Phase one of “Total Business Transformation” had targeted just 650
CALGARY – Over the next 18 months, fully 25% of Shaw Communications’ current workforce will leave. Company president Jay Mehr says that’s a good thing.
Last month the company offered 6,500 employees the chance to move on with their careers outside of Shaw, enticing them to think hard about their futures with one of the most generous severance packages we’ve ever heard of – six months of full pay plus one month of pay for every year worked at Shaw. These are the types of buyouts companies normally save for executives.
When…
Continue Reading
Towards a Canadian strategy
OVER THE LAST two weeks, I’ve argued the Canadian strategy of supporting, and indeed actively pushing for, the vertical integration of our broadcasting system was a mistake, suggesting the vertically integrated companies – namely Bell, Shaw, Rogers and Quebecor – had not and will not become international distributors of content as it was presumed.
(Click here for part one and here for part two)
A reader pointed out it’s always easier to take the position of a critic – particularly in hindsight – so let’s look at the changes which…
Continue Reading
The big four have not become the content exporters they were supposed to
LAST WEEK, I RESPONDED to a Scotiabank report which said the success of Netflix in gaining subscribers, along with Google and Facebook’s dominance of the Canadian advertising market, meant a merger of Bell and Corus was a logical market response to ensure we remain competitive.
I question the strategy of further vertical integration in light of its obvious failure. My core argument is VI has failed because it did not properly take into account the competitive advantages of the vertically integrated companies. As their…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Conversations around 5G in Canada may still be at nascent stages, but network providers and wireless operators told a Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association event in Ottawa on Wednesday that it’s coming faster than you think.
Several speakers throughout the day at the 5G Canada Council show (organized by the CWTA) noted that network rollouts are already happening and that by the first half of 2019 smartphones and tablets will be able to access 5G networks in certain bands.
Jaco du Plooy, chief technology officer at Ericsson Canada, explained that there will be 5G devices operating in a number…
Continue Reading
Promises confidentiality
GATINEAU – As part of the report on current Canadian content consumption patterns which the federal government has asked the CRTC to compile, a range of companies have been asked to provide very competitively sensitive information by the Regulator.
The Commission last week sent letters to foreign competitors Netflix, Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple and Spotify – as well as Bell, Rogers, Shaw, Corus, Pelmorex, Stingray and others, for certain sets of top line revenue, viewership and subscriber data when it comes to their digital platforms. The CRTC already has the data for the traditional platforms.
Specifically,…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Digital disruption has opened up tremendous opportunity for broadcasters, distributors and producers alike, but has also created significant challenges, according to speakers in the first panel session at the Canadian Media Producers’ Association’s annual Prime Time conference Thursday morning.
For CBC/Radio-Canada, going digital and implementing its own over the top (OTT) service has allowed the national public broadcaster to reach new audiences. Heather Conway, executive VP of English services at CBC, acknowledged that the corporation skews to an older, linear TV oriented demographic but said the move into the digital realm has given CBC a wider audience.
“As we…
Continue Reading
FIRST DISNEY BUYS FOX’S MEDIA LIBRARY, so then maybe Corus buys Bell Media – or the other way around? If so, is this a good idea or a bad one for our system?
A Scotiabank report from December 2017 entitled “Converging Networks” and reported by Cartt.ca has suggested that Corus and Bell Media should merge in order to “make them more competitive.” It’s hard to know if this report is a trial balloon or just mere speculation, but we’ve seen support in other quarters for this point of view.
The research also says Facebook and Google now…
Continue Reading
CALGARY – Shaw Communications today announced a new company-wide initiative which it says is “designed to reinvent its operating model to better meet the changing tastes and expectations of consumers and businesses.”
As part of the overhaul, which is expected to take a number of years, the company is looking to trim its 14,000 person payroll by about 650 and so has offered 6,500 of its employees to opportunity to take a voluntary buyout package.
“Customers want their services from Shaw to be just like everything else in their life – delivered quickly, reliably, and on their terms,” said Jay Mehr,…
Continue Reading
BELLEVUE, WA – Shaw Communications has been elected to join the board of governors of 5G Americas, an industry trade association and voice of 5G and LTE for the Americas region.
Shaw joins wireless industry operators and manufacturers América Móvil, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, Cisco, CommScope, Entel, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel, Kathrein, Mavenir, Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sprint, T-Mobile US, and Telefónica in their mission to advocate for and foster the advancement and full capabilities of LTE wireless technology and its evolution to 5G.
“We are committed to powering connections for our customers,” said Shaw’s EVP and CTO Zoran Stakic,…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CMPA’s Prime Time In Ottawa conference is opening up more slots for both its 'Breakfast With' and noon hour topic tables due to popular demand.
Sign-ups will open at 12:00 PM ET on Friday, January 26 on this page and will be reserved for registered PTiO delegates only.
‘Breakfast With’ allows seven delegates to meet for an extended conversation with a featured industry guest over breakfast before the first session of the day, starting at 8 am. It’s a great way to pick up some information, and to start a relationship with the speaker and…
Continue Reading
