Telus, Shaw, say no licence should be granted, and especially not to Bell or Rogers
GATINEAU – On Wednesday, phase II and III of the hearing into a mandatory carriage licence for a national, news oriented multilingual and multi-ethnic television service was the opportunity for the applicants and then outside intervenors to tell commissioners why they believe certain applications are not special enough to warrant a license under section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act.
Four of the eight applicants chose not to make any presentations Wednesday (perhaps keeping their powder dry for Thursday’s final public reply day) but each of Rogers…
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GATINEAU – Day two of the hearing into the applications for a mandatory carriage licence for a national, multilingual and multi-ethnic television service saw the panel of commissioners pick at the shortcomings of the applications brought forward by the final four applicants for the TV license currently held by Rogers Media’s OMNI.
Here are the highlights we saw:
BELL MEDIA WAS FIRST UP with it’s pitch for OurTV, which promised, among a number of other things, the hiring of 53 new journalists spread across the country and some international sites producing 40 hours a week of news and current affairs content…
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Chair says 9(1)(h) may not go to anyone
GATINEAU – Sometimes the headline for a CRTC hearing day comes mid-morning, or maybe late afternoon during a good Q&A session between an applicant and a commissioner which puts a tight focus on the issues at play.
On Monday, however, that headline came in the first five minutes during CRTC chairman Ian Scott’s short opening speech. While we have surmised here that granting a mandatory carriage licence to a national, multilingual and multi-ethnic television service was a foregone conclusion – and that the only question is which of the…
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CCTS Annual Report shows troubling trends
OTTAWA – Just over a month after the telecom industry was raked over the coals for their sales practices by the CRTC, the Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) released its annual report showing such complaints about wireless, broadband, telecom and TV carriers are on the rise.
Today, the CCTS reported a 57% increase in the number of complaints received during its 2017-18 year (ended July 31st) from Canadian telecom and TV customers, following an 11% increase the prior year. Canadians complained most often about non-disclosure of information, which accounts for almost 15%…
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WINNIPEG and KING TOWNSHIP, ON – Rogers said Monday that it has improved its wireless service in eight locations in Manitoba as well as in Ontario’s King Township as part of its multi-year network plan to bring gigabit LTE and 5G to its customers.
The upgrades will impact Rogers and Fido customers in Winnipeg, Falcon Lake, Woodridge and Neepawa in Manitoba as well as the Schomberg Village area along Hwy 27 in King Township in Ontario.
The enhancements will also improve the wireless experience for its business customers in these areas.
www.rogers.com
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Ethnic license now held by OMNI up for grabs next week
SECTION 9(1)(h) OF THE Broadcasting Act says the CRTC can “require any licensee who is authorized to carry on a distribution undertaking to carry, on such terms and conditions as the Commission deems appropriate, programming services specified by the Commission.”
It’s commonly known in the industry as the must-carry clause, the one applied to certain TV channels in which cable, satellite and IPTV are forced to offer in their entry packages. They include the main local broadcasters and a handful of other channels which the Regulator believes fills an “exceptional…
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HAMILTON – Community television channel Cable 14 is behind a series of public service announcements designed to promote Hamilton Food Share’s organizations and programs to local residents in need.
Through a campaign called ‘14 Ways To Feed The Hammer’, the PSAs will feature not only how these organizations support individuals over the holidays, but how they ensure that vulnerable citizens have access to food all year round. According to the news release, approximately 10,000 Hamilton households will reach out to the emergency food system for assistance in providing their family with the celebrations that many of us take for…
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Just part of negotiations, though
TORONTO – Within its most recent bills to some of its cable TV customers, Rogers Communications noted that as of January 1, 2019, their roster of channels will be a little lighter.
“From time to time, we adjust our channel lineups to reflect the changing viewership trends of our customers. As of January 1, 2019, Stingray Juicebox, Stingray Retro, Stingray Loud and Stingray Vibe, will no longer be in your TV package,” reads the note at the bottom of the bills.
All four music video channels are ones which Stingray purchased from Bell…
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TORONTO – Digital radio streaming app Radioplayer Canada has announced a prototype touchscreen radio app for dashboards designed to show how smart 'hybrid' technology can transform in-car listening.
‘Reference Radio’ displays HD Radio, FM, and Internet radio streams as a single list of stations, meaning that the driver just taps a station logo to play it, and the system automatically selects the best signal source. Voice control, podcasts and personalization will be trialled in the next phase of development.
"Reference Radio represents another major step toward an even better user experience for radio listeners," said Radioplayer Canada board chair and Rogers…
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OTTAWA – The Connecting Families program which was announced in June by Navdeep Bains, Minister of Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) at the Telecom Summit, in Toronto was unveiled this week.
The government is not subsidizing ISPs to provide the low-cost Internet service but is investing $13.2 million over five years to refurbish and deliver up to 50,000 computers to eligible families through the Computers for Success Canada program, as well as to develop a secure online portal through which eligible families can sign up for the initiative and access the low-cost Internet service and/or a refurbished computer.
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