WITH THE GROWING PROLIFERATION of so-called “free-to-air” satellite receivers – and the outright theft of both Bell ExpressVu and Dish Network signals with those falsely-named decoders – the Canadian video distribution industry is looking to re-launch the Coalition Against Satellite Signal Theft.
Representatives from Rogers Cable, Bell and others held a meeting this week to discuss reforming the group or something like it. However, no decision has been made yet to move forward, a source told Cartt.ca.
The hope is that if the legitimate Canadian video distributors can organize, the issue can be pushed back onto the federal government’s…
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TORONTO – The $375 million transaction to purchase the five Citytv conventional television stations by Rogers Media closed earlier today. it received CRTC approval last month.
The stations acquired from CTVglobemedia were under the control of Mr. John D. McKellar, C.M., Q.C., trustee under a voting trust agreement in respect of CHUM Limited. The Citytv network includes Citytv Toronto (CITY-TV), Citytv Winnipeg (CHMI-TV), Citytv Edmonton (CKEM-TV), Citytv Calgary (CKAL-TV) and Citytv Vancouver (CKVU-TV).
In light of this announcement, Rogers Broadcasting, a Rogers Media subsidiary, takes immediate control of the Citytv operations under the direction of Leslie Sole, CEO of Television…
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WITH THE CLOSING OF the Persona purchase by Bragg Communications (owners of EastLink) last last month, the Canadian cable industry lost one of its leading champions – and true characters.
Dean MacDonald worked his way up through the industry beginning at Avalon Cable in Newfoundland 25 years ago, evenutally rising to president of Danny Williams’ Cable Atlantic. The exploits of Dean and Danny are part of industry lore and this reporter once published a photo of the both of them dressed as Carmen Miranda, giant fruity headresses and all.
When Cable Atlantic was sold to Rogers Cable in 1999…
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OTTAWA – The 81st annual Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention kicks off this Sunday in Ottawa and runs through Tuesday, November 6th.
(Cartt.ca, which is a media sponsor, will be there with a team of reporters covering the sessions – and will also produce a printed show daily on-site.)
The 2007 convention theme, Broadcasting, Redefined, “targets issues of fundamental importance to the broadcasting and distribution industries: new technologies and platforms, new business models and partnerships, and new policies and regulations that will allow Canada’s private broadcasters to thrive in an increasingly complex global business environment,“ says the CAB.
There…
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GATINEAU – Canadian sports fans will soon be able to get a far greater dose of American college games as the CRTC today approved the addition of College Sports Television to the eligible satellite list for digital distribution.
Its addition to the Canadian list was sponsored by Rogers Cable.
CBS-owned CSTV is a 24-hour network devoted exclusively to broadcasting college sports programming. It televises 35 men’s and women’s college sports, including football, basketball, baseball, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling and volleyball, from every major conference in the United States.
Click here for the full decision.
www.crtc.gc.ca www.cstv.com
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TORONTO – They don’t say so directly, but The Movie Network’s upcoming marketing campaign meant to support its upcoming free preview weekend will also likely swallow up the launch of its new competitor, Super Channel.
Beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 9 and running until Sunday, November 11, the pay channel’s free preview event will showcase the network’s Hollywood-hit movies, HBO and Showtime programming as well highlight its on-demand and high-definition features.
“There is no better way for a potential subscriber to experience the value and entertainment of The Movie Network than to sample it for themselves and…
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TORONTO – Rogers Home Phone customers in Hamilton can now take advantage of expanded local calling zone boundaries in the region.
Starting today calls from Rogers Home Phone customers in Hamilton, Ancaster, Dundas, Galt, and Stoney Creek to anyone residing in the above exchanges and also in the Binbrook, Freelton, Lynden, Mount Hope, Waterdown, and Winona exchanges are free – meaning there is no need to dial “1” before the number and users will not be charged long distance fees for a call within Rogers’ newly-defined local calling zone. Rogers is the first company to expand the region’s local…
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TORONTO – The newest technical trial from Rogers Wireless will certainly put a dent in the debate on whether or not the cutting edge in telecom can be found in Canada.
Following the successful expansion of its high-speed HSPA network to 25 Canadian markets earlier this month, Rogers today announced it has begun field trials of its 7.2 Mbps wireless data service.
The Brampton and Montreal trials utilize 3.5 generation wireless HSPA/UMTS technology (High Speed Packet Access/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), enabling a peak download speed of 7.2 Mbps, by far the fastest in the country, or anywhere.
Rogers, which…
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Dear Editor,
This is in response to the letter to the editor Cartt.ca received from Bill Roberts, president and CEO of Vision TV, earlier this week criticizing the Rogers’ brief in the upcoming review of the regulatory frameworks governing BDUs and discretionary services. Mr. Roberts appears to have either misread or misunderstood our filing and I would like to set the record straight.
In his letter, Mr. Roberts alleges that our key message in this proceeding is to remove protections for Canadian services and make it easier to import foreign services. In fact, our key message in this…
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MONTREAL – Astral Media CEO Ian Greenberg said today that Bell Canada has stopped proceeding towards the launch of its much-anticipated Internet protocol-driven terrestrial digital television service.
When asked about new platforms like IPTV and how it might impact Astral’s television business, Greenberg said Bell has put its plans to launch the service “on ice.”
“And that’s happened in the last two weeks. So I don’t think there’s much to discuss on IPTV,” said Greenberg.
He later said the decision was made by Bell just within the past 10 days. Any Bell IPTV service would, of course, carry a…
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