TORONTO – Citytv will air its flagship shows, including BreakfastTelevision, in high definition starting this September.
The station will show BreakfastTelevision, Toronto’s top-rated morning show, along with CityLine, CityNews at Noon, CityNews at Six, and CityNews at 11 in HD, becoming what it says is the first daily newscast in Canada to be in high def.
Citytv is available in HD on Rogers (channel 134) and Bell ExpressVu (channel 803).
Parent company CHUM says it’s committed to increasing its HD content, through initiatives such as the MuchMusicVideoAwards, shown in HD in 2004 and 2005, and the 2005 Genie Awards….
Continue Reading
FORMER ROGERS EXECUTIVE Len Katz has been overseeing the restructuring and re-organization of the administrative functions of the CRTC.
As reported by www.cartt.ca, the Commission’s processes have been streamlined and the structure from which it works, remodeled. A new "centre pod" of oversight that will examine new technologies, help navigate the paths upon which those technologies lead us, and help bring together the telecom and broadcast portions of this converged industry, has been created. Some in the industry will say it’s long overdue. Others will chafe at the changes because one of those alterations means that…
Continue Reading
BURNABY, B,C. – Wireless Wave/The Telephone Booth retail owner Glentel Inc. announced Friday will soon launch a new retail wireless presence – a store-in-store concept for large national retailers who want to sell wireless products and services in their stories.
Since November of 2005, Glentel’s retail group, working with a national big-box retailer it didn’t name, has successfully opened three store-in-store kiosks trading as "Wireless Etc…" in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia.
In the next 45 days, under this new retail banner Glentel plans to open an additional four stores in the provinces of Alberta and Ontario….
Continue Reading
AS AN UNABASHED OLYMPICS FAN and a Winter Olympic nut (two-man luge, anyone?) I knew what I wanted during Torino 2006: The Samsung a920.
That was the little navy blue handset that Bell Canada’s beavers, Frank and Gordon talked soooo much about during their many, many, many appearances during the Olympics last month. So, I begg, er, asked the nice folks at Bell if I could test one during the Olympics. Happily, they obliged.
In a deal with the CBC, Bell was offering the Corp.’s live feed of the Olympics on the handset, as well as numerous pre-packaged features…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – On International Woman’s Day, the Canadian Women in Communications honored their award winners and took the wrapper off a brand new look (right) at its annual gala here in Ottawa Wednesday evening.
The evening was the first industry engagement and speaking appearance for new Heritage Minister Bev Oda and new Industry Minister Maxime Bernier and the event drew its usual who’s who of the communications industry.
A former CWC board chair, Minister Oda, before presenting the Trailblazer Award to Sasktel’s Sandy Larson, lauded the CWC’s efforts in promoting leadership among women in…
Continue Reading
REVIEWING THE WORK OF Rogers Communications chief technology officer, Nick Hamilton-Piercy leaves one a little awestruck.
He’s been at the forefront of just about every technological development in the cable industry almost since there was a cable industry. If Nick and his team at Rogers (and before that, Canadian Cablesystems) wasn’t first with something, you can bet they weren’t far behind – and most likely contributed to its development, anyway. Hamilton-Piercy (left) seems to be enjoying his semi-retirement from Rogers (which is now going on six years) in a role that…
Continue Reading
ALVISO, Calif. – PVR users, while out and about, will often think about a program they wished they had set their box for – and had no way to fix that unless they went home.
A new deal announced today between PVR leader TiVo and Verizon Wireless aims to provide a new option.
The agreement between the two companies will allow TiVo users who are also Verizon Wireless customers to download a new application which will let them set their PVR using their cell phone.
"This arrangement will allow the growing base of TiVo subscribers to integrate control of…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – For those who just HAVE to know if the Oilers are going to trade for a backup goalie or not, no matter what meeting they’re in on Thursday, Rogers Sportsnet will be sending out NHL trade deadline wireless text message alerts throughout the day.
In addition to over eight hours of live coverage on TV this Thursday, the text message trade deadline alerts service went live on Monday, March 6 to provide bulletins all week long through to the trade deadline on the afternoon of March 9.
Fans who register will be the first to get breaking…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – As previously reported, Toronto Hydro Telecom today announced plans to provide Wi-Fi coverage in the downtown core.
"We are proud to be the first company in Canada to deliver a ubiquitous Wi-Fi zone, which will provide Internet access as well as next generation applications," said David Dobbin, president, Toronto Hydro Telecom, in a press release.
"Wi Fi technology is the new benchmark for urban living. It’s standard equipment in many electronic devices, from laptops to portable entertainment units. We think it’s time to enable that technology to be used in what will be the largest Wi Fi…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – It’s too bad CRTC commissioners weren’t here to see this.
During May’s commercial radio review, commissioners will host an orderly procession of industry stakeholders, from musicians to record producers to broadcasters to industry associations. They’ll all make their points in front of the Commission, answer questions and then go home to wait some months for a decision.
Yesterday though – in a packed, hot (-tempered, sometimes) room – broadcasters and producers went at each other in a highly-charged, eminently entertaining hour of running ideas up the flagpole and see who salutes… or moons… or kicks over the…
Continue Reading