TORONTO – Four traditional Canadian telcos which not that long ago had no TV subscribers now represent about 1.3 million Canadian subscription television customers.
A key reason behind that growth has been the offer of much more flexible packaging than what had been available from their cable and satellite competitors. While the telco TV companies’ cable competitors have made strides in that direction of late, it was the availability of smaller theme packs of specialty channels and some a-la-carte offerings that set the IPTV carriers apart from their more mature competition – who stuck with larger tiers for a long…
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TORONTO – TSN is shining the spotlight on the game’s next generation of star players after forming a new partnership with College Hockey Inc. to air expanded live coverage of the 2014-15 NCAA men’s division 1 ice hockey season.
Nearly 200 NHL draft picks are currently playing NCAA Hockey and more than 30% of all NCAA Hockey players are Canadian. TSN’s live coverage consists of 37 games, including the Frozen Four championship, all of which are available for live streaming and on demand viewing to TSN subscribers through TSN Go.
“We’re very excited to showcase so many of hockey’s emerging…
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OTTAWA – Spectrum set asides, eligibility to purchase set-aside spectrum, and the band plan remain the primary sticking points for Canada’s wireless service providers in reply comments to Industry Canada’s consultation on the AWS-3 spectrum auction framework.
The country’s large wireless operators have panned many aspects of the department’s proposed approach to the AWS-3 auction. A 30 MHz set-aside that includes spectrum contiguous to previously auctioned AWS-1 spectrum gives new entrants a considerable leg up, they argue. Not only do they believe that the set aside is the wrong approach, they think if the department does indeed set…
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TORONTO – Soon to be launched Canadian SVOD service shomi has locked up more content after signing a multi-year deal with Starz Digital Media, the global digital and on-demand licensing and content syndication arm of Starz.
The deal includes exclusive second-window access to select Starz original series such as The White Queen, Da Vinci’s Demons, Black Sails, Magic City, Power and Spartacus.
“Our partnership with Starz brings a phenomenal mix of immersive dramas and loveable comedies to our members,” said Marni Shulman, shomi’s head of content and programming, in the news release. “Every program in this deal offers premium content for our viewers…
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TORONTO – Mystery TV will become Crime + Investigation on November 3, Shaw Media said Friday.
The re-branded channel, a partnership between Shaw Media and A+E Networks, will still offer series such Law & Order, NCIS, Rookie Blue and Haven, as well as exclusive docuseries like My Haunted House, I Killed My BFF and The Haunting of…
As part of the rebranding, Crime + Investigation will be available as a free preview to Rogers Digital customers from November 4 to December 11, 2014.
"With series that take viewers behind the crimes and into the investigations, Mystery TV has evolved into Crime +…
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BANFF – Three days of great weather, stunning scenery, clean mountain air and a ton of networking and learning made for another super CCSA CONNECT conference, where much of the talk surrounded the lengthy and somewhat contentious TV Policy Review hearing.
After CRTC vice-chairman broadcasting Tom Pentefountas opened the conference Monday morning with his speech (one which pretty much stayed away from the hearing), one of the conference’s sponsors AMC’s Lesley Fields, showed she’d been listening to the Commission’s Let’s Talk TV hearing when she noted she felt nervous following Pentefountas saying: “I feel the need…
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TORONTO – Rogers and Shaw’s nascent subscription video-on-demand service shomi is adding some impressive new content to its library after finalizing agreements with FX, FXX, and Fox.
The deals include exclusive access to past seasons of FX and FXX originals, including Sons of Anarchy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, The Americans, Wilfred, American Horror Story and Louie. Come 2015, shomi customers will also gain access to past seasons of recently released dramas Tyrant and The Strain and comedies Married and You're The Worst.
Fox programming includes New Girl, Sleepy Hollow, Bob's Burgers, 24: Live Another Day, and Modern Family. Also available non-exclusively are episodes of Homeland, Glee, American Dad, and Family Guy.
"The titles offered on shomi are hand-picked by our team of…
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GATINEAU – Independent ISP TekSavvy Solutions told the CRTC Tuesday it would love to become a broadcast distributor because that’s what its customers are asking, but added it can’t enter the game at the moment because the cost of bandwidth is simply too high.
According to a study from Nordicity, the bandwidth costs for the ISP to provide basic service would come to $80 if networked PVR capability was included. “That’s just the bandwidth – before we pay for content or anything else,” said TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault in his opening remarks to the Commission’s Let’s Talk TV policy hearing.
He…
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GATINEAU – Of all the interveners appearing so far at the CRTC’s TV Policy Review, the CBC’s might be the most contentious – and its executives endured a good grilling by the commissioners Friday morning on the fifth day of the Commission’s TV Policy Review.
The Crown Corp, which has had a rough past 24 months as most know, has come to the CRTC asking for a number of new things, but three aspects are drawing the most attention. It wants: to be able to shut off its transmitters and charge subscription TV providers a wholesale fee; for the Commission…
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GATINEAU – The non-vertically integrated cablecos, Cogeco and members of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) entered the Let’s Talk TV policy hearing discussion fray on Thursday with both arguing the Commission must ensure they can acquire programming rights at reasonable costs without onerous terms.
Keith Stevens, chair of the board at CCSA member Execulink Telecom, noted during the CCSA’s opening remarks that the recent affiliation agreement with Bell Media is a prime example of the harm small cable TV providers face when dealing with VI providers. Under this deal, Execulink was required to maintain packaging requirements as they were…
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