TORONTO – One of Aesop’s centuries-old fables is a good way to summarize Canadian broadcasters and their desire for a new fee-for-carriage, according to the vice-president and general manager of television services at Rogers Communications.
David Purdy was responding to a Cartt.ca story earlier this week quoting CTVglobemedia executive vice-president Paul Sparkes, who, in response to a recent speech made by RCI vice-chairman Phil Lind, said Canadian cable companies are desperate fear-mongers when it comes to the possibility the CRTC might adopt a fee-for-carriage model for local conventional broadcasters.
The issue was front and centre during April’s hearing into the policies governing…
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QUEBEC CITY – Since Friday night, when Quebec’s floundering broadcast station TQS began stripping its news operations, the TV network has been ignoring its obligation to produce a certain number of hours of news programming, as set out in its CRTC licence.
That doesn’t sit well with CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein.
“We have a lot of problems with your application,” von Finckenstein said Monday at the opening of hearings in Montreal into TQS’s pitch for a new licence containing no news programming obligation at all. “You’re asking us to make an exception, one that would be in violation…
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TORONTO – Rogers Wireless and Research In Motion today introduced the new BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smart phone to customers in Canada that works on a cellular network and within a Wi-Fi bubble.
The new smart phone supports Rogers Home Calling Zone, a UMA (unlicensed mobile access)-based service from Rogers that enables customers to make unlimited voice calls over a wireless Internet connection. Rogers is the first carrier in Canada to offer UMA services with its new Rogers Home Calling Zone.
The new service leverages the dual-mode Wi-Fi(R) and cellular capabilities of the BlackBerry Pearl 8120 smart phone for both…
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TORONTO – Another recent attack on the fee-for-carriage issue by Rogers Communications shows carriers are desperate and have resorted to fear-mongering, said CTVglobemedia executive vice-president Paul Sparkes.
Last week, Rogers vice-chairman Phil Lind used an appearance at a Toronto conference to again urge the CRTC to dismiss broadcasters’ requests for a new fee for carriage of their over-the-air TV stations, calling any such new fee, if the Commission goes that way, to be dismissed as a new tax.
“Rogers is fear mongering,” said Sparkes. “We are seeing the politics of desperation here, and rather obvious and transparent attempts to…
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TORONTO – Dan Cimoroni has been named vice-president, business development and Nelson Millman as executive producer, radio, of the CTV-Rogers Media consortium which will cover the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games.
Millman will also continue to serve in his current role as vice-president, general manager and program director of Rogers Media’s The Fan 590/Fan Sports Radio Network.
“Dan and Nelson bring a combined 55 years of experience to our Olympic team. Both boast impressive credentials as leaders in their respective fields and have developed strong relationships within the sports and business industries,” said Pelley in a release…
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FREDERICTON – RTNDA Canada continued its cross-country awards program this weekend with the RTNDA Awards at the Atlantic Region Pro Dev Seminar & Awards Banquet held Saturday evening in Fredericton, NB.
The 2007 TELEVISION winners are:
Bert Cannings Award – Best Newscast * Global News Maritimes for Gagetown Soldiers Killed – (Medium Market)
Charlie Edwards Award – Spot News * Global News Maritimes for "Armed Robbery" * Global News Maritimes for "Tire Fire" – (Honourable Mention)
Dan McArthur Award – In-depth/Investigative * CTV Atlantic for Climate of Change
Dave Rogers Award – Short Feature * CTV Atlantic for Kitchen…
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TORONTO – At a media conference today in Toronto, Rogers Communications vice-chairman Phil Lind will go on the attack once again against the conventional broadcasters’ goal of gaining a fee for carriage – and against his fear the CRTC might create such a fee and tie it to the production of local news.
Rogers, the recent buyers of the Citytv network and owners of the OMNI group of conventional stations, has asked for no such fee and fears the Commission may be thinking about poking its nose too deeply into the inner workings of the industry.
“Canada’s broadcast regulator,…
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OTTAWA – Despite an auspicious beginning, the Advanced Wireless Spectrum auction that began this week still has the ingredients for “both a robust auction process and a more competitive marketplace thereafter,” predicts the SeaBoard Group in a white paper released Wednesday.
The SeaBoard Group contends that Canadians have not lost the promise of more choice in cell phone providers and of lower cost services because of the seeming bidder disarray. It points out that 24 of 29 new-entrant bidders remain in the race.
The research firm predicts that Videotron and MTS Allstream, now bidding on its own, will bid…
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TORONTO – Rogers Media Television announced Wednesday that effective immediately Rogers TV Sales will be managing and selling national advertising for Channel m in Vancouver.
Rogers’ Television received CRTC approval to acquire the Vancouver-based over-the-air ethnic channel at the end of March.
“We are pleased to bring forward more opportunities for advertisers to reach multilingual audiences in western Canada,” said Mitch Dent, executive vice-president of Sales at Rogers Media Television.
It was also announced that Rogers TV Sales would no longer be managing advertising sales for OMNI Vancouver (CHNU) and OMNI Manitoba (CIIT) following the purchase of these…
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AS THE ADVANCED wireless spectrum auction gets under way today, there are a couple of things that are clear.
First, Canadian consumers will see several new wireless operators (one or two national, some more regional) inside of 18 months after the auction’s end in three to five weeks, driving down retail prices and increasing competition for their business.
Second, thanks to the new rules favoring any newcomers to Canadian wireless that demand mandated roaming on the existing incumbents’ networks, Rogers Communications is going to take on most of that burden. It will tax the company’s system somewhat,…
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