OTTAWA – Shaw Television has received the CRTC’s permission to move forward with its plans to launch British Columbia’s first all-news channel.
The English-language Category B service, which was green-lit by the Commission on Friday, will be called Global News: BC 1 and programming will include “a mix of local and regional news, traffic, weather, business, sports and entertainment information devoted to serving residents of British Columbia, with a special focus on the Vancouver/Victoria Extended Market”, according to its application.
In response to an intervention by Victoria-based local broadcaster CHEK-TV, the CRTC imposed a condition of licence that precludes Global News:…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has made “significant progress” in restoring services to customers impacted by last week’s fire at its Calgary-based headquarters.
The company said that Shaw Court experienced extensive water damage as a result of the sprinkler systems, and that it has contingency plans in place to relocate employees throughout Calgary in order to continue business operations. Technical and IT essential staff will remain in the building 24 hours per day to monitor and support as required.
"Special thanks go out to the City of Calgary and the Calgary Fire Department for their assistance in a full evacuation…
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CALGARY – An explosion and electrical fire at Shaw Communications’ Calgary headquarters on Thursday morning has knocked out telephone and Internet services to some of its customers. No one was hurt in the incident.
According to a CBC report, the Shaw building is a "key hub" for national, provincial and municipal networking infrastructure and its back up systems failed to kick in. The cause of the fire remains unclear.
“We absolutely apologize for what has happened, and we're doing our best to restore services and we are in an emergency restoration process”, said Shaw president Peter Bissonnette. “So it may seem it's…
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OTTAWA – The Supreme Court sided with the likes of Bell, Rogers, Shaw, Telus, and Apple Thursday in a number of copyright cases related to the use of music on the Internet.
In the first case, the court determined that Internet service providers (ISPs) and other digital providers that offer music services should not have to pay copyright fees when music is downloaded, but that artists should be compensated when their music is streamed online.
In another case, broadcasters, TV service providers and movie theatres won’t have to pay fees for the music used in a film or a television show that they air. That’s…
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FORT NELSON, B.C. – On Monday, Northwestel officially launched Cable Home Phone in Fort Nelson, a community of about 5,000 residents in northeastern British Columbia.
A new long distance plan is available as part of the offering, providing unlimited, anytime long distance calling for just $9.95/month when bundled with Northwestel’s digital TV and internet services.
“Cable Home Phone is a common way of delivering phone service in southern Canada but it is new to the North,” said Curtis Shaw, Northwestel vice president of marketing. “As part of this project, Northwestel invested more than $200,000 to improve the reliability of the Fort…
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CALGARY – Consolidated revenue at cable TV, internet, satellite TV and media company Shaw Communications for the three month period of $1.28 billion was basically flat (down 0.5%) compared to the same period last year.
Revenue for the nine month period ended May 31, 2012 of $3.79 billion was up 6% over last year. Total operating income before amortization of $567 million declined 3% over the comparable quarterly period while the year-to-date amount of $1.63 billion improved almost 4%.
Free cash flow for the three and nine month periods was $203 million and $379 million, respectively, compared to $240 million and…
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NEW YORK – North America media companies that ramp up shareholder initiatives to woo investors could be putting their credit quality at risk, according to Moody's Investors Service.
In a special comment entitled ‘North American Media and Entertainment: An Arms Race: Limited Growth Spurs Rising Equity Returns Amid High Cash Levels’, Moody’s said that companies such as Shaw Communications and Time Warner Inc. paid dividends in 2011 that exceeded a third of their free cash flow. That means their credit quality is at risk if these high payout rates continue to trend upward without other credit improvements, unless risk related…
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TORONTO – Bell Media and CBC/Radio Canada have ended their Olympic bid partnership after two failed bids for the exclusive Canadian media rights for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
During their partnership, the organizations submitted two bids for the Canadian broadcast rights that were turned down flat by the IOC. The duo said in a joint statement on Monday afternoon that they will formally dissolve their bid partnership as a result.
"We presented not one, but two fiscally responsible bids that are reflective of the Canadian marketplace," said Phil King, president of CTV programming and…
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CALGARY – Shaw Direct has begun using adaptive streaming technology to deliver on demand content, including more than 1,500 standard and high-definition movies and TV titles, directly to customers’ set-top boxes.
Users will need to connect their satellite receiver to a high-speed Internet connection to access the new content. Customers who own an Essential or Advanced HD receiver (HDDSR 600 or HDDSR 605) or an Advanced HDPVR receiver (HDPVR 630) will receive a free software update which enables the VOD services to be connected.
"Streaming video on demand is the next step in giving our customers access to Shaw Direct's exceptional programming…
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HALIFAX – Veteran broadcast executive Jim Haskins has been named station manager/news director for Global Maritimes.
Haskins, who began his career as a reporter and anchor for CJIC TV and CKCY radio in Sault Ste. Marie, ON, was most recently at CBC Television and CBC.ca where he was responsible for media sales and marketing across Alberta. He was also VP and GM with Craig Media (later CHUM Ltd.) and served as president and GM of the Grand Prix of Edmonton.
In his new role, Haskins will oversee all editorial and station operations for Global Maritimes, and will help the station transition…
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