BOSTON – In its younger days, the cable industry moved, for the times, at a pretty good speed on the technical front. While operators in the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s concentrated on signing up subscribers, delivering clear signals, and then launching an ever-increasing number of new channels, they were heavily reliant on just a couple of big suppliers and their engineers for their most important network systems.
General Instrument (Jerrold before that and now known as Google-owned Motorola) and Scientific-Atlanta (now Cisco) were the two dominant players for ages. There were lots of other suppliers of many other things,…
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BOSTON – A large contingent of Canadian cable delegates who journeyed to Boston rose to lead a standing ovation for Rogers Communications vice-chairman Phil Lind as he was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame Monday night.
Lind and five others, Ann Rallis Carlsen, CEO of Carlsen Resources; legendary CNN broadcaster Larry King; BET Networks chair and CEO Debra Lee; Lenfest Group president and CEO Gerry Lenfest; and Leo Hindery Jr., managing partner of InterMedia Partners (but best known as the CEO who turned around TCI and the fortunes of U.S. cable in the late 1990s leading the so-called “Summer…
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BANFF – Some of the country’s most notable media leaders will share their perspectives on the key issues facing the Canadian media industry at next month’s Banff World Media Festival.
Shaw Media president Paul Robertson, Bell Media president Kevin Crull, Rogers Media president Keith Pelley, and CBC Executive vice-president Kirstine Stewart will participate in a panel discussion on topics such as the impact of further consolidation and vertical integration within the media industry, as well as how the Canadian content industry can become more globally relevant.
Delegates at the event will have the opportunity to submit questions via Twitter (@BanffMedia) or on…
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TORONTO – Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has kicked off a new television campaign to help promote its descriptive audio service AMI-audio.
AMI-audio is the world's largest broadcast reading service whereby volunteers read and record current articles from newspapers and magazines, which are then broadcast on TV and online.
The campaign's 30 second TV spot features a blind man walking into a variety store. He sets up the story of an attempted robbery and then clicks on a television set to reveal the AMI audio channel where the announcer completes the news story. It is airing nationally in English Canada on a…
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I DARE ANYONE TO disagree with this statement: “A child without access to the Internet will find life increasingly difficult in the information age.”
National Cable and Telecommunications Association president and CEO Michael Powell said it Monday morning during his keynote speech to delegates in the standing-room-only opening general session at the 2012 Cable Show here in Boston. He was singing the praises of the U.S. industry’s Connect to Compete initiative where all of the major American cable companies have teamed up with the Federal Communications Commission and a large number of other corporations to push…
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CALGARY – JR Shaw has bought more shares in the company that he founded.
Shaw Communications said in a statement that Shaw purchased an additional 50,000 Class B non-voting participating shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange for investment purposes at an average price of $19.15 per share, bringing his total purchase of Class B shares since mid-April to 300,000 shares.
After this purchase, Shaw, together with certain family members and corporations in which he has an interest, now own or control 17,782,600 Class A participating shares and 34,649,034 Class B shares of the company.
www.shaw.ca
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TORONTO – Following in the steps of Telus and Shaw, Rogers opened the doors on its new retail store concept Thursday in Toronto, a concept that it says puts the emphasis on service and community.
Customers will now receive more tailored one-on-one service, more of the latest technology and products, and more ways to stay connected and entertained than ever before, in a friendly and interactive retail environment, according to the press release.
"This store opening is part of a larger retail transformation to enhance how we service and sell to our customers”, said retail VP Sian Doyle, in the release. …
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CALGARY – Shaw has signed a deal with the City of Winnipeg to provide data networking services, Internet and WiFi.
The multi-year agreement, announced Tuesday, will see Shaw provide a 35-site Virtual Private Local Area Network Service (VPLS) that includes separate VPLS domains for each of the City's business units, in addition to carrier grade Internet. Shaw will also provide WiFi to Winnipeg's libraries that will be available free to users.
"The network Shaw Business will provide to the City of Winnipeg is designed for high availability- meaning that the crucial services of the City will be reliable, consistent and dedicated", said…
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TORONTO – Shaw Media has expanded its partnership for Canadian digital sales with CBS Interactive by adding a number of new websites, including CBSNews.com and CBSSports.com, to the Shaw Premium Audience Network (S.P.A.N.).
The other new sites include CNET; CHOW.com; GameSpot.com; MaxPreps.com; Metacritic.com; TechRepublic.com; ZDNet.com and UrbanBaby. Since its launch last May, Shaw Media says that S.P.A.N. has more than quadrupled its online reach and now offers advertisers access to more than ten million total unique visitors per month, particularly highly captive male audiences.
"S.P.A.N. is a powerful tool for cross-platform message delivery,…
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TORONTO – Global is adding two new U.S. talk shows – The Jeff Probst Show and The Ricki Lake Show – to its daytime lineup this Fall.
The network declined to reveal what current programming will be dropped to make room for the new shows, telling Cartt.ca that details will be released at its upfront presentation scheduled for May 30.
The Jeff Probst Show is a one-hour talk show that will cover topics ranging from relationships and family dynamics to newsmakers of the day, and families and individuals facing challenges. Probst is best known for hosting all 11 editions of Global’s reality hit…
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