Search Results for: rogers

Cable / Telecom News

Wireless growth softens, but that was the plan; RCI now a wireless company with a cable investment

TORONTO – Preliminary subscriber data shows that Rogers Wireless added fewer customers in the fourth quarter of 2005 as compared to ’04, but according to a senior executive, that’s just how they wanted it. The country’s largest wireless carrier added 216,300 net customers in the last three months of 2005, a drop from Q4 ’04 when it added 262,900 subscribers. Rogers Wireless now has 6.2 million customers However, a dampening on growth was more or less the company’s strategy, said John Gossling, vice-president, financial operations, at Monday’s Citigroup 16th Annual Media and Telecom Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. “Not to… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Classic movies in HD from Astral

TORONTO – Rogers Digital will be the first carrier to offer MHD, a dedicated high-definition classics movie channel from Astral Media. MHD will offer select HD simulcasts of programming from The Movie Network’s classics movie channels Mpix and Mescape. Programming on MHD consists of films five years or older ranging from Mpix’s suspense, thriller and action-packed movies to the quality drama and light-hearted entertainment found on Mescape. MHD is currently available at no additional cost in an uncut and commercial-free environment to Rogers Digital Cable subscribers in eastern Canada. “As the first high-definition classics movie channel… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

COMMENTARY: Fearless predictions for 2006

CHUM WILL BE SOLD. Shaw, too. Telus will buy Bell. Foreign ownership rules will be abolished. CRTC regs, too. Now those are some seriously fearless predictions for the new year. They’re all poppycock, too. Made ’em up (although a couple could happen). The slowdown time during the 14 days or so around Christmas and New Years (and Hanukkah, too), coupled with the fact that a new year is beginning, spawns all sorts of lists and predictions and reviews in the media. I didn’t want to be left out, but I didn’t want to try to add to the M&A… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

OMNI Manitoba launching February 6

WINNIPEG – Rogers Media Television will launch its recently acquired broadcast license, a faith-based service to be named, of course, OMNI TV Manitoba – on Monday, February 6th. OMNI TV Manitoba is the newly branded, newly licensed television station resulting from Rogers’ 2005 purchase of NOW TV from the Thiessen family and the subsequent approval by the CRTC (Decision Public Notion 2005-207). It had been scheduled to launch in November but was put off until the new year. "This is an exciting time for the Rogers OMNI Television family as well as the Canadian broadcasting industry," said Leslie Sole,… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

EastLink supports Cybertip

HALIFAX – Maritime cable company EastLink is joining Cybertip.ca’s national awareness campaign designed to combat online sexual exploitation. EastLink currently displays information about the initiative on its web site (www.eastlink.ca) and is committed to airing public service announcements (PSA’s) on its local television station, EastLink Television. Cybertip.ca is Canada’s national tip line for reporting the online sexual exploitation of children. It also provides the public with information, referrals and other resources to help Canadians keep their children safe while on the Internet. EastLink and other members of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association (CCTA) are supporting the national… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

COMMENTARY: Is Shaw in play?

OF COURSE, UNLESS I CRAWL into the head of JR Shaw and probe his synapses – or see him in a law firm signing documents with Michael Sabia – neither I nor anyone else can answer the question in the headline. Same goes with all of the Canadian media and cable companies, actually, all of which are controlled by their founding families. No one can really know what’s going on until it happens. Hostile takeovers are impossible. But, the rumors surrounding Shaw Communications have reached a fever pitch over the past few months. They’re too loud to ignore. In… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Canadian Digital Broadcasting Summit: January 30 – February 1

TORONTO – Many of the folks who do the heavy lifting and tell their companies where to go when it comes to digital broadcasting in Canada are headlining the Canadian Satellite Users Association’s annual summit. The Canadian Digital Broadcasting Summit is set for January 30 to February 1 at the Holiday Inn on King in Toronto. In past years it’s been a very informative event, where the speakers aren’t really the CEOs, but the ones in charge of digital with their respective companies. This year, www.cartt.ca is a media sponsor of the event. Bandwidth, Plant Operations, Tapeless Distribution, Orbital… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Nortel’s HQ stays in Toronto

TORONTO – Nortel announced Tuesday it has selected a Toronto location for its new global headquarters. The decision confirms the company’s “commitment to remain within the financial capital of Canada and one of the top five most livable cities in the world according to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit,” says the press release. Nortel will establish its headquarters at 195 The West Mall, an 11 storey, approximately 160,000 square foot building in the west end of the city. Nortel recently sold its Brampton HQ to Rogers Communications for $100 million. "As we head into a new chapter in Nortel’s… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

AND THE WINNERS ARE…

JUST IN TIME FOR Christmas, www.cartt.ca has given away a 42” HDTV. We did the draw Friday evening and the winner is Nigel Fuller, regional vice-president, CHUM Television Ontario (right). Second prize, the iPod nano, is going to Rick Fraser v-p marketing at Access Communications. As for the 50 winners of signed copies of the children’s book M is for Maple. They are: Brad Phillips, Citytv Vancouver Gordon Lee, CTV Specialty Victor Haddad, Milk River Cable Club, Georgina Schnubb, Masset-Haida TV Society Steve Ward, Grand Bend Cable TV Brett Manlove, CanWest MediaWorks Sam Fiander. Ramea Broadcasting Richard French, CRTC Glenn O’Farrell, CAB… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

The TUESDAY INTERVIEW: Insight Sports Networks president and COO Mark Rubinstein

THE WAY NEW CHANNELS serving niche after niche after have succeeded on both sides of the border should mean that no one will question any longer whether or not we “need” a fishing channel, or a soccer channel or a gaming channel. And Insight Sports, the owners of World Fishing Network and GOLTV Canada – and operators of Canadian Gaming Television – is banking on the fact it has tapped into a trio of still underserved niches. It’s not like Insight doesn’t know the TV industry. It’s not like the networks aren’t very well financed, either. Insight Sports has… Continue Reading