TORONTO – Rogers is holding on to all of the Toronto Blue Jays MLB games this season.
The company said that Rogers Sportsnet and Sportsnet Radio The FAN 590 will air all 162 games, starting with the team’s season-opener on April 1st. Sportsnet will broadcast 124 games on its four regional channels and 38 games on its national network Sportsnet One, all in HD.
"Viewers and listeners will see a much more integrated broadcast in our television and radio production," said Rob Corte, executive producer of live events, in the announcement. "We’re excited about the opportunity to engage Blue Jays…
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OTTAWA – Look for a number of new TV stations from the likes of Rogers and the CBC to hit the Canadian airwaves.
The CRTC approved five applications from Rogers this week for national, English-language Category 2 channels. Specifically:
– The Competition Channel, which will air reality-based programming, including competition-based reality and do-it-yourself makeover programs;
– Contessa, which will feature programming on relationships, lifestyle, beauty, trends and style, and focus on the interests and needs of working women aged between 25 and 54 years;
– Epic TV which plans to show classic television programming;
– Luxury Living featuring all things that can bring a…
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NEW YORK and TORONTO – Rogers is bringing iVillage, the largest on-line community for women, to Canada this spring after striking a long-term partnership with the site’s parent NBCUniversal.
The expansion marks the first major international partnership for iVillage since the launch of iVillage.co.uk in December 2000. Rogers will independently operate the new iVillage.ca site, which it says will reflect iVillage’s brand mission as a trusted and reliable community where women come to connect, share advice, find life tools and engage in conversations that matter most to them.
“We’re excited to partner with iVillage and bring the leading women’s digital brand to…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media has named Jason Tafler to the newly created position of chief digital officer.
Tafler will be responsible for strategic and operational leadership for the digital division of Rogers Media with accountability for financial and operational targets, the company said Wednesday. Rogers Digital Media is responsible for over 250 Rogers Digital products including brand websites, mobile products and client microsites as well as pure digital plays such as Sweetspot.ca, BRANCHEZ -VOUS!, PoolExpert and Canadian Parents.
A veteran of the U.S. and Canadian digital sector, Tafler comes to Rogers from PointRoll, a provider of digital marketing solutions and technology…
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OTTAWA – Broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) say they need greater regulatory flexibility to offer on-demand services to compete with over the top service such as Netflix, particularly if they continue to take eyeballs away from conventional distributors.
This was the one primary messages to come out of a session on over the top (OTT) services at the Canadian Media Production Association’s annual Prime Time event in Ottawa last week.
David Purdy, vice-president of video product management at Rogers Cable, insisted that OTT services will have an impact on the Canadian broadcasting system and as a result, it’s only fair…
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OTTAWA – Three major actors in the Canadian broadcasting sector say they are bullish on the future of the system in the face of new technologies and changing consumer TV viewing behaviour.
CBC/Radio-Canada, Astral Television Networks and Shaw Media said they have taken steps to ready themselves for new consumer content consumption behaviour resulting from new mobile technologies and other emerging platforms. They noted they did this even in the face of a significant advertising downturn resulting from the global financial recession.
During a panel moderated by former Global TV News anchor Kevin Newman, representatives from the three companies…
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WHILE BRAD SHAW is now CEO of a much different Shaw Communications than the one his father JR and brother Jim built and ran, one aspect hasn’t changed.
No handlers.
As a journalist, I’ve interviewed many CEOs and other senior executives at large corporations. Most of them come to interviews with one or two others in tow who keep tabs on the interview or have other tasks. Nothing wrong with that, but it’s just not the way the Shaws do things. Never been their style. When a reporter calls the company with a question, invariably the president or CEO is the…
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OTTAWA – Opponents and supporters of vertical integration faced off in a feisty debate during a session at the Canadian Media Production Association’s (CMPA) annual Prime Time conference in Ottawa on Thursday.
Representing the “prosecution” in the session, titled Vertical Integration on Trial, Telus argued that producers and independent broadcasters are going to be disadvantaged by having fewer outlets for distribution. As well, broadcasters would have to fight the vertically integrated company on issues such as channel placement.
A critical issue, according to Michael Hennessey, senior VP of government and regulatory affairs at Telus, is one of access where…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications falling share of new post-paid customers, thanks in part to new competition from a shared network Bell and Telus launched in November, 2009, has led Canaccord Genuity to recommend that wireless investors switch from Rogers to Telus.
Rogers gained only 49,000 of such customers (a much more lucrative lot compared to less valuable “pre-paid” top-up card customers) in the quarter compared to 109,000 the year before. In comparison, Bell gained about 157,000 of those customers and Telus scooped up 109,000 last quarter, noted Canaccord Genuity analysts Dvai Ghose and Sanford Lee.
As a result, Rogers accounted for…
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TORONTO, – Asian Television Network has launched nine more South Asian Channels on Rogers Cable, bringing the total to 33. The channels are aimed at Canada’s growing South Asian community says Shan Chandrasekar, ATN’s president and CEO.
The new services are: Zoom (Bollywood entertainment channel); Times Now (general English news channel); ATN Malayalam (eneral interest channel from Kerala, India); Sony Aath (Bengali film channel); SAB TV (comedy); Punjjabi TV: (general interest); Channel I Bangla (24/7digital Bangla channel); NDTV Good Times (young, fine living); Jus Punjabi (American-Punjabi station).
www.asiantelevision.com
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