CALGARY – Shaw Communications doesn’t take long to act.
In fact, says company president Peter Bissonnette, the decision to go after three CTV-owned stations made available to purchase for the low-low price of a dollar each was made on Wednesday, with an offer executed via a newspaper ad slated for today’s Globe and Mail, but scooped yesterday by Cartt.ca instead.
Within hours of hearing of the ad from Cartt.ca, CTV accepted and Shaw – after some due diligence and contracts we suppose – will own CKNX-TV in Wingham, Ont., CHWI-TV Windsor, Ont. And CKX-TV Brandon, Man., for three…
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CALGARY – In a full page ad which is slated to run in tomorrow’s Globe and Mail, Shaw Communications says it believes over-the-air television has a bright future and it will purchase three stations CTV says it wants to close because it could not find a buyer for them, even for a buck.
The ad, (click here to see it) signed by CEO Jim Shaw, warns Canadians their broadcasters are seeking a bailout worth hundreds of millions of dollars. “They call this Fee for Carriage. Without mincing words, this is a tax. It is a direct tax on…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has officially renamed its direct to home satellite subsidiary Star Choice to Shaw Direct, as Cartt.ca reported last week.
The move builds upon the extension of the brand to include the divisions of Shaw Tracking, Shaw Business Solutions and Shaw Broadcast Services, the company explained in a press release.
"The renaming of Star Choice to Shaw Direct allows us to continue to offer our customers the same outstanding service while aligning all of our product and service offerings under one single brand," said Shaw Communications president Peter Bissonnette, in the release. "This will help…
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CALGARY – “Solid” subscriber growth, including a “record” quarterly gain in digital subs, helped Shaw recognize a 10% jump in consolidated service revenue for its second quarter, compared to the same period last year.
Consolidated service revenue for the second quarter ended February 28, 2009 was $839 million, while service operating income of $381 million before amortization was a 9% improvement over the same time last year.
The company also reported funds flow from operations increased to $335 million compared to $304 million in the same year-over-year period. Free cash flow for the quarter was $138 million, flat compared…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications last week upped the responsibilities for five of its key executives.
Brad Shaw has been appointed senior vice president, operations for Shaw Communications, with responsibility for Shaw Cable, Star Choice, Shaw Broadcast Services and Shaw Tracking.
Jean Brazeau is now senior vice president, regulatory affairs, with responsibility for all regulatory matters related to Shaw Communications.
Jay Mehr is the new group vice president, operations, with responsibility for the overall leadership for Shaw’s Cable operations, including customer care, sales, technical operations and community program delivery.
Dennis Steiger is now group vice president, engineering, with accountability for…
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CALGARY – Shaw has added ‘Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) On Demand’ to its video-on-demand lineup.
The service features live events, single fights, classic programming, behind the scenes specials and athlete profiles.
"The UFC is one of the fastest growing sports organizations in the world. We are pleased to offer UFC On Demand to Shaw’s dedicated fight fans," said Peter Bissonnette, president of Shaw Communications, in the press release. "With new content each month plus all current live events, UFC On Demand brings every must-see fight right into our customers’ living rooms."
www.shaw.ca www.ufc.com
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications announced plans to sell up to $600 million worth of senior unsecured notes due in 2014, pricing the bond offering at 6.50%.
The company said in a statement that the net proceeds of the offering will be used for its debt repayment or redemption, for working capital and “for general corporate purposes”.
Closing is scheduled for March 27, 2009. The notes are available in Canada and the United States, through an underwriting syndicate led by TD Securities Inc.
www.shaw.ca
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CALGARY – Characterizing the results as "solid", Shaw Communications today announced second quarter fiscal 2009 subscriber results that saw digital television subscriber growth rise by more than double as compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2008.
Basic cable subscribers increased 4,273 to 2,273,904 in the quartere ended February 28, digital and Internet customers grew by 106,489 to 1,076,373 and 26,130 to 1,626,334, respectively, and digital phone lines were up 50,848 to 719,376. Star Choice DTH customers increased 3,657 to 896,633.
Internet and phone sub growth was slower, however. The company’s growth rate on Internet subs was 46% slower…
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TORONTO – Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Shaw Communications’ senior unsecured debt ratings to Baa3 from Ba1, after concluding a ratings review that began at the end of January.
Shaw’s ratings outlook has also been repositioned to “stable”. With the company’s debt now rated at an investment grade level, the former speculative grade liquidity rating has been withdrawn, as have the company’s probability of default rating and loss given default assessments for individual debt instruments, the press release detailed.
The rating action anticipates that Shaw “will exhibit key attributes of an investment grade company”, including a strong and relatively stable…
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CALGARY – Shaw launched a faster Internet service, called High-Speed Nitro, to their customers in Saskatchewan on Tuesday.
Using DOCSIS 3.0 technology, the press release called the new service “unquestionably the fastest Internet speed available across Canada” at 100 Mbps.
Shaw has upgraded its package of Internet services and will roll-out High-Speed Nitro and its other speed enhancements to its remaining communities over the next few months.
"Our current speed enhancements and increase in people power is just one more indicator of Shaw’s commitment to satisfying our customers’ needs with greater choice for Internet speed, support and reliability," said…
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