VANCOUVER – Shaw Communications executive chairman JR Shaw had to fight his emotions during a tribute to his friend Charlie Keating at this morning’s annual general meeting at the new waterfront Shaw Tower in Vancouver.
Keating, a Shaw board member since 1985 and founder of Access Cable of Dartmouth, N.S., died of cancer in the fall. The Shaw and Keating families are very close and Keating’s son Greg attended the meeting today. Access sold to Shaw in 1999.
“Most of us in this room knew him and most of us has the privilege of…
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VANCOUVER – Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw said today that no matter what the rumor mill might say, the company is not for sale.
When asked specifically if the company is for sale and if Bell Canada is asking to buy, Shaw (left) said: “Lots of people have rumored that. The family has no interest in selling it, so we don’t really have any comment because it’s not for sale.”
Okay, but what about Star Choice. Its marketing was very low-key heading into Christmas compared to its competitors, especially satellite compatriot Bell ExpressVu?
Shaw: “(Star…
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VANCOUVER – With network upgrades now far enough advanced, Shaw Communications preceded its annual general meeting here tomorrow with an announcement today that it is launching Shaw Digital Phone in its largest market.
New and existing Shaw customers can receive unlimited North American calling, a bundle of the six most popular calling features such as voice mail and call display, competitive international calling rates, and all-the-time local technical support for $55 per month.
"Customers want a good price and features for their home phone service, but not at the expense of quality, reliability or service support. Shaw Digital Phone…
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VANCOUVER – Not wanting to let Shaw have the news all to itself this week, Telus announced today that it will build a brand new $15 million digital headend north of British Columbia’s Fraser Valley.
The headend, which will be operational by this summer, will deliver Telus TV to subscribers in B.C. and Alberta.
It will initially provide Telus TV customers with more than 200 video and audio channels once it is fully operational – growing to well over 300 channels within a year. In addition to eight satellite dishes, with room for three more, Telus is installing Internet…
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CHUM WILL BE SOLD. Shaw, too. Telus will buy Bell. Foreign ownership rules will be abolished. CRTC regs, too.
Now those are some seriously fearless predictions for the new year. They’re all poppycock, too. Made ’em up (although a couple could happen).
The slowdown time during the 14 days or so around Christmas and New Years (and Hanukkah, too), coupled with the fact that a new year is beginning, spawns all sorts of lists and predictions and reviews in the media. I didn’t want to be left out, but I didn’t want to try to add to the M&A…
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FT. LAUDERDALE – New U.S.-based VOIP provider ZingoTel made a vague reference today about taking legal action against Canadian cable company Shaw Communications.
In a press release touting the Canadian launch of its C$29.95 unlimited North American calling plan, it said “ZingoTel is set to take on cable giant Shaw Cable over its refusal to run paid ZingoTel TV ads; ZingoTel’s legal firm believes it is due to ZingoTel’s low priced service and the effects that it may have on Shaw’s VoIP subscriber base,” says the release.
ZingoTel did not respond to a request made by www.cartt.ca today for…
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OF COURSE, UNLESS I CRAWL into the head of JR Shaw and probe his synapses – or see him in a law firm signing documents with Michael Sabia – neither I nor anyone else can answer the question in the headline.
Same goes with all of the Canadian media and cable companies, actually, all of which are controlled by their founding families. No one can really know what’s going on until it happens. Hostile takeovers are impossible.
But, the rumors surrounding Shaw Communications have reached a fever pitch over the past few months. They’re too loud to ignore. In…
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CALGARY – Fans of Japanese-style animation can now access Anime Network on Shaw Cable’s video on demand platform.
Shaw Digital TV customers can now get up to 20 hours of anime content for $4.99 per month with Shaw VOD. The new monthly SVOD package includes anime series with weekly episodic updates. Anime Network will continue to provide anime features and live-action Asian films at $4.99 each through Shaw Video On Demand.
Shaw viewers will continue to enjoy the popular top titles from the large library of Anime Network including Neon Genesis Evangelion and Samurai X. Also included in the…
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CALGARY – Shaw Cable added Leafs TV to its Northwestern Ontario cable systems this week.
Digital customers in Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, Dryden, Fort Frances, and Atikokan can enjoy 24/7/365 Toronto Maple Leaf games, news, highlights and insights.
Thanks to National Hockey League territory rules, Shaw isn’t allowed to launch the service in its major western markets.
Leafs TV will be available on a free preview for all Shaw Digital customers until the end of the year.
www.shaw.ca
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JUST IN TIME FOR Christmas, www.cartt.ca has given away a 42” HDTV. We did the draw Friday evening and the winner is Nigel Fuller, regional vice-president, CHUM Television Ontario (right).
Second prize, the iPod nano, is going to Rick Fraser v-p marketing at Access Communications.
As for the 50 winners of signed copies of the children’s book M is for Maple. They are:
Brad Phillips, Citytv Vancouver Gordon Lee, CTV Specialty Victor Haddad, Milk River Cable Club, Georgina Schnubb, Masset-Haida TV Society Steve Ward, Grand Bend Cable TV Brett Manlove, CanWest MediaWorks Sam Fiander. Ramea Broadcasting Richard French, CRTC Glenn O’Farrell, CAB…
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