Search Results for: shaw

Cable / Telecom News

Canadian Broadband for All: Rogers interested, Shaw launches $49 triple-play bundle

WHILE WE’VE YET TO hear back from the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Bell Canada or Telus – and Industry Canada hasn’t yet responded to our request for a better answer to our original question, Canada’s two largest cable companies have responded to our plea that our country come up with a plan to get broadband Internet access to low-income families. As we reported, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission along with many cable companies and other contributors, have devised a program to offer broadband connectivity to low-income families for… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw to offer ‘dreamy’ new guide

CALGARY – Shaw has chosen Motorola’s DreamGallery software to provide its customers with a more personalized and intuitive content management system, the companies announced Tuesday. A cloud-based HTML5 video tool suite, DreamGallery allows for the creation of custom, operator-branded guide experiences through animations, filtering and an easy-to-use Web-like interface.  Designed to deliver the SocialTV and TV Beyond the TV experiences, it also allows operators to deliver the on-screen experience across devices such as smart phones, tablets, PCs and connected TVs, regardless of operating systems. Shaw will begin launching DreamGallery on Motorola HD set-top boxes that support both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 service delivery. “Our… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw rolls out new faster fibre-optic network

CALGARY – Shaw has launched its new inter-city fibre-optic network capable of carrying Internet, voice, video and data at 100 Gigabits per second (Gbit/s). Shaw said Tuesday that the network has the capability of carrying up to eighty-eight 100 Gbit/s channels over a single pair of fibres, meaning it can handle up to 133 million voice calls, 440,000 HDTV channels, or transmit 44 Blu-ray Discs in one second.  Enhancements to the fibre-optic network will benefit both residential and business customers by providing new services, speed and reliability that is part of the Shaw Internet experience, the company’s announcement continued.  The launch follows… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw to trial Wi-Fi strategy

CALGARY – Shaw Communications said Thursday that it is gearing up to test out its Wi-Fi strategy known as HotSpot 2.0. The trial will be conducted in several Shaw locations and will test, among other things, automatic and secure authentication for Shaw customers equipped with HotSpot 2.0 devices such as smart phones and tablets.  With HotSpot 2.0, Shaw's broadband Wi-Fi-enabled customers will automatically connect and authenticate to the Wi-Fi network without having to manage complex configuration settings on their devices.  The system also enables encryption, ensuring that Wi-Fi access is secure and that customers' data is protected. The results of the trial… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Revenues up, profits down at Shaw

CALGARY – Despite a jump in revenues, profits at Shaw Communications dropped for its fourth quarter and 2011 fiscal year ended August 31. The Calgary-based media giant said Thursday that consolidated revenue for the three and twelve month periods of $1.18 billion and $4.74 billion, respectively, was up 26% and 28% over the comparable periods in 2010.  It credited the improvement to the acquisition of Shaw Media, as well as price changes and growth in its cable and satellite divisions. Net income, however, fell to $82.5 million for the quarter, down 32% from $121.6 million in the same period last year. … Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

UPDATE: Shaw locks up Bell Media channels in five-year deal

CALGARY – Shaw Communications said Wednesday that it has reached a “long term” distribution agreement with Bell Media for its 30 Canadian programming services that include favourites such as TSN, RDS, and Discovery Channel. Financial terms and the length of the agreement were not disclosed, but Shaw executives noted the deal was a five-year term during its quarterly conference call with financial analysts on October 20. "We are pleased that we have been successful in reaching a comprehensive, market-based deal with Bell that balances our competitive need to provide our customers with choice and packaging flexibility while ensuring that customers continue to… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

Johnson, Shearer join original content department at Shaw Media

TORONTO – Shaw Media has added to its original content team after adding Andrew Johnson and Barbara Shearer as production executives.
Johnson (right) brings more than 25 years of broadcasting experience, most recently with the CBC News Network where he worked on the documentary series The Passionate Eye and was the commissioning editor of The Lens. A Gemini award-winning writer, director and producer of factual and reality programming, Shearer has been a production executive at W Network, and recently worked on series… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

Shaw throws open its Gateway service

CALGARY – Shaw has taken its home entertainment technology, known as the Shaw Gateway, national after unveiling the service in Calgary earlier this year. The centre of a connected home, the Gateway is a multi-room HD PVR that lets families access recorded content and Shaw’s video-on-demand library on multiple televisions. It also allows for the recording of six programs at once while playing back up to three previously recorded programs, all in high definition. The program guide provides access to features such as content filters, enhanced search, and on-screen games, all while allowing TV viewing in another window. Shaw said that… Continue Reading

Cable / Telecom News

“Technical anomaly” at Telesat disrupts services at Shaw Direct, Northwestel

OTTAWA – Satellite services operator Telesat experienced a “technical anomaly” early Thursday morning resulting in a loss of service to customers of its Anik F2 satellite. Anik F2 supports a variety of services in Canada and the United States, all of which were affected by the glitch. Shaw Direct and Northwestel are included in the bird’s roster of some 35,000 Canadian customers. Telesat posted an update on its website saying that it was “in control” of the satellite and all indications are that it is healthy and can be returned to service. “Telesat is now undertaking to return the satellite to normal… Continue Reading

Radio / Television News

CTV veteran Hurst joins Fanshawe College

LONDON, ON – Former CTV News president Robert Hurst will be joining the faculty at Fanshawe College this fall as a visiting professor. Hurst (pictured) retired earlier this year as the president of CTV News and current affairs after a 38 year career in broadcasting which also included stints as a reporter, news editor, author, and foreign correspondent at network bureaus in Ottawa, Washington, Moscow and Beijing. He will be a visiting professor to the Radio and Journalism Broadcast diploma programs, and the Broadcast Journalism – Television News graduate certificate program in the School of Contemporary Media.