TORONTO – Last week the three largest private English language broadcasters all laid down their cards and showed their hands for the upcoming fall TV season.
While some of what we heard and saw was predictable (Rogers is hockey mad, Shaw’s Global is drama-happy and Bell took a shot or two at the amount of money Rogers spent on hockey…), there were some surprises, as well. The biggest is that Rogers has compressed what it considers Citytv’s prime time from 8 to 10 p.m. only, leaving the 10-11 hour primarily to CTV and Global (and CHCH, too).
What’s the deal at…
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BANFF – On Sunday, seven wise folk sat as a panel to road-map what the future holds for our business.
These were: moderator Peter Sussman, executive director of Aver Media Finance (part of BMO); Jeremy Butteriss of Google Canada; Walter Levitt the CMO of Comedy Central; Kirstine Stewart the managing director of Twitter Canada; John Morayniss the CEO at EOneTV; Peter Schube the president and CEO of Jim Henson Co.; and Barbara Williams, Shaw Media's content SVP.
Let's make it clear that Williams (right) was just kidding when she exclaimed she only needed a job for three more years, so could…
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TORONTO – TSN has inked a new multi-year deal with Woodbine Entertainment Group to broadcast every race from the Canadian Triple Crown series: the Queen's Plate, Prince Of Wales Stakes, and Breeders' Stakes – marking the first time the network has carried all three of these events.
With this new deal, TSN now becomes the exclusive home of the most prestigious thoroughbred horse races in North America, as the network will also air exclusive live coverage of the American Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes, airing June 7 at 6:00 PM ET on TSN (pre-race…
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TORONTO – Another year and another rebrand – two in fact. After making over TVTropolis in to DTOUR at this time last year, Shaw Media said Wednesday that it will launch new specialty channels FYI and Crime + Investigation later this year, rebrands of Twist TV and Mystery TV, respectively.
Geared towards a younger, upscale audience, FYI will offer contemporary lifestyle programs that spark inspiration, imagination, and innovation amongst viewers, reads the press release. From the fashionable-food-blogger to the adventure-seeking-bookworm, millenials are history's most progressive social innovators living hyphenated lives in digital domains. With an off-script format engaging this…
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TORONTO – Building on last year's hit U.S. dramas The Blacklist, Chicago PD and Sleepy Hollow, Global announced Wednesday that it is adding eight new dramas to its fall lineup.
The new shows include psychological thriller Stalker starring Maggie Q Dylan McDermott; Madam Secretary, starring Téa Leoni as the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State; the mysterious Gracepoint; and State of Affairs (pictured) featuring Katherine Heigl as a CIA analyst who navigates political minefields. Based on the comic book series Hellblazer from DC Comics, Constantine will adapt the comic about a man-turned-supernatural detective. And building on the NCIS franchise, Global will…
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EMERALD PARK, Sask. – It may have taken a little longer than expected for Ag-Com Productions to bring The Rural Channel (TRC) to life, but it recently celebrated its one year anniversary. On May 29, 2013 the rural lifestyle and agri-food business channel hit Canadian airwaves through an exclusive distribution arrangement with Shaw Direct.
Originally licensed in August 2008, TRC took five years to come to fruition. It had planned to go to air in 2011, but it had to wait on the launch of Shaw Direct’s new satellite. Even so, Bill Wilson (pictured), founder, president…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Cable companies reported modest growth in revenues and subscribers in 2013, while satellite companies recorded a decline in both categories, according to the CRTC’s statistical and financial results for the industry released Thursday.
According to Broadcast Distribution 2009–2013: Cable, Multipoint Distribution Systems and Direct-to-Home, combined revenues for both cable and satellite companies increased by 4.8% from $14.1 billion in 2012 to $14.8 billion in 2013. The total number of subscribers, (which includes customers subscribed to IPTV services such as Bell’s Fibe TV or Telus’ Optik TV, but excludes independent cable companies with less than 2,000 subs and who…
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TORONTO – With the prevalence of video on demand and services like Netflix, many of us take for granted just how easy it is to find exactly the kind of movie or other programming you want to watch. For those living with vision loss, however, accessing described video content through a streaming or VOD service has been next to impossible.
Until now. Toronto businessman Kevin Shaw (pictured) has developed a unique streaming solution where those who are visually impaired or have vision loss can enjoy popular movies and TV shows, dubbed with described video, for a monthly subscription.
Zagga Entertainment,…
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LOS GATOS, CA – Bell took first place and Rogers finished last in Netflix’s first Canadian ISP Speed Index that compared connection speeds amongst 14 providers.
The fibre services from Bell and Bell Aliant topped the chart at 3.19 and 3.10 Mbps, respectively, closely followed by Shaw at 3.00 Mbps and Videotron at 2.82 Mbps. Rogers ranked 14th with 1.67 Mbps.
The average speed for Canada was 2.52 Mbps, which Netflix said beats that of the United States, but ranks below most European nations.
The Netflix ISP Speed Index is based on data from the more than 48 million Netflix members…
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TORONTO – With a number of provincial and municipal elections scheduled for this year, Canada’s biggest news organizations have laid down the law on the use of their footage in political ads.
In an open letter dated April 22, representatives from CBC, Radio-Canada, Bell Media, Shaw Media and Rogers Media forbade the use of their respective content in political advertisements without their express consent.
“Accordingly, in anticipation of the upcoming elections, we wish to advise that effective immediately our organizations will not accept any political advertisement which uses our content without our express authorization”, continues the letter. “Additionally, we will not…
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