LOS ALTOS, Calif. – Life Network founder and Canadian cable television executive Juris Silkans died on February 23 at his home in Los Altos, California. He was 70.
Born in 1943 in Ludza, Latvia, Silkans moved to Canada as a child with his parents who settled in Hamilton, Ont. After graduating from McMaster University, he got his start in the broadcasting industry in 1975 when he was appointed director of cable and new service policy for the Department of Communications in Ottawa.
He moved to the private sector in 1977, joining Toronto-based CUC Broadcasting Limited, which at that time was one…
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OTTAWA – Let’s get this out of the way right now… Most of us were wrong. Many had assumed we would have a nice orderly, low-priced auction once there were no wild cards left in the bidding.
Analysts and other observers (us, too) made the mistake in thinking that these ultra-competitive companies would somehow quietly and quickly divvy up spectrum which boasts such excellent distance and barrier-penetrating properties as yet unseen in wireless telephony in Canada, spending only perhaps half of what was spent in the last auction – the $4.2 billion for AWS spectrum in 2008.
Not. Even. Close. Rogers…
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OTTAWA and MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable Canada has been named Company of the Year by Women in Communications and Technology, (formerly known as Canadian Women in Communications), for 2013.
"The role of women in the organization is of the greatest importance to us here at Cogeco," said Cogeco Cable Canada president and CEO Louise St-Pierre, in a statement. “We firmly believe that our strengths lie, among other things, in our ability to attract the very best talent. The fact that women occupy so many senior executive positions at Cogeco is a clear indication of their significant contributions to the company's…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications is opening up its Shaw Go WiFi network this week to make it even easier to cheer on our Canadian athletes in Sochi.
From 11:59 PM MT on Wednesday, February 19 to 11:59 PM MT on Sunday, February 23, Canadians within Shaw’s footprint may gain complimentary Shaw Go WiFi access on their smartphone, laptop, tablet or mobile device by selecting WiFi and then choosing the ShawGoCanada network.
Complimentary access will allow for complete connectivity at all 30,000 Shaw Go WiFi hot spots, which stretch from Victoria, BC to Sault Ste. Marie, ON. Shaw customers may continue to…
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OTTAWA – Quebecor doesn't mince words in its complaint against the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund: "The decisions made by the board of directors of the Bell Fund in regard to three projects submitted in 2013 and set to be broadcast on TVA channels were not made in an objective manner and were discriminatory against TVA."
In a letter to the CRTC dated February 5 and made public on Monday, Quebecor's regulatory affairs director Peggy Tabet argues that the fund's decisions to refuse the three projects were made for "non-justified reasons" and concludes that they were made in a…
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TORONTO – Registration is now open for Content Industry Connect, a one day event that promises to bring together television, film and digital media leaders for a day of visionary keynotes, entertaining and informative discussions, facilitated networking, and face-to-face meeting opportunities.
Presented by the Banff World Media Festival, Content Industry Connect will take place March 6 at The Ritz-Carlton in downtown Toronto.
Confirmed speakers include executives at Google, Microsoft, AOL, Twitter, CBC, Bell Media, Corus Television, Rogers Media, Shaw Media, a special sneak peek from the creators and stars of Orphan Black and the advance premiere of Spun Out.
For more information or to…
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GATINEAU – We're about a month away from all Canadian television distributors being required to make all Canadian national news channels available to all of their subscribers, but one seemingly basic question remains unanswered: Will Sun News Network be made available on analog cable?
Two months after the CRTC issued an order requiring that Sun News and the four other Category C national news channels be made available to subscribers of "all licensed distribution undertakings", there doesn't seem to be a consensus on this question.
The order and accompanying decision don't include the word "analog" at…
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TORONTO – While Rogers Communications posted a tough Q4 with wireless growth and profit down significantly, new CEO Guy Laurence spoke publicly for the first time on Wednesday since taking over the position in December.
On the results themselves, Laurence said the company simply must improve. “There are areas of strength, but overall they are not satisfactory to me and over time I expect to do better,” he told the conference call with financial analysts Wednesday morning after the release of the Q4 2013 and full year results.
Right now, he added, he is about half-way through…
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TORONTO – Rogers reported a 20% decrease in net profits for its fourth quarter of 2013, while operating revenue dropped 1% to $3.24 billion.
The company attributed the $18 million drop in operating revenue to weaker sales in its wireless and cable business. Approximately 790,000 smartphones were activated and upgraded in Q4, compared to 940,000 in the same period in 2012, which Rogers attributes in part to to the move from three- to two-year contacts and the associated pricing changes.
The company’s business solutions operating revenue, at $98 million, was higher than the $88 million reported during the same period last…
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OTTAWA – A Senate committee turned to a former broadcast regulator for insight on how to address the challenges facing CBC/Radio-Canada in light of its loss of Hockey Night in Canada to Rogers Communications last year.
Appearing via video conference from Florida, former chair of the CRTC Konrad von Finckenstein told the Standing Senate Committee on Transportation and Communications what he believes could be done to improve the chances for success of Canada’s public broadcaster. He pointed to unloading the corporation’s vast over-the-air broadcast network, refocusing of the public broadcaster’s content as well as changing the governance structure and oversight…
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