IT AIN’T EASY BEING an independent broadcaster in the unlimited channel universe.
There are so many channels (traditional and otherwise) which serve the same niches of Stornoway’s three channels – news and current affairs service ichannel; dance station bpm:tv; and The Pet Network – that injecting them into the collective conscious psyche of viewers is difficult.
It means a lot of grassroots marketing work. A lot of pavement-pounding, because the budget to be able to afford a mass-marketing campaign just isn’t there.
Then there are the rumors of the company’s imminent sale, or demise, to deal with. By the…
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TORONTO – The news and diversity programming teams at Rogers OMNI Television are joining forces this weekend to present the Earthquake Relief Special, a commercial-free fund-raising appeal in support of South Asian earthquake relief efforts.
The one-hour program will air on OMNI.2 in place of regularly scheduling programming, Saturday, October 22nd starting at 8 p.m. ET. OMNI TV B.C. will air Earthquake Relief Special at 10 p.m. PT on Monday, October 24th.
The Earthquake Relief Special is the second major fundraiser for Rogers OMNI Television this year and the third in the new millennium, says the press release. While…
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TORONTO – Thanks to a partnership agreement which dates back to the beginnings of CanWest Global’s only analog specialty service, Prime TV, Rogers Communications wants to acquire one-third ownership of the channel.
In a nutshell, Rogers provided some start-up financing and covered some operating costs for the channel leading to and after its launch in 1997. In return, RCI received a subordinated debenture from CanWest, convertible into ownership of the channel, at RCI’s option.
The company has exercised its option and plans to take 33.3% ownership of CanWest’s channel.
CanWest has applied for CRTC approval for the ownership change….
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MONTREAL – Rogers Communications founder and CEO Ted Rogers used a speech to the Canadian Club Monday in Montreal to blast Bell Canada’s lobbying efforts and predatory pricing ideas.
Just days after the local forbearance hearings in Ottawa and in the middle of the Telecom Review undertaken by Industry Canada, Rogers’ comments had serious purpose behind them.
Mentioning Videotron and its parent company, Quebecor, as well as iconic owner Pierre Karl Peladeau, Rogers outlined how Canadian cable companies are working hard to provide facilities-based local telephony competition in Canada. He said he’s pleased with the uptake on Rogers Home…
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OTTAWA – Personalized media will take centre stage at next month’s Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual convention in Winnipeg, November 6 to 8.
This year’s plenary sessions examine the industry’s “big picture” issues, including the prospects for regulation in a broadband universe, and the future of advertising in a digital environment.
The concurrent sessions tackle such hot-button issues as the impact of new personal media devices; the prospects for Canadian HDTV; the new marketing imperative for broadcasters; the upcoming CRTC review of the Canadian radio industry; and the future of news.
On Tuesday November 8th, the ever-popular closing plenary…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications today announced it will begin a trial of its third generation wireless services and applications with Ericsson. During the trial, Rogers and Ericsson will assess the capabilities of two key 3G technologies.
1. UMTS-HSDPA (Universal Mobile Telephone System – High Speed Downlink Packet Access) is the current state-of-the-art 3G network technology based on the world standard for wireless communications – GSM – and is a natural progression for Rogers’ existing national GSM-GPRS-EDGE network that reaches 93% of the Canadian population. UMTS has already been widely deployed in markets throughout the world. HSDPA is an upgrade…
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TORONTO – Turns out it’s more than a mat leave fill-in after all. Corus Radio Toronto today announced the appointment of Stephanie Smyth (right) to the position of news director of AM 640 Toronto. As reported by www.cartt.ca, he had been working as a maternity leave fill-in this fall for about a month.,
Smyth is an award-winning media veteran with more than 16 years of news and information programming experience to her credit, including a number of years at Rogers’ 680 News and at Global television.
Smyth’s efforts at 680 News…
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By Malcolm Dunlop, Rogers Media Television
CANADA – WHAT A GREAT COUNTRY when it comes to audience measurement. Where else would you have two competing television ratings services to measure 32 million people? Not only do we enjoy two rating services but we also enjoy two kinds of television meters, a paper diary system for many areas and, of course, PPMs in the province of Quebec.
These services cost broadcasters, advertisers and agencies millions of dollars per year. If the information is accurate, we can justify the expense as a good investment. However, I question whether these services are…
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TORONTO – A transaction begun yesterday will see Microsoft Corp. take ownership of 6% of Rogers Communications shares.
Officially, RCI “announced that it has given a notice of redemption to Microsoft R-Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, stating its intention to redeem its C$600 million 5 1/2% Convertible Preferred Securities due August 2009… in accordance with the terms of such securities,” said the press release.
Basically, there were provisions built into Microsoft’s $600 million investment made in Rogers a couple of years ago where if RCI’s share price rose above $45 a share, RCI had the right to…
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OTTAWA – The Canadian cultural and broadcasting communities say that the new wireless video services now in the market from Rogers Wireless, Bell Mobility and Telus are certainly a form of broadcasting and as such, should be subject to regulation under the Broadcasting Act.
Phase I and II comments were filed recently with the CRTC by all parties and while the wireless providers insist that the service falls under the CRTC’s 1999 New Media Exemption Order, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, its members, and cultural groups like SOCAN, CIRPA and even the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union all say…
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