CALGARY – When the CRTC dives into the proposed purchase of Canwest Global’s TV assets by Shaw Communications next week, many industry stakeholders are asking for asking for safeguards and urging the Commission to be prudent.
(Cartt.ca editor and publisher Greg O’Brien will be in Calgary next week covering the hearing. For live updates, follow him on Twitter via @gregobr and surf back to Cartt.ca regularly.)
The $2 billion deal, which would make Shaw the largest vertically integrated media company in Canada, for now, appears to have the cautious support of many, as long as certain conditions – often described as “competitive safeguards” – are attached.
Shaw’s primary…
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CALGARY – Shaw Direct will introduce its customers to a new high definition PVR next week.
The Advanced HDPVR will allow customers to watch up to 175 hours of recorded programming, customize series recordings using ‘smart PVR technology’, and find out what’s on 14 days in advance thanks to a new interactive on-screen guide. It will also acts as a platform for more interactive channels and new features coming in the future, Shaw said in an annoucement.
Starting September 1st, customers can purchase the new Advanced HDPVR 630 for $399, or qualify for a current customer rental program of $15 per month.
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CALGARY – The Shaw family has purchased an additional 1,000,000 class B non-voting shares of Shaw Communications.
The Shaw family, and entities owned or controlled by them, holds 49,217,591 class A and class B shares of the company, and said that it would continue its practice of purchasing shares on a regular basis.
www.shaw.ca
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CALGARY – The Competition Bureau has cleared Shaw Communication’s $2 billion acquisition of 100% of the over-the-air and specialty television businesses of CanWest Global Communications Corp.
In an announcement on Friday, Shaw said that the Competition Bureau concluded that the transaction “will not likely give rise to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition under the Competition Act” because of a number of factors, including effective remaining competition, the effect of the regulatory environment, the absence of relevant concerns expressed by market participants and numerous alternatives available to advertisers.
"The Bureau has conducted a very thorough review and we appreciate their…
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CALGARY and TORONTO – The Ontario Superior Court of Justice today issued a order sanctioning the restated consolidated plan of compromise, arrangement and reorganization relating to Shaw Communications’ $2 billion purchase of Canwest Global Communications television assets.
Previously, Shaw announced that it had entered into agreements regarding the acquisition of 100% of the over-the-air and specialty television businesses of Canwest, including all of the equity interests in CW Investments Co., the Canwest subsidiary that owns a portfolio of specialty television channels.
"This is another important step forward with respect to the CMI Entities emerging from the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act…
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CARTT.CA’S UPDATED STORY on the Shaw/Canwest deal seeks to fill in “incomplete data” on Shaw’s proposed benefits package of $23 million for a transaction reported at $2 billion. That’s not a typo. We estimate that this comes to 1% of the value of the transaction. Since Commission policy dictates 10% for benefits it’s fair to ask: Are we missing $177 million? Let’s look at the numbers.
In their main application, Shaw ascribed a value of the transaction at $475 million. At that point, they were proposing a benefits of $23 million, which would be spent on the conversion to…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC will have the opportunity to bless the marriage of CanWest and Shaw at a hearing scheduled for September 20, 2010.
The $2 billion deal was approved by an Ontario court in June, but still requires approval by the Commission and the Competition Bureau.
The Regulator said Thursday that it will first consider an application by CanWest Global Communications for a multi-step corporate reorganization which would see its broadcasting and specialty channel assets fall under one entity.
Next up will be Shaw’s application to transfer the effective control of Canwest Global’s broadcasting entities to a wholly-owned Shaw…
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TORONTO – High Fidelity HDTV today announced that its Oasis HD specialty channel is now available to Shaw Cable HD subscribers.
The all-HD channel delivers a wide range of high quality, original nature documentaries, thematic specials, and a large line-up of exclusive IMAX® Original Films produced exclusively for the home theatre environment, and presented without commercials.
“We’re very pleased to be part of Shaw Cable’s HD line-up,” said Ken Murphy, president and CEO of High Fidelity HDTV, in a press release.
www.hifihdtv.ca
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CALGARY – Stable growth at Shaw Communications’ cable and digital phone divisions helped to drive up its third quarter earnings by 20%, the company announced Wednesday.
Consolidated service revenue for the quarter ended May 31, 2010 and year-to-date periods of $944 million and $2.78 billion, respectively, was up 10% over each of the comparable periods last year. Total service operating income before amortization of $436 million and $1.34 billion, respectively, improved 10% and 17% over the same periods. Excluding a one-time CRTC Part II fee recovery, the year-to-date increase in service operating income before amortization was 10%.
Net income of $158…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has chosen Nokia Siemens Networks to provide the radio access network and core equipment for Shaw’s pending next generation wireless network.
Nokia Siemens won the business “after an extensive and competitive review process”, Shaw said Monday in an announcement.
The equipment will be fully 3G and LTE capable, giving Shaw a variety of options to deliver broadband wireless services to customers using the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) band, as well as future frequency bands, the announcement continued.
Shaw announced in April that its new wireless network is expected to launch in the second half of 2011.
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