ROGERS MEDIA SPENT MUCH of Tuesday playing defence during its licence renewal hearings before the CRTC, deflecting criticism over the company’s desire to have its hockey broadcasts considered programming of national interest (PNI), or be part of the company’s Canadian programming expenditures (CPE).
CRTC vice-chair of broadcasting Tom Pentefountas took the first shot by questioning whether hockey programming should be included in Canadian content or PNI commitments. After a series of questions on whether this type of sports programming needs regulatory help from the commission, he wondered why hockey should account for CPE or fall under PNI programming.
Keith Pelley, president…
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YET ANOTHER FEDERAL government digital/new media announcement was made on Friday that offers hundreds of millions of dollars to connect the 280,000 Canadians without broadband access because of where they live while remaining silent on the million or so who have broadband already at their doorsteps but who aren’t connected because they can’t afford it.
Yes of course it is important to connect rural Canada, but there has long been – and continues to be – many government programs to help that along. That’s despite the face that private companies such as the numerous independent phone…
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AN INTERESTING DECEMBER 2012 paper from the Australian Government's Department of Finance and Deregulation, Offices of Best Practices Regulation entitled "Influencing Consumer Behaviour: Improving Regulatory Design" is an instructive piece of research when viewed through the lens of our own TV business.
The paper explores two broad frameworks that influence consumer behaviour – Rational Choice theory and Behavioural Economics. Rational Choice theory holds that consumers maximize utility subject to their budgetary limitations. Behavioural Economics assumes choice is affected by social, economic, emotional and other factors. Examples from the health, finance and other sectors are used to…
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TORONTO – Next week’s first-ever CommTech East Show has more than 600 vendors and attendees already registered, and only four exhibitor booth spaces remaining, say organizers.
Scheduled for April 15 and 16, 2014 at the Mississauga Convention Centre, registration is on-going. The event has over 25 sessions scheduled, including topics such as:
– If FTTH is the Future, What Happens Before Then?;
– LTE Interference on Broadband Cable TV Services;
– Damage Prevention by the Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance;
– Why Batteries Fail – Backup Battery System Testing and Maintenance; and
– Wireless Interference 101.
The exhibitor forum will showcase over 2,000 products and…
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THE RECENT SPORTS CONTENT AND SPECTRUM acquisitions made by Rogers Communications falls squarely into the category of “they had better be right”.
Adding up the $3.3 billion it paid for 700 MHz spectrum in the just-finished auction, last fall’s $5.2 billion NHL rights deal and the $650 million for its portion of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment in 2012, that’s nearly $9.2 billion spent or committed in less than 24 months – largely due to the belief that delivering live sports (especially hockey and baseball) to any and every electronic device, any and everywhere in Canada, is the key to…
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OTTAWA – Rogers Media wants to reduce its Canadian content and cut in half its programming commitments for ethnic groups and distinct languages for its group of OMNI stations. The company will appear before the CRTC next week to defend these and other proposed changes to its conditions of licence (COLs).
The programming changes appear to be quite significant. Rather than meeting the requirement to broadcast programs to 20 different ethnic groups and in 20 distinct languages, Rogers is requesting these be cut in half to 10 in both cases. As well, the company wants to decrease its Canadian programming…
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TORONTO – TLN’s all-Italian network Mediaset Italia has become Canada’s most distributed foreign language channel after finalizing a distribution deal with Bell TV and Bell Fibe.
Mediaset Italia offers entertainment, variety, fiction, comedy, sports and news programming direct from Italy complemented with original, Canadian-made shows. The channel is available now on Bell TV and Bell Fibe (698), Rogers (784) and Source (505).
“This is the first of several expanded carriage announcements which are expected to follow in the coming weeks”, said TLN president Aldo Di Felice, in the news release. “We are proud that Mediaset Italia has now become the most widely…
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DENVER, CO – Anglers take note: World Fishing Network will be available on a free preview to cable, satellite and telco subscribers in North America for the month of April.
Dedicated to the angling lifestyle, the network’s programming includes instruction, tips, travel, tournaments, cooking, boating and outdoor recreation with exclusive series and original productions like Bill Boyce’s Baja, FORCE on FORCE, Guided with Mark Melnyk, Hookin’ Up with Nick & Mariko, JP DeRose Breaking Boundaries and World Fishing Journal.
Participating TV providers in Canada include Access, Bell, Cablevision du Nord du Quebec, Cogeco, Eastlink, MTS, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw Cable, Shaw Direct,…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has pushed back the deadline for comments on amendments to certain rules pertaining to the implementation of the national emergency alerting system.
After calling for feedback last month due March 31, the Commission said Tuesday that the deadline for receipt of comments has been extended to April 17, 2014.
The move comes at the behest of BCE, Cogeco Cable, Corus Entertainment, Newcap, Quebecor Media, Rogers Media, Shaw Communications, and Vista Radio which sent a joint letter to the Commission requesting the extension to provide comments in the proceeding.
The CRTC reiterated that the amended deadline does not…
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LAST WEEK WE SHOWED you results from a recent survey of Canadian consumers which confirmed Canadians want to be able to pick their television channels one at a time – and may even be ready to pay for the privilege.
But more lots more choice may not truly be desirable for TV programmers, distributors or viewers. Canadians often say they really want “more choice” from their subscription TV providers, but it’s more likely they just want to be charged less and treated better.
Believe it or not, uber-choice is often not all it’s cracked up to be…
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