TORONTO – Corus Entertainment Inc. has received clearance from the Competition Bureau to proceed with its acquisition of the remaining ownership interest of Teletoon, as well as French-language specialty Historia and Séries+.
Corus will acquire the 50% remaining ownership interest in Teletoon, which includes Télétoon (French), Teletoon and Télétoon Retro and Cartoon Network, as well as the 50% ownership interests in the French-language specialty channels, Historia and Séries+, that Bell will acquire as part of the acquisition of Astral Media Inc., which was also recently approved by the Competition Bureau.
Corus…
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TORONTO – While the owners of Wind have announced control and executive changes they want to make, without Industry Canada approval of those shifts, someone still has to be at the wheel – and for now, it is a re-energized Tony Lacavera.
Lacavera, the normally ebullient driving force behind Wind in Canada, was seen by many over the last number of months to be the odd man out and in some of his public appearances, he seemed, well, glum. Plus, Wind’s primary financial backer, Egyptian wireless company Orascom (a part of the massive VimpelCom empire), has…
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TORONTO – Canadian Women in Communications (CWC) has announced two new appointments to the organization; Joanne Stanley as executive director, and Janice McDonald as new board chair.
Stanley brings more than a decade of experience leading not for profit organizations, most recently as co-founder and executive director of Canadian Women in Technology. Prior to that, Stanley held senior positions at the Ontario Centres of Excellence and Bell. For the past six months, she has been working with the CWC as special advisor, strategy and technology sectors, as the organization expands its focus in the technology and digital arena.
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HOURS BEFORE THE CMPA’s Prime Time in Ottawa convention assembled Canada's English and French producers, broadcasters, funders, regulators and digital platform experts, Bell Media made public its second application to the CRTC buy Astral Media, considered the last “independent” big Canadian broadcaster – and one with a long history of supporting Canadian film.
As it did when it reviewed and rejected Bell Media's first bid to purchase the Montreal-based TV, radio and outdoor ad company in 2012, the regulator will once again assess “the concentration of ownership and potential market dominance” that the larger company would…
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DENVER, CO – Canadian anglers who are customers of Bell, Eastlink, Rogers, Shaw and Shaw Direct can access a free preview of the World Fishing Network this month.
The cable companies are providing subscribers free access to the fishing and outdoor lifestyle programming channel throughout March. Insight Sports-controlled Canadian cat 2 channel WFN has a programming lineup that includes travel, lifestyle, sportfishing, tournament coverage and more. “We're excited to present this free preview offering with our distribution partners. This is a perfect opportunity for Canadian viewers to see the exclusive fishing and outdoor lifestyle…
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TORONTO – BMO Bank of Montreal announced today that it will continue its sponsorship of Shaw Media’s specialty channel HGTV Canada, providing the bank a strong presence in Monday night’s primetime programming block called “Make It Happen Mondays”. The popular line-up airs Mondays at 8pm ET/5pm PT beginning March 11 on HGTV Canada, featuring all-new series and seasons from House Hunters International, House Hunters, Bryk House and Home Strange Home.
The sponsorship package includes 30-second TV spots appearing across Shaw Media's channels, backed by digital support. The extensive sponsorship tie-in will provide viewers access to a…
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OTTAWA – Jean-Pierre Blais, chair of the CRTC, challenged Canada’s independent producers to think unconventionally when it comes to promoting their creations, reaching audiences and attracting new advertising revenue.
In a keynote to the Canadian Media Production Association’s annual Prime Time event in Ottawa on Friday, Blais highlighted a quote from the late Thomas Bata, the former head of the Bata shoe empire, to indicate how Canadian content creators should be viewing the world in which their businesses operate. “Executives should be people with a sense of urgency, a demand for excellence and a healthy discontent with the way things…
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OTTAWA ? Every content producer can follow unique logic in deciding whether to extend a content brand beyond its original media platform in today?s transmedia landscape ? and if the producer does extend the brand, that move leads to another decision: Which additional digital media should be used and how?
These questions were at the heart of a CMPA Prime Time panel, ?Digital Content ? When is Brand Extension Appropriate?? on Thursday.
Or, as panellist Caitlin O’Donovan noted, ?It’s a question of where does the brand live? Does it start as a toy, a TV show (or something else)? Most (children’s)…
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TORONTO – The comedy specialty channel Bite TV has rebranded with a new look to reposition the channel to a core demo of 18-49 year old males.
The new look, which is being rolled out on-air, online and in campaign elements, introduces a redesigned logo and two new core colours: a golden yellow and eggplant purple. The new logo design emulates a typewriter feel that was meant to speak to the creative process of comedy and comedy writing. As well, key imagery from Bite’s programming is presented in black and white with key elements…
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OTTAWA – Despite the promise of cheaper and more widespread 4G services, Canadian cellphone customers are unlikely to see any real benefit from the 700 MHz auction to be held later this year says consumer rights group the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC). Industry Minister Christian Paradis officially outlined on Thursday the final regulations for the eagerly awaited spectrum auction.
While Paradis ensured “at least four providers in every region can acquire spectrum in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction,” PIAC claims there have been no substantive changes to the upcoming auction rules to…
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