CALGARY – Shaw Communications-owned Star Choice issued a press release this morning entitled " Star Choice Customers Denied NHL Hockey" and said that due to a Rogers Sportsnet court order, the DTH company had to now black out certain hockey games on the sports channel’s regional networks.
"Star Choice had stopped conducting blackouts in an effort to address subscriber frustration and confusion resulting from Sportsnet’s frequent blackouts of NHL games," reads the press release from Star Choice.
"Sportsnet blackouts make it impossible for Star Choice subscribers to see games of the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Edmonton…
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IN THE DR SEUSS CLASSIC How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, the Grinch is robbed of his revenge when the good burghers of Whoville preserve their Christmas spirit and retain their celebrations despite having been robbed of their gifts and sustenance.
In the modern Canadian retelling, the Grinch is not Jim Carrey but Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw, who started sledding off with the Canadian content money our regs say he’s obliged to pay, just before Christmas – and has since encountered fewer effective voices preserving its spirit than there are moguls on a ski run.
Instead, while Mr. Shaw…
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CALGARY – In case anyone was wondering whether or not Shaw Communications was prepared to soften its stance on paying into the Canadian Television Fund, a press release this afternoon put any such thoughts to rest.
"Shaw Communications today announced its conclusion that the Canadian Television Fund ("CTF") is simply the wrong way to support the production and exhibition of high quality Canadian programming," says the release.
"The CTF is broken and cannot be fixed" said Jim Shaw, CEO. "Our customers pay for the CTF through their taxes and subscription fees. We would prefer to return the money to…
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WITH THE UNCERTAINTY surrounding the Canadian Television Fund, thanks to the fact Shaw Communications and Videotron have pulled their funding, it’s interesting to note the success of Vancouver producer and distributor Thunderbird Films.
Their suite at the recent NATPE trade show was overflowing with guests and clients there to see the company flog popular fare like Da Vinci’s Inquest, Intelligence, Cold Squad, DeGrassi: The Next Generation, and Stone Undercover.
While the interview was done prior to the CTF mess really hitting the fan (and the Thunderbird executives declined comment on it after the interview), Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has asked the CRTC to add USA Network to the list of eligible satellite services for distribution by Canadian BDUs.
Seen in 90 million homes, the cable channel is the number one basic cable network in the United States, "is a unique service that will significantly increase the entertainment value for Shaw customers, and add exciting new programming to the Canadian broadcasting system," says the press release.
[Ed note: USA Network carries shows like Coach, JAG and Walker Texas Ranger in the mornings, movies in the afternoon and programs such as the Law & Orders,…
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IT’S STARTING TO LOOK like this year could be the final one for the Canadian Television Fund in its current form.
With two of its four largest contributors (#1 Shaw Communications and #4 Videotron) adamant that they will forward $0 to the CTF – and with a Heritage Minister in Bev Oda who may be sympathetic towards their complaints – at the very least, upheaval is a certainty.
Oda, who on Monday renewed her government’s $100 million annual commitment to the fund, met with representatives of the four primary private sector contributors: Rogers Communications’ vice-chair Phil Lind, Bell…
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OTTAWA – NDP Heritage critic Charlie Angus read from Cartt.ca today in the House of Commons while calling for hearings into the future of the Canadian Television Fund.
The emergency hearings will happen soon after a motion to launch them passed the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage today.
During Question Period this afternoon, Angus suggested that Heritage Minister Bev Oda was colluding with the cable industry to kill the fund after reading our Analysis piece on the CTF this morning which keyed off an interview with Shaw Communications senior vice-president Ken Stein, who described the meeting to Cartt.ca.
Oda…
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OTTAWA – In a letter to the editor of the Ottawa Citizen newspaper, Telus vice-president, wireless, broadband and content policy, Michael Hennessy, called out Quebecor for what he sees as a double standard.
As a member of the Canadian wireless industry, past president of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association and an ex-director of the Canadian Television Fund, Hennessy said he was "both shocked and troubled," about decisions made by Shaw and Videotron to withhold their CRTC-mandated contributions to the Canadian Television Fund.
"While it is disturbing that such unilateral action could jeopardize thousands of jobs and scores of projects…
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MONTREAL – Heading into a meeting today with Heritage Minister Bev Oda, Quebecor Media told Cartt.ca that it would double its contributions towards making Canadian content – but not under the current Canadian Television Fund structure.
As reported over the past two weeks, both Quebecor’s Videotron and Shaw Communications have suspended their monthly payments to the fund, each citing similar concerns over how it is run.
For example, the companies strenuously object to the amount of money headed towards productions to air on the CBC (37% of the annual CTF payouts is mandated to go towards productions headed to…
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TORONTO – Characterizing it as an unnecessary middleman, Rogers Communications has told the CRTC it objects to any license being granted to Only Imagine Inc.
The company – which is now just an application before the Commission and a web site – wants to sell the two minutes per hour of local availability ad time supplied to cable and satellite operators by American cable channels like CNN, A&E, Golf Channel and others, into the Canadian marketplace and turn over a large portion of the profits to fund Canadian drama.
The applicants – former broadcasters Drew Craig of the former Craig…
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