TORONTO — Following on its exclusive deal last summer to distribute WWE’s flagship programming in Canada, Rogers announced today it has reached carriage agreements for WWE Network with multiple television providers.
Rogers became the exclusive Canadian distributor of WWE Network through 2024 in a 10-year broadcast and multimedia agreement reached with WWE in August.
In addition to Rogers and Eastlink, the premium WWE Network linear TV channel will soon be available to Cogeco Cable Canada, Shaw and Shaw Direct, Telus Optik TV and Telus Satellite TV, and Vidéotron subscribers. (In a Rogers press release issued today, no word was…
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OTTAWA — The list of applicants for the upcoming AWS-3 and 2500 MHz wireless spectrum auctions, revealed yesterday by Industry Canada, is comprised mostly of national and regional incumbents, with a couple of smaller players thrown into the mix.
In total, 13 Canadian companies have submitted applications to compete in the AWS-3 and 2500 MHz spectrum auctions, expected to begin this spring.
Bell, Rogers, Telus, MTS, Vidéotron, Wind, Eastlink and TBayTel have all applied to take part in both the AWS-3 and 2500 MHz spectrum auctions. Mobilicity and SaskTel plan to bid on AWS-3 spectrum only, while Xplornet, Calgary-based CCI Wireless…
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THERE WAS TOO MUCH symbolism to ignore with the choice of London, Ont., as the place where CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais chose to begin dismantling simultaneous substitution and to shift the ground under Canadian TV companies, forcing the vertically integrated behemoths to ask themselves this question: “Why do we need to own media companies?”
Blais spoke in London a week ago to make three announcements, two of which were decisions from the Commission’s Let’s Talk TV hearing held in September 2014.
London is generally acknowledged as the first city in Canada to get cable over 60 years…
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TORONTO – Rogers is gearing up to deliver live pay-per-view coverage of the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup and will extend access to that coverage to Bell, MTS, SaskTel, Shaw/Shaw Direct and Telus subscribers.
The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup kicks off on February 13 at 5:00 PM ET/2:00 PM PT with Sri Lanka vs. New Zealand, and continues through to the final match on March 28. Canadian fans without a pay-per-view subscription can catch Pakistan as it meets defending champion India on February 14 at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT on OMNI.2.
As the exclusive national distributor, Rogers will offer all 49 matches…
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WE HATE THE WORD predictions. Research companies are good at that, but nobody can really predict the future. However, we do like making educated guesses – and now that we’re a month into 2015, we feel we can make some of those with better data than what we could have done before Christmas, when “prediction” articles are so fashionable.
So, here are a few of our prognostications…
Cord cutting will grow. Subscription TV providers used last year’s Deloitte TMT predictions and some middling overall results to show that cord-cutting is not happening – at least not at…
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OTTAWA – The newly launched Centre of Excellence in Next Generation Networks (CENGN) is taking its show on the road in an effort to build Canada’s leadership in Next Generation Networks.
Starting in Edmonton Tuesday, CENGN kicks off a five-city Canadian roadshow with stops planned in Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa to find and support small to medium enterprises (SME) working on Next Generation Networks. These technologies include software defined networks and network functions virtualization that address the growing demand for exploding Internet content on multiple platforms, and also underpin cloud-based applications and the Internet of Things (IoT), connecting and…
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MONTREAL – With just days to go before Bell Let's Talk Day on January 28, Bell officially kicked off the $1 million annual Bell Let's Talk Community Fund for 2015.
Applications are now being accepted for grants from $5,000 up to $50,000 for community-based mental health initiatives from coast to coast to coast. Applications are open to registered not-for-profit organizations and registered charities to fund localized mental health programs, and the selection process is aided by mental health experts from across Canada.
The 2015 application period is open until March 31, and all 2015 Fund grants will be disbursed before…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Inc. doesn’t think it can expand its territory through acquiring other Canadian cable companies, and it doesn’t want to start building its network out to compete directly with its neighbours, so its strategy for stopping its losses in TV subscribers in Canada comes down to one word: TiVo.
The company started offering the advanced set-top box to its Atlantic Broadband customers in the United States last year, and in Ontario in November, and will start offering it in Quebec starting this spring. The TiVo box is a whole-home DVR capable of recording six channels at…
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TORONTO – With mobile devices now an integral part of our everyday lives, next year will see smartphones increasingly becoming the central hub for our personal data and information, according to Telus.
“Next year promises to be the most connected year for consumer mobile technology to date, with a more compelling and powerful smartphone experience that goes well beyond the device itself,” said Brent Johnston, SVP consumer marketing at Telus, in the news release. “Innovations in cloud computing, wearable technology, connected accessories and the evolution of the mobile wallet will continue to transform how we connect to the world around…
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TORONTO, MONTREAL and WOODSTOCK – Industry stakeholders wasted little time before commenting on Industry Minister James Moore’s spectrum announcement, with the majority expressing optimism, albeit cautiously.
Rural broadband provider Xplornet Communications said that it was “pleased and relieved” that Industry Canada and Minister Moore revised the previously proposed 3500 MHz spectrum policy, saying that the approach proves that the Minister understands the importance of 3500 MHz spectrum in providing fast and affordable high-speed Internet to rural Canadians.
“The Minister has taken a balanced approached that does no harm to the tremendous gains that have been made in the past few…
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