a little.
After a summer of regulatory back-and-forth where the Bureau successfully fought hard for access to confidential information that only the companies themselves and…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) said today it received nearly 19,300 complaints from Canadian telecom and TV customers, an all-time high in the organization’s 12-year history.
Given we’re also at an all-time high for wireless and broadband customers in Canada, not to mention how recent news and noise surrounding telecom companies in Canada have likely helped more Canadians realize the CCTS can help, such an increase is not surprising.
Canadians, said the CCTS annual report (which tallies complaints for the 12-months ended July 31), complained most often about…
Continue Reading
CEO hopes Ottawa is watching, listening, and will act
CORUS ENTERTAINMENT PRESIDENT and CEO Doug Murphy may have the toughest job in Canadian media. Or maybe just the least-appreciated.
Go ahead and ask anyone in the TV business (and we’ve asked a lot of them recently). They all say variations of the same thing: “I think he’s doing all he can… but I’d never want his job…”
Not only does Murphy run the biggest independent media company and broadcaster in the country (yes, it’s controlled by the Shaw family – who unloaded their equity interest in May after…
Continue Reading
HAMILTON – Cable 14 and Hamilton Food Share have launched the second Annual 14 Ways To Feed The Hammer campaign just in time for the holiday season.
Cable 14 has produced a series of public service announcements designed to promote Hamilton Food Share’s organizations and programs to local residents in need. The PSAs will feature how these organizations support individuals over the holidays and how they ensure vulnerable citizens have access to food all year.
This holiday season, approximately 10,000 Hamilton households will reach out to the emergency food system for assistance in providing their families with the…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Tuesday marked the 10th anniversary of the Mobile Giving Foundation Canada (MGFC).
Incorporated in 2009, MGFC was established by key members of Canada's wireless industry, working in partnership with the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), to create a means through which Canadians could make donations to registered charities through their mobile device.
This is why Canadians can, for example, text $10 to a certain number to help raise money for natural disasters or other needs and have it tacked onto their wireless bill.
"Canadians are generous and supportive of worthy causes, and they also embrace technology. Merging philanthropy with…
Continue Reading
