By Connie Thiessen
OTTAWA – New data shows the Canadian Energy Efficiency Voluntary Agreement (CEEVA) for Set-Top Boxes has resulted in a 58% drop in average energy consumption since the program’s launch in 2017.
Five of the largest Canadian Pay TV service providers (Bell Canada, Cogeco, Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, and Videotron) are signed on to the program in addition to manufacturers (CommScope, EchoStar Technologies, and Technicolor, soon to become VANTIVA), the Consumer Technology Association and CableLabs. A second program was launched in 2019 for small network equipment (SNE), such as modems and routers.
According to a new independent annual report, the program has resulted in a fifth consecutive year of…
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OTTAWA – In a response last week to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s May 2022 report on the impact of the proposed merger of Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications on local news, heritage minister Pablo Rodriguez suggested there is enough being done already to mitigate the potential negative impacts highlighted in the report.
The minister acknowledged the Canadian broadcasting system is facing a time of “significant transformation”.
“Canadians’ viewing habits are shifting online, and service providers are adapting to compete within Canada and with service providers from around the world,” his response reads. “The proposed transaction is taking place against…
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Documents filed with Competition Tribunal make full hearing seem likely
By Amanda OYE
OTTAWA and TORONTO – Rogers Communications is still hoping for an expedited resolution to the Competition Bureau’s challenge to its proposed merger with Shaw Communications at the Competition Tribunal but is prepared in the event the deal is not approved by the end of the year.
“Our expectation is that there is a possibility to get a decision from the tribunal this year, following that we would then look to the minister and ISED to provide their approval, which we would expect in due course,” Rogers’ president and…
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OTTAWA – Telus has told the CRTC this week that Timeless Inc.’s complaint that Rogers’s refusal to carry its OneSoccer channel gives it an undue preference should be investigated by the regulator as “timely,” as Rogers pushes to buy Shaw Communications.
Rogers has refused to carry the channel because it said it has limited appeal with its viewers. Timeless, which said it has been trying to get a carriage agreement with Rogers for over a year, has argued in its original complaint last month that there is a “surge in popularity and success for Canadian soccer” and that Rogers…
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OTTAWA – Rogers Communications has filed with the Competition Tribunal a request for more information about how, according to the competition commissioner, Videotron will be negatively impacted by its acquisition of Shaw Communications — despite the sale of wireless assets to the Montreal-based company.
The cable giant filed a request for more detail Tuesday as to allegations that Videotron, which agreed to acquire Shaw’s Freedom wireless business, would face difficulties in the market and its competitiveness would be reduced if the deal is allowed to happen.
The allegations were made in a submission to the Tribunal earlier this month by…
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OTTAWA – Canada’s major telecommunications providers have agreed on an initial five-year term to allow customers to roam on each others’ networks on an emergency basis in the event of a major network outage to ensure Canadians are not left out of essential services, such as 911 access, according to a formal agreement announced Wednesday by the Minister of Innovation.
The companies, including Bell, Rogers, Telus, and Shaw, have also committed to assisting each other in such an event and also “to providing clear and timely communications to keep Canadians and appropriate authorities informed about response and restoration during major…
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MONTREAL and TORONTO — Independent internet service provider Distributel has agreed to be acquired by Bell for an undisclosed amount, the companies said in an announcement today.
Distributel will continue to operate independently after close of the deal — which is subject to standard regulatory approval — and Matt Stein, the CEO of the company, will remain at the helm, a press release said.
“With this announcement, Distributel is better positioned to compete and deliver on our decades-long commitment to bringing choice and affordability to Canadians from coast to coast to coast,” Stein said in the release. “We hope Canadians are…
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TORONTO — Kids’ and family entertainment broadcaster WildBrain Television announced today it has commissioned three new original productions from independent Canadian producers for its flagship network Family Channel.
The new content — two animated series and a live-action movie — will roll out on Family Channel beginning this fall and continuing into 2023.
First to premiere will be Slugterra: Ascension (above, top right), a series of 20 four-minute, CG-animated shorts produced in partnership with Epic Story Media. The series marks the return of Slugterra characters Eli Shane, Trixie Sting and the slugs for the first time in six years.
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THE BIGGEST STICKING point for the proposed merger of Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications continues to be Shaw’s wireless assets.
As Cartt.ca previously reported, this is even after the companies came to a definitive agreement with Quebecor for the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile. (The agreement is contingent on the Rogers/Shaw merger closing and on necessary approvals.)
Both the federal government and the Competition Bureau have been clear they have concerns about competition in Canada’s wireless market and about the impact Rogers’ acquisition of Shaw could have on it.
Industry minister François-Philippe Champagne issued a statement back in March…
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No set rates means decision will require a lot of work and time to implement, CEO says
By Amanda OYE
OTTAWA – Last week, when renewing independent broadcaster OUTtv’s licence for a five-year term, the CRTC also granted the service dedicated to the LGBTQ2 community, “must-offer” status for three and a half years in the English-language market starting next March.
Noting that with the decision the CRTC has recognized the distinctiveness and vulnerability of the LGBTQ2 community, OUTtv CEO Brad Danks said in an interview with Cartt.ca the decision was also an indication the Commission recognizes that without regulatory support, OUTtv…
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