TORONTO – SCN was a publicly-owned educational broadcaster which the Saskatchewan provincial government decided to shutter in 2010. After some local complaints, the politicians instead made the decision to try and sell it.
After hearing mostly crickets, the only offer that didn’t include any ongoing government financial support came from Bluepoint Investments, a private company backed by a former advertising executive from Toronto, Bruce Claassen. Bluepoint’s $350,000 offer was accepted by the provincial government mere days before the plug was to be pulled on the broadcaster. Then, in approving the sale months later in early 2011,…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s biggest telecom companies have joined forces in calling for a national set of standards to regulate wireless contracts.
In a shared position statement submitted to the CRTC on Thursday, the regulatory heads of Bell, Rogers, Telus as well as the Public Interest Advocacy Center (PIAC), on behalf of the Consumers’ Association of Canada and Canada without Poverty, said that there is “a clear need” for the Commission to “lead an initiative involving all stakeholders with the ultimate objective of bringing cohesion and uniformity to this area for the benefit of consumers and the industry alike”.
Noting that five…
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OTTAWA – The Competition Bureau confirmed Wednesday that it does not plan to challenge Rogers' acquisition of an ownership position in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE). The Competition Bureau noted that it has one year following completion of such transactions during which it can bring the matter before the Competition Tribunal.
MLSE is Canada's largest sports and entertainment company, and owns and operates the Air Canada Centre, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Toronto Raptors, the Toronto FC, the Toronto Marlies, Leafs TV and RaptorsTV. Rogers announced on December 9, 2011 that it, along with Bell…
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MONTREAL and TORONTO – Citytv is going to Montreal as Rogers Media announced the purchase of Metro 14 (CJNT-TV) from Channel Zero today.
While CJNT is licensed as a multicultural station, Rogers wants to spread the Citytv brand across the country and has chosen not to brand it an OMNI station, which is what its multicultural stations in Ontario, B.C. and Alberta are called.
Terms of the sale of the station were not disclosed (but we bet the sale price is for more than the 12 bucks Channel Zero bought it for from former owner Canwest Global…
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WATERLOO – Bell Media/CTV, Rogers Media and CBC are the latest Canadian broadcasters to sign on with Dejero to help expand their newsgathering capabilities.
The Dejero LIVE+ Platform is a line of centrally-managed products that enables both traditional and online broadcasters to transmit high quality HD or SD live video through cellular networks, using a variety of mobile devices from any location. Since its debut at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the three broadcasters have all integrated various products from the Dejero LIVE+ Platform into their production workflow.
“While all broadcasters are challenged by the immense complexities of live newsgathering,…
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TORONTO – Sportsnet has nailed down the Canadian television, online and mobile rights to the more than 250 soccer matches leading up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil.
Sportsnet’s coverage, which kicks off June 8, will include qualifiers and friendlies between teams from Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Netherlands, Portugal, England, Croatia, Italy, Greece and the Czech Republic.
“Sportsnet is committed to fueling fans with premium soccer content across multiple platforms,” said Navaid Mansuri, VP of finance and sports programming for Rogers Media, in Monday’s announcement. “We are thrilled to be leading Canadians down the exciting road to the 2014 FIFA…
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TORONTO – CBC/Radio-Canada, Rogers Media and Shaw Media are teaming up on a new venture that allows advertisers to bid for space on their respective digital advertising inventory in real-time.
Called the Canadian Premium Audience Exchange (CPAX), the gateway allows access to over 100 domains in both English and French, reaching an audience of more than 15 million Canadians. Scheduled to launch on May 16, CPAX allows advertisers one-stop shopping to reach a targeted audience, while users receive advertisements that are most relevant and of interest to them.
The three media companies will direct a portion of their inventory into CPAX but…
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by Steve Faguy
GATINEAU – It's the most important decision about private French-language television in Canada in years, but the CRTC's renewal of licenses for major broadcasters contained few surprises.
On Thursday, the CRTC renewed broadcasting licenses for Quebecor's Groupe TVA, Astral Media and the independent specialty channel Canal Évasion. The Commission also reviewed the licenses of the V network (formerly TQS), which was given exceptional relief from its regulatory obligations in 2008 when purchased by its current ownership while in bankruptcy. For the most part, the decisions were based on proposals made during discussions at the hearings in Montreal in…
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TORONTO – Independent producers who attended a special Banff Media Festival preview event and reception in Toronto on Wednesday were likely very encouraged to hear top Canadian media executives speak about the value they place on high-quality original programming.
During a special media leader panel discussion, David Purdy, senior vice-president of content for Rogers Communications, cited several examples of successful TV channels – all of which feature a high percentage of original TV series content in their daily broadcast schedules. “If you look at A&E, they used to carry Murder She Wrote and CSI,” Purdy said. “A&E is now going…
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TORONTO – Just in time for the NBA playoffs, Rogers Digital Media has finalized a two-year deal extension with NBA.com as the exclusive Canadian representative for its online advertising.
Rogers Digital Media has been representing NBA.com in Canada since 2010. The new deal, which runs through September 2014, allows Rogers the ability to offer clients customized integrated business solutions designed to meet their brand objectives, and advertisers the opportunity to align their business with the NBA brand.
As the official online destination for the National Basketball Association (NBA) and its 30 teams, NBA.com has an average of more than 40 million…
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