Search Results for: shaw

Radio / Television News

New ad campaign for National Geographic Channel uses iconic yellow frame

TORONTO – National Geographic Channel has kicked off a new national advertising campaign highlighting the 125-year-old yellow frame synonymous with the brand. The campaign, which began this week, replaces the letter ‘O’ with the yellow frame in the words “whOa,” “mindblOwing,” “heartpOunding” and “explOsive” in the creative.  A combination of visuals and captions promotes the channel’s fall lineup which includes series such as Locked Up Abroad, Frontier Force, The Indestructibles, Rocketmen and Mad Scientists. The marketing elements include print advertisements in the Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald and the Edmonton Journal plus an online buy on specific life and entertainment-centric websites. A 30-second promotional commercial… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw rolls out new faster fibre-optic network

CALGARY – Shaw has launched its new inter-city fibre-optic network capable of carrying Internet, voice, video and data at 100 Gigabits per second (Gbit/s). Shaw said Tuesday that the network has the capability of carrying up to eighty-eight 100 Gbit/s channels over a single pair of fibres, meaning it can handle up to 133 million voice calls, 440,000 HDTV channels, or transmit 44 Blu-ray Discs in one second.  Enhancements to the fibre-optic network will benefit both residential and business customers by providing new services, speed and reliability that is part of the Shaw Internet experience, the company’s announcement continued.  The launch follows… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telcos wrap von Finckenstein’s final hearing with thanks

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… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Rogers tests new flexible TV package

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… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw to trial Wi-Fi strategy

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… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Revenues up, profits down at Shaw

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. … Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Telco TV a growing force

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… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

UPDATE: Shaw locks up Bell Media channels in five-year deal

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… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Lee takes on VP, head of affiliate sales, at Corus

TORONTO – Gordon Lee has been named vice-president, head of affiliate sales for Corus Entertainment, effective immediately. Lee brings over 25 years of industry experience managing affiliate relations for a number of satellite and media companies to the role.  After joining Corus in 2006, he was most recently director of content distribution.  In his new role, Lee (right) will be responsible for overseeing new platform strategies, championing new product innovation, and continuing to manage Corus’ relationships with cable, satellite, telco partners and other distributors.  He will report to Doug Murphy, EVP and president, television.

Radio / Television News

Johnson, Shearer join original content department at Shaw Media

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… Continue Reading