MONT TREMBLANT – Wandering around (and around) the small, but sold-out trade show floor at the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance on Monday yielded many tales of growth and development, some of which are new, others a bit better-known.
Then in the evening, the Alliance handed out its annual supplier of the year and member of the year awards and honoured a couple of others as well. The CCSA’s 2011 member of the year, a company which “stood above the crowd,” said CCSA president and CEO Alyson Townsend is Co-operative de Cablodistribution de l’Arriere Pays (which serves the Charlesbourg and Lac-Saint-Charles…
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TORONTO – New independent broadcaster Hollywood Suite added to its senior management team Monday, just months before the planned launch of its four HD movie services.
Ellen Baine was named VP programming, Jeremy McCarthy is director of business sevelopment and Kerry Connelly is director of marketing. Additional appointments include Erich Neher as program manager, Ross Finkelstein as program coordinator and Sean O’Neill as producer/editor.
A 33 year veteran of the Canadian broadcast industry, Baine was vice-president of programming at CHUM Television before providing consulting services to media companies such as Obelysk Group, Descriptive Video Works, GlassBox Television and Bluepoint Investments.
McCarthy (pictured below with…
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MONT TREMBLANT – While it may look like the direct, immediate threat of over-the-top video has hit a plateau, don’t be fooled, Clearcable’s Rob McCann told Canadian Cable Systems Alliance delegates this morning.
As the first speaker of the day at the CCSA’s annual Connect conference, McCann woke the independent TV, internet and telecom distributors to news that online video’s growth shows little sign of slowing and that constant network investment is required to keep up with what the likes of Google and Apple are doing.
When companies the size of those two (approximate combined market capitalization, $570 billion) decide to…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC’s decision on new policy for the country’s vertically integrated companies is expected this week, most likely on Wednesday after the markets close, Cartt.ca has learned.
After a five day long hearing in June, the primary issues that emerged were a potential code of conduct that the large companies – Bell Media, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Videotron – must abide by when negotiating for content and/or carriage; exclusive content allowances; the need for a skinny basic programming package; and protections for independent broadcasters and distributors.
Stay tuned – Cartt.ca will have a full report on the new…
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MONTREAL – The short list of TV veterans has been whittled down to three for the position of executive vice-president, French services at the CBC, sources have told Cartt.ca.
While no final decision has yet been taken, we have learned that former TVA executive Philippe Lapointe and former Rogers exec Marc Blondeau are in the running, as is CRTC commissioner Michel Morin.
Morin (right) has over three decades of experience as a journalist with Radio-Canada and was chief editor, television news, for Radio-Canada and RDI from 2003…
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TORONTO – The Canada Media Fund (CMF) has revised its guidelines for all production programs in its Convergent Stream.
The changes to the guidelines, described here, “address the current inconsistencies or conflicts” between the program guidelines and the terms of trade agreement that was reached last April by the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) and private broadcasters Astral Television Networks, Bell Media, Rogers Broadcasting, Shaw Media and Corus Entertainment.
The CMF said that it will continue to monitor both the impact of the current changes to the program guidelines and the terms of trade negotiations…
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THE COUNT DOWN is on for the 18th annual general meeting of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance which opens Sunday at the Fairmont Tremblant in Mont Tremblant, Quebec.
Over 250 attendees from Canadian independent cable operators, suppliers, and other industry delegates from both sides of the border will enjoy an expanded trade show, sessions on innovative technologies featuring speakers such as Terry O’Reilly and Fred Reichheld, and networking opportunities throughout the conference. The CCSA will also announce its Member and Supplier of the Year awards during the Board of Directors’ dinner on September 19th.
To register to attend Connect 2011, which Cartt.ca…
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TORONTO – Rogers Sportsnet and the Canadian Soccer Association have inked a new five-year agreement which includes exclusive multiplatform media coverage for Canada’s Men’s and Women’s national soccer team matches.
In addition to select home and away international friendly matches for Canada’s Men’s and Women’s national teams, Sportsnet will also broadcast Canada’s 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil qualifiers matches.
"We are very proud to continue our partnership with the Canadian Soccer Association and strengthen our commitment to growing the sport of soccer in Canada," said Navaid Mansuri, VP of finance and sports programming for Rogers Media, in Wednesday’s announcement. “Our new…
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TORONTO – Bell Media and CBC/Radio-Canada confirmed Friday that they will form a broadcast partnership to bid for the Canadian media rights for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the Rio 2016 Olympic Summer Games.
The announcement comes one day after Rogers Media said that it would not take part in bidding for those rights, citing scheduling conflicts and other financial priorities. Rogers Media and Bell Media will continue to partner on the broadcast of the London 2012 Olympic Games next summer.
“The Olympic Games are a premium property that requires a strong partnership in order to deliver the level…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media said Thursday that it will not take part in any bidding for the Canadian broadcast rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympic Games as it is pulling out of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium.
The decision will not affect the company’s plans to help show more than 5,000 hours of coverage of London 2012, in conjunction with CTV. Under the current consortium agreement, which spans the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and 2012 London Summer Games, Rogers Media is a 20% stakeholder of the consortium while the remaining 80% interest is controlled by CTV.
The Olympic Games in…
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