TORONTO – What’s a hot day without shorts?
Rogers Media has kicked off a new programming initiative called Shorts in the City, which claims to offer Canadians the largest selection of serialized on-line video content available in the country. Using content from Vuguru, Michael Eisner’s new media studio in which Rogers is an investor, and international distributor Fireworks, programming will include over 17 shows, 500 episodes and 35 hours of drama, comedy, sci-fi, thriller, horror and animation.
“Shorts in the City is a first in Canada for serialized content, a wide multi-screen and multi-platform release,” said Claude Galipeau, Rogers’…
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TORONTO – Text messaging enthusiasts can now experience more email-type features thanks to the introduction of Rogers’ Extreme Text Messaging service.
Designed to increase convenience and functionality, the new service allows customers to personalize their texting experience by adding a personal signature, setting up distribution lists, blocking text messages from specific telephone numbers, and forward texts automatically to another phone number.
"People want to stay connected with their friends and family, any time, any place and texting is on the rise as is the personalization of communications," said Raj Doshi, VP of mobile product management, in the announcement. "The Rogers Extreme…
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TORONTO – In yet another example of competing networks working together, Rogers Sportsnet, TSN2 and Setanta Canada have signed an agreement that will give the three networks Canadian broadcast rights to England’s Barclays Premier League (BPL) matches over the next three seasons.
BPL is widely regarded as one of the top soccer leagues in the world and is also one of the most-watched. Made up of 20 member clubs, the English-based league includes some of the most popular teams in the world of soccer such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal.
TSN2 will air the early Saturday morning matches, (7:30 am…
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TORONTO – Global Toronto’s supper hour newscast and Rogers-owned 680 News’ coverage called Tornado Aftermath were the central region’s television and radio large market winners at the RTNDA Canada awards.
In the TV category, /A\ News Barrie was recognized for its /A\ News at 6 (medium market), while /A\ London received an honourable mention for Transit Strike.
The best newscast awards in the radio division went to AM800 CKLW for AM800 News 7:30am (medium market), CBC Radio Thunder Bay for CBC Radio Thunder Bay 7:30 AM Newscast (medium market – honourable mention), and 560 CFOS AM Owen Sound for the Noon News on…
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LOS ANGELES – Spurred in many cases by increased competition from telecom providers, the big North American cable operators are now offering ultra-fast wideband service throughout much of the continent.
In a panel discussion at the NCTA’s Cable Show last week, the top engineering executives from five major Canadian and U.S. MSOs spelled out their progress in rolling out DOCSIS 3.0 service, which enables data downstream speeds of 100 Mbps or greater. They also outlined their plans to start using DOCSIS 3.0 to offer faster upstream speeds.
Along among the five large MSOs represented on the panel, Rogers Communications has…
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LOS ANGELES–In a continuing break with their long-time public stance, North America’s largest cable operators are now openly racing to embrace IP video technology for their expanding portfolios of video offerings.
In a panel discussion at the Cable Show here this week, the chief technology officers and senior engineering executives of five major MSOs said they’re all looking to switch their cable systems to IP video so they can offer more video fare, reach more display devices, and cut delivery costs. At least one of the large MSOs, Time Warner Cable, is reportedly gearing up for an IP video…
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LOS ANGELES – Since it went digital, the cable industry has been on a long, arduous search for a pair of improvements: a better remote control and an easier to use interactive program guide.
The on-screen grid guide and multi-buttoned remotes have gone about as far as they can in their ability to navigate the multichannel world. It’s a world not only with hundreds of linear TV channels but also thousands of video on demand titles (and in the case of Comcast, tens of thousands of titles).
Navigating through what’s on with a remote and the standard grid is not a customer-pleasing…
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LOS ANGELES – It was one of the more eclectic panels we’ve seen in a while at a gathering like this.
The final day’s opening general session at the NCTA’s Cable Show featured a couple of the usual suspects (Showtime CEO Matt Stone, Cablevision COO Tom Rutledge), but it also featured a disruptor (TiVo CEO Tom Rogers) a talent agent (William Morris CEO Ari Emanuel) and a newcomer (Twitter CEO Evan Williams).
While the session was entitled “Conversation 2.0, Community, Collaboration and the Future of Media”, the conversation turned to where just about every session’s conversation goes. Essentially: How do we…
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LOS ANGELES – The Canadian cable TV industry was out in force at the Los Angeles JW Marriott Tuesday night to honour industry pioneer JR Shaw, who was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame with five others.
Ted Rogers was the first Canadian inducted, back in 2002. Shaw joins an illustrious list of cable leaders, from Ted Turner and John Malone to Brian Roberts and Gerry Levin.
The rest of the 2010 class included Pennsylvania cable pioneer Yolanda Barco, retired Scientific Atlanta EVP Allen Ecker, Atlanta Braves CEO and former TBS CEO Terry McGuirk, Falcon Cable and Mapleton Investments’…
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TORONTO – Rogers has launched a new program aimed at keeping its customers connected should their devices become lost, stolen or broken.
The Rogers Handset Protection Guarantee program, which launched Tuesday, is available at no cost to Rogers’ wireless customers with an eligible device. The program, which the company says is a first in Canada, offers customers a discount toward repair or the choice of a $0 or subsidized replacement device on their first out-of-warranty occurrence.
"Our customers want to stay in touch with their friends and families any time, any place, any where," said Phil Hartling, SVP of the consumer segment, in…
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