TORONTO – While Corus Entertainment continues the hard work to absorb the assets and people of Shaw Media, CEO Doug Murphy said more changes are afoot as the company looks to solidify its leadership position with women and families while likely rationalizing its huge list of channels as new pick and pay regulations take hold.
The company currently has 45 specialty TV brands, which Murphy told a BMO Media and Telecom conference in Toronto on Tuesday is likely too many, over the long term.
While he didn’t name which ones he believes his top specialty brands to be, Murphy did drop a…
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Without a major regulatory change, the traditional TV industry here faces a chilling future
IF THE CRTC DOESN’T, at long last, review the 1999 New Media Exemption Order, the Canadian TV industry as we know it may well perish in the next five years, at the cost of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of jobs – all while production of Canadian content shrivels to whatever the CBC makes.
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission reached a compromise deal with the subscription TV titans in the States over the American regulator’s so-called push to “unlock the…
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OTTAWA – CTV Two Atlantic may now be included as part of the basic television service to subscribers in the Atlantic provinces.
The CRTC said Thursday that the move, an exception to sections 16.1 and 45.1 of the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations, recognizes that CTV Two Atlantic was licensed as a satellite-to-cable service mandated to provide regional programming.
“CTV Two Atlantic has a standard requirement to broadcast at least seven hours of local programming each broadcast week”, reads the decision. “Authorizing the inclusion of CTV Two Atlantic as part of the basic service would therefore allow all subscribers in the Atlantic provinces to…
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TORONTO – Bell Media’s Investigation Discovery (ID) and Discovery Science will both be opening up for a four week free preview September 22 through October 19.
The timing will coincide with the launch of new ID series Las Vegas Law, Vanishing Women plus new special Adnan Syed: Innocent or Guilty? (pictured), featuring the convicted murderer and subject of the acclaimed Serial podcast. Highlights from Discovery Science include the debut of new series How To Build…Everything and Alaska Mega Machines.
The four-week preview is available through television service providers including Bell and Bell Aliant, Cogeco, Eastlink, MTS, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Telus,…
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TORONTO and HALIFAX – In the race to keep its cable customers from defecting to over the top providers, Bragg Communications’ Eastlink has announced a new live TV and on demand streaming service easy enough to use that instructions have been reduced to four screen swipes.
In a teleconference from Halifax with reporters on Thursday, CEO Lee Bragg called the new service “a transformative streaming experience, the only one of its kind in Canada.” (The photo is what it looks like on an iPad.)
“We know consumers are watching more video than ever before, discovering and subscribing to that content across…
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GATINEAU – It took more than a few hours but some sparks did fly at the CRTC’s flexible channel packaging hearing on Wednesday when commissioner Christopher MacDonald (right) questioned Bell on the timing of a company press release a day earlier which promised the company would offer Fibe TV service separate from its internet offering.
Cynics might have highlighted the coincidence of a Bell announcement, the day before the hearing kicked off, he noted, asking Bell “why now” when only four months ago the company suggested it was a monumental task to make a basic Fibe…
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TORONTO – Globalive Capital has sold off Yak Communications, OneConnect Services, and its hospitality communications provider Canopco in two separate transactions, as it eyes new ventures and plans for expansion.
Long-distance provider Yak Communications has been scooped up by independent telecom Distributel Communications, while OneConnect Services and Canopco were acquired by Accelerated Connections Inc. (ACI), a provider of private IP connectivity and public internet services to businesses in Canada. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.
"Yak Communications, OneConnect Services and Canopco have been an important part of Globalive Capital's portfolio and brands that are an integral part of our…
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STARTING SEPTEMBER 7, BROADCAST distributors (a.k.a. cable, IPTV and satellite TV providers) will go before the CRTC trying to convince the regulator they are providing consumers with the choice required under rules adopted last year and that no further regulation is necessary.
Groups representing consumers will be there too, arguing, among other things, the way BDUs are offering the new so-called skinny basic package is inadequate. The Consumers Association of Canada (CAC) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) say the Commission needs to address the issue of unfair practices being employed by some BDUs.
The groups say that…
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TORONTO – Rogers' and Shaw's streaming service shomi celebrated the first anniversary of its national debut on August 20 by releasing a series of fun facts, but still no subscriber numbers.
One year after launching direct-to-consumers, the TV and movie streamer boasts 118 exclusive series, more than 143 million total video plays, and said that February 15, (which was Family Day in AB, SK, and ON), was its top viewing holiday, followed by Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Other highlights include:
– Peak consumption hours are 9:00 PM – 11:00 PM;
– Top 3 most popular genres are Comedy, Kids & Family,…
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TORONTO – Bell Media’s Discovery is gearing up for its first-ever nationwide free preview this fall which will include the debut of Frontier, its first original Canadian scripted drama.
Set against the raw backdrop of 1700s Canada, Frontier (pictured) stars Jason Momoa in a thrilling action-adventure series that revolves around warring factions vying for control of the fur trade in a ruthless game of wealth and power. The series will debut on November 6. Other programming highlights include the return of Canada’s Worst Driver and the premier of new original Canadian series Tougher Than It Looks? on October 24.
Discovery’s free preview…
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