TORONTO – Rogers has hired another sales exec away from CBC after announcing that Janice Smith will become its vice president, national media sales, effective December 1st.
Smith comes to Rogers with more than 19 years of experience in media sales, strategic planning, and business development. Prior to joining Rogers, she worked at CBC for six years, most recently as executive director of multiplatform sales for CBC’s Revenue Group where she oversaw all of CBC’s English-language revenue sales including CBC Network, CBC News Network, Radio 2, and sports sales. Smith has also held various sales roles at CanWest MediaWorks, TSN,…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Just in time for the winter getaway season, Rogers is rolling out a new technology for customers travelling in the U.S. that allows them to access their Canadian wireless plans while they're away.
For $5 a day, the Roam Like Home plan, which will be available November 10, allows customers to use the Internet, make calls, send texts and emails in the U.S. just like they would at home, with their Share Everything plan, which includes shareable data buckets, unlimited talk and text, and various other services. Calls made within the U.S. and back to Canada are also included…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – “Canadians have told us loud and clear they’re afraid to use their mobile phones when travelling to the U.S.,” Rogers Communications CEO Guy Laurence said today while launching the company’s new Roam Like Home plan.
The plan lets Rogers Share Everything customers call, text and surf for $5 a day while travelling in the States, so it sure sounds simple. Customers, added Laurence, “find it too complicated” when trying to use, or plan to use, their phones in the U.S. Plus, it’s too expensive. “They also said they were paying for minutes, texts, and Internet at home but…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Any time members of the Canadian telecom industry gather together for a conference, the age-old debate about just how competitive the market actually is here inevitably emerges. The Canadian ISP Summit held this week in Toronto was no exception.
And in fact, opposing views on the subject, firmly expressed, provided most of the sparks during the conference’s final session on Wednesday, a panel discussion that tackled many of the regulatory issues currently faced by the telecom industry.
Moderated by telecom industry consultant Mark Goldberg (co-founder and organizer of the annual Canadian Telecom Summit), the regulatory panel featured: Dr. Michael…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – As if Rogers isn’t serving up enough hockey, Sportsnet’s coverage of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) kicks off Monday.
As Cartt.ca reported in February, Sportsnet signed a 12-year partnership extension with the development league through the 2025-26 CHL season, continuing its hold as the exclusive broadcaster of the CHL and the Memorial Cup in Canada. The new agreement also includes multimedia rights for television, online and mobile.
Sportsnet’s coverage will include more than 50 games in 2014-15, including the return of Friday Night Hockey every week of the regular season and playoffs, 11 Sunday afternoon matchups, as well as…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Canadians’ complaints over their telecom and Internet services fell for the first time in the seven year history of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS), but Commissioner Howard Maker stopped short of calling it a trend.
“From our examination of other statistics… we are cautiously optimistic that the industry as a whole is becoming more focused on customer issues and on how it addresses customer problems”, Maker wrote in the 2013-2014 annual report, called ‘Driving Positive Change’, released Tuesday.
The CCTS received 11,340 customer complaints in 2013-14, down 17% from 13,692 in 2012-13, and successfully resolved…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Canada needs an autonomous Internet infrastructure that keeps local web traffic routed within the country’s borders as much as possible, said Jacques Latour, chief technology officer for the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), during a presentation at the Canadian ISP Summit in Toronto on Monday afternoon.
Latour said too much of Canadian Internet traffic flows south of the border through major U.S. cities, such as New York, Chicago and Seattle.
“If for some reason there’s an attack against the U.S., like a cyber-attack, and they decide to shut down the borders, in Canada we’re screwed,” Latour said….
Continue Reading
I FINALLY HAVE A RESPONSE to something CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais asked we reporters – in absentia, mind you – during day eight of September’s Talk TV hearing, the day set aside for accessibility issues.
“I asked others beforehand – now they may be listening elsewhere – but the media table, which was chock-a-block last week, seems to be completely empty now,” chairman Blais said on September 17th. “And I'm struck, because members of the community you serve presumably buy goods and services – goods and services that are made by people that advertise in newspapers and other electronic media.
“Why…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Customers of Rogers and Shaw will get their first look at subscription streaming service shomi on Tuesday.
While negotiations continue with other Canadian BDUs, shomi, a subscriber-authenticated streaming video service, will only be available in beta first to Rogers and Shaw Internet or cable customers, as the two companies co-own the venture.
Eligible Rogers customers can sign up and begin a 30-day free trial, after which customers can enjoy shomi for only $8.99 per month. The same terms apply to Shaw customers.
As an added benefit to select Rogers customers, shomi will be automatically included for Rogers Hybrid Fibre 50…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – The radio industry, electronic media’s elder statesman, is not in trouble and the sky is not falling, but radio broadcasters need to do a better job at promoting their advertising success stories to keep marketers from becoming too distracted by the “shiny, new toy” (a.k.a. digital audio streaming services).
That was the rallying call delivered by Erica Farber, president and CEO of the U.S.-based Radio Advertising Bureau, during an industry executive town hall session at the Ontario Association of Broadcasters’ Connection 2014 conference, held Thursday in Toronto. “Success stories work,” she said. “We do not do a good…
Continue Reading
