OTTAWA – While Canadian viewers continue to cut their TV cords, they still remain a small fraction of the total TV market, says new research released Wednesday.
Ottawa-based research and consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services said that the big, publicly traded traditional TV service providers – Rogers, Shaw/Shaw Direct, BCE, Videotron, Cogeco, Telus, and MTS, combined lost 202,000 TV subscribers in their respective 2016/2017 fiscal years, up from 160,000 lost in their 2015/2016 fiscal years.
But the report found a shift in trends, noting that the cable companies lost fewer subscribers and that the IPTV providers saw subscriber growth slow significantly.
“The…
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TORONTO – Canadian rocker Bryan Adams and comedian Russell Peters will co-host this year’s broadcast of the 2017 Juno Awards on April 2.
The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) and CTV said Thursday that the duo take the reins after previously announced host Michael Buble stepped down to focus on his family.
Bringing a mix of rock-and-roll and irreverence to the 2017 Juno Awards stage, Adams and Peters play host to performers including A Tribe Called Red, Alessia Cara, Arkells, Ruth B, Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Mendes, and The Strumbellas.
Canada’s most exciting…
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SAN FRANCISCO and CALGARY – Shaw Communications has been hit by a lawsuit that seeks to halt the rollout of its new voice-controlled platform BlueSky TV.
The Kudelski Group, with headquarters in Switzerland and Phoenix, AZ, says it holds over 5,300 issued and pending patents worldwide. Its OpenTV, Inc. and Nagravision S.A. subsidiaries have filed a patent infringement suit in the Federal Court of Canada, alleging that Shaw’s system infringes six of its Canadian patents.
The asserted patents “relate to a wide variety of features in Shaw’s system, including its PayTV purchasing, distribution, viewership monitoring, and interactive television systems”, the company said…
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CALGARY – Shaw’s Pink Shirt Day initiative has helped to raise more than $750,000 for bullying prevention programs in schools across Canada.
This year, for every social media post using #PinkShirtPromise, Shaw made charitable donations to the Canadian Red Cross, The WITS Programs Foundation, and other charitable organizations working to end bullying. With three times as many Canadians sharing their promises this year, including celebrities, athletes, and government officials, Shaw's donation of over $750,000 will see bullying prevention programs reach over 450 schools and 400,000 kids over the next three years.
"This year, Shaw's #PinkShirtPromise campaign struck a deep chord among Canadians…
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TORONTO – Just in time for March Break, Bell Media’s pop-culture channel Much will kick off a national free preview from March 7 until April 4.
Home to comedy classics South Park, The Simpsons, and American Dad, Much will also serve up new British comedy Brotherhood, genre-busting prank show Fameless, plus the debut of Conan O’Brien’s new Conan Without Borders: Made In Mexico special (pictured).
Much’s freeview is available through television service providers including Bell, Bell Aliant, Cogeco, Eastlink, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw, Shaw Direct, Telus, Videotron, and several CCSA partners including Westman Communications Group and Tbaytel.
www.Much.com
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CALGARY – Former Shaw Media exec Christine Shipton has been named chair of the board of directors of the Shaw Rocket Fund, replacing the retiring Annabel Slaight.
Funded by contributions from Shaw Communications and Shaw Direct, the Shaw Rocket Fund is a not-for-profit corporation that focuses on stimulating excellence in the Canadian children's production industry in Canada through equity investment and industry initiatives such as the Shaw Rocket Prize and Startoon, an online development program for animators.
A seasoned television executive with experience in both production and broadcast organizations, Shipton (pictured) was most recently SVP of content for Shaw Media. She…
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CALGARY – Shaw said Tuesday that it has closed its offering of C$300 million principal amount of 3.80% senior notes due March 1, 2027.
The senior notes were made available in Canada under Shaw's previously filed shelf prospectus pursuant to an agency agreement with TD Securities Inc. acting as sole bookrunner.
The net proceeds of this offering, together with cash on hand, will be used to repay the C$400 million principal amount of senior notes of the Corporation due March 2, 2017.
www.shaw.ca
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TORONTO – TSN and RDS have reached a multi-year media rights extension with NASCAR that will see the networks retain exclusive Canadian media rights to all Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series and NASCAR Xfinity series races across all platforms.
TSN and RDS will continue to broadcast all races – including the prestigious Daytona 500 – as well as qualifying, practice sessions, and encore presentations. The multi-platform agreement features expanded digital rights, with TSN and RDS offering coverage of these NASCAR series across their respective digital and social media platforms.
Live coverage of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series kicks off February…
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TORONTO – TSN has boosted its MLS coverage to include matches on Wednesdays and Fridays evenings this season, and confirmed that CTV will air seven games on Saturday afternoons for the first time.
The 2017 MLS on TSN season kicks off on opening weekend with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 4 as Toronto FC takes on Real Salt Lake at 4:30 PM ET, followed by the Montreal Impact’s season opener vs. the San Jose Earthquakes at 10:00 PM ET. Vancouver Whitecaps FC open their season at home vs. Philadelphia Union on Sunday, March 5 at 9:30 PM ET.
CTV will offer national coverage of…
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SO MANY OF US who are worried about the coming consequences of the “post-truth” age, whether we’re journalists or not, wonder aloud why people don’t trust the hardworking, mainstream media, and are genuinely puzzled when citizens can no longer identify the truth.
What happened this week when it came to the reporting of the ratings for the Super Bowl in Canada revealed there are reasons behind this confusion and mistrust. Slipshod journalism and a rush to be first has left everyone confused how many Canadians watched the game – and on what channels – since the CRTC removed Bell’s simultaneous…
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