TORONTO – The CBC has received the go ahead to launch an all-sports television channel despite a concerted effort from rival broadcasters to block the application. But it’s not a complete victory for the CBC as the CRTC responded to concerns by further restricting the amount of professional sports the channel can air.
SportsPlus, a national, English-language, Category 2 specialty service plans to offer programming dedicated primarily to the coverage and “celebration of Canadian athletes with a particular emphasis on amateur athletes,” says the CBC. "We feel this is great news for both CBC and the Canadian sports system,"…
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TORONTO – “It’s all good” for CHNU-TV in Vancouver and CIIT-TV in Winnipeg which relaunch Sept. 1 under the new brand name Joytv.
The stations, officially designated Joytv 10 in Vancouver (Joytv 7 in neighbouring Victoria) and Joytv 11 in Winnipeg, boast new schedules that, for the first time, will include simulcasts of top-rated U.S. network programs such as 60 Minutes and Smallville.
The new Joytv tagline, "It’s all good," is designed to reinforce the positive tone, while underlining the enhanced quality and variety of the stations’ new programming lineup.
Toronto-based multimedia company S-VOX, a multi-faith and multicultural…
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TORONTO – Downloaders have never had it so good says Rogers Cable Communications. It says independent research firm comScore Inc. has found its hi-speed Internet speeds the fastest and most reliable for residential customers in the Greater Toronto Area.
“The way we use the Internet has changed and it’s no longer a case of simply using email,” said Phil Hartling, vice-president, consumer services, Rogers Cable. “Canadians are increasingly spending more time online – averaging over 15 hours each week – and are relying on the Internet for all their communications needs: downloading photos, live video streaming and web conferencing. Having…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC today approved four new national, English-language Category 2 specialty television channels. The new channels include Baseball TV from Rogers (sports), Northern Peaks (adult), eScapes (nature) and The Rural Channel with a focus on agricultural programming. All four channels are required to begin airing within the next three years.
Baseball’s been very good to Rogers
The CRTC has approved an application from Rogers for a national, English-language Category 2 specialty station devoted to the coverage of baseball called Baseball TV.
Rogers is proposing to broadcast live Major League Baseball (MLB) games comprising a maximum of 10% of its…
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IF THERE’S ONE THING distributors don’t like, it’s being told what to do by the CRTC.
As we saw during the April hearings into broadcast distribution undertaking and specialty service policy, cable companies don’t like linkage rules or must-carries or carriage restrictions or much of anything else they “have” to do.
Cable altogether opposed the licensing of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network as a must-carry, 91(h) channel in 1999, but the Commission still licensed it as a channel which all distributors must carry as a basic service. APTN is one of those channels that furthers the goals of the…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC has denied a request from Bell and Telus to replace the basic international telecommunications services (BITS) licensing regime with a registration system. Instead, the commission has decided to leave the current licensing regime as is, ruling it allows for more effective enforcement than a registration system.
In its year-long review of the BITS licensing regime the commission received submissions from Bell Aliant Regional Communications, Bell Canada, Saskatchewan Telecommunications, Télébec, MTS Allstream Inc., Primus Telecommunications Canada Inc., Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Communications.
The BITS licensing regime for telecommunications services providers (TSPs) was put in place a…
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DARTMOUTH – Radio broadcaster Newfoundland Capital Corp. posted a profit of $6.4 million in the second quarter, a rise of five per cent over the $5.8 million generated last year.
Sales came in at $27.4 million, up from $26.2 million last year, with broadcasting revenue in the quarter coming in at $26.5 million, an increase of $1.3 million over the year before.
"We are making significant efforts to improve results in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta. We were extremely pleased to see in the July ratings that our overall market share in these two cities has increased. This is a very important…
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RICHMOND, BC, – It will take about five months to complete, but beginning this month Rogers Video stores will begin changing their name to Rogers Plus.
"This change reflects our continuing commitment to movies and games while at the same time increasing the presence of Rogers Cable and Rogers Wireless products and services in our stores," says Chuck van der Lee, president and CEO for Rogers Retail.
The transition from Rogers Video to Rogers Plus will take place between August and December 2008 on a city-by-city basis across the country. The intention is to recognize the growing importance of…
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OTTAWA – Industry Minister Jim Prentice says Bell Mobility and Telus have assured him that any customers mistakenly charged for text message spam can have the charges removed from their bills.
Prentice, in a news release, says he met with the CEOs of both companies to express his "serious concerns" with the fact the plans could charge for unsolicited, unwanted spam. He also said the government has “no intention of interfering with the day-to-day business decisions of private companies or with the choices available to consumers” but added that his officials will continue to “monitor market activity.”
"I would encourage consumers dissatisfied…
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IT’S NOT USUAL FOR a reporter to ignore a story on his beat, but it’s happening right now for me.
The issue is text message fees and the decision by Bell Canada and Telus to begin charging customers who aren’t on any sort of texting or data plan 15-cents for each of their incoming text messages.
I’ve been lax in my coverage of this story because I find the stupidity at all levels of this issue is breathtaking. Maddening. Press, consumers, government and the companies themselves; there is more than enough foolishness to go around.
When the story first…
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