GATINEAU – The chairmanship of the CRTC is often said to be a thankless job, so, many of the leading regulatory folks in Canadian telecom set about to change that this week, getting together to thank outgoing CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein for his yeoman’s work these past five years.
When he came on board as chair in 2007, von Finckenstein promised an open, accountable and transparent Commission. With dozens of public proceedings and many new ways to include the public in the debate launched under his watch, we got that in spades under von Finckenstein, who oversaw his final…
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TORONTO – Rogers Communications said Tuesday that it will try out a leaner basic programming package that it claims will provide its cable customers with the choice and flexibility that they have been asking for.
Available November 8 as a trial in London, ON, the Rogers Digital Starter Pack will offer a standard set of 86 core TV channels, including government mandated channels, for a base price of $20.29/month excluding taxes. Customers can order the Digital Starter Pack and may then choose any additional 15, 20 or 30 channels from more than 100 options, starting at $26.38/month, plus taxes. The Digital Starter…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications said Thursday that it is gearing up to test out its Wi-Fi strategy known as HotSpot 2.0.
The trial will be conducted in several Shaw locations and will test, among other things, automatic and secure authentication for Shaw customers equipped with HotSpot 2.0 devices such as smart phones and tablets.
With HotSpot 2.0, Shaw's broadband Wi-Fi-enabled customers will automatically connect and authenticate to the Wi-Fi network without having to manage complex configuration settings on their devices. The system also enables encryption, ensuring that Wi-Fi access is secure and that customers' data is protected.
The results of the trial…
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CALGARY – Despite a jump in revenues, profits at Shaw Communications dropped for its fourth quarter and 2011 fiscal year ended August 31.
The Calgary-based media giant said Thursday that consolidated revenue for the three and twelve month periods of $1.18 billion and $4.74 billion, respectively, was up 26% and 28% over the comparable periods in 2010. It credited the improvement to the acquisition of Shaw Media, as well as price changes and growth in its cable and satellite divisions.
Net income, however, fell to $82.5 million for the quarter, down 32% from $121.6 million in the same period last year. …
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TORONTO – Canadian telephone companies long sought a way to deliver a TV experience to their customers.
Bell Canada opted early on for a satellite solution, having come to realize during many technical trials during the 1990s that delivering a quality TV experience on par with what cable could offer was still years away.
Other Canadian telcos continued to test the delivery of digital television signals using various technological options through the 1990s and early 2000s. Cost, inefficient compression technology, and the physical limitations of the telco plant all held back viable solutions to the telephone company’s missing link when it…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications said Wednesday that it has reached a “long term” distribution agreement with Bell Media for its 30 Canadian programming services that include favourites such as TSN, RDS, and Discovery Channel.
Financial terms and the length of the agreement were not disclosed, but Shaw executives noted the deal was a five-year term during its quarterly conference call with financial analysts on October 20.
"We are pleased that we have been successful in reaching a comprehensive, market-based deal with Bell that balances our competitive need to provide our customers with choice and packaging flexibility while ensuring that customers continue to…
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TORONTO – Shaw Media has added to its original content team after adding Andrew Johnson and Barbara Shearer as production executives.
Johnson (right) brings more than 25 years of broadcasting experience, most recently with the CBC News Network where he worked on the documentary series The Passionate Eye and was the commissioning editor of The Lens.
A Gemini award-winning writer, director and producer of factual and reality programming, Shearer has been a production executive at W Network, and recently worked on series…
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OTTAWA – Satellite services operator Telesat has reinstated service to its Anik F2 satellite after experiencing a “technical anomaly” last Thursday which caused service disruptions to its North American customers including Shaw Direct, Northwestel and Bell Aliant.
Telesat posted an update on its website saying that services were up and running by Friday, and called such satellite anomalies “highly unusual."
“This particular anomaly was the result of a software error encountered during a routine maneuver (sic) which triggered the satellite to place itself into a safe mode, shutting itself down and pointing itself at the sun to ensure it remained…
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TORONTO – Is the surging popularity of on-line video viewing a real threat to the old television broadcasting business model or is it actually fuelling a new ‘golden age’ of television?
That was the subject of a lively discussion staged at the first of three Digital Convergence Executive seminars presented by Canadian Women in Communications and management consulting firm Digital Theory. Cartt.ca is the media partner for the series.
Brent Bernie, the president of Media Metrix Canada, a division of measurement company comScore, called television “still the most powerful medium in the world”, but stressed that the influence of social networking…
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CALGARY – Shaw has taken its home entertainment technology, known as the Shaw Gateway, national after unveiling the service in Calgary earlier this year.
The centre of a connected home, the Gateway is a multi-room HD PVR that lets families access recorded content and Shaw’s video-on-demand library on multiple televisions. It also allows for the recording of six programs at once while playing back up to three previously recorded programs, all in high definition.
The program guide provides access to features such as content filters, enhanced search, and on-screen games, all while allowing TV viewing in another window. Shaw said that…
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