BOSTON – Five of North America’s leading cable technologists believe that the industry must continue accelerating the pace of change and innovation to keep up with rapidly shifting consumer trends, as well as moves by rival service providers.
Speaking at the Cable Show here Monday, top tech execs from Rogers Communications, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Mediacom Communications said cable operators must keep developing new video products and apps faster and faster to stay relevant in the emerging multi-screen world. They also believe cable providers must build out their new video platforms and ecosystems quickly to attract fresh…
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BOSTON – A large contingent of Canadian cable delegates who journeyed to Boston rose to lead a standing ovation for Rogers Communications vice-chairman Phil Lind as he was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame Monday night.
Lind and five others, Ann Rallis Carlsen, CEO of Carlsen Resources; legendary CNN broadcaster Larry King; BET Networks chair and CEO Debra Lee; Lenfest Group president and CEO Gerry Lenfest; and Leo Hindery Jr., managing partner of InterMedia Partners (but best known as the CEO who turned around TCI and the fortunes of U.S. cable in the late 1990s leading the so-called “Summer…
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BANFF – Some of the country’s most notable media leaders will share their perspectives on the key issues facing the Canadian media industry at next month’s Banff World Media Festival.
Shaw Media president Paul Robertson, Bell Media president Kevin Crull, Rogers Media president Keith Pelley, and CBC Executive vice-president Kirstine Stewart will participate in a panel discussion on topics such as the impact of further consolidation and vertical integration within the media industry, as well as how the Canadian content industry can become more globally relevant.
Delegates at the event will have the opportunity to submit questions via Twitter (@BanffMedia) or on…
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TORONTO – Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has kicked off a new television campaign to help promote its descriptive audio service AMI-audio.
AMI-audio is the world's largest broadcast reading service whereby volunteers read and record current articles from newspapers and magazines, which are then broadcast on TV and online.
The campaign's 30 second TV spot features a blind man walking into a variety store. He sets up the story of an attempted robbery and then clicks on a television set to reveal the AMI audio channel where the announcer completes the news story. It is airing nationally in English Canada on a…
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I DARE ANYONE TO disagree with this statement: “A child without access to the Internet will find life increasingly difficult in the information age.”
National Cable and Telecommunications Association president and CEO Michael Powell said it Monday morning during his keynote speech to delegates in the standing-room-only opening general session at the 2012 Cable Show here in Boston. He was singing the praises of the U.S. industry’s Connect to Compete initiative where all of the major American cable companies have teamed up with the Federal Communications Commission and a large number of other corporations to push…
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TORONTO – Approximately 600 Rogers telephone and television technicians who service customers across Ontario are set to walk off the job starting June 15, their union said Friday.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) said that it has been at the bargaining table with two of the four contractors for more than a year trying to hammer out a first collective agreement. The contractors are Intek Communications, Wirecomm Systems, SC360 Markham and Dependable Home Tech Scarborough.
CEP said that the one of the key issues is that the companies, contractors of Rogers Communications, pay their employees on a…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC renewed a number of national and regional video-on-demand licences Thursday.
Bell ExpressVu, Cogeco Cable, Rogers Communications, Telus Communications, and Videon Cablesystems had their licences extended through August 31, 2016, while MTS and SaskTel had theirs renewed through August 31, 2015.
Videotron received a short term renewal to August 31, 2014. In addition, it must provide the Commission with proof that it is in compliance with its requirements relating to its English-language feature film inventory by July 16, 2012, and file quarterly compliance reports going forward.
SaskTel and MTS were directed to inform the Commission that they are…
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TORONTO – Following in the steps of Telus and Shaw, Rogers opened the doors on its new retail store concept Thursday in Toronto, a concept that it says puts the emphasis on service and community.
Customers will now receive more tailored one-on-one service, more of the latest technology and products, and more ways to stay connected and entertained than ever before, in a friendly and interactive retail environment, according to the press release.
"This store opening is part of a larger retail transformation to enhance how we service and sell to our customers”, said retail VP Sian Doyle, in the release. …
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OTTAWA – The CRTC is calling for comments on Rogers and BCE's plan to take control of sports channels Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and Gol TV Canada from Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
The application, made public on Thursday, proposes a two-step transaction that would see control of the channels switched to a corporation jointly controlled by Rogers and BCE. The move comes as part of the two communications giants planned purchase of a majority stake in MLSE for $1.32 billion, as announced last December.
An independent report dated December 31, 2011 values Leafs TV, NBA TV Canada and 80.1%…
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TORONTO – There could soon be a little less plastic stored in the wallets of Rogers’ smart phone customers after the wireless carrier confirmed Tuesday that it is teaming up with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) on a new mobile payment system.
Beginning later this year, Canadians with CIBC credit cards can opt to pay using their Rogers near field communications-enabled (NFC) smart phone at merchants where contactless credit card payments are accepted.
The system, the first practical application of Monday’s new mobile payment guidelines, accesses a customers’ credit card information, whether Visa or MasterCard, which has been stored on their…
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