TORONTO – Launching today with a three-month free preview, Videotron subscribers in Quebec will get unlimited access to FX Canada. Programming includes American Horror Story: Asylum, Sons of Anarchy, Louie and The League, as well as late-night shows Brand X with Russell Brand and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. FX Canada is available to Videotron subscribers in SD on channel 210 and in HD on channel 810.
“There is a high demand for FX’s premium content across Canada, and Rogers is excited to bring this award-winning programming to the Quebec market, “ said Scott…
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TORONTO – TSN and Sportsnet have both reached an agreement with the Barclays Premier League to secure the media rights to a comprehensive soccer package over the next three seasons.
Beginning in the 2013-14 season, the agreement gives TSN, Sportsnet and French-language broadcaster RDS media rights to half of all Barclays Premier League games through to the 2015-2016 season – approximately 190 games per season. Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Canadians need an “enforceable, comprehensive wireless code” in light of the number and type of complaints highlighted in the Annual Report of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS), according to telecommunications advocacy group Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC).
The CCTS Annual Report, released Thursday, indicated that 60% of all complaints received were from wireless service customers. The CCTS also handles internet and wireless service problems for Canadians after being given the mandate by the CRTC.
"The CCTS can only do so much: the wireless industry needs to step…
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DENIED. We’re still surprised (and most anyone who tells you they feel otherwise is pretty much full of it).
I mean, many of us had suggested a full-on denial could happen – and the overall tone of the public hearing last month surely had some believing it was a possibility, but it was pretty difficult to find anyone who would actually say with any certainty before Thursday afternoon this deal would be nixed. The CRTC hasn’t really fully said “No” to a significant deal since Vidéotron tried to buy CFCF in the 1990s and Power Corporation wanted to buy Quebec…
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OTTAWA – Bell Canada claims the CRTC, in its decision to kill the company's $3.4 billion takeover of Astral Media, ignored its own rules, created a bunch of new ones, was based on incorrect market share calculations and because of that it has asked the federal government to directly step in.
Calling the CRTC decision “absurd,” on Monday, BCE Inc. submitted a request to the federal Cabinet that it issue a policy direction under Section 7 of the Broadcasting Act that directs the CRTC to follow its existing policies when reviewing change of control transactions in broadcasting,…
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GATINEAU – Saying it is “shocked” and “appalled” at the CRTC’s decision to deny its $3.4 billion purchase of Astral Media, Bell Canada says it isn’t through with this fight yet.
"This is a decision that should not stand. Canadian consumers were told today by the CRTC that they don't deserve more – more choice, more competition, more Canadian content funding – all of which Bell and Astral committed to with this transaction," said George Cope, president and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE Inc. in a sharply worded statement released hours after the Commission decision was made public at…
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THE ASTONISHED FEEDBACK came fast and furious late Thursday as people tried to give voice to their feelings on the Commission decision to deny Bell Canada’s $3.4 billon purchase of Astral Media.
******************** “Like most observers, we had expected conditional approval,” said analyst Dvai Ghose of Canaccord Genuity in a note to clients. “This could also have implications for other potential media transactions such as Shaw-Corus, although in that case both entities are already controlled by the Shaw family. We also believe that the speculation of a Corus bid for Astral could rise and could be more palatable for regulators.
“While…
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ORLANDO – Look for the next generation of cable's DOCSIS broadband platform to support "multi-gigabit speeds" and be backwards-compatible with earlier DOCSIS versions, according to Phil McKinney, the new president and CEO of CableLabs.
Speaking on a cable technology panel here just prior to the annual SCTE Cable-Tec Expo show, McKinney said CableLabs and its members and vendor partners began working in earnest on the new DOCSIS 3.1 specification about two months ago. Although he didn’t spell out all of the technical details about the proposed standard, he said the aim of the new initiative is to boost MSO broadband…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC said Thursday that Corus Entertainment's OWN and G4techTV (co-owned by Rogers Communications with minority owner Comcast Corporation) specialty channels are not complying with their licenses and must tell the CRTC why those licenses shouldn't be revoked or suspended. The hearing is set for December 11 in Gatineau, Quebec.
As analyzed by Cartt.ca in August, Corus had filed an application to change OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network which began life in 1999 as Canadian Learning Television) from a Category A service to a Category B service and to drop its educational…
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TORONTO – Stephanie MacKendrick is calling it quits after more than 16 years at the helm of Canadian Women in Communications. She will be leaving the organization as president on December 1, 2012 to pursue new opportunities. She will remain involved in the organization as a Special Advisor to the Board.
The CWC also announced a number of “transformative measures“ it`s taking to “accelerate its position as the leading organization for women to advance and navigate their careers in Canada's media, communications,…
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