OTTAWA and TORONTO – For a guy whose new company is about to jump into the competitive world of mobile communications – but only after it has been scrutinized in a very public review by the CRTC – Globalive Holdings chair and CEO Anthony Lacavera seems pretty relaxed.
Calling the upcoming review of Globalive’s ownership and control “fairly standard procedure”, Lacavera told Cartt.ca that his only moment of concern came when he read that the CRTC could take up to 120 days after the close of the hearing in September to render a decision, which could have pushed back his launch…
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VANCOUVER – The Shaw Tower in Vancouver has been awarded the highest level of environmental certification by The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), an accomplishment shared with only five other Canadian buildings.
The building, which is managed in partnership with Westbank Projects Corp., demonstrated outstanding achievements in the areas of energy and water resource management, waste and emission reduction, indoor environment and management systems. It also initiated green programs such as battery recycling, commuter ride-sharing and a joint landlord/tenant action committee, the press release detailed.
"At Shaw, we are committed to promoting sustainability and conservation practices with our employees, in…
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HAMILTON – After half a century in cable, Owen Boris decided this year, at the age of 77, it was finally time to retire.
In July of 1959, Boris launched Mountain Cable in a brand new Hamilton subdivision where aerial utilities (phone and power) weren’t allowed, meaning his system was one of the first, if not the first, to go underground.
Just prior to the launch of the cable company, Boris had been a member of the engineering team who helped create the famous, and infamous, Avro Arrow jet. When that project was killed, Boris needed something to do. He had…
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CALGARY – The rumour mill had been spinning wildly over the past couple of days in Hamilton about the impending sale of Mountain Cablevision, but the buyer, announced this morning to be Shaw Communications, is a bit of a surprise.
Based in Hamilton, Ontario Mountain has approximately 41,000 cable customers and has been very successful adding services, too, with 28,000 Internet subscribers and 27,000 telephone customers.
The purchase price was not announced, but a cable company in the lucrative southern Ontario market with this many revenue generating units, expect the price to be north of about $300 million, sources have told…
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TORONTO – In a note to clients, BMO Nesbitt Burns media and cable analyst Tim Casey notes the Shaw Communications purchase price of Mountain Cablevision may be as high as $300 million (a whopping $7,300 per sub).
While saying the impact of the purchase is “slightly negative” for Shaw, Casey notes that industry contacts “have speculated a price in the $300mm range, implying roughly 12x EBITDA,” he wrote.
“The transaction is a surprise given Shaw’s Ontario assets are in Sault Ste. Marie, Kenora and Thunder Bay. We expect operating synergies will be limited.
“Given Shaw’s industry-leading track record regarding capital allocation, we…
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CALGARY – This week, Shaw Communications removed four channels, BBC Kids, Court TV Canada, Discovery Kids and TV Land Canada from the channel lineups on Shaw Digital Cable and satellite service Shaw Direct (formerly Star Choice).
CTVglobemedia owns TV Land Canada and Court TV and while TV Land was carried only by Shaw Direct, Court TV was carried on cable and satellite.
Canwest-owned BBC Kids was carried by cable and satellite, too, and Corus Entertainment’s Discovery Kids was just available on Shaw Direct.
All three programmers confirmed that the channels have either already been removed, or are about to be. Each are…
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TORONTO – CTV has sold CKX-TV Brandon to Canadian investment firm Bluepoint Investment Corporation for one dollar.
Bluepoint assumes all of CKX-TV’s broadcast assets, liabilities and commitments with the purchase, including the station’s 39 employees, the announcement read.
"This is good news for the employees that work at CKX-TV Brandon and the surrounding communities who depend everyday on the local programming that the station provides," said Paul Sparkes, CTVglobemedia’s EVP of corporate affairs, in the announcement. "Being an independent operator, Bluepoint will be able to access the Small Market Local Programming Fund. This is something that neither CTV nor Canwest have…
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CALGARY – Shaw Direct customers now have local and international weather at their fingertips thanks to Shaw Direct Weather, a new interactive service that launched Wednesday.
Customers with advanced Shaw Direct receivers can tune in to the new service for customizable, 5-day weather forecasts from more than 1,500 Canadian communities, U.S. cities, and select international destinations in both English and French via two dedicated channels.
The new channels will be rolled out on a free preview basis to all customers with receivers that have on-screen picture-in-guide capability through July 22, 2009.
"Our customers demand the best in flexible and affordable viewing experiences and…
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GATINEAU – In back-to-back presentations this morning, the CRTC heard from two of Canada’s largest ISPs, Telus and Cogeco Cable, one of which uses no Internet traffic management techniques (yet) and one which uses them all the time.
Each want the same thing, however: to be left alone to manage their networks how they see fit.
Telus, the big western-based telco, uses no traffic management technology right now on either its retail consumers or wholesale business clients, said senior vice-president of regulatory and government affairs Michael Hennessy. But it wants the freedom to be able to deploy them, if needed, in…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications says the CRTC has “betrayed Canadians’ trust” with Monday’s announcement of two new taxes on TV consumers.
"It is difficult to believe the CRTC is mandating these tax transfers – money from the pockets of ten million Canadians to three Canadian broadcasters", said president Peter Bissonnette in a statement released Wednesday.
Like its cable brethren Rogers, Shaw has vowed to fight the new fees “aggressively”, noting that broadcasters have not commited to spending more on local programming with the additional funds.
"Our customers are already heavily subsidizing the broadcasters with a CRTC ordered tax of…
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