TORONTO – It was a an open secret in media circles, as many have reported, including Cartt.ca, but today it was made official: Rogers Communications has signed a deal to purchase the chain of A-Channel stations and other assets put on the block when CTVglobemedia acquired CHUM Ltd.
In officialspeak: "Rogers Broadcasting, a Rogers Media subsidiary, would acquire certain Canadian conventional and specialty television services from CTVglobemedia Inc. These assets are currently under the control of Mr. John D. McKellar, C.M., Q.C., Trustee under a Voting Trust Agreement in respect of CHUM Limited. CHUM Limited and Mr. McKellar…
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GATINEAU – Rogers Cable has asked the CRTC to consider adding College Sports Television to the list of eligible satellite services for digital distribution.
Owned by CBS, 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.
www.cstv.com www.crtc.gc.ca
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THAT SOUND YOU HEARD from Ottawa late Wednesday afternoon was that of Industry Minister Maxime Bernier jangling his keys to the shackles Canada’s incumbent telephone companies have said repeatedly they are burdened with.
The regulations holding back Bell Canada, Telus, Bell Aliant, MTS, SaskTel and the other smaller ILECs are on their way out far sooner than the CRTC perhaps envisioned when it made public its local forbearance decision a year ago tomorrow.
In that decision, the Commission set out a number of conditions that had to be met before any traditional incumbent telco could be granted deregulation. Until…
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OTTAWA – With less than a month before the CRTC hearing into the purchase of CHUM Ltd. by CTV and rumours swirling as to who might emerge as the winning bidder for CHUM’s A-Channels (see below), the NDP says the CRTC has to set up some tough content conditions governing the combined company.
NDP Heritage Critic Charlie Angus said Friday "that if the CRTC is going to give the green light to this unprecedented merging of television media, clear and binding conditions must be laid down."
Angus is calling for enforceable targets for new prime time drama, for example. “Where…
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TORONTO – Captain Kirk warped into Toronto today to help Rogers Wireless launch wireless video calling, a new service that will turn customers’ mobile handsets into a webcam for face-to-face calling.
Customers will be able to talk and watch their friends, family and business associates in real time and so far, Rogers is the first and only wireless carrier in North America to offer video calling. It’s a new part of the Rogers Vision suite of services that "allows customers on the go to enjoy the kind of hi-speed Internet and multimedia experience previously only possible on a PC,"…
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TORONTO – Julie Osborne, vice-president of affiliate marketing and sales for Rogers Media’s specialty services Sportsnet, G4techTV and the Biography Channel is moving to the Mount Pleasant Road side of the downtown Toronto Rogers campus as associate publisher of Maclean’s magazine.
Her last day is today and her replacement has yet to be announced. She begins her new gig on Monday, April 2.
In a note to clients and friends, Osborne said: "After six years in the Affiliate Group, I am moving to a new position at Rogers…
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TORONTO – The 2007 Canadian Telecom Summit, June 11-13, includes 18 keynote addresses by some of the most senior folks in the sector and has become a must-attend event.
Delegates will hear from the leaders of Canada’s major telecom service providers, equipment and software suppliers. Panel discussions will take more in-depth looks at wireless networks, consumer and business services, wireless content, VOIP/unified communications and illegal content on the Internet.
With the continued growth of wireless and the strong emergence of IP that will power next-generation voice and broadband offerings, Canada is embarking on an exciting and fast-paced telecom journey…
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TORONTO – A survey done for Rogers Communications, Canada’s largest wireless company, says that Canadians are pleased with their cell phone service.
A total of 1,500 Canadians were surveyed in February by the Strategic Counsel and collectively, ‘”overwhelmingly” said they were happy, says the press release.
The survey said 82% of wireless users believed there is enough or more than enough choice in the number of wireless service providers. Of those same users, 84% believe that the number of handsets or models of wireless phones available to them at the time of purchasing their last wireless phone was enough…
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TORONTO – Rogers Sportsnet will show a whopping 400-plus baseball games this Major League Baseball season (which begins Sunday).
One hundred and sixteen of those are corporate cousin Toronto Blue Jays games but kicking off coverage this year is the New York Mets visiting the St. Louis Cardinals this Sunday evening.
"Baseball fans can watch more MLB on Sportsnet than any other network in Canada this season," says the press release. "In addition to the 250 regular season MLB broadcasts Sportsnet also features 116 Toronto Blue Jays games; and all games from the 2007 MLB Playoffs. The total broadcasts…
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TORONTO – CBC will continue to have Hockey Night In Canada until at least 2014.
The country’s public broadcaster and the National Hockey League today announced a new six-year broadcast agreement for national English-language broadcast and multimedia rights to NHL games in Canada. The new agreement commences with the 2008/09 season and runs through 2013/14. The agreement is subject to approval by the NHL’s Board of Governors at its June 20 meeting.
"Hockey is part of the Canadian fabric and we’re proud and pleased to continue what is the longest-standing sports rights partnership in the world; one that dates…
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