OTTAWA – Support for community TV and media has been on the agenda in the House of Commons, with nearly a dozen MPs presenting a petition calling for the creation and ongoing support of community media centres in Canada.
According to Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS), the petition says that community media centres will ensure that Canadians have access to adequate news and information that reflects their communities, as well as offer skill development for Canadians' participation in the digital economy.
Liberal MP Will Amos, who represents the riding of Pontiac, north of Ottawa, said in a CACTUS statement that he supported…
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TORONTO – The rumour mill in the TV business was spinning overtime on this one lately, but today Rogers Communications made it official – it is killing its long-awaited IPTV solution in favour of Comcast’s X1 platform.
The move means the company will take a pre-tax non-cash asset impairment charge in the range of C$475-$525 million in its fourth quarter.
Friday morning’s press saw Rogers tout a new “long-term strategic partnership” with Comcast to bring Rogers customers Comcast's X1 IP-based video platform. However, it will not launch until 2018.
As we have reported, Rogers was hoping to have its IPTV solution (built…
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TORONTO — Bloomberg TV Canada’s first year of operation has been one of growth and expansion, with distribution and advertising levels increasing monthly, the first of several news bureaus across the country coming online, and an “A-list” of newsmakers having appeared on the channel.
Despite not having carriage on Bell TV nor Bell Fibe, Bloomberg TV Canada executives say it has achieved distribution parity with its main business channel competitor, Bell-owned Business News Network (BNN). “We’re very happy, 12 months in, with the progress that we’ve made and the expansion that we’ve seen,” said Chris Fuoco, vice-president of sales and…
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TORONTO – Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been setting up data centres around the world offering a wide range of compute and analytics services in competition and partnership with local service providers and on Thursday it announced it has come to Canada, opening two data centres here – as promised earlier in the year .
Now it’s looking to partner with telecommunications firms to resell its services.
“If you look around the world there are many telco partners who work with us closely to take our services to market and offer complimentary services to the AWS platform,” AWS Canada director Eric…
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TORONTO – Freedom Mobile today announced the launch of Freedom Wi-Fi, a service that connects customers to over 65,000 Shaw Go WiFi hotspots across Western Canada.
Beginning today with this free trial, Freedom Mobile customers can supplement their mobile phone plans with access to the Freedom Wi-Fi trial. Freedom Mobile is owned by Shaw Communications.
"Freedom Wi-Fi leverages the expanse and power of the country's largest Wi-Fi network, Shaw Go WiFi, to provide our customers with even greater value," said Freedom Mobile CEO Alek Krstajic in a press release. "Along with the launch of our LTE…
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New TV specialty is serious about music
TORONTO — Launched in October as a place for “serious music fans”, the retro-focused Vintage TV Canada specialty channel is aimed at not only older music lovers but anyone who’s hungry for music information and good solid music, says Canadian radio veteran Alan Cross, the channel’s creative director.
In contrast to other music channels where celebrities and lifestyle programming figure prominently and music now takes a back seat, Vintage TV Canada is focused on artists making serious music (its logo is a guitar pick), Cross said last week in an interview with Cartt.ca. We…
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TORONTO – Part social powwow and part professional revelation, the annual CTAM Canada Broadcaster Forum unspooled a ribbon of timely data points and commentary on new technology trends, a VR state-of-the-nation and even reflections on CBC’s unsullied broadcast of Tragically Hip’s summer concert.
Technology and television Innovation
A quartet of industry experts—Tom Elam, VP and GM with TiVo’s service provider business; Jay Gardner, VP of product development with Shaw; Joel Orvis, director of TV product management with Bell Canada; and Matt Nelson, director of strategic alliances with You.i—unpacked the latest developments in television tech on a panel moderated by Norm…
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REGINA – Access Communications has signed a three-year broadcast agreement with the Western Hockey League (WHL) to provide local hockey coverage throughout Saskatchewan.
In partnership with the WHL’s regional community cable broadcast partner Shaw Communications, community channel Access7 will air a minimum 40 WHL regular season games in the 2016-17 season, of which at least 10 will feature the Regina Pats. In addition, broadcasted games will feature all six of the WHL’s East Division teams including all five Saskatchewan-based clubs.
Games will be available on Access channels 7 or 70 (depending on the community), says the company.
“As a 100% community-owned company,…
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TORONTO – Hollywood Suite is marking its 5th birthday with a five-week national free preview promising more than 500 movies.
Just in time for the holidays, viewers can enjoy the gift of the best movies from the 70s, 80s, 90s, and 2000s, uncut and commercial-free, on four HDTV channels and On Demand. December titles include the director’s cut of Bad Santa, plus films like 12 Years a Slave, Titanic, The Expendables, The Interview, Raising Arizona, 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Fatal Attraction, American Beauty, Jerry Maguire, and Moneyball.
The freeview is available now through January 5, 2107…
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KENORA and GATINEAU – Shaw Communications has filed a letter with the CRTC this month letting the Commission know it has withdrawn its application to renew the broadcast license of CJBN-TV Kenora, its local TV station serving the northwestern Ontario community, and that it plans to shutter the station.
A Global Television affiliate which airs a schedule pretty close to Global TV’s Winnipeg station, CJBN also offers some local programming including a half hour show called Good Morning Sunset Country and another called Fishing with Gussy.
CJBN, which serves the 15,000 people of Kenora and some of the surrounding region, was…
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