OTTAWA – Does the “Made in Canada” brand matter to Canadians when it comes to their television and film content? Does it matter internationally? If so, how can the industry better promote it to make it matter?
Those were some of the questions discussed Monday during the pre-conference symposium on the promotion of Canadian film and TV content held in conjunction with the International Institute of Communications annual Canadian conference here in Ottawa. Sponsored by Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund and the CRTC, the symposium delegates tried to come up with ways of better-promoting Canadian film and TV in…
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MONTREAL – BCE Inc. reports profits slipped 12% in the third quarter to $569 million compared with $642 million a year earlier, but is still on track to meet the 2012 financial guidance it issued in August. It attributed the drop “mainly due to lower income tax expense in Q3 2011 from the favourable resolution of tax matters.” Revenue increased 1.8% to $4.3-billion, while operating revenue rose 1.5% to $4.98 billion. Bell EBITDA was up 5.2% in Q3 on growth of 15.2% at Bell Wireless and 92.6% at Bell Media, partly offset by a 6.2% decline at Bell…
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TORONTO – Launching today with a three-month free preview, Videotron subscribers in Quebec will get unlimited access to FX Canada. Programming includes American Horror Story: Asylum, Sons of Anarchy, Louie and The League, as well as late-night shows Brand X with Russell Brand and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. FX Canada is available to Videotron subscribers in SD on channel 210 and in HD on channel 810.
“There is a high demand for FX’s premium content across Canada, and Rogers is excited to bring this award-winning programming to the Quebec market, “ said Scott…
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TORONTO – The Pet Network is re-launching November 12th with “refreshed branding, a vibrant new on-air look and a revitalized program schedule," the channel announced Wednesday.
The updated look and feel is designed to present a brighter, cleaner and more playful identity that will work across all platforms and resonate with the station’s adult 25-54 audience says the press release. The new creative was developed by Alisa Kerr, creative director of Victoria, B.C.-based HIDEF Productions Inc.
“This repackaging communicates the strength of The Pet Network’s program offering and reinforces our commitment to the brand…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is ending the 5% limitation on the carry-over of Canadian programming over-expenditures and the obligation to use them in the subsequent broadcast year, but broadcasters currently subject to it will have to apply to have it removed.
The CRTC’s decision follows previous filings by both Rogers and Bell that argued the 5% cap limited their flexibility. Rogers submitted that the cap reduced its ability to operate its Citytv conventional television stations and that some of its Canadian programming expenditures (CPE) were already committed to large budget productions during the first broadcast year…
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TORONTO – Reports that VimpelCom is preparing to drop its telecom assets in African and Asia is the “strongest signal to date that VimpelCom may eventually exit Wind Canada,” writes Scotia Capital telecom analyst Jeff Fan.
Fan in his October 29 Equity Research report refers to a Financial Times (FT) report that VimpelCom (VIP), Wind Mobile Canada’s parent, is expected to sell its sub-Saharan African units and its Zimbabwean business, Telecom Zimbabwe. VimpelCom is also preparing for a sale of its three businesses in Cambodia and Laos as part of the company’s strategy to focus on…
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TORONTO – To give kids a competitive edge, more Ontario parents are investing in learning resources outside the classroom. In fact, one in three Ontario families has hired a tutor. Today TVO launches Smart Kids Now. Smart Adults Later, a fundraising-based campaign to motivate Ontarians to help TVO continue to deliver exceptional multi-platform educational resources that enhance classroom learning and get kids ready for success in school.
TVO's Smart Kids Now. Smart Adults Later campaign is built on the idea that all kids have dreams of what they'll be when they grow up. TVO offers innovative…
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DENIED. We’re still surprised (and most anyone who tells you they feel otherwise is pretty much full of it).
I mean, many of us had suggested a full-on denial could happen – and the overall tone of the public hearing last month surely had some believing it was a possibility, but it was pretty difficult to find anyone who would actually say with any certainty before Thursday afternoon this deal would be nixed. The CRTC hasn’t really fully said “No” to a significant deal since Vidéotron tried to buy CFCF in the 1990s and Power Corporation wanted to buy Quebec…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications reported a third quarter net profit of $466 million down from $491 million reported from the previous year. Revenues for the three-month period ended September 30, 2012 increased about 1% to $3.17 billion, up from $3.13 billion a year earlier. It added 76,000 postpaid net wireless subscribers and says smartphone subscribers now represent 65% of its wireless base, up 13%.
“Our top line and operating profit growth in the third quarter was highlighted by strong postpaid wireless smartphone sales and accelerated wireless data revenue growth, as well as strong margins in both…
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WATERLOO – Research In Motion has been selected by EnStream LP, a joint venture of Canadian carriers Bell, Rogers and Telus, to provide its Secure Element Manager (SEM) solution to manage credentials on wireless handsets in Canada that support Near Field Communication (NFC) services. NFC-enabled smartphones can be used as “digital wallets” that allow payments to be deducted from stored accounts simply by placing the phone in front of a transponder at the retail point of sale. SaskTel also confirmed they have partnered with EnStream and will exclusively utilize their Secure Element Management (SEM) platform.
RIM's…
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