Consumers, employees, stakeholders encouraged to come forward
OTTAWA – Canadians who have been on the receiving end of misleading or aggressive retail sales practices from the country’s telecommunication companies will now have the opportunity to tell their story to the CRTC. We suppose those who've had good experiences can also tell their stories, too, should the urge strike them.
The Commission said Monday it is kicking off an inquiry on whether high-pressure and unsavoury sales tactics are used by Canada’s large telecommunications service providers. It wants to hear from consumers – including those who are vulnerable due to their age,…
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MONTREAL, CALGARY and VANCOUVER – Citytv stations in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver will serve up a new local news show come September with the arrival of CityNews at Six at 6 p.m. and CityNews Tonight at 11 p.m. local time, seven days a week.
Parent Rogers Media said Thursday that the one-hour newscasts “will seek out the hyper-local stories that matter most to the city” and debut in all three markets on Monday, September 3.
In Montreal, the new video journalists are Akil Alleyne, Andrew Brennan, Emily Campbell, and Giordano Cescutti.
Kristen Fong, Kendra Fowler, Crystal Laderas, Michael Lumsden, Jonathan Muma and…
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OTTAWA – Gusto Worldwide Media has named former CPAC exec Jeremy Clark as its new general manager.
Clark (pictured) has 20 years of executive and management experience in television and digital media, having previously worked at the Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) and Rogers Communications.
In his new role as a key member of Gusto Worldwide Media's leadership team, Clark will support the company’s growing production slate, oversee the day-to-day management of its operations, help to grow its global OTT presence, and facilitate the launch of Gusto TV in multiple international markets.
"We are very excited to have Jeremy act as a key player…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has given the all clear to Rogers Media to proceed with its proposed acquisition of Medicine Hat station 102.1 CJCY from Clear Sky Radio for $4 million.
Currently, CJCY-FM (102.1 CJCY Classic Hits) serves communities in the southeastern area of Alberta, including Medicine Hat, Redcliff, Dunmore, Seven Persons and Bow Island. Rogers Media also owns CKMH-FM (105.3 ROCK) in Medicine Hat.
The Commission said Thursday that it has determined that the transaction is in the public interest, though increased the tangible benefits package to $247,183 (Rogers had proposed of $240,000), which it said equates to 6% of…
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GATINEAU – Although the CRTC proceeding on lower-cost data-only plans or skinny wireless was not supposed to be targeted towards a means-tested subset of low-income households, the deaf, deaf-blind or hard of hearing Canadians (DDBHH), seem to have scored a victory.
In its final reply, Bell Mobility (BCE) indicated that they would extend an existing promotion for people with disability. “In order to ensure that new lower-cost data-only plans accommodate the needs of persons with disabilities, we would extend our 2 GB data add-on to our customers with disabilities in conjunction with our proposed plans. This means that persons with…
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TORONTO – As widely expected, Corus Entertainment today slashed its dividend as part of a plan to reduce debt and re-invest in its core business as it struggles to compete with Facebook, Google, OTT providers, internet radio and global change in content consumption.
Corus is cutting its annual dividend by 79% to $0.24 per share for Class B shares (to take effect Sept. 1, 2018). It also announced a quarterly loss of $935.9 million tied to its devaluation of its broadcast licenses. The loss includes a $1.01-billion non-cash impairment charge related to broadcast licences and goodwill.
Television business revenue fell 5%…
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GATINEAU – Christa Dickenson is the new executive director of Telefilm Canada for a five year term effective July 30, Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly announced Tuesday.
Dickenson (pictured) is the president and CEO of Interactive Ontario, and has also worked at Rogers Communications, CPAC and CTV. She has more than two decades of experience leveraging strategic partnerships and helping generate revenue, sponsorship and fundraising opportunities in her industry, reads the announcement.
She succeeds Carolle Brabant who retired from the role in March after eight years.
Telefilm Canada acts as one of the Canadian government's principal instruments for providing strategic leverage to the private…
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HAMILTON – The Clearcable Summit organizers never shy away from presenting disruptive, sometimes opposing, ideas.
This year it was opener Edo Kweldam of Netherlands independent carrier CAI Harderwijk, whose 40 minute presentation sang the praises of structural separation for network operators. (He is pictured at left with Clearcable president Rob McCann)
His company is one of the few Netherlands cable operations which wasn’t sold to a larger provider. Back in 1995, he said, the country had approximately 300 independent cablecos but now there are just a few large ones, providing all the same services we here in Canada would recognize…
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TORONTO – Can cord cutting in Canada be halted, or at least slowed, by solving the country’s “drama problem”?
Veteran lawyer and engineer Peter Miller and Ken Engelhart, former SVP regulatory and chief privacy officer of Rogers Communications, think so. Speaking Wednesday at the CTAM Canada Leadership Forum in Toronto, the duo drove home some key points from their recent report Strengthening Canadian Television Content: Creation, Discovery and Export in a Digital World, penned with Lawson Hunter for the C.D Howe Institute.
The “drama problem”, according to Engelhart, is the dearth of big budget, well-produced, made-in-Canada dramas that would conceivably…
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Flagship daily show The Big Story delves deep into day’s “critical story”
TORONTO – Rogers Radio launched a new podcast network Monday, complete with a daily show known as The Big Story.
The Big Story, available on Apple Podcasts and Google Play weekdays at 6:00 AM ET, breaks down one critical story every day – anything from politics and entertainment, to sports, technology and human interest – all in 15 minutes. Frequency Podcast Network will be home to all Rogers Media podcasts, including Sportsnet's A Swing and a Belt and 31 Thoughts.
Rogers Media’s director of digital radio and audio Jordan Heath-Rawlings is…
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