OUTSPOKEN CONSUMER GROUP OpenMedia.ca is miffed that it has yet to be invited to meet with new Industry Minister Christian Paradis.
After a report on Bloomberg noted that Minister Paradis held meetings earlier this month with 13 of Canada’s largest telcos – including Bell, Rogers, Telus, and Shaw – the organization issued a statement claiming that “positions the Industry Minister to create key digital policies in the Big Telecom lobby’s narrow commercial interests rather than those of Canadians”.
“Time and again the Big Telecom lobby has shown its neglect, and even disdain, for the Canadian public’s communications interests”, said OpenMedia.ca executive director Steve…
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TORONTO – Showcase kicked off a new multi-media marketing campaign this week in support of its roster of fall shows.
The four-week promotion targets adults 25-54 primarily in Toronto and Vancouver in support of the new series Royal Pains and Warehouse 13, as well as the return of fan favourites Lost Girl and Covert Affairs.
While the campaign initially launched in July with on-air teasers across Shaw Media channels, the off-air campaign includes a large-scale media buy that includes out-of-home, in-cinema, on-air, online, radio, print and IPG advertising. In Toronto, it also includes a “subway takeover” at St. George station and on…
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ANTHONY LACAVERA CARRIES two BlackBerrys with him wherever he goes. One is a Wind Mobile handset, of course. The other, Rogers (with the logo scratched off).
The Globalive chairman and Wind Mobile CEO wants to make sure wherever he goes, he can do a real-time comparison of his own of his company’s network performance versus the Canadian mobile market leader, via his own handset. Just last week he was doing that in Kitchener-Waterloo, Wind’s newest market.
In a couple of years, he hopes to be able to do the same thing in many more places using a more robust bit…
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TORONTO and MONTREAL – Rogers Sportsnet is partnering with Quebecor-owned TVA on the new French-language sports channel TVA Sports that will launch nationally on September 12.
The new channel plans to air more than 60 Toronto Blue Jays baseball games and 25 regional Ottawa Senators hockey games (Rogers owns the English-language broadcast rights to these properties, plus the Blue Jays team). TVA Sports has declared itself the official broadcaster of Major League Soccer’s Montreal Impact, plus has signed a multi-year agreement with Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for live fights and The Ultimate Fighter series (which also airs on Rogers Sportsnet).
The…
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MONTREAL – Montreal’s Metro 14 will launch in high definition this Saturday.
The Channel Zero-owned station also confirmed that it will be launching in HD on Cogeco systems around the Montréal area later this fall. It is currently available on Videotron, Bell TV, Shaw Direct Rogers, and over-the-air in HD.
New to channel’s fall primetime lineup, which debuts September 12, are series The Insider, Hart of Dixie, and The Secret Circle, plus a new morning show that will premier in early October.
www.metro14.ca
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CALGARY – Shaw Direct added 13 new local channels to its basic service in markets across the country on Monday.
The new channels include Global Regina, Okanagan, and Maritimes (Saint John); CTV Kitchener and Saskatoon; CityTV Winnipeg; and CBC Charlottetown.
French-language offerings include TVA Abitibi; SRC Trois Rivieres and Regina; Montreal’s multilingual Metro14; Teletoon Retro French; and TFO which will be available August 29.
www.shawdirect.ca
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC released two reports Monday which it says reiterates its commitment to official-language minority communities (OLMC).
The reports, Annual report on results – Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act (2010-2011) and Results-Based Action Plan – Implementation of Section 41 of the Official Languages Act (2011-2014) highlight recent CRTC decisions which the Commission claims “will lead to improved access to broadcasting and telecommunications services, and increased OLMC representation within the broadcasting system”.
“OLMCs have increased their participation in processes that affect their development. They have shared their viewpoints and priorities,” said CRTC…
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A MONTH FROM TODAY, Canadian Cable Systems Alliance members, their supporters and suppliers will gather at the Fairmont Tremblant in Mont Tremblant Quebec for Connect 2011, its yearly conference and annual general meeting.
The gathering will begin Sunday with a board meeting and CCSA members-only sessions, followed by an evening President’s Reception for all attendees.
After breakfast on Monday, September 19, Rob McCann of Clearcable Networks will host a technical session “to talk about recent development relevant to independent operators,” said CCSA president and CEO Alyson Townsend.
After that will be the popular trade show (last year’s, held in Niagara-on-the-Lake, is pictured below)…
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CALGARY – Shaw Direct has chosen speech analytics technology from Nexidia for its three call centres as it strives to improve upon its level of customer service.
Nexidia’s integrated recording and analytics solution will allow Shaw Direct to quickly access and analyze recorded audio from its contact centre customer interactions in French and English, as well as identify and improve areas like average handle time, first call resolution, sales and process effectiveness.
"We have a history of award-winning customer service which we’re very proud of, but we’re always looking for new ways to amaze our customers with the support we give them,"…
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CALGARY – Speculation on just what Shaw Communications will do on the wireless front has been rampant since the winter when the company decided to shelve its HSPA build in the face of high costs and accelerating next generation technology.
Rumours of a pact with Rogers Communications to build a national LTE network were pretty hot for a while and others are guessing the big cable and broadband company just might forget about cellular altogether and go for a wi-fi strategy.
Back in June, Shaw CEO Brad Shaw told Cartt.ca the company would have a decision “over…
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