TORONTO – A coalition of Canadian academics and consumer groups are asking the country’s biggest telecommunications service providers to divulge the extent to which they pass on their customers’ private information to government agencies when asked.
Spearheaded by Toronto-based researcher Dr. Christopher Parsons, the organization sent letters to 16 different companies this week, including Bell, Rogers, Cogeco, Shaw, Telus and Videotron, asking them to respond to questions on their data retention and sharing policies. The telcos were asked to respond or commit to responding by March 3, 2014.
“Specifically, we are asking how, when, and why your company discloses information to…
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TORONTO – Verizon Wireless' strong wireless growth in fiscal year 2013 may bode well for Canadian incumbent wireless carriers, says an industry analyst.
In a note to clients on Tuesday, Dvai Ghose, Managing Director/Head of Research for Canaccord Genuity, said that incumbent wireless subscriber growth in North America still looks to be “robust despite maturation”, and predicted postpaid subscriber base increases at all three Canadian incumbents when they post their financial results for 2013 within the next few weeks. He estimates a 5.7% year-over-year increase at Bell Mobility, a 4.7% uptick at Telus Mobility and a 3.2% rise at Rogers Wireless.
Despite maturation, slowing…
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A UNIQUE 30-SECOND spot began airing across most Canadian TV channels last week trumpeting how much Canadians love television, while promoting a new iOS and Google app which, it appears, will let some individual Canadians get on TV on February 6th.
While the whole industry has so far been pretty tight-lipped about the initiative, the ad and the app have been put together by the Television Bureau of Canada and its member companies. The raison d’etre of TVB (whose members count most of the channels available to Canadians, except for Corus Entertainment’s, Quebecor’s TVA and its…
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MONTREAL – With eight days until Bell Let's Talk Day on January 28, Bell officially thanked the Canadian companies and associations that are helping spread the word about Canadian mental health.
Encompassing media companies, major-league sports teams and associations, which include Bell’s partners and competitors alike, the organizations are providing various platforms for the Bell Let's Talk message, including TV, cinema, radio, newspaper, out-of-home and online advertising, rink boards at major sports arenas, promotional events, and media coverage dedicated to enhancing Canadian mental health. They include:
– Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
– Banff World Media Festival
– Basketball Canada
– Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada
-…
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PASADENA, CA – Rogers Media is bringing specialty channel FXX to Canada on April 1st.
Targeting the adults 18-34 demo, FXX will mirror its U.S. counterpart with irreverent, witty, and subversive comedies including It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Wilfred, Legit, and Ali G: Rezurection, from Sacha Baron Cohen, featuring new content and previously unseen episodes of Da Ali G Show.
Among the original series debuting on the channel are Chozen, an animated comedy from the creators of Eastbound & Down, which follows a white rapper looking for redemption following a prison sentence; and Canadian-filmed Fargo, based on the Coen…
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TORONTO – For those hoping Wind Mobile would continue to build from struggling start-up into a strong, fourth national wireless competitor, those hopes were dealt a major blow Monday when Globalive Wireless, Wind’s parent in Canada, officially pulled out of the 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction beginning Tuesday.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, the Canadian wireless upstart said "Wind Mobile’s shareholder VimpelCom decided not to fund Wind Mobile’s participation in this auction, but confirmed that it remains in discussions with the federal government and Wind Mobile’s other shareholder AAL Holding to craft a path forward that will continue to…
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THE 10 COMPANIES vying for beachfront spectrum in Industry Canada’s 700 MHz auction set to begin Tuesday will have to navigate a complicated format that moves through various stages from interest in spectrum blocks to packages of licences and ultimately to specific frequencies.
During an Industry Canada technical briefing on the auction on Monday, a senior official with the department noted that this format, called a combinatorial clock auction (CCA), is now commonly used around the world. It’s used “because it features package bidding and eliminates what is known as exposure risk, which in layman’s terms is getting some but…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications has launched baseball channel MLB Network as part of an extension of its partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) that also includes an eight-year multiplatform broadcast rights extension with MLB, MLB Advanced Media and Sportsnet through 2021.
MLB Network, the 24-hour network dedicated to all things baseball, launched Wednesday on Rogers’ Ontario-based digital cable systems. It is available on channel 415 to customers who subscribe to its Digital VIP package, and will appear in free preview through the end of April. The channel’s year-round programming includes live games, news, highlights, and analysis.
The new agreement between MLB,…
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SEVERAL SOURCES have told Cartt.ca over the past number of weeks that Rogers Communications has grabbed the over-the-top bull by the horns and has been signing a massive number of content deals and at least one significant partnership agreement (if not more) in an effort to battle back against Netflix in Canada by launching a new, national, OTT video portal.
Our multiple sources (all of whom requested anonymity for business reasons) have told Cartt.ca that Rogers is spending over $100 million buying all the video content windows available from as many rights holders (such as Disney/ABC, Warner Bros., 20th Century…
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TORONTO – Bell Media announced Monday it has hired Lucy Collin as vice-president, marketing and innovation – integrated sales for English Canada. Reporting to Luc Sabbatini, president, Bell Media Sales, Collin (a former Rogers executive, most recently as the former publisher of Marketing Magazine), will oversee the marketing strategy for Bell Media Sales, as well as advise on Bell Media Sales’ brand execution, the company said.
“Marketing and innovation are at the core of our integrated sales team’s strategy, and having a highly skilled professional like Lucy join our ranks will help solidify our business vision,” said Sabbatini. “Her great…
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