GATINEAU – The CRTC announced yesterday that it has junked its idea to allow limited access to confidential information between parties in a dispute.
As first reported by Cartt.ca, the Commission said about a month ago it was “of the view that there may be instances where, in order for a party to be able to participate meaningfully in a proceeding, it must receive some access to confidential information. In order to allow for meaningful participation while respecting the confidential nature of certain information, the Commission proposes to grant confidential access under certain conditions in broadcasting and telecom…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has once again brought back its popular televised Christmas fire for customers to tune in to.
Shaw Cable and Star Choice customers can cozy up in front of their TVs this holiday season to enjoy all the figurative warmth of a natural, flickering fire set to soothing holiday music “without the hassle of chopping and hauling wood and stoking flames,” says the company.
"The holiday fire log is a tradition at Star Choice that our viewers eagerly anticipate," said Peter Bissonnette, president of Shaw Communications. "Our stellar cast of fire log and hand is what…
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TORONTO – A weekend of free Movie Central programming is coming up in western Canada.
The free preview goes from 6 p.m. MT (5 p.m. PT) on Friday, Nov. 9 to Sunday, Nov. 11 at midnight. It will be available through Shaw Communications, as Bell ExpressVu, MTS, SaskTel, TELUS, Access Communications, and Westman Communications.
During the free preview, viewers can see first-run Hollywood hits and the newest HBO and Showtime series, including episodes of Dexter, Flight of the Conchords, Entourage and Californication, and feature presentations such as The Last King of Scotland, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, School for Scoundrels and…
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OTTAWA – In his speech to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention today at lunch, CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein said he has heard the complaints from the industry (after first making some complaints of his own, see related story) and made a few significant changes to the 2008 calendar.
First, the policy review hearings on broadcast distribution undertakings (cable, satellite, telco TV and others) and specialty services has been pushed back to April 7. They had been scheduled to begin February 4th (after having previously been set for January).
Also new is the broadcasters’ demands that fee for…
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WINNIPEG – Having added 5,000 new customers since April, MTS TV, the digital television service offered by MTS Allstream in Winnipeg, has surpassed the 75,000 customer mark.
In the last two years, MTS TV has grown by over 30,000 customers, most of whom are coming off the Shaw Cable subscriber list.
"We are very excited that MTS TV continues to make outstanding progress in the marketplace," said Kelvin Shepherd, president consumer markets division, MTS Allstream, in the press release.
MTS TV includes video on demand, high definition, TV call display, photos on demand and e-mail on demand.
www.mts.ca/mtstv…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications Inc. registered customer gains in all areas – telephony, Internet, digital TV and satellite TV – except basic cable in the fourth quarter ended August 31, the company announced Friday.
While Shaw’s revenue jumped 13.2% to $715 million in the fourth quarter over the same period last year, its net income declined 35% to $135.9 million from $210 million. The company’s bottom line was affected by an income tax recovery that occurred in the previous year that was not duplicated in the current fourth quarter.
Cable division revenue grew 16% to $542 million in the fourth…
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TORONTO – “Corus had an exceptional year in fiscal 2007,” said John Cassaday, president and CEO of the company in its press release announcing its Q4 and fiscal 2007 year-end results.
“Our share price increased by 26%, we increased our dividend by 16% and we bought back approximately 2% of our shares. These positive outcomes for our shareholders were due to the strength of our core businesses in radio and television. As a result of our year end financial results and our outlook for next year, we are increasing our segment profit guidance range to $255 – $265 million…
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GATINEAU – Having to wedge six new channels to the collective basic cable lineups in Edmonton and Calgary at essentially the same time is just too much to ask, Shaw Communications has told the CRTC.
In a recent application, Shaw has asked for a new condition of license to let it carry Crossroads Television System (CTS), a new religious broadcaster in Calgary and Edmonton which has been in operation in Ontario for years, on channel 51 – an unrestricted channel, but well away, numerically, from where most other must-carries are placed.
Shaw notes that the CRTC approved new licenses not…
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SOME FILED REAMS of digital paper with the Commission (Rogers Communications’ submission was 132 pdf pages and a few appendices), while others were more concise (Shaw’s was just nine pages, plus a couple of research reports)
Anyway, we’ve read more than a few thousand words and identified what appear to be the primary issues facing the CRTC with its review of the policies governing broadcast distribution undertakings (all licensed video providers) and specialty services. The hearing is set for February 4 in Gatineau.
Below is a bit of a synopsis of what the BDUs are asking for and what…
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Dear Editor,
ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS INC. asserts that the primary policy objective of the CRTC should be to lessen Canadian protection and facilitate an accelerated importation of foreign channels.
Well, the fastest and most economically efficient way to accomplish that would be to cease protecting Canadian cable companies from U.S. distributors like Comcast and DirecTV.
However, that would be against the law – and would trigger a precipitous dismantling of our once-proud broadcasting system.
Canada is the only country in the world that competes 24 hours a day, and live, with the behemoth U.S. entertainment machine.
We have a unique…
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