Cord cutting intent strengthening, as is skinny basic awareness
TORONTO – According to new research from Toronto’s Solutions Research Group, Netflix now counts more than 5 million subscribing households in Canada, while nascent Canadian efforts CraveTV (owned by Bell Media) and Shomi (owned by Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications) together is estimated to have about one-seventh the number of subscribers.
The figures come from SRG’s ongoing Digital Life Canada syndicated research. For this edition, SRG interviewed 1,000 Canadians online in April 2016 using a professionally managed national online panel, says the release. The company has run Digital Life Canada each quarter…
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THE FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA recently granted three large broadcasters an order for an injunction against retailers of pre-loaded “plug-and-play” set-top boxes. The apps pre-loaded on the boxes allow consumers to access TV programs and movies without cable or other subscriptions. As Madam Justice Tremblay-Lamer observed:
“These boxes have several uses for consumers, some of which are perfectly legal and some which skirt around the fringes of copyright law. This is not the first time a new technology has been alleged to violate copyright law, nor will it be the last.”
In her view, the allegations in…
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OTTAWA – BCE, Rogers and Videotron have convinced the Federal Court to issue an interim ban on the sale of TV set top boxes pre-loaded with applications that they claim allows access to their copyrighted content.
According to a Globe and Mail report, the three big TV companies joined forces against named defendants iTVBox.net, My Electronics, Android Bros Inc., WatchNSaveNow Inc. and MtlFreeTV.com, claiming that their boxes lead to copyright infringement and contribute to the loss of television subscribers due to pirated content.
Justice Danièle Tremblay-Lamer agreed, and granted an interim injunction against the sale of the boxes pending a…
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TORONTO – If top Canadian TV execs haven't watched A&E's Storage Wars, they may well after returning from the recent Los Angeles Screenings.
It was a week when Canadian broadcasters in sunny California bid, and risked overpaying, for rookie U.S. shows from their Hollywood suppliers based on little more than a pilot episode (kind of like how the stars of that show get just a short look at items they may buy at auction…)
Then, come fall when audiences sample their newly-launched shows and all hope is lost…"Wait a minute!!!!," a hit show or two may be revealed.
Corus Entertainment president and…
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TORONTO – Carriers, broadcasters, content providers and media companies wonder about what viewers want to consume these days as the digital world expands. So it was appropriate that a Canadian executive of one used food to talk about the future of traditional TV and new media.
“I think there's a lot of 'empty calories' in the televison space right now (with content) that people aren’t passionate about,” David Purdy, chief international growth officer at Vice Media, told the Canadian Telecom Summit on Wednesday (pictured with Corus Entertainment's Maria Hale).
“Ad dollars are going to shift to where people are passionate about…
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TORONTO – RTDNA Canada, The Association of Electronic Journalists, has crowned the winners of its national and network awards which recognize the best in storytelling on all platforms.
The winners for RTDNA 2015 National Awards are:
Dave Rogers Award – Long Feature – Large Market – Radio
– CKNW Radio: Aging Alone
Dave Rogers Award – Long Feature – Small/Medium – Radio
– CBC Sudbury: Angels and Demons
Dave Rogers Award – Long Feature – Large Market – TV
– Global BC: Transforming Healthcare: St Paul’s Hospital
Dave Rogers Award – Long Feature – Small/Medium Market – TV
– CTV Vancouver Island: Benches
Dave Rogers Award – Short Feature…
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Urges all to be more transparent, too
TORONTO – The federal privacy commissioner urged telecommunications companies to stand up to police if they ask for subscriber data without a court order.
Daniel Therrien made the plea Wednesday in a keynote address to the annual Canadian Telecom Summit in Toronto, complaining that police are trying to re-open the fight over lawful access to metadata and subscriber data he thought ended with the 2014 Supreme Court of Canada decision.
That ruling said police need a court order for subscriber information unless it is an emergency. But several law enforcement bodies, including RCMP commissioner Robert…
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TORONTO – John Gossling has been named executive vice-president and chief financial officer at Corus Entertainment where he will replace the retiring Tom Peddie.
Gossling left Telus less than a month ago after 3 ½ years. His prior career experiences include CFO at CTVglobemedia Inc., VP financial operations at Rogers Communications and CFO at Rogers Wireless, and partner at KPMG LLP.
Gossling will join Corus on July 4 and be based in Toronto at Corus Quay. The company said that Peddie will retire from the company at the end of August after 17 years of service, and that the two will…
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U.S. streaming giant has Canadian broadcasters rethinking how they shop in Hollywood
TORONTO – Netflix helps drive broadband revenues at BCE, Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications.
Yet, as Cartt.ca recently reported, Netflix this year began bidding in earnest, and aggressively, against broadcast divisions Bell Media, Rogers Media and Corus Entertainment for new U.S. network shows at the Los Angeles Screenings.
That move means Canadian broadcasters have started to rethink how they will buy rookie U.S. series from the studios going forward if Netflix can get a jump on picking up new network shows. "We…
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Sees no way to add video to Unlimited offer
TORONTO – Despite having spent $2 billion so far on spectrum, plus a network build, then an upgrade to LTE all between 2010 and now, Vidéotron sees more spending on the horizon as 5G approaches. So today its CEO called on the federal government to maintain “spectral balance” when formulating the rules around the next auction of low frequency spectrum in the 600 MHz range.
In a keynote speech to the Canadian Telecom Summit on Wednesday morning, Manon Brouillette noted the sheer pace of technological change in our industry, remembering she spoke…
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