By Ahmad Hathout
Rogers is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to review whether the CRTC erred when it approved a request by Timeless Inc. to have staff-assisted mediation instead of accepting its own proposal to privately negotiate terms to carry OneSoccer.
The cable giant said in the judicial review application filed Monday that it proposed to carry the OneSoccer channel on similar terms as the three directly comparable channels on Rogers TV, thus claiming to resolve an undue preference decision made against it in March 2023.
Instead, the application claims, the CRTC approved in a letter last month…
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Bell Media’s Crave and CTV announced Monday the new Crave Original crime drama The Borderline will debut Sunday, Feb. 8, immediately following Super Bowl LX on CTV and Crave.
New episodes will stream Fridays on Crave, beginning Feb. 13.
Set and filmed in the Thousand Islands region and on location across southern Ontario including in Grimsby, Brantford, Cobourg, Bowmanville and Toronto, The Borderline is produced by Shaftesbury in partnership with Crave, with the participation of the Rogers Series Fund, in association with global film and TV studio Fifth Season, which is also handling worldwide distribution rights (outside…
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By Ahmad Hathout
CBC has appointed Douglas Smith as its executive vice-president, effective February 2.
Smith most recently worked at Paramount as senior vice-president of streaming and content licensing since January 2023, “where he was instrument in orchestrating the Canadian launches of Paramount+ and Pluto TV,” a Thursday press release said. Prior to that, he was senior vice-president of client relations at Paramount Global.
“He combines rigorous business discipline with a strong ability to navigate teams through periods of industry disruption,” the release added.
“Doug has an extensive track record in the media industry and a deep understanding of the Canadian ecosystem and…
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Proceeding on new mobile reporting standard launched
By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC said Thursday that it will begin making certain annual telecom coverage data public.
The previously confidential coverage data includes internet and mobile service by provider, technology and speed down to the 250-metre road segment level, which the regulator said will make it easier for Canadians to easily find services available in their area at a more granular level.
The data will be shared with Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED), which will use that it to update its national broadband map.
The decision comes in response to a request by British Columbia’s…
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Still had impact on subscriber base
By Ahmad Hathout
The head of Corus said Wednesday that the removal of some of its kids channels has boosted other brands in unprecedented ways.
“Our thoughtful rationalization of our kids specialty portfolio to better reflect viewer demand has resulted in some audience consolidation into our remaining kids brands,” John Gossling said on a first-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday.
“We saw YTV and, for the first time ever, Boomerang position within the top 20 networks this fall,” he continued. “These achievements underscore the effectiveness of our strategic programming decisions and the continued appeal of our brands to…
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The Commission for Complaints for Telecom-television Services (CCTS) received a record number of complaints from telecom and TV customers this past fiscal year, with billing problems continuing to be the leading complaint issue, according to the CCTS’s annual report published early Wednesday.
Between Aug. 1, 2024 and July 31, 2025, the CCTS accepted 23,647 complaints from customers across Canada. This represents a 17 per cent increase from the previous year and is the highest number of complaints accepted in the CCTS’s history.
The top 10 issues raised across all service types were: incorrect charge for…
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Rogers last week announced it is investing $50 million over five years in a new national program designed to help Canadian families address the problem of excessive screen use in youth.
Called Screen Break, the program aims to help youth develop healthy digital habits via four program pillars: parental tools, youth programming, research and partnerships, and education and advocacy.
“Connectivity brings us together and it connects us to the world around us, but excessive screen time is a real concern for our customers,” Tony Staffieri, Rogers president and CEO, said…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The CRTC approved Friday a proposal it made this past fall that would allow broadcasters to introduce spoken word programming on the FM dial.
The regulator will allow licensees of commercial FM radio stations to devote more than 50 per cent of weekly programming for that type of content for a one-year trial period.
The companies must notify the commission by letter within 30 days of the end of the broadcast week that they have participated in the trial and whether they intend to continue and for how long. If before the end of one year,…
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By Ahmad Hathout
The Quebec Court of Appeal ruled last month that a trial court should consider punitive damages in a proposed class action lawsuit involving the reimbursement of phone unlocking fees.
In February 2024, the Quebec Superior Court authorized a class of plaintiffs to sue Rogers, Bell, Telus, and Quebecor for charging phone unlocking fees to Quebec customers between the period of August 14, 2014 and December 1, 2017.
But the court denied a request to allow the class to seek punitive damages, which would go beyond reimbursement, in part because it believed that the telecoms did not act maliciously. The…
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By Ahmad Hathout
Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) has formally made way for a stretch of spectrum to be used for wireless backhaul capacity.
The department last month removed the multipoint communication system (MCS) designation for the 21.2-21.8 GHz and 22.4-23 GHz bands to create a contiguous stretch for fixed point-to-point systems, such as wireless backhaul. The repurposed spectrum will be licensed on a first-come, first-served basis.
“Enhanced backhaul capacity will be required so that the increased data traffic in a mobile network between the base station and a user can be effectively…
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