SINCE TENS OF MILLIONS of us tuned in to watch our Canadian skiers, skaters and sliders perform at their best on their biggest stage, the Olympics, wouldn’t we also want to watch our own actors, writers and directors doing the very same thing on their biggest stage, prime time?
The answer is “yes, of course,” if given the chance.
The Olympic broadcast consortium spent multiple millions acquiring the rights to the 2010 Games and then multiple millions more preparing, building the facilities and staffing the place with the best Canada has to offer in terms of broadcasters and broadcasting. The 1,400…
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TORONTO – Following Telus’ lead, Rogers is offering DRM-free (digital rights management) song downloads through its music service.
Visitors to Rogers’ full-track over-the-air music downloads store urMusic can now purchase and download DRM-free (also known as MP3) music tracks to their wireless device or computer, and then transfer them to their other digital music-capable electronic devices, free of charge. Rogers is also offering customers the ability to pre-order albums in advance of their release date.
DRM-free music tracks are priced at $0.69, $0.99 and up to $1.29 per track. Full album purchases generally cost less than $10, plus applicable download…
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TORONTO – Canadian mobile phone users will soon be able to make video calls across competing mobile networks after Rogers, Bell and Telus announced the completion of two-way mobile video calling trials.
Mobile video calling is currently available through several carriers in Canada, but both callers must be on the same carrier’s network using compatible handsets. When inter-carrier mobile video calling is launched video calling will be possible across multiple carrier networks and will create North America’s largest two-way mobile video calling community, say the companies.
"We are proud to be part of the first inter-carrier partnership in North America to…
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TORONTO – Rogers is offering new wireless data roaming packs aimed at customers who are frequent travelers to the U.S.
The new North American One Rate wireless data plans are designed to provide additional cost certainty to customers travelling south of the border, along with the flexibility and convenience to use their device’s data capabilities (e-mail, mobile web surfing, downloading documents) the same way they would while in Canada, without incurring roaming fees when using data within their monthly allotment.
"As Canada’s leading wireless carrier and smart phone leader, we are thrilled to offer even more innovative roaming solutions”, said John Boynton,…
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TORONTO – While an Ontario Superior Court judge on Friday gave Shaw Communications the green light to move ahead with its plan for CanWest Global, other companies have come forward to say, “hey, we would have liked to get in on the bidding, too.”
However, companies which wanted to take a close look at the troubled broadcaster and newspaper publisher had to first sign a non-disclosure agreement which prevented them from even talking to Goldman Sachs, which is the key creditor as the 65% equity holder of CW Media Holdings, the division which owns and operates CanWest’s specialty channels.
Canwest…
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TORONTO – Rogers will purchase for cancellation 4 million of its outstanding Class B non-voting shares for an aggregate purchase price of $125.5 million.
The shares represent approximately 0.83% of the Class B shares outstanding at February 11, 2010. The private purchase was made under an issuer bid exemption order issued by the Ontario Securities Commission.
www.rogers.com
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CALGARY – The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved Shaw’s takeover bid of Canwest, despite a last minute rival bid lead by investment fund Catalyst Capital, the Asper family and two former Rogers execs.
The Calgary-based cable company has entered into agreements with Canwest and certain 8% senior subordinated noteholders for a minimum commitment to buy $95 million worth of Class A voting shares in a restructured Canwest, which represents 20% equity and an 80% voting interest.
Shaw’s initial equity interest will exceed 20% depending on the number of Canwest creditors that elect cash rather than shares in restructured…
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BARCELONA and TORONTO – Rogers will become the first Canadian wireless provider to offer the new Acer Liquid e smart phone device.
The Acer Liquid e features the latest Android 2.1 operating system, a 3.5” high definition display, and advanced new features and functionality. The device will be available exclusively from Rogers beginning this spring.
“Rogers is very excited to be partnering with a highly respected global brand like Acer to bring the Acer Liquid e to Canadian consumers”, said John Boynton, EVP of marketing, in the announcement. “By exclusively launching the first Acer smart phone in Canada, we are once…
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TORONTO – Goldman Sachs has thrown its support behind a new proposal to restructuring Canwest Global Communications and bring it out of bankruptcy protection.
A group led by Toronto-based investment fund Catalyst Capital which includes the Asper family, former Rogers Broadcasting chief Rael P. Merson and John Tory, announced today that they have submitted to the Canwest Special Committee a restructuring proposal to facilitate the company’s emergence from the CCAA process.
The proposal requires no material amendments to the original court filed plan and would maximize the value of the Canwest estate while expediting its exit from the CCAA process as…
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VANCOUVER – Ratings for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games continue to skyrocket.
According to data from Canada’s Olympic broadcast media consortium, 6.2 million watched Team Canada defeat Norway on day 5 of the Games, with viewership rocketing to nearly 9 million in the final minute of the 8-0 rout.
The mid-afternoon audience watching Maëlle Ricker win Canada’s second gold medal peaked at 5.9 million viewers as she crossed the finish line in ladies’ snowboard cross, while an average audience of 3.7 million watched the event itself. 2.9 million watched on CTV as she received her medal.
The day 6 recap reported that 3.5 million…
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