Advisory firms recommend shareholders vote in favour
CALGARY — Shaw Communications announced today two independent proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass, Lewis and Co., have recommended that Shaw’s shareholders vote for the proposed business merger with Rogers Communications announced in March.
The proposed $26-billion purchase deal would see Rogers acquire all of Shaw’s issued and outstanding Class A participating shares and Class B non-voting participating shares.
Shaw says a special shareholder meeting will be held virtually on May 20 at 10 a.m. MT. The purpose of the meeting is for Class A and B shareholders to consider…
Continue Reading
TORONTO — Music rights management organization SOCAN announced today 24 Canadian visionaries will be recognized at this year’s SOCAN Awards for the roles they played in helping to raise the stature of music made in Canada.
“Fifty years ago, they understood the need to protect and amplify Canadian music, giving rise to Cancon. These trailblazers will be awarded the SOCAN Guardian Award for their efforts in preserving and boosting Canadian culture,” reads SOCAN’s press release.
At a time when home-grown music was often considered inferior to foreign records dominating the charts, making it difficult for Canadian artists to get airtime on…
Continue Reading
Rural areas need a single, open access, network
By Joe Hickey
IN A WORLD WHERE many causes are highly politicized, rural broadband access is a cause just about everyone can get behind. With it, Canada can improve rural access to education, healthcare, and economic growth. This is especially important in the wake of COVID-19, which put a glaring spotlight on the digital divide, and made it all the rage to support rural broadband access.
Even major urban telcos seem to be getting on board, with Rogers Communications promising a $1 billion rural broadband fund in its recent proposal to…
Continue Reading
By Howard Law
UNTIL LAST WEEK, PARLIAMENT’S Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage was plodding through the clause-by-clause review of Bill C-10 with no tasty headlines. Perhaps the bill’s revamp of the Broadcasting Act, which would sweep in Netflix, isn’t controversial anymore.
Of course, federal political partisanship is inevitable, as Canadian as bad weather.
And so, we now have the Conservatives’ faux controversy over free expression on social media platforms. In an e-mail blast from CPC MPs across the country, they made their case:
“Recently, the Liberal government introduced Bill C-10 – a bill that would regulate social media websites like Facebook, YouTube, and…
Continue Reading
VANCOUVER and OTTAWA — In response to Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne’s announcement last week the 3500 MHz spectrum auction scheduled for June 15 will not be delayed, independent telecom services provider Novus Entertainment has instead asked for the application process to be reopened.
“Novus would like to propose that the Department of Industry, Science and Economic Development (ISED) simply extend the time allowed for providing an application,” writes Donna Robertson, co-president and chief legal officer of Novus, in a letter sent to Minister Champagne on April 30.
“We would not expect a delay to the auction,”…
Continue Reading
QUÉBEC CITY — In the latest broadband funding announcement from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, a joint investment of $81.36 million made as part of the Canada-Quebec Operation High Speed program will help to deliver high-speed Internet services to 18,200 households in the Outaouais region (north of Gatineau) by September 2022.
The projects, which will be implemented by Cogeco and Xplornet, have a total value of $112.09 million, says the government’s press release.
Cogeco will receive $23.8 million in funding to provide high-speed Internet access to 2,890 households, while Xplornet will receive $57.5 million to connect 15,310 homes.
The municipalities…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Wireless upstart Data On Tap (dotmobile), filed a petition to federal cabinet Tuesday asking the federal government to overturn the portion of the CRTC’s recent wireless policy decision which excluded a mandate for full mobile virtual network operators to participate in the wireless market in Canada.
Dotmobile is Canada’s first full MVNO but has yet been unable to come to a wholesale agreement with any Canadian wireless network operator (company owners say none of the carriers even return their calls seeking a meeting). The CRTC’s much-ballyhooed wireless decision, however, didn’t mandate access for full MVNOs like…
Continue Reading
CCSA, Distributel, Novus want application process reopened to allow more telecoms to participate in auction
TORONTO — Independent telecom service providers Distributel Communications, Novus Entertainment and the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA), which has over 100 member companies, have written to Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne in support of a request last week by the Competitive Network Operators of Canada (CNOC) for a 90-day delay to the start of the 3500 MHz spectrum auction currently scheduled to begin June 15.
In a letter today shared by Distributel CEO Matt Stein (who also chairs CNOC), the independent telecom company Continue Reading
VANCOUVER — Digital marketing and audience analytics company Magnify Digital announced Tuesday morning Bell Fund, Shaw Rocket Fund and Telus Fund are joining together to support a pilot project designed to drive discoverability of Canadian content and to provide content producers with tools and insights to help build audiences for their projects.
Vancouver-based Magnify Digital says its new audience analytics platform, ViewerCentric, is a cornerstone of its so-called Audience Development Pilot Project, which aims to standardize audience development requirements and reporting periods across the three funders.
ViewerCentric aggregates and visualizes audience data from multiple sources in one dynamic platform to help…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – CTAM Canada will hose a “lunch and learn” on Wednesday, April 28th featuring guest speaker David Shaw, senior vice-president international and content for the UFC, moderated by TSN’s mixed martial arts reporter Aaron Bronsteter.
The two will discuss how the UFC weathered – and thrived – during the Covid pandemic. The virtual event is free to CTAM members and will happen Wednesday, April 28 from noon to 1 p.m. ET.
Please click here for more.
Continue Reading
