Channel closures could contribute significantly to possible double-digit sub declines
By Ahmad Hathout
Corus executives are looking forward to the end of the Toronto Blue Jays’ World Series run, as the millions of Canadian eyeballs on the team have, at least temporarily, pulled advertisers away from the media company’s properties, its CEO and interim CFO said Thursday.
When asked about the 23-per-cent dip in advertising this fourth quarter compared to last year’s, John Gossling said the postseason run by the nation’s only big league baseball team has definitely had an impact.
“The audiences for Blue Jays domestically have been massive, more than five…
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As the Toronto Blue Jays prepare for Game 4 of the 2025 World Series, Rogers announced Tuesday its Rogers Xfinity customers across the country have already smashed internet data usage records during the first three games.
During Games 1, 2 and 3, Rogers Xfinity customers consumed 145,000 terabytes (TB) of data, the equivalent of streaming a three-minute video of pinch hitter Addison Barger hitting a grand slam 1.28 billion times, according to a Rogers press release.
Customers used more than 80,000 TB of data on the Rogers wireline network during the first two…
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CBC on Monday announced a new 24/7 commercial-free CBC Kids streaming channel, available now to stream on CBC Gem and the CBC Kids YouTube channel.
The channel features CBC Kids animated and live-action series for kids aged two to 10, including: preschool favourite Dino Ranch, following the adventures of the Cassidy family’s ranch for dinosaurs; live-action, stop-motion series Go Togo, about the vehicles of Transitville; Hey Duggee, about a big dog and his friends; and Molly of Denali, following an Indigenous girl and her friends.
Radio-Canada on Monday also launched two French-language…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers CEO Tony Staffieri said Thursday that the World Series run by the Toronto Blue Jays is helping enhance the owner’s brand.
The Blue Jays will play host Friday to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the Rogers Centre in the first game of a best-of-seven series for the championship.
“We’re looking to each one of our pillars of growth being wireless, cable and now sports and entertainment to stand on their own and drive value, profitability and growth in their own respect,” Staffieri said on a conference call with analysts following the release of Rogers’s third-quarter results.
“But we also…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The attorney general of Canada (AG) is asking the Federal Court to reject an application filed by Cogeco and Eastlink asking the judicial body to review whether cabinet did not provide the legally required justification for rejecting their request to send back a CRTC decision that allows the three largest telecoms to access the wholesale internet framework.
The AG said in a submission last week that the parties have already filed a review of the decision directly to cabinet and have won an appeal related to the CRTC’s decision that rejected their request to…
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Rogers announced Wednesday its Rogers Xfinity StreamSaver bundle is now available coast-to-coast with Rogers Xfinity and with Rogers 5G Home Internet.
The StreamSaver plan, which launched in August in the four western provinces, bundles together Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ for $22 per month, delivering more than 30-per-cent savings compared to purchasing each streaming service separately, when added to a Rogers Xfinity Internet or TV plan, Rogers said.
“Rogers Xfinity StreamSaver is now available across the country, bringing Rogers Xfinity and Rogers 5G Home Internet customers an easier way to…
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Rogers Sportsnet’s broadcast of Game 7 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners attracted record-breaking viewership on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+, with an average of six million Canadians tuning in to watch the Jays punch their ticket to the World Series, according to a Tuesday press release from Sportsnet.
Before Monday night’s broadcast, the most-watched Blue Jays game ever on Sportsnet was Game 6 of the 2015 ALCS, which averaged 5.1 million viewers, according to the press release.
Game 7 audiences peaked at 8.3 million…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Several internet service providers have filed petitions asking cabinet to send back a decision by the CRTC this summer that refused to back down on letting Rogers, Bell and Telus (Big 3) access the wholesale internet regime.
Rogers, SaskTel, Cogeco, Eastlink, the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC), and TekSavvy filed petitions in September – made public on Friday – requesting that cabinet send back for reconsideration the decision by the CRTC in June refusing to heed their advice to review and vary the commission’s final framework in August 2024.
That framework allows…
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Telco focusing on content and mobility bundle
By Ahmad Hathout
Bell said Tuesday it will use the CRTC’s wholesale internet framework to launch fibre-based internet services in British Columbia and Alberta, reciprocating what its telco rival Telus is doing in eastern Canada.
The telco confirmed to Cartt that the launch of the services in western Canada “is a result of the CRTC’s recent decision,” which it does not agree with because of what it says is the policy’s negative impact on network investment. The regulator mandates that competitors have access to the bundled fibre infrastructure of Bell and Telus nationwide.
“Our position on…
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The News Forum and Rogers have reached a new agreement on the latter’s distribution of the former’s national news service, according to a letter filed jointly with the CRTC in late September.
With the new agreement in place, The News Forum is withdrawing its Part 1 application submitted to the commission in March, in which it alleged Rogers was unduly disadvantaging the discretionary network by excluding it from the cable giant’s legacy or grandfathered cable packages. In its April reply to The News Forum’s complaint, Rogers had called for the application…
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