TORONTO – CBC has upped the ante on its Olympics coverage, announcing today that its “every hour” coverage of the 2014 Winter Olympics will now also be accessible virtually “everywhere,” thanks to new licensing agreements with Bell, Rogers, Telus, Videotron, and YouTube.
The public broadcaster said that live and on-demand English- and French-language Olympic Winter Games content from CBC/Radio-Canada will be “top of menu” for the telcos, and will also be prominently featured on popular digital portals including MSN.ca and YouTube.
CBC says the agreement with YouTube represents one component of an expanded alliance that will see a renewal of CBC/Radio-Canada’s presence on the…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Canadians will have more say on new cell towers in their communities after the government revised its antenna tower siting policy Wednesday.
The changes to the policy mean wireless companies must now consult with communities on all commercial tower installations, regardless of height; build the tower within three years of consulting with communities; and ensure that residents are well-informed of upcoming consultations through clearly-marked communications. Municipalities are also encouraged to get involved early in the tower siting process.
Previously, companies only needed to consult when they were planning to build a tower higher than 15 metres, and there was…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Attention budding fashionistas: GameTV is bringing fashion-forward reality competition The Fashion Fund to Canada next week, complete with celebrity judges Anna Wintour and Diane Von Furstenberg.
Starting February 13 at 8:00 PM ET/PT, The Fashion Fund follows ten aspiring fashion designers vying for the chance to be named the 2013 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund winner. The series takes audiences behind the catwalk and showroom floor, sits in on studio visits and a Vogue fashion photo shoot, and culminates with a presentation at NYC Fashion Week and the announcement of the winner.
The designers are judged and given feedback by the…
Continue Reading
VANCOUVER and TORONTO – Rogers has unveiled a new machine-to-machine (M2M) solution that is says will “breathe new life into the Canadian retail experience”.
According to the company's presentation Tuesday at Wavefront Wireless Summits in Vancouver, the Mobile Shopper will allow customers to engage with brands in-store through mobile offers, applications and mobile payments technology all with their smartphone. The platform works by combining a wireless network connection with mobile applications to deliver relevant content – such as daily offers and promotions – to customers that choose to opt in to the service on their mobile device. Retailers gain insights with…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Look for up to seven nationally televised Hockey Night In Canada games on Saturdays next hockey season, expanded content across multiple platforms, other exclusive windows for national broadcasts, and “Hometown Hockey” every Sunday night, adding up to more than 500 NHL games on TV next season.
And that’s before the playoffs begin.
Scott Moore, president of Sportsnet and NHL at Rogers Media, made the announcement Tuesday afternoon at an upfront presentation to media, ad agencies and buyers as the Mattamy Athletic Centre in downtown Toronto (which is housed in what used to be Maple Leaf Gardens). Readers will recall…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – While it’s all-hands-on-deck time for the CBC’s 16 days of broadcast and new media coverage of the Sochi Winter Olympics, CEO Hubert Lacroix sent out a note of caution to employees last week, warning hard decisions are coming once the sliding, riding, skiing, skating and sledding comes to an end.
“I couldn’t imagine a better start to the year than the Sochi Games!” Lacroix enthused in the staff memo. “Whenever I walk down the hall, wherever I happen to be, the energy is palpable. And the most exciting thing is, in just a few short days, that energy…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – Submissions to the CRTC on its wholesale domestic roaming rates proceeding break down just where most would expect.
In December, the CRTC launched a review of the rates Rogers, Bell and Telus charge smaller wireless service providers when customers of those smaller companies use their phones to roam outside of their own provider’s home network. The primary accusation of the Commission is that the big three are charging the likes of Wind and Eastlink more than they charge American operators whose customers roam on networks here when they travel.
In the summer of 2013, the…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Budding radio announcers will once again have the opportunity to gain experience on the airwaves through GenNOW, an internship program offered by Rogers Media in partnership with Seneca College.
Now in its second year, GenNOW is a four-month placement for students enrolled in their final year of Seneca College’s Broadcasting – Radio program. Participants will work closely with programming staff at Rogers Radio station KiSS 92.5 in downtown Toronto to develop announcing skills, host overnight shifts, and get hands-on experience on the technology used to build a radio show. Students will achieve marks for weekly assignments that…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC will examine licence renewal applications from Rogers Media, plus consider a second request for a Canadian film channel and a pay-per-view service for Telus at a hearing scheduled for April 8, 2014 in Gatineau.
The Commission made public Wednesday that Rogers has filed applications to renew the broadcasting licences for 17 of its television services and stations, including its City stations, multilingual ethnic television stations and Sportsnet. In addition to licence renewal, the Commission will examine “key issues” relating to these applications including the group-based approach to the licensing of the City television stations and…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – While we first reported here that Quebecor’s cable and wireless division Vidéotron might be interested in buying ailing Mobilicity and stocking up on 700 MHz spectrum in the ongoing auction, most reaction has been disbelief.
In a research note to clients on Monday, BMO Capital Markets analyst Tim Casey doesn’t buy it. “We acknowledge there is a potential opportunity for a non-incumbent bidder in the auction (such as Quebecor, EastLink, Novus or Feenix) to scoop up the remaining prime block of 700MHz spectrum (for Southern Ontario, Eastern Ontario, B.C. and Alberta) at attractive valuations….
Continue Reading
