CALGARY – Shaw Communications has closed its acquisition of Mountain Cablevision from the Boris Family who has owned Mountain Cablevision for the past 50 years.
The transaction was subject to approval of the CRTC which was granted on October 22, 2009.
The purchase price was approximately $300 million, $120 million of which was paid through the issuance of 6.14 million class B non-voting participating shares of Shaw, with the balance paid in cash.
www.shaw.ca
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CALGARY – Stable growth across its key metrics helped Shaw close out its 2009 fiscal year on solid ground.
Consolidated service revenue for the year ended August 31, 2009 grew 9% over last year to reach $3.39 billion, while service operating income before amortization also improved by 9% to top $1.54 billion.
Basic cable subscribers grew 29,467 to 2.29 million, and digital penetration grew from 40% in 2008 to 57% as Shaw reached 1.29 million digital customers. The company also reported 1.67 million Internet customers and 830,000 digital phone lines. DTH customers for Shaw Direct topped 900,000.
Cable service revenue was up 11%…
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OTTAWA and CALGARY – Shaw is now Canada’s largest cable company after receiving CRTC approval to proceed with its purchase of Mountain Cablevision.
As reported by Cartt.ca, Shaw offered to buy the Hamilton-based BDU back in July. Rogers tried to block the acquisition citing a near decade-old non-compete arrangement it had with Shaw, but that argument was dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court last month.
The Commission officially approved Shaw’s application on Thursday, meaning that Mountain’s ownership and control will be changed to 1474888 Alberta Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shaw Communications Inc. Approximately 135 employees, 41,000 cable customers, 29,000…
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CALGARY – Shaw has unleashed Canada’s fastest Internet service in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Called ‘High-Speed Nitro’, the service boasts speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps).
Shaw launched the service in Saskatoon, Victoria and Winnipeg earlier this year using DOCSIS 3.0 technology, meaning it is now available to over 3.6 million Canadians.
www.shaw.ca
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CALGARY – Shaw has added The Score and History Television to its high definition programming package Shaw HD Plus.
“High-Definition is in great demand with our customers," said president Peter Bissonnette, in the announcement. "Our customers can now watch History Television and The Score in full HD quality and clarity. We continue to expand our HD line-up with popular and high quality programming services and we are delighted to offer our customers these new services."
In other news, Shaw TV will once again broadcast live coverage of the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds games on its community channel.
www.shaw.ca
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CALGARY – Just in time for Thanksgiving, Shaw is bringing ‘Turkey TV’ to its local channels and to Shaw Direct over the weekend.
Turkey TV will feature continuous coverage of a roasting turkey, surrounded by all the trimmings, including frequent bastings, fire stokings and authentic ‘snap, crackle and pop’ to add ambience to viewers’ holiday weekend plans.
Turkey TV was developed in 2006 based on Shaw’s Christmas ‘fireplace’ video, which first aired in Edmonton in 1986.
www.shaw.ca
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CALGARY – Shaw has bulked up its video-on-demand offerings to include eight prime time shows from Global, plus classic movies from the Warner Bros. collection.
Popular new and returning series, including Survivor, Lie to Me, The Good Wife, Family Guy, Glee, Bones, 90210 and NCIS, will be free on VOD to all Shaw digital TV customers until October 18, 2009. After that time, the Global programming will be offered exclusively to Shaw’s ‘Triple Play’ customers, who have the bundled product lines of digital TV, Internet and phone.
Timeless classics like Mutiny on the Bounty, Casablanca, Ben Hur, and An American in Paris have been…
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TORONTO – History Television will launch its HD service Thursday on Shaw Cable.
History Television joins Showcase and National Geographic Channel as Canwest’s third specialty channel to launch in high definition.
“History Television HD offers viewers an unparalleled viewing experience, combining stunning clarity with industry-leading content", said Barbara Williams, Canwest’s EVP of content, in the announcement. "With over 90% of our primetime schedule in high definition, we are committed to delivering viewers the very best programming from Canada and around the world."
The channel will be available as part of the Shaw HD Plus package. Canwest confirmed that it is currently in discussions…
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OTTAWA – Charles King is leaving well-known communications and government lobbying firm Earnscliffe Strategy Group in order to become vice-president, government relations for Shaw Communications, starting October 5th.
King has been at Earnscliffe for a dozen years and knows the ins and outs of Ottawa well. He was recognized this year by The Hill Times newspaper as one of the top 100 Ottawa lobbyists.
From 1988 to 1994, he worked at the National Liberal Party Headquarters in various positions, including Executive Assistant to the President. In 1994, he joined the office of the Human Resources Development Minister and also served in…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has announced a senior note offering of $1.25 billion which it says will be used to repay debt, and could be used for “potential acquisitions”.
The senior unsecured notes will be due in 2019, and will be made available in Canada and the U.S. under Shaw’s previously filed shelf prospectus, pursuant to an agency agreement with TD Securities Inc. acting as lead agent.
Closing is scheduled to occur on October 1, 2009 and, based on the closing purchase price, the effective yield of the notes if held to maturity, is 5.692%.
Moody’s Investors Service assigned a Baa3 rating…
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