MAKE NO MISTAKE, it was a long road, but BCE Inc. finally won the right to purchase the most coveted licensed assets owned by Astral Media. However, CRTC decisions are so much more nuanced than a simple “yes” or “no”.
So below we give you our first impression of the decision broken down by the number of points Bell won with the Regulator – and lost.
WIN: No additional divestitures. Bell executives said repeatedly through the whole process that it could live with certain conditions – even some unprecedented, stringent ones, but it would not proceed with the deal if the…
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CALGARY – Cable and media conglomerate Shaw Communications announced this morning consolidated revenue for the three and nine month periods of $1.33 billion and $3.90 billion, respectively, was up 4% and 3% over the comparable periods last year.
Total operating income before amortization of $585 million improved 3% over the comparable quarterly period and the year-to-date amount of $1.72 billion was up 6%, says the press release. Free cash flow for the three and nine month periods was $138 million and $543 million, respectively, compared to $203 million and $379 million for the comparable periods last year. Increased operating income…
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TORONTO – Hardcore sports fans will be able to celebrate Canada Day with Sportsnet 360, as Rogers officially debuts the rebranded network from recently-acquired The Score network to the Sportsnet brand.
Sportsnet 360 will be unveiled at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT on July 1 during the station’s first live event broadcast, the Blue Jays vs Detroit Tigers game live from Toronto’s Rogers Centre.
After the Jays game, Sportsnet 360 will debut its newest show, Blue Jays Xpress – a 30-minute, interactive post-game show hosted by Sportsnet 590 The FAN’s Eric Smith, with former Blue…
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THE BIG NEWS WEDNESDAY was that American telco Verizon has made a real offer to buy Wind Canada from its majority owner, VimpelCom. The Globe and Mail cited sources who claim that the big U.S. firm has put an opening bid of $700 million on the table and is also talking to Mobilicity about a potential purchase of that distressed company.
The speculation (nobody from any of the companies will confirm anything at this point, beyond reports last week from Verizon CFO Fran Shammo that the company is taking a peek north) caused Canadian telecom shares…
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TORONTO – ?Rogers said today that The Maclean’s Great Canadian Countdown will no longer air on July 1 on City as previously announced.
In a release, the company said the decision was made to cancel the July 1 broadcast out of respect for Alberta residents dealing with the recent flooding situation.
“Because the lighthearted program featured Calgary prominently, Rogers Media decided that out of respect for Albertans, who are currently dealing with the serious aftermath of unprecedented flooding, the program should not air at this time,” the company stated in the…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today approved the $3.2 billion purchase of Astral Media by BCE Inc., but Bell’s regulatory people have MUCH paperwork to file before July 29th in order to satisfy the various conditions of the approval. That said, there doesn’t appear to be anything surprising in the decision which could scuttle the transaction.
As most are well aware, this is the second time Bell attempted to purchase Astral, as the Commission said no to the original 2012 deal last October.
Bell executives pronounced themselves pleased Friday morning, and so they are obviously okay with all the conditions, all of…
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TORONTO – Telus and Rogers both announced today they are each offering the fourth generation iPad with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, as well as the iPad mini with Wi-Fi + cellular.
Both carriers are offering the new iPads with a range of contract-free data plans to connect to either Telus’s 4G network or to Rogers’ LTE network.
The fourth generation iPad features a 9.7-inch Retina display, new Apple-designed A6X chip, FaceTime HD camera and ultrafast wireless performance. The iPad mini is 23% thinner and about half the weight of the third generation iPad and comes with…
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TORONTO – New York-based Verizon Communications is setting its sights on entering the Canadian market by reportedly offering to acquire Wind Mobile for $700 million.
Citing “two people familiar with the situation,” the Globe and Mail today reported that the U.S. carrier has also held recent talks with Mobilicity’s stakeholders to discuss a potential acquisition.
With a market cap of US$135 billion and an estimated US$10.8 billion in free cash flow, the odds of successfully entering the Canadian market would be in Verizon’s favour, according to analyst Dvai Ghose of Canaccord Genuity. By purchasing…
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TORONTO, ON – Swedish mobile phone company Doro AB announced Tuesday it is expanding into Canada as two of its easy-to-use mobile phones will now be available at Rogers.
Geared primarily to seniors, the Doro PhoneEasy 620 and 520X mobile phones feature large buttons, a large display, amplified sounds, a camera and flash, as well as an assistance button. The 620 model is a clamshell device, while the 520X is a bar phone that also includes a built-in flashlight for added assistance.
ELEVEN MONTHS AGO, the CRTC announced it would get rid of the Local Programming Improvement Fund, a line item applied to the monthly bill of every cable, satellite and telco TV subscriber in the country which was dreamed up and made part of the 2008 Broadcast Distribution Undertaking policy as a stop-gap measure to aid local, non-major-market broadcasters.
It has brought in just over $100 million a year for local private and CBC broadcasters since 2010 ($112 million in 2012), roughly split 60-40 in favour of the privates. Former Commission vice-chair telecom…
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