TORONTO – The realities of the wireless market in Canada and globally continue to tell most people that no matter what the federal government tries or what anyone says, chances are slim that a fourth viable wireless player in Alberta, B.C. and Ontario will find success.
Add BMO Capital Markets telecom, cable and media analyst Tim Casey to the chorus of those who believe the federal government has muddled and mishandled the wireless file and that there doesn’t seem to be a way forward to its stated political goals. Noting that Industry Minister Christian Paradis has been on record several…
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CALGARY, ALTA – Shaw Communications said today it has donated $1 million to Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta, the first official charity partner of the Shaw Charity Classic golf tournament.
Kids Cancer Care Foundation of Alberta helps families face childhood cancer by providing programs and funding in four areas: camp; research; hospital programs; and scholarships. Since its inception in 1991, Kids Cancer Care has sent thousands of children affected by cancer to camp thanks to the generous support of the community.
“Family is at the very core of what Shaw Communications is all about,”…
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TORONTO – Specialty investment company Difference Capital Financial announced today the appointment of Jim Shaw and Ivan Fecan to its board of directors.
Shaw is best known for his 12 years as CEO of Shaw Communications. He joined the company his father founded in 1982, moving through a succession of leadership positions in the company. Under his leadership as CEO, the share price of Shaw Communications increased 11% per year and the company became a leader in the North American cable industry. Currently, he serves as a director of Shaw Communications Inc. and United Communities L.P.
Fecan was president and CEO…
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BANFF – Industry reps from the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada and the Canadian Media Production Association presented highlights to attendees at the Banff World Media Festival being held this week on a new national promotion strategy and new branding to promote Canadian content.
CMF president and CEO Valerie Creighton, Telefilm Canada executive director Carolle Brabant, and CMPA president and CEO Michael Hennessy are part of a working group focussing on increasing awareness and interest in Canadian content and on developing partnerships with various industry leaders. The project, initially dubbed “Watch Canada,” evolved from a symposium…
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OTTAWA – Shaw Communications now has 100% ownership of specialty channel TVtropolis after the CRTC approved its application in a decision Tuesday to acquire Rogers’ 33% interest in the Category A service for a reported $59 million.
The acquisition of Rogers’ remaining interest in TVtropolis is part of a number of transactions between Shaw and Rogers announced in January. At that time Rogers said it would acquire Shaw’s cable system in Hamilton, Ont. and secure an option to purchase Shaw’s Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum holdings in 2014. Rogers said it would also enter into…
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TORONTO – Global hopes you’ll tune in July 3 to watch Canada’s shortest game show.
At 90 seconds in length, the new program is actually a commercial featuring the grand prize winning segment of Royale’s 50th anniversary Golden Kittens Search Contest that will air during that night’s episode of Entertainment Tonight Canada.
The segment will look exactly like a game show featuring ET Canada host Rick Campanelli and five selected finalists filmed on a custom-built set in Toronto. Robert Irving, president of Irving Tissue Corporation, makers of Royale bathroom tissue, will present the grand prize…
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BANFF – When I first started going to the Realscreen Summit in Washington DC, almost 12 years ago, it was documentary Mecca. Today, Realscreen is a Kasbah of reality shows and ever more wacky non-scripted formats.
Non-fiction then was not what non-fiction has become.
That display of disparity was starkly evident at Banff this week. On the one hand, non-fiction format gurus and their kindred broadcasters had a good yak about what ails them, and the challenges of producing Big Brother Canada on a continent awash in Big Brother, the American original. On the other hand, Canada's National Film Board was…
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EDMONTON and BEVERLY HILLS – Super Channel announced today it has expanded its exclusive licensing and programming distribution deal with Starz Worldwide Distribution.
The agreement makes Super Channel the exclusive English pay television home in Canada for several Starz original series including David S. Goyer’s Da Vinci’s Demons, and the second season of Magic City, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Olga Kurylenko, and James Caan. Each program will have a Canadian premiere on June 14, 2013 during a special two-hour programming block at 9pm ET.
Other TV series as part of the agreement include the widely…
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WINNIPEG – APTN announced today that its exclusive four-hour broadcast of this year’s Aboriginal Day Live event will be broadcast on partner radio stations and networks in Alberta, Manitoba, Northern B.C. Yukon and Mackenzie Delta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.
On Saturday, June 22, APTN will host Canada’s largest celebration of National Aboriginal Day at The Forks in Winnipeg and the Arctic Winter Games Arena in Iqaluit. Canadians will be able to watch a live broadcast of the event on TV, online, or on mobile devices, and will also be able to tune into via radio.
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TORONTO – Leslie Roberts of Global Toronto’s News Hour is adding a morning shift to his anchoring duties as the new permanent host of the national edition of Global’s The Morning Show.
Roberts will join Liza Fromer, Kris Reyes and Rosey Edeh on-air from 9-9:30 a.m. ET beginning June 17. Global made the announcement as part of Shaw Media’s “upfront” presentation Wednesday in Toronto. “Not only is Leslie a consummate professional with years of experience in front of the camera, he is also a great conversationalist and is well-versed on everything from politics to pop culture,”…
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