OTTAWA – The NDP has kicked off a new policy platform vowing to push the Feds to lower cellular fees and boost broadband coverage “for all Canadians”.
On Friday, the party launched a new site asking Canadians to share their “nightmare stories” of high cell phone and internet bills. Reiterating the “Canadians pay some of the highest prices in the world” lament, the site says that “Canadians deserve leaders who will use every tool available to make life more affordable”.
“For decades, Liberal and Conservative governments have left cell phone and internet companies with very little regulation,” continues the site. “The…
Continue Reading
Upgrades wireless service in Ottawa, Guelph
TORONTO – Rogers has announced plans to invest $100 million in its wireless network over five years to connect more than 1,000 kilometres of unserved highway corridors in rural and remote corridors across Canada.
The planned investment will be aided by the federal government’s Accelerated Investment Incentive for telecommunications equipment, announced in the 2018 fall economic statement, the Toronto-based communications giant said late Tuesday. Rogers identified areas such as Route 245 in Antigonish, NS and Highway 5a in Kamloops, BC, adding that more locations will be announced in the coming months.
The move will also…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC has decided against issuing a call for new radio stations to serve Timmins after finding that the market cannot sustain an additional commercial radio station at this time.
Located in northeastern Ontario approximately 280 kilometers north of Sudbury, the Timmins radio market is currently served by four commercial FM radio stations: the English-language stations CJQQ-FM and CKGB-FM, operated by Rogers Media; the English-language station CHMT-FM, operated by Vista; and the French-language station CHYK-FM, operated by LE5 Communications. It is also served by the Indigenous station CJWT-FM, operated by Wawatay Native Communications Society, as well as rebroadcasting…
Continue Reading
BURBANK, CA and NEW YORK – The Walt Disney Company officially closed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox (21CF) on Wednesday.
The deal will see Disney gobble up film production businesses including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Family and Fox Animation; Fox’s television creative units, Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21; FX Networks; National Geographic Partners; Fox Networks Group International; Star India; and Fox’s interests in Hulu, Tata Sky and Endemol Shine Group.
It excludes 21CF’s news, sports and broadcast businesses, including the FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, FOX Broadcasting Company,…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Rogers Media is officially out of the magazine publishing business after announcing Wednesday that it is selling all seven of its consumer print and digital magazine brands to St. Joseph Communications (SJC).
The deal includes Maclean’s, Chatelaine (English and French), Today’s Parent, Hello! Canada, as well as digital publications Flare and Canadian Business, plus its custom content business. Financial terms of the acquisition, which is scheduled to close next month, were not publicly disclosed.
All current Rogers Media Publishing employees will be offered employment through the deal.
“It was a difficult decision, but one we believe is right as we…
Continue Reading
WE’VE ALL HEARD THE conventional wisdom which says live sports is one of the last remaining mass audience attractions for linear TV – and that it will help retain a large chunk Canadian households opting for a subscription TV service.
Indeed, according to a new report from Winnipeg’s Communications Management Inc., TV companies and some streamers believe this in their bones, as evidenced by massive increases in spending on sports rights the past few years.
In fact, with the myriad ways sports is delivered, “the many emerging options for the delivery of video programming to consumers has also increased demand, with…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – CTV2, Citytv, and Crave will stage a multi-network super-simulcast of Grammy Award-winning Canadian singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer Michael Bublé this Wednesday at 10:00 PM ET.
Accompanied by a 36-piece orchestra, Bublé! is a one-hour television event featuring a performance of classic songs that inspired the Canadian crooner’s early career, several of his original songs, plus six songs from his new album love, including a duet with guest artist Cécile McLorin Salvant on “La Vie en Rose”.
Following its broadcast, Bublé! will be available on CTV.ca and the CTV app, and on Citytv.com, Rogers on…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – A former director-general of spectrum management at Innovation, Science and Economic Development who allegedly accepted a lucrative consulting role with BCE may have violated the Feds’ postemployment conflict-of-interest rules.
According to a report in the Globe and Mail (subscription required), Peter Hill played a key role in Ottawa’s wireless strategy for years, including in the eventual sale of wireless startup Mobilicity – and most of its spectrum – to Rogers in 2015. He also signed a February, 2017, letter approving a transfer involved in BCE’s takeover of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc., according to documents obtained in an…
Continue Reading
VICTORIA – Bell and Telus are tied for their ability to offer a consistent quality across their national networks, edging out Rogers by 10%, says a new report from Canadian independent mobile network data company Tutela.
The report, Canada: State of Mobile Networks, March 2019, used over 1.8 billion measurements taken between August 1, 2018 and January 31, 2019, including 13.4 million speed tests and 153 million latency tests collected from more than 1 million mobile devices. Tutela said that while fast top speeds are indicative of a strong network, it believes that reliable network quality is equally, if…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Sportsnet and APTN are teaming up on the NHL’s first ever broadcast in Plains Cree next weekend.
The historic broadcast is scheduled for Sunday, March 24, when the Montreal Canadiens meet the Carolina Hurricanes on Rogers Hometown Hockey in Cree on APTN at 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT. Sportsnet will handle the production, while APTN will air the matchup with exclusive Cree-language commentary and analysis. Broadcaster Clarence Iron, recognized within the Indigenous hockey community as one of the “Cree Voices of Hockey”, will handle the play-by-play call for APTN, while Juno Award-winning musician Earl Wood…
Continue Reading
