OTTAWA – The CRTC has pulled the chair from “The Entertainment Desk” in denying Rogers Communications bid to launch a Category B entertainment news channel. The ruling comes even though the Commission received no interventions, not even from E! the closest potential competitor owned by BCE.
Rogers applied for a broadcasting licence to operate a national, English-language niche specialty Category B service that would be devoted to entertainment news and the entertainment industry back in February.
In its submission, Rogers contended that its proposed channel would not directly compete with E! since that service…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has told Canada’s wireless companies that their collective inaction when it comes to the loss or theft of customer handsets – and the personal data those mobiles contain – will not be tolerated.
Back in the summer, the Commission sent a letter to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association asking what the group and its members (which include all Canadian wireless carriers, big and small) are doing to keep track of lost or stolen mobile phones and help their customers who are impacted. In most other jurisdictions around the world, a central database has been created so…
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TORONTO – Bill Roberts, a 12-year broadcast veteran who built VisionTV into a specialty channel that reached 10 million Canadian homes and was head of S-VOX and most recently ZoomerMedia (TV), is calling it quits effective October 31, 2012.
During Roberts’ tenure he shaped VisionTV into Canada’s preeminent multi-faith and multicultural broadcaster. Seen in over 10 million households across Canada, VisionTV presents inspirational, insightful and original programming that celebrates diversity and promotes understanding among people of different faiths and cultures. Under Roberts’ leadership, VisionTV has grown to be among Canada’s top 25 specialty channels in…
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TORONTO – The Ontario Superior Court has ruled that Look Communications does not have to pay the legal costs of its former executives and officers, except for those of Alex Dolgonos. Look is suing them to recover $15.7 million in restructuring awards the group received when Look sold its spectrum licences to Rogers Communications and Bell Canada for $80 million in 2009 with net proceeds of $64 million.
Executive chairman Michael Cytrynbaum, chief executive Gerald McGoey and chief technology analyst Alex Dolgonos were paid a total of about $14 million. With Look’s…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications says it has expanded its LTE network to an 18 additional markets bringing it to nearly 60% of Canadians. The telecom says it’s the first to launch LTE in Saskatoon and Regina, St. Catharines/Niagara, Oshawa/Pickering/Ajax, Windsor, Sudbury, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières.
Rogers LTE is also available in Victoria, Abbotsford, Kelowna, Kingston, Edmonton, Quebec City, Oakville/Burlington/Hamilton, London/Kitchener/Waterloo, Cambridge and Barrie. Rogers says it will continue to expand its LTE coverage adding additional markets this year and in 2013.
"We're proud to bring LTE first to many more Canadians and we're hearing great…
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MONTREAL – Some 55 years and 40 acquisitions later, Cogeco’s growth from $20 million to $1.5 billion in projected annual revenues stems from focusing on the future, while providing customers the best services and support each day says the company president and CEO. Louis Audet made the remarks last Wednesday to the Canadian Club of Montréal at the Hôtel Delta Montréal, where he also revealed the company’s ambitious data hosting strategy and explained why its controversial decision to purchase Atlantic Broadband remains a “terrific opportunity.”
Audet calls Cogeco’s video, Internet and telephony services that cover more than 1.6 million…
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TORONTO – Citytv is inviting viewers to share the love with a co-viewing app for The Bachelor Canada where they can watch along with friends and ‘bet’ on the eventual winner. The app also features a live chat, a fantasy pool, and behind-the-scenes blog posts from bachelor Brad Smith and host Tyler Harcott.
“This is the first time a co-viewing app has been available to viewers in the history of The Bachelor franchise,” said Andrea Gagliardi, senior director and general manager of broadcasting at Rogers Digital Media.
The free app is available for…
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OTTAWA – Siri, where can I go to recycle you? The answer is the Recycle My Cell program for mobile devices and accessories, which has officially kicked off its third annual Recycle My Cell Student Challenge.
As the national sponsor of Waste Reduction Week in Canada (October 15-21), Recycle My Cell is challenging all Canadian schools and post-secondary institutions to recycle as many old wireless devices as possible, including cell phones, smartphones, wireless PDAs, pagers, accessories and cell phone batteries.
The Challenge, running from October 15 to November 15, encourages students of all…
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ST. JOHN’S – Cutbacks, concentration of ownership, reimagining public media, and even the cable bill of president and CEO Hubert Lacroix were all up for discussion at CBC’s 4th annual public meeting. Ahead of its CRTC renewal hearing scheduled for November 19, executives also called for a regulatory framework that will enable the public broadcaster to maintain a presence “no matter what degree of industry consolidation may happen, or how fast technology and demographics might evolve.”
But before they got to the CBC’s numbers, Lacroix, whose future at the CBC remains unclear as…
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TORONTO – Tapping into a growing trend of households that are cancelling their home phones, Rogers has announced an updated version of its VoIP solution that extends calling beyond computers to regular home phones and iPads. In addition, the Rogers One Number service will be offered to small businesses across Canada later this fall.
"At Rogers, we're passionate about innovation and creating unique Internet experiences for our customers. The exciting enhancements to the Rogers One Number web-based platform are revolutionizing how our customers are connecting to their devices," said John Boynton, Executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Rogers…
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