LAS VEGAS – With revenues in the traditional subscription TV business trundling along at 1-2% growth – even though subscribers are not cutting or trimming their subscriptions in real numbers yet – expect all the big media companies to jump into the over-the-top pool, if they haven’t already. The potential global growth is too big to ignore.
That was part of the message this morning during a National Association of Broadcasters Super Session panel diving into the burgeoning business that is OTT video.
While the number of people who say they want to cut or trim their subscription TV bill still…
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TORONTO – Guy Laurence insists he’s merely in the foothills of a long climb, pulling along with him the Rogers Communications brand.
He’s surely been active in his 15 months as Rogers CEO (Can it only be 15 months? So much has been done.) Since the announcement back in September 2013 that he would be the new CEO (Laurence officially started December 2 that year), Rogers purchased the national NHL rights in a $5.2 billion, 12-year deal; spent another $3.3 billion on wireless spectrum; unveiled a new Rogers 3.0 plan that is driving the restructuring of the…
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TORONTO – Former Bell Media exec Catherine MacLeod has been named as the new president of the Television Bureau of Canada (TVB), replacing Theresa Treutler who stepped down from the role last December.
MacLeod was most recently SVP specialty channels and Bell Media production, where she was responsible for the brand and programming strategies across all of Bell Media’s non-sports specialty television and digital assets, including Discovery, Bravo, Space, Comedy, Much, MTV, and TheLoop.ca, plus was responsible for in-house production and original digital video content. Prior to that, MacLeod was VP business and legal affairs at Bell Media,…
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TORONTO – Shaw Media’s Showcase is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a new look and logo designed to reflect the channel’s “big and dramatic sensibility”.
Beginning this week, viewers will see a refreshed brand, on-air and off-air, infused with colourful creative elements that complement the channel’s famed character-driven dramas and blockbuster movies, reads the announcement. The channel’s distinctive new logo, a throwback to the original Showcase logo, anchors all of the on-air elements, from station ID bugs to advertiser billboards, and is complemented by a vibrant and interchangeable colour scheme used in customized brand image spots. The channel’s new tagline…
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DENVER and TORONTO – Just in time for spring, World Fishing Network will be available on a free preview to cable, satellite and telco subscribers in North America for the month of April and into early May.
Dedicated to the angling lifestyle, the network’s programming includes instruction, tips, travel, tournaments, cooking, boating and outdoor recreation with some of the most recognized personalities in the angling community. Starting April 4, World Fishing Network will begin airing 21 new and returning shows with new episodes, including original productions JP DeRose Breaking Boundaries, Bill Boyce’s Cali and Hookin’ Up with Mariko Izumi, along…
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OTTAWA–GATINEAU – Canada’s new emergency alert system may have officially launched this week, but it can’t reach all Canadians after some of the country’s biggest TV service providers, including Bell and Shaw, have delayed its full rollout.
Known as Alert Ready, the system notifies Canadians of emergency situations over their radios and through their televisions. Issued by emergency management officials such as fire marshals, police officers and public health personnel, the alerts are meant to warn the public of dangers to life and property, like severe weather, water contamination and industrial disasters, as well as Amber Alerts.
While all cable and satellite…
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SEATTLE and TORONTO – Popular online video publishing and video management solutions provider thePlatform is providing the back-end video management for Rogers’ and Shaw’s subscription video-on-demand service shomi.
An independent subsidiary of Comcast, thePlatform’s cloud-based mpx video management system provides several back-end functions for shomi. Specifically, mpx provides easy workflow management of video ingest; metadata management; subscriber management and viewing rights enforcement; and automated publishing across device and video player profiles, says a press release the company put out this morning.
“Shomi has raised the bar for multiscreen video entertainment for Canadian viewers,” said Marty Roberts, co-CEO of thePlatform,…
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TORONTO – Doug Murphy officially assumed the role of president and CEO Corus Entertainment on Monday, replacing the retiring John Cassaday.
Murphy, pictured, joined Corus in 2003 and has held numerous senior management positions at the company, most recently as EVP and COO with responsibility for the company’s television and radio divisions. Previously, he was EVP and president of Corus Television; EVP and GM of Corus Kids; and president of Nelvana and Nelvana Enterprises. Before joining Corus, Murphy spent 10 years with the Walt Disney Company in a variety of senior executive positions in Canada, the United States and Japan.
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NEW YORK and TORONTO – Shaw Media’s History has picked up a fourth season of the acclaimed drama series Vikings.
The renewal comes with five episodes remaining in the series’ third season, which airs Thursdays at 10:00 PM ET/PT.
Vikings tells the extraordinary tales of the lives and epic adventures of these warriors and portrays life in the Dark Ages through the eyes of Viking society. The gripping family saga of Ragnar (Travis Fimmel), Rollo (Clive Standen), Lagertha (Canadian Katheryn Winnick) and Bjorn (Canadian Alexander Ludwig) continues in season three as alliances and loyal friendships are questioned, faith is catechized and…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s publicly traded television service providers combined lost a record 65,000 TV subscribers in their respective 2014 fiscal years (November 30/December 31, 2013 to November 30/December 31, 2014), up sharply from just a few hundred lost in their 2013 fiscal years, according to a new report released today
New research from Ottawa-based research and consulting firm Boon Dog Professional Services also shows that the publicly traded TV service providers lost 21,380 TV subscribers combined in their 2014 fiscal fourth quarters, almost double the 11,323 lost in the same periods in 2013.
“The trend continues to show the…
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