TORONTO – Rogers Communications has donated $50,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to help victims of the floods in Pakistan, and has launched a text-to-donate campaign for its wireless customers.
All funds raised will support the Red Cross in providing food, clothing and shelter to the millions of residents left homeless as a result of the devastating floods that struck the country about three weeks ago.
"Our thoughts are with everyone who is affected by the floods in Pakistan as they face this difficult time. We believe every bit of support will make a difference," said Edward Rogers, EVP of emerging…
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TORONTO – CTV shuffled senior management this week in the wake of Keith Pelley’s surprise departure to Rogers Media.
Phil King has been promoted from president of TSN to president of sports and EVP of programming for CTV Inc., effective immediately. Reporting to CTV president and CEO Ivan Fecan, King assumes control over all of CTV’s sports interests, including TSN, RDS, TSN2, RIS Info Sports, NHL Network and ESPN Classic. Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium will also report through King to Fecan, the company said Thursday. King is scheduled to announce succession plans at TSN and Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium…
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OTTAWA – Should broadband be deemed an essential service for all Canadians in the same way as basic telephone service?
Count the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) firmly on the ‘yes’ side of that question. In a new report called Is Broadband Basic Service, the Ottawa-based consumer organization details how Canada could benefit from such a plan, and how countries like Japan and the European Union have been successful thanks to policy and infrastructure investments that make broadband service a basic right for their citizens. All of which stands in contrast to Canada where no such regime exists –…
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WHY WOULD KEITH PELLEY move to Rogers Communications? That’s the question the industry is asking this week. There are many speculative answers, but let’s try to look at some facts before we lob our own opinion-grenades.
Pelley is a sports guy. A TV guy. A sports TV guy. He’s a heck of a broadcast executive who is still riding a massive wave of goodwill generated by the stellar Winter Olympics broadcast, one which he constructed from the ground up and oversaw. He and his people did a terrific job and with a bit of downtime between now and…
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OTTAWA – Depending on how you look at it, the CRTC sided with both Torstar and Rogers Communications over the carriage dispute of Torstar shopping channel ShopTV. Or neither.
After a public hearing on the matter last month, the Commission offered concessions to both parties in a decision Wednesday. It supported Torstar’s claim that Rogers is offside on the Commission’s 1:1 regulation which says for each BDU-owned channel carried, there must be a similar unaffiliated channel also offered.
“…the Commission determines that where Rogers is counting the House of Commons programming service as a third-party exempt service in order to…
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FINALLY, A CANADIAN, PUBLICLY traded wireline telco has made a real commitment to the future, despite what the country’s financial community thinks.
MTS Allstream has been absolutely crucified in the markets this month for daring to cut its quarterly dividend in order to try to properly prepare the company for what’s next by launching a $125 million fibre to the home overhaul. Good for Pierre Blouin and his team for deciding that if the company is to continue in the wired communications game and gain a real competitive advantage in its service areas, it had to make the fibre-to-the-home switch,…
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TORONTO – Keith Pelley has been hired as president of Rogers Media, the company announced this morning.
He will succeed Tony Viner, who in May announced his plan to retire, beginning September 7.
Pelley, 46, will report to Rogers Communications president and CEO Nadir Mohamed and will have overall responsibility for Rogers Media properties including Rogers Broadcasting, Rogers Publishing, Rogers Digital Media, Rogers Sportsnet, the Shopping Channel, the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers Centre.
He was most recently executive vice-president of strategic planning at CTV and president of Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium (however, with Rogers as a main partner in…
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OTTAWA – New media broadcasting undertakings affiliated with Canadian broadcasters must begin to report financial information to the CRTC starting next year.
After calling for comments on reporting requirements for new media broadcasting undertakings (NMBUs) back in February, the Commission said Friday that revenues and expenditures from NMBUs that are affiliates of licensed broadcasting undertakings will be sent out in the first quarter of 2011 for the 2009 broadcasting year, and will be required on an annual basis going forward.
An example of an affiliated NMBU would be Rogers On Demand Online, a broadband service in which Rogers Cable…
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TORONTO – Rogers has priced an $800 million senior notes offering.
The senior notes were priced at $999.04 per $1,000 principal amount, for an effective yield of 6.117% per annum if held to maturity. They will mature on August 25, 2040.
The net proceeds from the offering of approximately $794 million are intended to be used to help fund redemptions scheduled to come due in 2011. Closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about August 25, 2010.
www.rogers.com
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TORONTO – New sports channel Rogers Sportsnet One will kicks off its inaugural week of programming on August 14 with three live-events in high definition.
First up is a Barclays Premier League match between defending champion Chelsea and West Brom at 12 p.m. (ET)/9 a.m. (PT), followed by two MLB games – San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants at 4 p.m. (ET)/1 p.m. (PT), and the Toronto Blue Jays versus the Los Angeles Angels at 8:30 p.m. (ET)/5:30 p.m. (PT).
Rogers Sportsnet One will feature over 800 hours of live-event programming. At launch, it will be available only on Rogers Cable.
In…
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