VANCOUVER – Telus announced Thursday that, pending some government and debtholder approvals, it will acquire Mobilicity for $380 million.
If the deal receives the required approvals, it would ensure continued service to Mobilicity’s 250,000 customers without the risk of disruption, says the press release the companies issued.
Without this deal, Mobilicity would likely end up seeking bankruptcy protection in short order. Of course, it remains to be seen what government thinks of this and whether or not it will grant the request to shift Mobilicity’s spectrum to Telus immediately. DAVE, Mobilicity’s parent company, purchased the spectrum for $240 million in 2008…
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TORONTO – To help advertisers engage more viewers during televised shows, Shaw is unveiling a new promotion this weekend that bypasses the traditional commercial break and makes the ad part of the program’s content.
Viewers watching Showcase’s airing of The Hangover on May 18 at 10 p.m. ET will see the new promotion Shaw is calling “live on screen” integration, which will feature a promotion of Warner Bros upcoming Hangover Part III that’s been seamlessly integrated into scenes of the movie.
Shaw’s director of marketing ventures, Ann-Marie Spurr, likens the ad-in-a-movie integration to a director’s…
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KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group announced today it has acquired three FM radio stations owned by Bell Media and Astral located in Calgary and Winnipeg.
Pattison will purchase Bell Media’s Kool FM 101.5 (CKCE-FM) in Calgary, FAB 94.3 (CHIQ-FM) in Winnipeg, as well as Astral’s QX 104 (CFQX-FM) in Winnipeg, pending CRTC approvals.
“With the pending launch of our newest station CHPK-FM (95.3 The Peak) in Calgary, combining forces with KooL FM (Today & Back in the Day) and its great team will allow our group to have a very strong competitive…
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MONTREAL – It's the darling of the Canadian telecom field these days among Bay Streeters, and Telus again had a strong quarter, posting a 13% increase in quarterly profit in its Q1 results released Thursday as it added tens of thousands of new wireless and IPTV customers.
It’s wireless ARPU has grown to over $60 a month and the price of its newly split shares is on the rise. Churn is down, customer satisfaction is up, wireline revenues are increasing, and dividend payouts are growing for investors. According to EVP and chief…
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MONTREAL – Spend long enough in a hearing room and you’ll zone out for a bit. Yes, we admit, it’s happened to us. “I wonder if we’ll be done in time for the hockey game… I really have to cut the grass when I get home…”
Then, one or more of the parties says something that makes you say: Did he/she just say that? Sometimes those moments make it into a story. Other times, not. Here are a few of those other times: ************************* DURING ITS INTERVENTION on Tuesday, Rogers SVP of video content David Purdy told commissioners he sees…
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MONTREAL – In a lengthy appearance before the CRTC commissioners on Wednesday (more than twice as long as either Rogers or Telus the day prior) Cogeco Cable left no doubt where it stood on the question of Bell Canada buying Astral Media: There can be no compromises, no new regulatory caveats that make this deal palatable, and so the merger must be denied. Again.
Cogeco’s argument was similar to the one EastLink made earlier on Wednesday, but the Montreal-based cable and radio firm offered up more detail. CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais has asked the opposing interveners Tuesday and Wednesday for…
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TORONTO – A final reminder from CTAM Canada that registration is closing Friday May 10 for its 2013 Strategic Marketing Course taking place May 29-30.
The two-day executive strategic marketing program is an opportunity to join executives from a number of companies, including Astral, Bell Media, Blue Ant Media, Cogeco, Corus, Rogers, Shaw, Shaw Media, Stingray Digital, TVO and more. Space for the two-day event is limited to 50 participants and are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
Led by Harvard Business School Professors Bharat Anand and Rajiv Lal, this year’s program…
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MONTREAL – Bell Canada and Astral Media executives attempted a bit more of a conciliatory approach in presenting its new, sharper, different, application to the CRTC which seeks permission to bring the two companies together under changed conditions compared to last time; but the questions from the panel of commissioners were equally as tough as the first go-around in September 2012.
(The details of the deal – already approved by the Competition Bureau, can be found here – and the company’s opening presentation unveiled nothing new, as demanded by the CRTC. So, the real story was…
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TORONTO – TVO is set to debut its first commissioned drama series that tells the story of eight medical students and the challenges they face practicing rural medicine in Northern Ontario.
Featuring a Canadian ensemble cast headed by actor Patrick McKenna, Hard Rock Medical premieres with two 30-minute episodes on June 9 at 8 p.m. ET.
Loosely inspired by the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, TVO says the series provides a fresh and entertaining look at the unique challenges of delivering healthcare in Ontario’s north. Hard Rock U's…
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OTTAWA – Shaw Communications vice-president of government relations, Charles King, died on Monday of cancer. He was 47.
King was well-known and respected in Ottawa circles as a straight shooter who could build relationships and for his clients and employers, no matter the party in power. A long-time Liberal, he worked in the party’s Ottawa headquarters in the 1980s and 1990s under the likes of Don Johnston and Lloyd Axworthy.
In 1996, King joined the Canadian Cable Television Association and later worked for the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and for Earnscliffe Strategy Group, where he had many broadcasting and telecom clients….
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