OTTAWA – Canadians continued to cut the TV cord in record (if still pretty small) numbers since launch of a CRTC-mandated skinny basic TV package on March 1st.
In the two fiscal quarters since phase one of the Commission’s new consumer choice policy came into effect (which mandated a $25 skinny basic package of over-the-air stations and must-carry channels and the launch of smaller, theme packs of channels), Canada’s publicly traded TV service providers combined lost approximately 98,500 TV subscribers, according to new research and analysis from Ottawa-based research and consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services.
That’s a loss of 11,500…
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TORONTO – Food lovers may gorge on Bell Media’s Gusto over the holiday season thanks to a national free preview of the food and lifestyle channel.
The exclusive home to all-new Jamie Oliver programming in Canada, programming also features cooking series from lifestyle guru Martha Stewart, including the new Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party where she cooks and entertains alongside her unlikely friend and King of Kush, Snoop Dogg. Gusto’s lineup also includes superstar British chef Lorraine Pascale in her new series Lorraine’s Fast, Fresh And Easy Food, the perfectly paired exclusive series The Wine Show, plus hours of original Canadian programming,…
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GATINEAU – Differential pricing can benefit a broad range of players in the communications market, Telus told the CRTC on the fourth day of its DPP hearing, but just don’t let the vertically integrated (VI) entities use their “unnatural incentives” to give themselves an advantage.
“Since differential pricing practices increase the size of the market, they allow both carriers and content providers to spread these fixed costs over a larger number of consumers. This process has produced, and should continue to produce, newer and better services at stable or falling prices throughout the Internet ecosystem,” said Dr. Jeffrey Eisenach, managing…
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GATINEAU – Smaller broadcasters warned the CRTC on Wednesday that it must guard against differential pricing practices because they could have a significant negative impact on their content.
The Independent Broadcast Group told the Commission Wednesday morning it has to consider potential abuses from media companies which own both content and ISPs.
Brad Danks, CEO at OUTtv, noted in his opening remarks to the IBG’s appearance in the DPP hearing that it’s pretty clear that vertically integrated (VI) media companies are able to prefer their own content in ISP distribution. In addition, once the VI’s affiliated broadcast distribution arm gets ISP…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications (RCI) has priced a US$500 million underwritten public offering of 2.90% senior notes due in 2026.
The net proceeds from the issuance of the will be approximately US$487 million and are expected to be used to repay outstanding advances under RCI's bank credit facilities and for general corporate purposes, the company said late Tuesday. The sale of the debt securities is expected to close on November 4, 2016. The debt securities will be issued by RCI and guaranteed by its wholly owned subsidiary, Rogers Communications Canada Inc. (RCCI).
Moody's Investors Service assigned a Baa1 rating to the…
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TORONTO – The incoming CEO of Rogers Communications, a former Rogers CEO, and the founder of Wind Mobile in Canada are all now investors in a wireless company looking for growth in Bolivia and New Zealand.
In a press release today, Alignvest Acquisition Corporation (AQX) and Trilogy International Partners LLC have announced a proposed acquisition where the two combine.
Trilogy, based in Bellevue, Washington, was formed in 2005 as a privately held wireless telecommunications operator and provides communications services through its operating subsidiaries, 2degrees and NuevaTel (which operates under the brand Viva), in New Zealand and Bolivia, respectively.
2degrees and NuevaTel provide…
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GATINEAU – Social media giant Facebook took the stand in the CRTC’s differential pricing practices (DPP) hearing on Tuesday and argued that zero-rated services don’t need to be anti-competitive and can be constructed to meet net neutrality rules.
Blair Levin, an advisor to Facebook, said under questioning that zero-rated services such as the company’s Free Basics offering (which has faced scrutiny around the world) don’t run amok of net neutrality because ISPs are prevented from acting as content gatekeepers.
“When companies use their position as the gatekeeper to essentially favour one kind of content or another, then…
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New Toronto pilot program
TORONTO – ABC Life Literacy Canada today announced a new program supporting digital literacy for adult learners from in-need communities.
The pilot program, which begins in November, will feature an introductory series of three-hour facilitated learning sessions. Topics will include why the internet matters, how to use the internet safely, basic skills required, and how to access and grow skills to support things like job search and community engagement.
"We are delighted to be launching this new program to support and inspire 21st century literacy and learning for more Canadians," said Mack Rogers, director, community programs for…
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MARKHAM, ON – The Ontario Association of Broadcasters will present the 2016 Ontario Hall of Fame Award to both Richard Costley-White and Chuck McCoy at the organization’s fall conference.
A Board nominated honour, the OAB's Ontario Hall of Fame is presented to individuals who have spent most of their careers working for private broadcasters and demonstrated a commitment to the highest standards of broadcast excellence.
Before his passing in 2015, Richard Costley-White (pictured left) was chairman and president of Blackburn Radio Inc., a small and mid-market broadcaster with 13 stations serving Southwestern and Midwestern Ontario. He was the 5th generation of the Blackburn…
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TV wins, but 48% use social to engage more deeply
TORONTO – Two-in-three Canadians (66%) followed at least some of the Toronto Blue Jays’ 2016 playoff run according to the Sports Marketing Report, an independent, syndicated audience research survey from Toronto’s Solutions Research Group.
Audience engagement with the Jays playoff run, which included the sudden-death wild card game win over Baltimore, the three-game sweep of Texas and the team’s eventual loss to Cleveland, was very strong. Half of Canadians – 49% – followed the Jays ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ closely, seven points higher than the 42% who said the same thing for…
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