OTTAWA – The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC), based at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law, has asked the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to open an investigation into targeted web advertising.
Using certain technologies, including deep packet inspection, Canadian ISPs can identify tendencies of its users in order to better target the web ads sent to their computer screens as they search. The idea is to deliver better, more relevant ads to consumers and deliver better, more relevant customers to advertisers.
The practice, known as behavioral targeting, is used in many jurisdictions, such as…
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TORONTO – Rogers Sportsnet has announced it will increase the number of Toronto Maple Leafs games it will televise to 28 this season, more than any other broadcaster. All telecasts will be available in high definition on Rogers Sportsnet HD.
Sportsnet will also broadcast an exhibition game between Toronto and the Buffalo Sabres on September 22nd, which is at no cost to fans to attend.
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DARTMOUTH – Newcap and Rogers Broadcasting Limited have agreed to exchange radio stations subject to approval from the CRTC.
Newcap will exchange its CFDR AM broadcast licence in Halifax, Nova Scotia and receive in return Rogers’ CIGM AM licence in Sudbury, Ontario and $5.0 million. Both parties have simultaneously submitted applications for this transfer of assets along with applications requesting conversion of the AM licences to FM.
"If approved by the CRTC, this transaction will improve service to the public with superior FM quality signals in both Halifax and Sudbury. We have owned CFDR for over 20 years, and…
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TORONTO – The unions and guilds that represent Canada’s professional performers, directors and screenwriters are lining up in support of The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) efforts to secure equitable agreements for program rights in negotiations with the major private broadcast networks, as well as the CBC.
"We support the independent producers’ position that equitable terms of trade agreements are needed to secure fairer deals for program rights," said Stephen Waddell, national executive director of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA). "Reaching fair terms for granting rights is a struggle with which we…
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A NUMBER OF PEOPLE have mentioned through 2008 that this has been an especially tumultuous year for the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, and some have questioned its vitality.
Regulatory changes, economic challenges, member company departures thanks to acquisitions, more new technology. Aren’t all of these issues conspiring to damage the CCSA and its membership? In a word: No. In a few more words: These are the very challenges the CCSA has confronted head-on since its origination. 2008 doesn’t present anything new.
Members have always come and gone. Founding member Fundy Cable is long gone, for example. However, when 500,000-plus-customer…
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MONTREAL – Canada’s English and French-language producers say they are determined to reach a fair deal with television networks as each side prepares to make their case on a new deal for program rights across a variety of platforms and media.
Tomorrow, the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFPTA), which represents the majority of English-language independent producers, is slated to sit down with CTV, Canwest Global and Rogers to begin negotiating so-called “terms of trade” negotiations – framework agreements aimed at defining and valuing program rights. These framework agreements would apply to individual negotiations between broadcasters and producers…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications, in a statement released today, says the nearly $1 billion it bid to increase its spectrum holdings during the current wireless auction will ensure the company is “well prepared to serve its customers now and in the future with leading innovative broadband wireless services.”
"The 20 MHz of Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum gained through the auction supports Rogers’ continued growth strategy, and is a responsible investment particularly in the future diverse and growing opportunities to be found in broadband wireless data services," said Rob Bruce, president, Rogers Wireless. "This additional spectrum provides us with…
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OTTAWA – Finally, after nearly two months of bidding, involving 331 rounds, Canada’s auction of wireless spectrum ended today, but is merely the first wave of change that will transform the nation’s telecommunications industry.
Canadian companies bid a total of $4.25 billion for 282 wireless-airwave licenses, the proceeds are more than twice the amount analysts had expected. The 15 successful bidders of the auction that began May 27 are eligible to receive licenses after making their final payments and showing compliance with Canadian ownership and control requirements.
Rogers Communications, Canada’s largest wireless carrier, bid $999.4 million for 59 licenses, reports…
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GATINEAU – Having taken control of the Citytv network but not the local news cable channel Citytv Toronto fed in Hogtown, CP24, Rogers Media has asked the CRTC for a category 2 digital specialty license for a new channel serving Canada’s most populous city.
CTVglobemedia kept ownership of CP24 when it bought former owner CHUM and spun off Citytv to Rogers.
“The applicant states that most of its programming will be sourced from its local television – OMNI and Citytv stations – and radio news properties. The programming will consist of a mix of local news, traffic, weather, business,…
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MONTREAL – It’s time for Corus Entertainment to jettison its stable of 15 Quebec radio stations, says an analyst’s report.
“Admittedly, Corus Radio’s performance in (fiscal) 2008 has been disappointing relative to plan. Despite the Western skew of the company’s radio operations (40% of total), Corus has been struggling to keep up with industry performance,” reads a report from Genuity Capital Markets media and communications analyst Carl Bayard.
“The reasons: several new competitors in Calgary, where Corus grew by 7% compared to market growth of 13% in Q3/08, and a lagging station group in Quebec, combined with a very soft…
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