OTTAWA – Competition in Canada’s wireless industry could be hampered by more stringent spectrum licence transfer regulation, new entrants and incumbents alike are telling Industry Canada.
Rogers Communications warns the department that its proposal will lead to an inefficient market where the existing secondary trading market for spectrum licences will become limited as some operators will see their options to sell spectrum holdings constrained. These new rules could “dampen new entry by increasing the risks associated with selling their business to the highest bidder if they fail to establish a viable wireless business” and “possibly result in lawsuits by aggrieved…
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WHILE THE CANADIAN launch date of Blackberry’s new Q10 smartphone is rumoured to be April 30, that hasn’t stopped several wireless carriers from announcing they are already taking pre-orders.
Rogers’ announcement was the first in Cartt.ca’s inbox this morning, in which the company says it is the first Canadian carrier to offer the new Q10 smartphone. The Q10 follows the release of Blackberry’s Z10 model on Feb. 5 and is their second smartphone to run on the company’s Blackberry 10 operating system.
While both the Z10 and Q10 smartphones run on the Blackberry 10…
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GATINEAU – There's no Say No To Bell campaign this time around, but most of Bell's major competitors have again told the CRTC they are strongly against the takeover of Astral Media by BCE, even with the new promises to divest English-language TV assets.
Quebecor, Rogers and Telus all said they were against the deal in submissions sent to the Commission on Friday, the deadline for interventions in the new application for change of ownership.
Quebecor Media, which owns the Vidéotron cable provider and broadcaster TVA, "asks the Commission to categorically refuse the approval of the revised application," saying it would…
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TORONTO – Walmart Canada and Rogers Media today unveiled a new custom publication for the retail giant’s customers called Walmart Live Better.
The free magazine features stories on food, home, beauty and fashion trends and tips targeted to Canada’s 24-45 female demographic. The print edition of the magazine, produced by Rogers’ custom content division, has a circulation of one million and will be published six times a year. It is also available online for mobile, iPad and tablet users.
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TUESDAY’S ARTICLE ON PACKAGING flexibility, the cost of sports, and the evolving demands of consumers unfortunately misinforms and misleads readers by providing a narrow view of a complex ecosystem. Several important facts are worth pointing out. (Note, for simplicity I’ll use “cable” to represent all cable, satellite, and IPTV distributors, except where specified).
FACT: Content costs are indeed increasing.
Creating and acquiring content is frustratingly immune to productivity and efficiency improvements demonstrated in industries like computers and technology. Creating content is entirely a people business. The cost goes up every year. And sports content costs are increasing the fastest. But…
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WHILE ACQUIRING SPORTS rights is getting increasingly expensive for broadcasters, the fact is it’s still a profitable business – and in Canada, Rogers is in the best position to profit from sports programming, according to a new report from BMO Capital Markets.
Sports programming, reads the research report by analyst Tim Casey, is a critical category for all BDUs. “Sports are live. They are PVR-proof. They are relatively piracy proof. As media distribution platforms proliferate, sports programming has emerged as the most resilient, and therefore most important, category for video suppliers and packagers.”
National…
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TORONTO – Rogers continues with expansion of its Smart Home Monitoring system with the launch of its service today in Newfoundland and New Brunswick. The home monitoring system, which allows customers to control and automate their home security, lights, cameras, thermostats and appliances remotely through their smartphone, computer or tablet, is now available for residents in Saint John and Fredericton, N.B., and St. John’s, Nfld.
“We’re thrilled to now offer Rogers Smart Home Monitoring to residents in Newfoundland and New Brunswick,” said Ian Pattinson, vice-president and general manager, Rogers Smart Home Monitoring, in the release. “Our…
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TORONTO – It’s time for Canada to go bid or go home as the popular Storage Wars franchise arrives north of the border. OLN, Proper Television, and FremantleMedia have announced that Storage Wars Canada has been greenlit with production of 36 half-hour episodes slated to begin May 2013, and filming to take place in locations across Ontario.
Storage Wars Canada is a modern-day treasure hunt, as four professional buyers use their knowledge, expertise, and wit to bid on the contents of abandoned, repossessed, and forgotten storage containers. With only a matter of minutes to scan the…
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WHAT IF SPORTS RIGHTS are getting so expensive that they blow up the traditional affordable bundle of TV channels?
Every sport is demanding more cash from broadcasters, who willingly pay and who then pass those costs along to the cable/satellite/IPTV carriers, who then must pass it on to their customers, those TV-watching sports fans who just have to get their Leafs/Canucks/ManU/golf/curling/darts/skiing fix, no matter the cost.
And those costs have been leaping of late. The wholesale fees charged by TSN to Canadian carriers, for example, have more than doubled in two years (to $2.21/subscriber/month if carried on basic, according to sources,…
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By Steve Faguy
MONTREAL – The owner of a yet-to-launch Montreal television station is being threatened with legal action because the brand he's using for it is being considered as a new name for Radio-Canada.
This week, the CBC's intellectual property lawyer sent a legal letter to Sam Nowrouzzahrai, whose family owns 4517466 Canada Inc. and the licence for an ethnic over-the-air television station in Montreal that is set to launch this summer. The letter orders the company to cease and desist the use of the name "ICI" because it infringes on the CBC's trademark.
The ethnic TV station had planned to use…
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