TORONTO – After a quarter-century in TV and radio, John Cassaday would like to try something else.
While Corus Entertainment’s founding CEO announced last week he will retire from the company at the end of March, the 60-year-old Cassaday told Cartt.ca he isn’t thinking about riding off into the sunset. It’s just that that now is the right time for him to give up the reins at the Shaw-family controlled TV, radio and production company to his COO Doug Murphy.
“It just seemed like the perfect time for me,” he said in an interview. “February 14 is my 25th anniversary in…
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TORONTO – Toronto news anchor Leslie Roberts has resigned from Shaw Media’s Global Television after the network’s investigation into conflict of interest allegations against him.
A report in the Toronto Star last week said that Roberts was part-owner of a Toronto-based public relations company know as BuzzPR, and that some of that firm’s clients appeared on his shows with no disclosure. The report prompted Robert’s suspension and an internal investigation at Global News, where he has worked since 2000.
“I am resigning from my position as News Anchor and Executive Editor of Global Toronto effective immediately”, Roberts said late…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications told investors today that the company is not happy with the financial results turned in by its business services division, so it has altered strategy and parted ways with the division’s leader, promoting Ron McKenzie to take over for John Piercy, who has left the company.
During the company’s quarterly conference call with financial analysts, company EVP and COO Jay Mehr noted that after seeing double-digit percentage growth in EBITDA its enterprise division for a few quarters, posting just 5% growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 wasn’t good enough.
Mehr said that couple…
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CALGARY – A drop in video subscribers helped to flatten first quarter profits at Shaw communications by 7.3%, the company reported Wednesday.
Consolidated revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 ended November 30, 2014 was $1.39 billion, up 2% from $1.36 billion in the same period last year, while total operating income before amortization dipped to $606 million from $608 million last year.
Net income fell 7.3% to $227 million from $245 million for the same quarter last year, though the current period included higher amortization and an equity loss related to new SVoD service shomi, a joint venture with Rogers…
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TORONTO – John Cassaday, the only president and CEO Corus Entertainment has ever had, announced Monday his intention to retire from the company when his contract expires at the end of March 2015 after 25 years in broadcasting and 15 years helming Corus.
Doug Murphy, chief operating officer, will assume the role of president and CEO following Cassaday’s departure.
"Under John Cassaday’s strategic leadership, Corus has grown and created a diversified portfolio of powerful brands, encompassing television, radio and content assets which have delivered significant long-term value to shareholders and customers over the past 15 years,” said Heather Shaw, executive chair….
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TORONTO – Toronto news anchor Leslie Roberts has been suspended indefinitely by Shaw Media's Global Television amidst allegations of conflict of interest.
A report in the Toronto Star on Friday said that Roberts, pictured, is part-owner of the Toronto-based public relations company BuzzPR and that some of that firm’s clients have appeared on his show. Roberts failed to disclose his connection to the clients to either viewers or to the network, the report continued.
Roberts, who has worked for Global since 2000, is the anchor of the network’s Morning Show, supper hour newscast News Hour and is also the executive…
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TORONTO – TSN, RDS and Fight Network have inked a new multi-year agreement with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for the Canadian media rights to its global events.
TSN and RDS will offer UFC’s major live events, preliminary fights of UFC Pay-Per-View events, UFC Fight Night events, and The Ultimate Fighter series, while Fight Network will broadcast all UFC Fight Night events from around the world as well as preliminary bouts for domestic non-Pay-Per-View cards, reads the announcement.
The three broadcasters will also team up on an original live pre-fight program before Pay-Per-View events, plus share the sales and marketing of UFC broadcasts…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has amended the terms of its five-year $1 billion bank credit facility with its syndicate of ten financial institutions, including The Toronto-Dominion Bank as lead arranger and sole bookrunner, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada and The Bank of Nova Scotia as syndication agents and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Canada) as documentation agent.
The maturity date of the facility has been extended from January 2017 to December 2019.
Shaw said that the facility is used for general corporate purposes.
www.shaw.ca
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TORONTO, MONTREAL and WOODSTOCK – Industry stakeholders wasted little time before commenting on Industry Minister James Moore’s spectrum announcement, with the majority expressing optimism, albeit cautiously.
Rural broadband provider Xplornet Communications said that it was “pleased and relieved” that Industry Canada and Minister Moore revised the previously proposed 3500 MHz spectrum policy, saying that the approach proves that the Minister understands the importance of 3500 MHz spectrum in providing fast and affordable high-speed Internet to rural Canadians.
“The Minister has taken a balanced approached that does no harm to the tremendous gains that have been made in the past few…
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“I BEGAN MY CAREER AT ROGERS 45 years ago, just after the 1968 Broadcasting Act was enacted and this Commission was created,” Phil Lind told CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais during the company’s appearance at September’s TV Policy Review hearing.
“Since that time, Mr. Chairman, I have had the pleasure of appearing before you and all your predecessors. I reckon I have represented Rogers at more than 100 broadcasting hearings over the past four-and-a-half decades.” That’s right, Lind has appeared before every single CRTC chairman there has ever been. His fingerprints are all over broadcasting policy in Canada.
There are very few…
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