OTTAWA and CALGARY – Shaw Communications finalized a ten-year agreement with the Ottawa Convention Centre that will see the downtown venue be named Shaw Centre, effective immediately.
The partnership will provide Shaw with the opportunity to showcase its media brands and products, as well as provide visitors with free access to its carrier-grade wifi network Shaw Go WiFi. The Shaw Centre will continue to use 'Canada's Meeting Place' as its descriptor, and will continue to partner closely with Ottawa Tourism in all domestic and international marketing efforts to ensure the Centre is positioned as the premier meeting venue in Canada's Capital. …
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OTTAWA – Spectrum set asides, eligibility to purchase set-aside spectrum, and the band plan remain the primary sticking points for Canada’s wireless service providers in reply comments to Industry Canada’s consultation on the AWS-3 spectrum auction framework.
The country’s large wireless operators have panned many aspects of the department’s proposed approach to the AWS-3 auction. A 30 MHz set-aside that includes spectrum contiguous to previously auctioned AWS-1 spectrum gives new entrants a considerable leg up, they argue. Not only do they believe that the set aside is the wrong approach, they think if the department does indeed set…
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TORONTO – Soon to be launched Canadian SVOD service shomi has locked up more content after signing a multi-year deal with Starz Digital Media, the global digital and on-demand licensing and content syndication arm of Starz.
The deal includes exclusive second-window access to select Starz original series such as The White Queen, Da Vinci’s Demons, Black Sails, Magic City, Power and Spartacus.
“Our partnership with Starz brings a phenomenal mix of immersive dramas and loveable comedies to our members,” said Marni Shulman, shomi’s head of content and programming, in the news release. “Every program in this deal offers premium content for our viewers…
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TORONTO – Mystery TV will become Crime + Investigation on November 3, Shaw Media said Friday.
The re-branded channel, a partnership between Shaw Media and A+E Networks, will still offer series such Law & Order, NCIS, Rookie Blue and Haven, as well as exclusive docuseries like My Haunted House, I Killed My BFF and The Haunting of…
As part of the rebranding, Crime + Investigation will be available as a free preview to Rogers Digital customers from November 4 to December 11, 2014.
"With series that take viewers behind the crimes and into the investigations, Mystery TV has evolved into Crime +…
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CALGARY – Just in time for the start of the NHL and NBA seasons, Shaw has added TSN Go and Sportsnet Now to its TV Everywhere offering.
Available on iOS and Android devices, TSN Go will give Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct subscribers on the go access to the TSN feeds they subscribe to, including the ability to view live and on-demand content. The app will also allow for live audio streaming of TSN Radio's all-sports stations in Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver and Montreal.
Shaw customers who subscribe to TSN's suite of feeds in their cable and satellite packages can…
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TORONTO – Rogers and Shaw’s nascent subscription video-on-demand service shomi is adding some impressive new content to its library after finalizing agreements with FX, FXX, and Fox.
The deals include exclusive access to past seasons of FX and FXX originals, including Sons of Anarchy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, The Americans, Wilfred, American Horror Story and Louie. Come 2015, shomi customers will also gain access to past seasons of recently released dramas Tyrant and The Strain and comedies Married and You're The Worst.
Fox programming includes New Girl, Sleepy Hollow, Bob's Burgers, 24: Live Another Day, and Modern Family. Also available non-exclusively are episodes of Homeland, Glee, American Dad, and Family Guy.
"The titles offered on shomi are hand-picked by our team of…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications executive vice-president, corporate development & chief financial officer Steve Wilson is retiring this year to devote more time to his family and pursue other professional and community endeavours.
Wilson will be staying on during a transitional phase, which is expected to last until the end of 2014. Shaw confirmed that a search for a new chief financial officer is underway.
According to the company announcement, Wilson helped shape the overall strategic positioning of the company and was instrumental in the acquisition of Shaw’s media business in 2010, the evolution of its wireless and WiFi strategies, and, more recently, its…
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CALGARY – Shaw Media has promoted Christine Shipton to Senior Vice President, Content.
In this role, Shipton (pictured) will be responsible for the company's content strategy across all platforms, as well as overseeing the creation of Canadian original productions, acquisition deals for U.S. and international series, and scheduling for the company's conventional and specialty channels. A key focus of the position will be to ensure that Shaw is strategically evolving its content platforms and windowing rights amidst the ever-evolving media landscape, as well as forging key strategic partnerships to support the company's growing roster of large, international co-productions.
Prior to this…
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TORONTO – Shaw Media is asking the CRTC to licence an innovative new English-language specialty news channel called Global News 1 that promises to deliver local news on a national scale.
The company said Monday that the national, all-Canadian channel would incorporate local feeds in all 12 markets where Global currently operates conventional television stations, plus add local newsrooms to Fort McMurray and Red Deer, AB; Sault Ste. Marie, Niagara, Mississauga and Ottawa, ON; Quebec City, QC and Charlottetown, PE, where it says there is either no local television news or limited competition.
Unlike any other service, Global News 1 will feature a…
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GATINEAU – Independent ISP TekSavvy Solutions told the CRTC Tuesday it would love to become a broadcast distributor because that’s what its customers are asking, but added it can’t enter the game at the moment because the cost of bandwidth is simply too high.
According to a study from Nordicity, the bandwidth costs for the ISP to provide basic service would come to $80 if networked PVR capability was included. “That’s just the bandwidth – before we pay for content or anything else,” said TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault in his opening remarks to the Commission’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing.
He…
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