MONTREAL – When a U.S. branch of Montreal-based Cogeco Communications paid US$1.4 billion for the rest of the MetroCast cable network this year, onlookers wondered how big the company wants to grow down south.
Pretty big, CEO Louis Audet suggested Wednesday at an investor conference in Montreal run by CIBC. “We have the potential for our U.S. operations to become bigger one day than our Canadian operations” in Quebec and Ontario, he said. “There is sufficient acquisition potential for that to occur … Now you need to work hard and be a bit lucky.”
Cogeco’s first…
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TORONTO – Industry sales veteran Graeme Mackrell is joining the sales group at Telelatino as national account manager.
Most recently, Mackrell (pictured) was vice-president strategy at sponsorship integration company TACK10. Prior to that, he was director of national sales at Shaw Communications.
In his new role, Mackrell will work primarily with agencies and clients to sell regular and integrated advertising and special events for all of Telelatino Network’s culturally connected brands and platforms.
“Graeme has over 15 years of experience leading successful broadcast, digital and brand partnership teams for Shaw Media, with significant success in representing lifestyle and factual content”, said Telelatino…
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MONTREAL – While some cable companies are eliminating community TV stations, Cogeco instead is investing in theirs and has renamed its community television stations in Ontario and Quebec to better reflect its ties to the local communities that it serves.
The 19 CogecoTV stations in Ontario are now branded ‘YourTV’ and its 15 Québec stations will now be known as ‘NousTV’. Cogeco made the announcement at the same time as it released its slate of new fall programming, available at Facebook.com/yourtvontario/ and Facebook.com/NousTVQuebec
“This change in the image of our community television…
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IQALUIT — Northwestel today announced that all 25 Nunavut communities will be receiving 15 megabits per second (Mbps) Internet in 2019, which means Nunavut residents and businesses will have access to the same broadband service levels as those in most remote northern communities in Canada.
This announcement comes on the heels of the federal government’s announcement of new funding for Northwestel in order for it to improve high speed internet access in the territory.
“Northwestel is pleased to expand our Internet offering to every community and provide better broadband services to our Nunavut customers,” said Curtis Shaw,…
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IQALUIT, NU – All 25 Nunavut communities will receive improved high-speed Internet access under the Federal Government’s new rural broadband program Connect to Innovate.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains said Thursday that Northwestel will receive nearly $50 million in funding to improve high-speed coverage from Kugluktuk to Pangnirtung. The federal investment will “attract” an additional $73 million from Northwestel, which will build the backbone satellite network needed to make higher-speed Internet available in every community across Nunavut, reads the announcement.
“Internet access is now an essential part of everyday life. Canadians go online for education, health services, entertainment…
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MTS integration proceeding well, no 600 MHz set asides required
TORONTO – Bell Canada Enterprises CEO George Cope, like any wireless executive in Canada these days, is feeling pretty good.
All companies are posting strong recent subscriber additions and see growth continuing. Speaking to the BMO Capital Markets Media and Telecom Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, Cope pointed to the fact Canada has grown by 350,000 immigrants – and the phones and plans they buy – during the past 12 months or so as a leading reason why the business is so buoyant.
Add all those new Canadians to the growth of…
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Plus, spectrum set asides are a bad idea
TORONTO – Customer service at Rogers had better improve because on Tuesday, CEO Joe Natale put a target in front of himself and his company at which to aim.
While speaking at the BMO Capital Markets Media and Telecom Conference, Natale revealed how removing customer service friction points which he has noted during his five months at Rogers makes him believe “we can get anywhere from 100 to 200 basis points of margin improvement in the next 12 to 18 months,” by tackling various issues, he said.
“To date Rogers has done a good…
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TORONTO – Cablecasting Ltd. co-founder David R. Graham passed away September 2 in Toronto after suffering a serious stroke earlier this year. He was 80.
Graham and Jim Meekison founded Cablecasting Ltd. in Toronto in the early 1960s which went on to became one of the largest cable TV providers in Canada and eventually expanded to the United States and Britain. Graham sold the company to Shaw Communications in 1992 for a reported $307.8 million.
A memorial mass will be held in Toronto on October 5 and a celebration of his life will take place October 7 in Ottawa.
Click here…
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TORONTO – Career strategy and recruitment firm mediaINTELLIGENCE is calling on media employers to help educators prepare students seeking to enter the media workforce.
Please participate in a brief academic study aimed at helping educators address the challenges brought about by rapid change in technology. The study is being conducted by doctoral candidate Rob Carver, Chair of the School of Contemporary Media at Fanshawe College in London, ON.
Carver is soliciting employers from all areas of the media sector to participate in an online survey, which will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. To participate, please contact him directly…
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TORONTO – Multilingual media company Telelatino has announced the appointment of industry veteran Errol Da-Ré to the newly created position of chief revenue officer.
Da-Ré will lead Telelatino’s efforts to leverage corporate assets and strengths and align them with customer needs and desires, says the company’s announcement. “He will oversee client direct and national agency sales functions and provide input and advice on other revenue generating activities,” reads the release.
He most recently headed the Olympic sales team for CBC and Radio-Canada, and was previously the longtime senior head of sales for Shaw Media, and prior to that, Alliance Atlantis…
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