TORONTO – Rogers says that small business is big business.
With its small business customers squarely in mind, the company launched an initiative called Rogers Live Agent to provide immediate, direct access to a live representative when calling for support. The service rep will authenticate the customer, assess the business needs, and then engage the appropriate sales, customer care or technical support required, streamlining communication and reducing time-to-resolution.
"At Rogers, we understand the speed of business today”, said Gordon Stein, VP of Rogers’ business segment, in a statement on Monday. “Our small business customers need quick, efficient conversations that provide them with needed information on…
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TORONTO – When it comes to our steadily evolving media world – one which is branching out like a spider web in all directions – there are a total of eight different media consumer personas, according to Richard Bullwinkle (pictured below).
He is the “chief evangelist” for Rovi Corp., the digital media company perhaps best known for supplying the electronic program guides found in so many cable and satellite boxes, and Wednesday evening was the guest speaker for a CTAM Canada event held at the Rogers Centre.
The company conducted a trio of studies in 2009/10 with businesses and consumers in…
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TORONTO – OMNI Television will bump up its supper hour broadcast of OMNI News: Mandarin Edition from 30 minutes to a full hour beginning Monday.
The popular newscast will continue to serve and reflect the growing Mandarin language population in OMNI.2’s coverage area in its same timeslot, Monday to Friday at 5:00 p.m. ET, the station said Thursday.
The Rogers-owned multilingual and multicultural channel said that the move is designed to keep pace with audience demand.
“By expanding our current Mandarin news program, OMNI is better able to meet the evolving information needs of the growing Mandarin language community,” said national…
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TORONTO – CanWest will add a new specialty channel to its portfolio with the launch of Global Reality Channel this summer.
Billed as Canada’s first and only destination for reality programming 24/7, the channel will air reality shows and franchises from around the world including Survivor, Big Brother and The Apprentice UK.
It is the company’s first Global-branded specialty channel.
“Global Reality Channel is a natural extension of the Global brand," said Walter Levitt, CMO of Canwest Broadcasting, in the announcement. "Global brings instant credibility and increased appeal for this new channel.”
Global Reality Channel will launch on July 1,…
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TORONTO – The CRTC is incorrectly interpreting the BBM statistics on television viewership numbers during its examination of community television policy, says Rogers.
As part of this proceeding, the Commission issued a report on April 8 which Rogers says has been used by some critics of cable-provided community television to "prove" that Rogers TV is not often watched. The report states that in the 2008-09 broadcast year, Rogers’ community television stations generated a 0.2% share of the Canadian English-language television market.
But according to a Canadian Media Research Inc. (CMRI) study commissioned by Rogers TV, that figure is deceptive because BBM share…
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TORONTO – Smart phone users helped to boost profits at Rogers by 23% for its first quarter of 2010, the company reported Wednesday.
But increased competition in the wireless industry contributed to a decline in growth in its wireless subscriber adds. Rogers signed on 47,000 net postpaid wireless subscribers, 57% fewer than in the same quarter last year.
President and CEO Nadir Mohamed described the company as being “off to a solid start in 2010."
"Our focus on wireless data and attracting and retaining higher value customers continues to pay dividends, while the improved results in our media division reflect the actions we took…
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TORONTO – Local news personality Anne Mroczkowski is joining Global Toronto’s flagship 6pm newscast.
After being abruptly cut from CityTV’s primetime newscast in January after a stint lasting more than two decades, Mroczkowski will join Leslie Roberts as co-anchor of the Global Toronto News Hour beginning June 1st.
“Leslie and Anne are an unbeatable team," said Patrick O’Hara, VP of Eastern Stations and GM of Global Toronto, in the announcement. "Their collective experience, knowledge, and deep connection with viewers in the Greater Toronto Area make them a winning combination. We are very pleased to welcome Anne to Global Toronto and…
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TORONTO – It sounds like Rogers isn’t interested in making any changes to their community channels.
As the CRTC began its review of the community TV policy framework, Canada’s largest cable operator released a survey that found that over 70% of its cable customers “strongly value” their Rogers community television service, just the way they are.
The research, conducted by The Strategic Counsel last month, determined that Rogers cable customers in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland “support the community channel as is and reject proposals to substitute programming created by those with special interests”.
Rogers’ customers advocated that local information programming (82%), festivals and…
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TORONTO – Food Banks Canada has been recognized by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association in recognition of its efforts to improve the lives of Canadians in need through its fundraising program ‘Phones for Food’.
The program, which is sponsored by Rogers Communications, received a ‘Connected to the Community’ award at the CWTA’s gala last week. ‘Phones for Food’ is a collection and recycling program that collects used wireless devices that are then refurbished or recycled with proceeds directed to Food Banks Canada.
"Food Banks Canada is an important partner in our efforts to reduce electronic waste by collecting used wireless devices”…
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Perry Hoffman
OTTAWA – It’s not very often the country’s telecommunications and cable firms agree with anything the regulator has to say, but on foreign ownership rules, they at least partially support the CRTC’s proposal to a Parliamentary committee studying the matter.
One after the other last week, they addressed the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology on the need to liberalize current foreign investment restrictions for both telecommunications and broadcasting companies. They echoed the CRTC’s position that regulations can protect Canadian content on television and radio.
“While we do not believe there is a problem today, given…
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