OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The idea that Canada’s signal distributors should pay conventional broadcasters fees to carry their signals is “trash” according to Rogers Communications CEO Ted Rogers.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday following his company’s appearance before the CRTC on day three of its over-the-air TV review hearings, Rogers countered the many broadcaster arguments in favour of such charges, known as fee-for-carriage (FFC), made over the hearing’s first two days. He said broadcasters should look to new technologies – not new regulations – for new revenues. “These guys should get back to high def and keep up with the new stuff.”…
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GATINEAU – After a two-day ad campaign by Shaw Communications that ran in numerous newspapers across the country prior to the company’s appearance at the CRTC’s TV Policy Review hearing Thursday morning, Commission vice-chair broadcasting, Michel Arpin, opened proceedings this morning by letting Shaw executives know he was not pleased.
The ads (which appeared in the Vancouver Sun, Edmonton Journal, Calgary Herald, Winnipeg Free Press, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, Victoria Times Colonist – which are all in Shaw Cable territories – as well as the Globe and Mail and National Post) asked Canadians to let the CRTC know whether or not…
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TORONTO – CTV’s hit home-grown comedy, Corner Gas, will begin airing on American superstation WGN in 2007, the company announced today, placing the residents of Dog River, Saskatchewan in over 70 million U.S. homes.
The deal was done by Arthur Hasson’s Multi-Platform Distribution Company (MPDC), which began shopping Canada’s No. 1 comedy and most-watched Canadian series in May, 2006, as reported by Cartt.ca.
Today’s announcement follows in the footsteps of several CTV original series which have gone on to premiere in the U.S. The list includes Comedy Inc., Comedy Now!, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Instant Star and Whistler.
The…
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REGINA – SaskTel is the first ILEC to announce its intention to take full advantage of deregulated access-independent VOIP with WebCall.
As reported here, access independent VoIP service, such as SaskTel’s WebCall service (which the CRTC has said qualifies), will no longer be regulated by the CRTC in terms of the approval of rates and conditions of service.
Today, days after the two largest cable operators in the province made their own voice over IP launch announcements for Saskatoon and Regina, the provincially-owned telco announced that its WebCall Basic service is now available in Regina, Prince…
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CALGARY – Shaw Cable has launched a digital simulcast of its channel lineup in Calgary and will start one in Edmonton on Tuesday.
Customers can also purchase a new digital-only set top box, Motorola’s DCT 700 for $98, if they wish.
With a Shaw Digital box customers will receive: access to more programming options; digital picture and sound; access to VOD and PPV); an on-screen interactive programming guide; and 40 commercial-free digital music stations.
"We continue to look for ways to provide our customers with the best viewing experience at consistent and affordable prices," said Peter Bissonnette, president of…
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KENORA – "Thank you for choosing Shaw" is the new way to answer the phones this week at the former Norcom Communications.
The $13.5 million deal to purchase the cable company serving about 6,000 customers in Kenora, Ont., and area was completed this week (that’s approximately $2,250 per subscriber).
Shaw also took on ownership of broadcast outlet CJBN-TV in the deal and will pay out over $110,000 in CRTC-mandated "tangible benefits" even though the station has been far from profitable for a number of years and that, according to Commission filings by Shaw, the company assigned no value to…
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FORMER CABLE ATLANTIC OWNER, and current Newfoundland & Labrador premier Danny Williams is ticked off these days.
His government is getting strafed by daily opposition fire over the recently announced deal to bring another undersea fibre link from the mainland to The Rock. The $52-million project is backed with $15 million in provincial government money and will be built by a consortium of Persona Communications, Rogers Communications and MTS Allstream.
From what’s been published in the press out east, the opposition Liberals don’t seem to care about the project’s potential benefits – which are likely many –…
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WINNIPEG – Canada’s largest ISPs have joined forces with Cybertip.ca, Canada’s child sexual exploitation tip line, to launch a new voluntary initiative to help in the battle against online child sexual abuse.
The new initiative, named "Project Cleanfeed Canada", is the latest contribution from the multi-stakeholder Canadian Coalition Against Internet Child Exploitation (C-CAICE). It’s intended to make the Internet safer for Canadians and their families by reducing their chances of coming across images of child sexual exploitation on the Internet.
The participating ISPs – which so far include Bell Aliant, Bell Canada, MTS Allstream, Rogers, SaskTel, Shaw Communications Inc.,…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – In a decision that will may have more immediate impact on the telecom industry than last week’s voice over IP deregulation announcement by the Minister of Industry, the CRTC today approved local telephone rate ranges for incumbent telcos.
What is means is that ILECs (Bell Canada, Telus, SaskTel, MTS, Bell Aliant and the like) will now be able to submit to the Commission – confidentially – a low and high range of rates for certain services and as long as their pricing stays within that range, will not have to file for tariff approvals prior to altering…
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CALGARY – Provincial telco SaskTel will finally face some local phone competition as Shaw Communications has launched its Digital Phone service in Saskatoon while Regina’s cable co-operative Access Communications has made its intentions public for Regina and area.
"For the first time in 98 years, Saskatoon residents have the opportunity to select their local telephone service provider," said Peter Bissonnette, president of Shaw Communications, in a press release. "We are delighted to offer this choice to Saskatoon residents and expand our growing footprint across Western Canada by extending our Digital Phone service to our first major market in Saskatchewan."…
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