TORONTO – Rogers Communications could rake in more than $300 million for selling off The Shopping Channel and is allegedly actively seeking bids on the broadcast retailer.
According to a report from Reuters, Rogers began the sale process six weeks ago and is now in the second round of bids. Liberty Interactive Corporation is one of the bidders, according to a source quoted in the report, while other interested parties could include U.S. home shopping channel operators HSN Inc. and EVINE Live Inc., which runs ShopHQ, as well as private equity firms.
The Shopping Channel is part of Rogers' media…
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TORONTO – Alibi Entertainment has named Nick Crowe as executive producer.
Crowe (pictured) comes from Shaw Media where he was director of original factual content for brands including History, Slice, National Geographic Channel and Global. Prior to that, he worked for Alliance Atlantis and Canwest Broadcasting – Shaw Media’s predecessors – as a production executive and program manager for History.
In his new role, Crowe will oversee development and production of factual content for broadcast and digital platforms. He will be working out of the company’s head office in Toronto when he joins the Alibi team on July 13.
“We are excited…
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TORONTO – Rogers has completed its acquisition of Mobilicity and Shaw’s AWS spectrum, just over a week after the two deals were announced.
In a short news release late Thursday, the Toronto-based communications company said that it had “received all requisite governmental, creditor and court approvals” to complete the acquisitions.
As Cartt.ca reported, Rogers offered $465 million for 100% of Mobilicity’s ownership, plus agreed to buy Shaw's unused AWS-1 spectrum for $100 million, in addition to the down payments made when an option agreement was originally announced in January 2013. Rogers then agreed divest some of that spectrum to Wind Mobile.
www.rogers.com
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TORONTO – Hollywood Suite chairman and co-founder Jay Switzer recalls in mid-April first taking notice of an important industry signpost: Canadian television's small club of network heads are now all women.
"Satisfying that almost nobody has noted Canada's big 3 MediaCo’s & CBC now run by smart leaders who happen to be women. #took50 years," Switzer tweeted at the time.
Bell Media president Mary Ann Turcke (lower left, in our photograph) in April joined (clockwise) Rogers Media vice-president of TV and broadcast operations Colette Watson, CBC executive vice-president of English Services Heather Conway, Shaw Media president Barb Williams, and Groupe TVA…
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TORONTO – Shaw and Shaw Direct customers now have access to TV Everywhere application Hollywood Suite GO (HSGO), which is available at no additional cost for existing subscribers.
The independent broadcaster’s app gives movie lovers the freedom and the ability to enjoy their favourite movies in high definition, with unlimited access whenever and wherever they want on the device of their choice.
HSGO includes a customizable watchlist and social features allowing users to share their watchlists and experiences with friends, as well as notification options to keep users informed about new movies and collections and a Wi-Fi-only streaming option…
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TORONTO – The Toronto chapter of Women in Film & Television (WIFT-T) and Shaw Media are collaborating on a new program designed to provide screen-based professionals with the skills they need to be strong and effective managers.
Launching this October, the Shaw Media Management Accelerator will cover key managerial principals including business communications, project management, essential financial concepts, plus marketing and strategic planning. Following completion of the program, each participant will be placed in a customized mentoring group, led by an industry leader who will provide additional learnings and guidance. Successful participants will also receive a recognition of completion award…
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CALGARY – The announcement yesterday that Shaw Communications plans to roll out U.S. cable giant Comcast’s X1 platform shows how the company is continuing an extensive internal makeover.
Last quarter, it told analysts it was moving away from bundling home phone in with all of its products because it no longer makes business sense and wasn’t particularly customer-friendly. Shortly before that, it restructured its TV business to move away from old silos and towards thinking more completely like a digital media company.
This quarter, during its Q3 conference call,…
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CALGARY – Third quarter profits fell 8.3% at Shaw Communications as the company continued to lose video and landline phone subscribers.
Shaw said Thursday that its net income for the quarter ended May 31, 2015 was $209 million, down from $228 million for the same period last year, which included the impact of a $55 million (or $41 million on an after tax basis) write-down of IPTV assets.
Consolidated revenue for the quarter was $1.42 billion, up 5.7% from $1.34 billion year-over-year, primarily attributable to the new Business Infrastructure Services division due to the acquisition of ViaWest as well as customer growth…
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TORONTO – Bell Canada said today it will spend $1.4 billion in Toronto alone to bring fibre to every home and business, and then upped the stakes even further by announcing it will soon bring 1 Gbps speeds to many cities in its footprint – which is up to four times as fast as cable companies offer most of their subscribers in Bell's area.
BCE CEO George Cope said Thursday that Gigabit Fibe Internet and television service will start this summer some Toronto neighborhoods, and will be extended to all of Toronto in three years. Quebec City and Halifax will…
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GATINEAU – Consumer representatives say the CRTC’s proposed TV Service Provider (TVSP) Code of Conduct should mirror many aspects and be “as consistent with the Wireless Code as possible.” The broadcast distributors, on the other hand, say that while having a standard set of practices for all TV providers is a worthwhile initiative, using the wireless code as a template just won’t work.
The TV providers Code of Conduct idea is something that came out of the CRTC's Let's Talk TV, TV Policy Review.
In a joint submission, the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) and Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) argue that…
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