QUEBEC – Videotron Wireless hit the Quebec City market today as the fourth leg in the Quebecor division’s video, data and telecom stool.
As reported on Monday, the company officially launched its wireless phone service today with a number of different handsets and service plans. The one that might get the most attention is its $94.95 a month bundle of wireless phone, wireline phone, digital TV and Internet service.
Videotron Wireless, which is running on the Rogers Wireless network, will be available to the rest of its cable territories by the end of the calendar year. It will offer…
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MARKHAM – Free, sponsored golf lessons are now available on demand through Rogers Digital Cable.
Capital Networks, Markham, Ont., produced the golf lessons that will be available to approximately one million Rogers customers with a digital box. Each of the 24 episodes is sponsored by Chrysler Canada and was shot at The Club at Bond Head, just north of Toronto.
The series host is Nigel Hollidge, director of golf operations at The Club at Bond Head. Hollidge works with Canadian PGA touring professional Ian Leggatt and Matt McQuillan, an up and coming touring pro, in the various video segments….
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STE-FOY – Quebecor’s cable company, Videotron, will launch its wireless telephony product on Thursday.
A press conference at one of the company’s Super Club stores in Ste-Foy heralds the arrival of Videotron Wireless (although we’re unsure of the actual brand name).
Videotron’s subscribers will be connected to the Rogers Wireless network as the cable company announced in 2005 it had worked out a Mobile Virtual Network Operator, or MVNO, utilizing wireless voice and data services provided by Rogers Wireless across its GSM/GPRS network. This is the same arrangement Virgin Mobile Canada has with Bell Mobility, for example.
Surf…
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TORONTO – So will TV on your "Crackberry" make the device even more addictive? Thanks to an agreement made official today, we’re about to find out.
As first reported in May by Cartt.ca, CanWest MediaWorks has licensed an application with U.S. tech company Sona Mobile to bring television to Research In Motion’s popular BlackBerrys. However, only those with the 7130g and 8700 models will be able to take advantage of the service. CanWest is the first broadcaster in North America to launch the service.
CanWest has signed a marketing partnership with Rogers Wireless and Rogers Sportsnet to offer free players…
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MONTREAL – TVA Group’s net income since the start of fiscal 2006 is $10.7 million, down 37% over the first half of 2005.
"Our industry continues to be affected by market fragmentation and by a difficult advertising market," said TVA Group president and CEO Pierre Dion. "Despite this challenging situation, however, TVA Network once again enjoyed excellent audience ratings, with the BBM results showing that it posted a 27.4% market share and broadcasted 19 of the 30 most-watched shows. Our specialty channels continue to demonstrate a good progression of their operating income, despite the loss recorded by our new…
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Ted spins things cable’s way During his conference call this week with financial analysts to present the company’s very strong second quarter results, Rogers Communications founder and CEO Ted Rogers lit into Bell (again) for daring to complain about regulation. During the call Rogers grumbled that the distribution rules between cable and satellite are still different – and more favorable to DTH companies when compared to cable.
While a case can be made for that, one can’t be made for what he said next when he insisted that Canadian satellite companies have used those rules to take cable customers…
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MONTREAL – No big money increases. No huge financial hits seems to summarize the year so far for Bell Canada Enterprises.
It’s losing local phone customers (134,000) in the second quarter of 2006, ended June 30th, and adding others in video (19,000 adds in the quarter), wireless (90,000) and high speed Internet (47,000).
However, overall growth was slower in the quarter in all segments. Bell now has 1.75 million video customers (mostly Bell ExpressVu), 5.6 million wireless customers and 2.3 million Internet customers.
BCE’s total revenues of $4.8 billion in the quarter increased 1% over the same period last…
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TORONTO – Nick Kypreos, fast becoming the face of Rogers Sportsnet’s hockey coverage, has signed a new multi-year deal with Rogers Sportsnet to continue as a feature hockey analyst with Hockeycentral and sportsnetnews.
A Sportsnet original, the former NHL winger (known more for his knuckle work than stick work) joined the network when it launched back in October of 1998. Kypreos had stops in Washington, Hartford, New York and Toronto, and has become "a cornerstone of the Hockeycentral brand," says the channel.
There are also rumors of a radio gig at another Rogers media outlet, Toronto’s FAN 590, but…
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TORONTO – After a year’s absence from Toronto radio, Mix 99.9 announced it has hired "Mad Dog and Billie" as its new Morning Show hosts. Jay "Mad Dog" Michaels and Billie Holiday will take over as the new Mix Morning Show August 8th, 2006.
The pair replace "Humble" Howard Glassman, who was fired from the Standard Radio station over two weeks ago.
The duo’s first shift will coincide with the official first day back from the Mix Summer Vacation, where the station has been running DJ-free since Glassman was let go.
In one of the more ill-fated moves in…
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OTTAWA – With several video distributors now asking to add the satellite radio channels from XM Canada or Sirius Canada to their respective channel lineups, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters has asked the CRTC to take a close look at the applications.
Responding to a request made by Bell Canada earlier this year to add the satellite radio signals to its terrestrial TV channel lineups, the CAB said "the application focuses attention on one of the fundamental principles of the Canadian broadcasting system, i.e. the requirement for a predominance of Canadian services, and that therefore a number of matters…
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