TORONTO – Global Toronto’s supper hour newscast and Rogers-owned 680 News’ coverage called Tornado Aftermath were the central region’s television and radio large market winners at the RTNDA Canada awards.
In the TV category, /A\ News Barrie was recognized for its /A\ News at 6 (medium market), while /A\ London received an honourable mention for Transit Strike.
The best newscast awards in the radio division went to AM800 CKLW for AM800 News 7:30am (medium market), CBC Radio Thunder Bay for CBC Radio Thunder Bay 7:30 AM Newscast (medium market – honourable mention), and 560 CFOS AM Owen Sound for the Noon News on…
Continue Reading
LOS ANGELES – Since it went digital, the cable industry has been on a long, arduous search for a pair of improvements: a better remote control and an easier to use interactive program guide.
The on-screen grid guide and multi-buttoned remotes have gone about as far as they can in their ability to navigate the multichannel world. It’s a world not only with hundreds of linear TV channels but also thousands of video on demand titles (and in the case of Comcast, tens of thousands of titles).
Navigating through what’s on with a remote and the standard grid is not a customer-pleasing…
Continue Reading
LOS ANGELES – The Canadian cable TV industry was out in force at the Los Angeles JW Marriott Tuesday night to honour industry pioneer JR Shaw, who was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame with five others.
Ted Rogers was the first Canadian inducted, back in 2002. Shaw joins an illustrious list of cable leaders, from Ted Turner and John Malone to Brian Roberts and Gerry Levin.
The rest of the 2010 class included Pennsylvania cable pioneer Yolanda Barco, retired Scientific Atlanta EVP Allen Ecker, Atlanta Braves CEO and former TBS CEO Terry McGuirk, Falcon Cable and Mapleton Investments’…
Continue Reading
WHY DO THE OLD TV sets in the living rooms, garages, kitchens or at the cottages of millions of Canadians deserve to go digital?
As the transition to digital over-the-air TV deadline grows closer and the industry is awakening to the need to act, the question has been asked in some quarters: Why bother?
We can keep fibbing if we want but as an industry we already know it’s now impossible to update our over-the-air television broadcasting system to digital by the August 31, 2011 deadline set years ago by the CRTC. Not “virtually impossible.” Not “challenging.” It is not…
Continue Reading
VANCOUVER – While revenue growth was flat and high speed Internet subscriber additions surprisingly low in the first quarter of 2010, ended March 31st, Telus still managed to please the street, thanks in part to a 5.3% increase in the dividend to shareholders and growth in other areas.
Over the 12 month period, total customer connections increased 2.4% or 276,000, driven by a 6.4% increase in wireless subscribers and 103% growth in Telus TV customers, partially offset by declines in legacy landline connections the company said in its quarterly report to shareholders on Wednesday. Telus now has over 200,000 TV…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – It is often said that those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
And as the clock ticks down on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, some of its soon-to-be former members have begun to look ahead to the future while keeping those lessons firmly in mind.
Bill Roberts, who was the first senior vice-president of television at the CAB as well as a former board member, said that he first expressed concern for the association’s future when the Specialty and Pay TV Association was folded in to the CAB in 2000.
“I was worried, I think…
Continue Reading
THE LEADERS OF SHAW Communications took a look at the media landscape around us and decided that if they’re going to be a player in the new always on, video on demand culture, one which is expanding by the second, they had better own some hit shows. Some good brands.
And Monday it announced a $2 billion deal to purchase the TV assets of Canwest Global outright – a move that will cement it as the leading media and distribution company in Canada. The prior deal Shaw announced earlier this year was to purchase just 20% of the company.
Rogers…
Continue Reading
EXTON, PA – Three industry veterans have been named to the electoral slate to represent Canada on the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) board of directors for 2010.
The candidates for the position of Director-At-Large Canada (representing SCTE’s Canadian members) are:
– Boris Eventov, director, digital video engineering, Cogeco Cable;– Tony Faccia, vice president, wireline access networks, Rogers Cable Communications; and– Bruce Marshall, technical director, Shaw Cablesystems.
Rogers’ Dermot O’Carroll is the current Canadian board rep. Newly elected directors will begin their two-year terms on October 19th in conjunction with the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2010 set for October 20…
Continue Reading
CALGARY – Shaw Communications has bought Canwest Global Communications Corp. for $2 billion, the companies announced early Monday morning.
The deal includes 100% of CanWest’s over-the-air and specialty television businesses, including all of the equity interests in CW Investments Co., the CanWest subsidiary that owns the specialty television channels acquired from Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. in 2007.
The Calgary-based cable giant also announced that Paul Robertson will have overall responsibility for CanWest, including the Canadian Television Limited Partnership and the CW Media Group subsidiaries. Robertson, who was most recently president of Corus Television, will report to Shaw CEO and vice chair…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – After losing Paul Roberston to Shaw earlier in the day, Corus Entertainment named Doug Murphy to the role of president of Corus Television.
Murphy joined Corus in December 2002 and was most recently EVP and GM of Corus Kids and president of Nelvana. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing Corus’ global kids business, including the specialty networks Treehouse, YTV and Nickelodeon (Canada), as well as Nelvana, Kids Can Press, KidsCo and qubo. Prior to this position, Murphy was president of Nelvana Enterprises.
He assumes his new role immediately and will report to Corus Entertainment president and CEO…
Continue Reading
