EDMONTON – The National Telecommunications Workers Union,TWU-STT Canada, has announced today the launching of their YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/twustt). The union’s YouTube channel is part of an overall membership outreach strategy that is intended to utilize new media technology to better communicate with members as the union mobilizes employees for many upcoming initiatives including preparing for Telus bargaining which will commence in 2009.
"It is essential that we, as communications workers, engage our members using all the technology available so that we remain informed, connected and relevant to those we represent. Our YouTube channel is an integral part of…
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GATINEAU – Imagine – a video presentation at the CRTC’s hearings on broadcasting! Who would ever think of doing that?
“3-2-1. Blastoff!”
The Shaw Rocket Fund cleverly grabbed the attention of CRTC commissioners yesterday with a short animated video to make their point that children, as the ones who are already immersed in multi-media culture, should have a voice in this three-week gabfest about a future Canadian broadcasting model.
But it also took a former Radio-Canada journalist and now CRTC commissioner, Michel Morin, to ask the most probing question of the day: how come no one else at these…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications announced today that its channel line-up will be changing April 22, 2008 through April 24, 2008 in all markets to accommodate new high-definition (HD) channels and HD Pay Per View. The new HD content features TLC HD, Encore Avenue HD and additional HD Pay Per View movies and events.
The markets affected starting April 22, 2008 will include: – British Columbia – Powell River, Chilliwack, Fort St John-Dawson Creek, Castlegar, Trail , Nelson, Cranbrook, Creston, Kimberley, Invermere; – Alberta – Red Deer, Innisfail, Bowden, Olds, Didsbury, Ponoka-Lacombe, Stettler, Drumheller; – Saskatchewan – Prince Albert, Swift Current,…
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GATINEAU – What would have been fun, was a debate.
Day three of the CRTC hearings into BDU and specialty service regulations featured the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and Canadian Cable Systems Alliance, two groups with decidedly different constituents, and points of view, on the future policy direction of the TV industry.
The CAB represents most broadcasters in Canada who together serve basically 100% of the Canadian population. The CCSA, on the other hand, has a far smaller group of members whose companies deliver cable and broadband service to under a million rural Canadians.
While each had their turn…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications acquired 6,524 new basic cable TV subscribers for a total of 2,241,503 at the end of the second quarter ended February 29, according to financial figures released Friday.
Its digital TV base grew 48,006 to 850,642, and the number of its Internet subscribers rose 31,517 to a total of 1,517,992. The number of its Digital Phone lines increased 56,536 to a total of 492,232. Its DTH satellite TV operator, Star Choice, signed on 4,977 new customers to bring the total number to 886,106.
“Quarterly subscriber gains in Digital Phone and Digital were the strongest additions…
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GATINEAU – Allarco Entertainment Inc.’s pay-per-view Super Channel will finally be launching on Shaw Communications’ cable systems and on its direct-to-home satellite distributor Star Choice in late April and early May respectively, according to the broadcaster.
The news was revealed following Allarco’s appearance Wednesday at the CRTC’s three-week-long hearing into pay and specialty services and broadcast distribution undertakings – at which executives complained it was proving impossible to get carriage, even though Super Channel had been granted must-carry status by the regulator.
“It’s easy to get a licence, but very difficult to execute it,” said Allarco chair Chuck Allard….
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CALGARY – A press release issued by Shaw Communications this afternoon that some might term a little imprudent, took some new swings at the CRTC and in the overall direction the Calgary-based company believes this month’s Commission hearing is headed.
The three-week-long hearing has just completed its third day of proceedings (Shaw isn’t scheduled to appear until April 23) into the policies governing broadcast distribution undertakings and specialty services, but the company which owns Star Choice and Shaw Cable clearly doesn’t like the tone of the discussions so far.
"When it was first announced, we were optimistic that this…
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I’VE HEARD NO END of parallels spun in attempts to explain the complex structure we call the Canadian television industry.
From cars and roads and traffic lights to water bottles and Lake Ontario. A house of cards to yarn and a sweater – and even an airplane ride and airline peanuts. Various parts of the industry are the gears in the car, the pre-and post-processed water, the air pressure inside and outside the plane. The yarn-and-sweater analogy is always “if you pull at one thread, the whole things comes apart.” I can’t repeat without a potential libel suit what…
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IT’S FUN TO PROGNOSTICATE. To try and read the tea leaves and make educated (or not) guesses about certain things. Sports (pro and amateur) is utterly built around such predicting, thanks to the billions of dollars bet on the games every year.
Similarly enormous amounts of money and the fate of our industry are collectively at stake beginning this week when the cable, satellite, telco and specialty broadcasting community take their turn in front of a panel of CRTC commissioners who will largely determine how the broadcast distribution undertaking and specialty services industries will be run for perhaps the…
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TORONTO – CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada will be broadcasting live and on-demand select games of the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs in Mandarin at CBCSports.ca.
“CBC is committed to providing all Canadians with the most comprehensive coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs,” said CBC Sports director of production Joel Darling. “This is a great opportunity for us to introduce new audiences to the high-intensity NHL playoffs and CBCSports.ca provides us with an ideal platform to do just that.”
One series per round will be available in Mandarin, with commentary by Jason Wang, who provides the play-by-play for the Vancouver…
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