GATINEAU – Canada’s public and private broadcasters are urging the CRTC to implement a local-into-local signal carriage regime for the country’s direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast distributors, saying the time has come to force them to comply with the provisions in the Broadcasting Act.
Private broadcasters Canwest and CTVglobemedia acknowledge in their submissions to the Regulator for 2010-488, the review of the direct-to-home satellite distribution policy, that Shaw Direct and Bell TV have capacity constraints, but this doesn’t take away from the fact the TV stations are harmed financially when they aren’t carried.
“Unfortunately, where a local television is not…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications executives told the CRTC today that it has no plans to hoard all of its content when it gains control of Canwest Global – and that when it comes to the digital transition, it would rather upgrade all of its transmitters, not just the ones in mandatory markets.
Commissioners were happily caught off-guard by the some of the commitments the big MSO/ISP/home phone/future wireless provider made this morning in Calgary.
When asked by CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein what the company planned to do in the unregulated spaces of mobile and broadband and how much content it…
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CALGARY – “Put yourself into my shoes,” CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein asked Shaw Cable’s executives.
The chair made the plea during an exchange Monday morning at the Airport Four Points Sheraton in Calgary during the day-long hearing into the western cableco’s applications to renew most of its cable licenses.
Due to a number of regulatory transgressions and questions over the years, (especially concerning advertising messages on some of its community channels that were contrary to the regulations, and treatment of some specialty channels), Shaw was granted only a short term license renewal by the CRTC back in 2008…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s public and private broadcasters are urging the CRTC to implement a local-into-local signal carriage regime for the country’s direct-to-home (DTH) broadcast distributors, saying the time has come to force them to comply with the provisions in the Broadcasting Act.
Private broadcasters Canwest and CTVglobemedia acknowledge in their submissions to the Regulator for 2010-488, the review of the direct-to-home satellite distribution policy, that Shaw Direct and Bell TV have capacity constraints, but this doesn’t take away from the fact the TV stations are harmed financially when they aren’t carried.
“Unfortunately, where a local television is not…
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TORONTO – While more and more Canadians opt for smart phones like BlackBerry’s, iPhones and Android-powered devices, increased competition in the market is going to hurt the incumbent wireless operators’ bottom lines, says a new report.
Toronto’s Convergence Consulting forecasts a Canadian wireless service ARPU decline of 1% for 2010 (ARPU saw a 3% decline in 2009), driven by a 7% drop in voice ARPU (2009 saw a 9% voice ARPU drop). While data service ARPU will grow by 26% in 2010, the company estimates, that will not be enough to counter overall ARPU decline according to its report ‘Canadian Wireless 2008-2014:…
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TORONTO – As the CRTC considers Shaw’s proposed purchase of Canwest Global’s TV assets, one industry analyst specualted on the implications of content providers making their content proprietary.
In a note to investors on Tuesday, Dvai Ghose, the managing director and head of Canadian research for Canaccord Genuity, said that companies like BCE and Rogers “see content ownership as an essential bargaining chip when negotiating content deals”, which, he continued, could make it difficult for companies who do not own content, naming TELUS and MTS as examples, to compete in the broadband, TV, and wireless segments.
“This does not seem to be in the interest…
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TORONTO – As the company gears up to launch its wireless service next year, Shaw has put out the call for new employees.
Shaw will host a “networking event” in downtown Toronto this Thursday evening, with qualified candidates invited back the following day for a more formal interview. Details and the location of the event will be revealed to the first 300 guests who RSVP here.
While short on specifics, Shaw’s announcement said that it’s looking to fill “a wide range of positions” within its IT and Engineering teams.
www.shaw.ca
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PART OF THE RATIONALE behind Bell Canada’s purchase of CTV is that the mobile and broadband spaces are unregulated – and that content exclusives will be part of the game when attracting and retaining subscribers who want to see their video content on their iPads, BlackBerrys or PCs, as well as their TVs.
Bell CEO George Cope told us as much when we asked him about it during the press conference announcing the deal last week.
However, to paraphrase what Telus has been saying for a while now: “Not so fast, consolidators.”
The Bell/CTV deal was excellent timing for the…
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CALGARY – When the CRTC dives into the proposed purchase of Canwest Global’s TV assets by Shaw Communications next week, many industry stakeholders are asking for asking for safeguards and urging the Commission to be prudent.
(Cartt.ca editor and publisher Greg O’Brien will be in Calgary next week covering the hearing. For live updates, follow him on Twitter via @gregobr and surf back to Cartt.ca regularly.)
The $2 billion deal, which would make Shaw the largest vertically integrated media company in Canada, for now, appears to have the cautious support of many, as long as certain conditions – often described as “competitive safeguards” – are attached.
Shaw’s primary…
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TORONTO and CALGARY – Add Shaw to the short list of distributors who have added Rogers Sportsnet One to their programming rosters.
Starting Wednesday, Shaw said that “the vast majority” of its customers will receive Sportsnet One as part of their existing television package. The channel will be available to all Shaw digital TV customers in a free preview until October 31, and then be added to the Shaw Digital TV, HD Plus, and HD Sports packages.
Shaw Direct customers will have Sportsnet One included in the English and French Essentials package, and in the HD Sports packages.
"As customer advocates, we’ve…
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