JAY SWITZER HAS IT bad for the Canadian TV industry.
After less than three months out of work, the former CEO of CHUM Limited dearly misses the people he has worked with for over two decades and the work of providing hours of TV programming to Canadians.
The self-professed "content guy" – who spent some time this summer riding into the sunsets of the U.S. southwest – is not about to ride into the sunset and retire. He’ll be back, but he has months to decide where and when.
Last week, he sat down with Cartt.ca editor and publisher…
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OTTAWA – At the CRTC hearing into Rogers Communications’ purchase of Citytv, actors union ACTRA has asked the CRTC to establish new standards for benefits packages flowing from such acquisitions.
"We need new standards for benefits packages so Canadians can see a real increase in Canadian drama on television. We’re asking the CRTC to calculate benefits based on the full value of the purchase and ensure that two-thirds of benefits are directed to 10-point Canadian drama," said Richard Hardacre, ACTRA national president, in a press release.
ACTRA is opposing Rogers’ application unless it enhances its drama commitment and directs…
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TORONTO – With several smaller cable operators looking to launch (and in the middle of launching) video on demand, CTAM Canada has put together a panel presentation on the topic for the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance annual general meeting next month.
"Building your VOD Business Plan" will feature a panel of experts expounding on about their VOD successes and challenges ranging from the ROI of VOD, securing content for the service and adver tising opportunities.
Delegates will also get a first-hand look at recent CTAM Canada research on VOD in Canada.
The panel members are: David Purdy, vice-president and…
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ANYONE WISHING A BIT of a preview of January’s hearings on broadcast distribution undertaking and specialty services policy changes need only speed through Shaw Communications intervention in the CanWest Global/Goldman Sachs purchase of Alliance Atlantis proceeding.
The three page document outlines in very brief terms what Shaw – and likely other cable companies – will be looking for once that policy review comes around.
Shaw didn’t object at all to the proposed merger but the company rarely misses a chance to state its case on where it believes the regulator should be heading.
"In combination with other recent…
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CALGARY – Look for the screaming E! all over the place for the next little while.
CanWest MediaWorks today announced details of its multi-city marketing campaign to support the cross-country re-branding of its CH channels to E!, which we reported on a few months ago.
Commencing today, running through network launch on Sept 7 and into fall ’07, “the E! Media Domination 2007 rollout represents one of the season’s most significant and aggressive marketing initiatives in Canada, featuring breakthrough creative executions and an exclusive buy of the country’s best major market advertising properties,“ says the CanWest press release.
The…
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IF THERE HAS BEEN a Canadian television channel that has struggled more with its programming, carriage, ownership and identity than OUTtv, which began its life in September 2001 as Pridevision, we don’t know of it.
The original category one digital specialty service license went to a surprising place to begin with. The CRTC, preoccupied at the time with trying to uplift smaller broadcasters, gave the must-carry digital license to what then was Headline Media, the owners of what has become The Score, a straight-male all-sports station where no one had experience in the gay community.
Granted, Headline did partner…
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TORONTO – Rogers Wireless customers today have the option of adding a second phone line on their single handset as the company became the first provider in Canada to launch second voice line service.
The new feature is targeted at the small-to-medium business crowd by allowing customers to conduct business over one line, and personal calls over the other, if they wish. Entrepreneurs with one or more businesses can also benefit by dedicating a line to each business. Also, subscribers to SVLS will be able to access all the wireless features they have on their primary line directly on…
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OTTAWA – It’s only a $700,000 piece of punctuation.
That’s the assessment that came Monday after the CRTC sided with Rogers Cable over its unusual row with Aliant over a pole attachment contract that turned sour over the placement of a single comma.
Over a year ago, Aliant ended a five-year pole attachment contract early, saying that one clause of the contract, with a poorly placed comma, actually said the company could end its contract with Rogers any time it wished, with a year’s notice. The contract called for Rogers to pay the CRTC-mandated rate of $9.60 per…
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HALIFAX – EastLink today continued its consolidation of eastern cable companies by agreeing to purchase RuSh Communications, which owns cable systems in the Annapolis Valley and other rural Nova Scotia regions.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the purchase will close on September 1st, 2007, EastLink said today.
"We’re excited about this purchase because it allows us to expand EastLink’s footprint in Nova Scotia and build an even stronger presence," said Lee Bragg, Co-CEO of EastLink. " We look forward to providing our new customers with the communications and entertainment options that have become synonymous with the…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Ten-digit dialing will come to the 418 area code on in 13 months, the CRTC announced today.
The transition to 10-digit dialing will be gradually implemented beginning on June 21, 2008, and become mandatory by September 12, 2008.
Also, effective September 19, 2008, a new area code will be introduced in the region currently served by area code 418. Customers seeking new numbers in this area code could be given a number starting with area code 581.
"These measures are being taken to prevent the exhaustion of telephone numbers in the area code 418 region. The Canadian…
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