TWO THOUSAND AND NINE. Geez, when you spell it out like that, the year sure seems like a long way away, doesn’t it?
It isn’t. With the U.S. Congress and the National Association of Broadcasters now seeing eye-to-eye on a hard deadline of 2009 for the transition to digital broadcasting and the complete cessation of analog, it’s time for Canadian broadcasters to stomp on the digital/HD accelerator.
Broadcasters here have been awfully slow in getting digital TV broadcasting off the ground. While that’s angered HD’s early consumer adopters who long to fill their plasma, DLP or LCD screens with…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Having received an application for a new broadcasting license to serve Lethbridge, Alberta, the CRTC is calling for additional license applicants.
The deadline is September 12th, 2005.
As is customary, the Commission did not make public who has applied and warned it has not decided whether or not to award any licenses at all.
Lethbridge (pop. 77,500), about 200 kms south of Calgary, is currently served by six FM stations: CJTS (Spirit Broadcasting), CJRX (Rock 106 – Rogers Broadcasting), CKXU (University of Lethbridge), CFRV (The River – Rogers), CJBZ (B-93 Classic Hits – Jim Pattison Broadcasting) and CHLB…
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TORONTO – In less than two years, Musicrypt’s DMDS has become the de facto standard in the radio business when it comes to music distribution.
There just isn’t anything else out there as good as the Canadian company’s patented Digital Media Distribution System. Mailed or couriered CDs are joining relics of the past like 8-track tape as most Canadian radio stations have adopted Musicrypt’s free system. The freight is paid by the record labels themselves – all of whom have signed on to the ultra-secure, biometrically-protected system.
It’s fast, flexible and secure and is now in use by…
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TORONTO – Security is uppermost in the minds of on-line Canadians, a new survey released today shows.
According to the results of a new Internet safety and security poll from Rogers and Yahoo!, 79% of respondents feel it’s extremely important to protect their home computers from potential Internet and security threats. The nuisance of online threats is frustrating more users than ever before, even though 98% of polled users have security software installed on their personal computers.
The poll was released today at the same time the two companies announced the launch of a new integrated suite of…
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TIMMINS – Rogers Radio’s Q92 in Timmins has undergone a few personnel moves recently.
General manager market sales Mick Weaver recently departed to head up Rogers’ CHEZ 106 and Oldies 1310 in Ottawa, says Rogers Radio’s Timmins manager Art Pultz.
The market sales manager is now Angelo Lia while Pultz has now taken on a larger role as operations manager.
Q92’s popular morning man Darryl Spring is now working overnight at the Edge in Toronto – so the Timmins “drive” show is being hosted by Jeff Spindel, who joined from 97.7 Sun FM in Grande Prairie (OK Radio) with…
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OTTAWA – Three days before the two sides were to face the CRTC, OUTtv and Shaw Communications have settled their disagreement.
The deal means that gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered lifestyle channel OUTtv will be re-packaged on Shaw Cable and Star Choice. OUTtv objected to the way it was being packaged as a stand-alone service, contrary to its rights as a category one digital channel as a must-carry.
Shaw and OUTtv were to face the CRTC for one more ruling on Friday but the channel withdrew the complaint after the two sides came to an agreement last Tuesday. “The Shaw…
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MONTREAL – Videotron announced today it is dropping its $4.95 long distance plan.
This follows recent moves by Bell Canada and Rogers Communications to ditch their own ultra-cheap $5 offers.
The Videotron plan gave residential customers 1,000 minutes per month to call anywhere in North America for $4.95. Other long-distance plans, including unlimited calls in Quebec for $4.95 per month, remain available. Videotron also offers free long-distance calling between subscribers to its residential telephone service.
"The 1,000-minute plan included in our original offering, at the time of the launch of our cable telephone service in January, was dictated by…
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TORONTO – Last week Rogers Cable added Playboy On Demand to its SVOD lineup.
As usual with adult content, the addition wasn’t trumpeted with a press release, but quietly added, given that many customers are uncomfortable with such content.
PBOD is available at no extra charge to customers already paying $14.95 for the regular channel.
Rogers is the first Canadian carrier to add PBOD, which is carried Stateside by large MSOs such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications.
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TORONTO – Rogers Cable must be juiced about its next new TV channel because ads touting it are already in rotation among its parent company’s Toronto radio stations, despite the fact it doesn’t launch for another 12 days.
The channel is RETV, a brand new digital real estate channel platform for cable operators, from Capital Networks. Officially, Rogers will launch it on July 19th in York Region, with the rest of the company’s Ontario systems adding it later this year.
Customers of Aurora Cable already know RETV since the company has been offering the service to its 14,000 customers…
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TORONTO – With the ongoing growth of his company, Bill Evanov, president and CEO of Evanov Radio Group, announced this week the appointment of Wolfgang von Raesfeld as director of special projects.
Von Raesfeld will work on a variety of special items including overseeing the sales departments for the Evanov Radio Group’s five radio stations.
“With the expansion and growth of the Evanov Radio Group and the CRTC granting new broadcasting licenses to the company in Halifax (Z103.5) and recently in the Ottawa market (98.5 The Jewel), there is a need for additional management personnel,” said the company.
Von…
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