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Cable / Telecom News, Radio / Television News

Rogers puts The Shopping Channel on clearance: report

TORONTO – Rogers Communications could rake in more than $300 million for selling off The Shopping Channel and is allegedly actively seeking bids on the broadcast retailer. According to a report from Reuters, Rogers began the sale process six weeks ago and is now in the second round of bids.  Liberty Interactive Corporation is one of the bidders, according to a source quoted in the report, while other interested parties could include U.S. home shopping channel operators HSN Inc. and EVINE Live Inc., which runs ShopHQ, as well as private equity firms.   The Shopping Channel is part of Rogers' media… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Nick Crowe joins Alibi Entertainment

TORONTO – Alibi Entertainment has named Nick Crowe as executive producer. Crowe (pictured) comes from Shaw Media where he was director of original factual content for brands including History, Slice, National Geographic Channel and Global.  Prior to that, he worked for Alliance Atlantis and Canwest Broadcasting – Shaw Media’s predecessors – as a production executive and program manager for History. In his new role, Crowe will oversee development and production of factual content for broadcast and digital platforms.  He will be working out of the company’s head office in Toronto when he joins the Alibi team on July 13. “We are excited… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Rogers completes Mobilicity deal

TORONTO – Rogers has completed its acquisition of Mobilicity and Shaw’s AWS spectrum, just over a week after the two deals were announced. In a short news release late Thursday, the Toronto-based communications company said that it had “received all requisite governmental, creditor and court approvals” to complete the acquisitions. As Cartt.ca reported, Rogers offered $465 million for 100% of Mobilicity’s ownership, plus agreed to buy Shaw's unused AWS-1 spectrum for $100 million, in addition to the down payments made when an option agreement was originally announced in January 2013.  Rogers then agreed divest some of that spectrum to Wind Mobile. www.rogers.com Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Women are leading Canadian television through its biggest challenges

TORONTO – Hollywood Suite chairman and co-founder Jay Switzer recalls in mid-April first taking notice of an important industry signpost: Canadian television's small club of network heads are now all women. "Satisfying that almost nobody has noted Canada's big 3 MediaCo’s & CBC now run by smart leaders who happen to be women. #took50 years," Switzer tweeted at the time. Bell Media president Mary Ann Turcke (lower left, in our photograph) in April joined (clockwise) Rogers Media vice-president of TV and broadcast operations Colette Watson, CBC executive vice-president of English Services Heather Conway, Shaw Media president Barb Williams, and Groupe TVA… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Bell raises broadband stakes, boosting speeds to 1 Gbps

TORONTO – Bell Canada said today it will spend $1.4 billion in Toronto alone to bring fibre to every home and business, and then upped the stakes even further by announcing it will soon bring 1 Gbps speeds to many cities in its footprint – which is up to four times as fast as cable companies offer most of their subscribers in Bell's area. BCE CEO George Cope said Thursday that Gigabit Fibe Internet and television service will start this summer some Toronto neighborhoods, and will be extended to all of Toronto in three years. Quebec City and Halifax will… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

LET’S TALK TV: Wireless Code can’t be used as TV Code template

GATINEAU – Consumer representatives say the CRTC’s proposed TV Service Provider (TVSP) Code of Conduct should mirror many aspects and be “as consistent with the Wireless Code as possible.” The broadcast distributors, on the other hand, say that while having a standard set of practices for all TV providers is a worthwhile initiative, using the wireless code as a template just won’t work. The TV providers Code of Conduct idea is something that came out of the CRTC's Let's Talk TV, TV Policy Review. In a joint submission, the National Pensioners Federation (NPF) and Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) argue that… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Why the Rogers-Mobilicity deal is good for the feds

OTTAWA – Canadians in every region of the country now have a choice between four wireless providers as a result of Wednesday’s spectrum licence transfers between Rogers, Shaw, Mobilicity and Wind as part of Rogers’ acquisition of Mobilicity. As a result, says Industry Canada, new wireless companies now hold approximately 25% of the total wireless spectrum available, up from only 2% in 2006. "The approval of these spectrum licence transfers is a win for Canadian consumers. A new wireless competitor has secured valuable spectrum it needs, and high-quality spectrum that went unused for almost a decade will now be… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Why the Rogers-Mobilicity deal is good for Wind

TORONTO – The new Rogers-Mobilicity agreement, which will see Wind Mobile bulk up its wireless spectrum in five provinces, will help to solidify its role as Canada’s fourth national carrier, the wireless provider said Wednesday. Under the terms of the acquisition, Wind Mobile will receive new spectrum previously held by Mobilicity and Shaw Communications, which it says will at least double its network capacity in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Northern and Eastern Ontario. "This new spectrum acquisition means Wind Mobile now has a 20 megahertz AWS-1 corridor from Victoria to Ottawa," said CEO Alek Krstajic, in a statement.  "This will significantly… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

UPDATED: Why the Rogers-Mobilicity deal is “the best strategic move” Guy Laurence has made so far

TORONTO – Mobilicity has accepted, and Industry Canada, the Ontario Superior Court and late Wednesday the Competition Bureau, have blessed, Rogers’ proposal to acquire 100% of Mobilicity’s ownership for $465 million, the communications giant confirmed Wednesday morning. The announcement also said Rogers will buy Shaw's unused AWS-1 spectrum for $100 million, in addition to the down payments made when an option agreement was originally announced in January 2013, and will then divest some of that spectrum to Wind Mobile.  Specifically, Rogers and Wind will undertake an AWS-1 spectrum swap in Southern Ontario to create contiguous spectrum for Rogers, and Rogers will also divest certain… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Mobilicity proposes MVNO relationship with potential new owner

TORONTO – Amidst reports that Rogers and Telus are battling to acquire Mobilicity, the owners and employees of the struggling wireless provider said Monday that have made an offer to Industry Canada and the federal government to acquire Mobilicity’s current subscribers, dealers, and partial infrastructure by setting up a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) relationship with any potential acquirer. Obelysk Inc., the holding company of Mobilicity founder John Bitove, issued a statement saying that it wants to maintain the Mobilicity brand in Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa where it currently operates, retain its 155,000 subscribers and current dealer network of… Continue Reading