GATINEAU – Local TV is struggling mightily. Ad revenue is down and showing no signs of growth, while the ever growing lineup of new specialty channels and the rapid rise of Internet-based alternatives are blasting away at what has always been the bedrock of the television system in Canada.
Some are telling the CRTC that it’s time to adopt a radically different approach for local TV, one that would bolster the revenue side of the ledger while also helping to encourage the development of compelling Canadian content.
For example, Bell Canada and CBC/Radio-Canada suggest shutting down over the air infrastructure completely…
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OTTAWA – With a healthy set-aside for operating newcomers (read: wireless companies which are serving Canadians and who aren’t Rogers, Bell or Telus), the federal government opened its public consultation on the AWS-3 auction it plans to hold in March of 2015 – one month prior to the long-planned 2500 MHz auction.
AWS-3 spectrum is in the 1755-1780 and 2155-2180 MHz bands and 30 of the 50 MHz on offer will be solely for the likes of Videotron, Wind, EastLink, and Mobilicity (or whomever is left standing in eight months…). In order to be eligible to bid on the set-aside,…
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MONTREAL – Quebec customers of Telus’ Optik TV can now access the CBC’s French language video portal Tou.tv directly on their televisions.
"What our customers want is more flexibility. They want to watch their favorite shows at the time and with the device of their choice, said Clément Audet, vice president, consumer market Telus Québec, in a French-language press release.
The Tou.tv application is integrated directly within the Optik TV service via the customers’ set top boxes. Subscribers can then get quick access to nearly 1,200 titles in French, of which 300 are renewed each month, and they don’t need a…
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TORONTO – After its first ever Transparency Report revealed that it received nearly 175,000 requests for customer data from federal agencies in 2013, Rogers said Wednesday that it is changing the way that it shares its customers’ private information and will require a court order before giving any information to the police or other government investigators.
In a post on its official blog RedBoard, Rogers said that the change comes in response to customer concerns and after further review of a Supreme Court ruling from last month. (Both Telus and TekSavvy have already said they will now require court…
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TORONTO – Canadian businesses are poised to embrace the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) with spending expected to jump to $21 billion annually in the next four years, according to a Telus-commissioned IDC survey.
IoT – the evolution of machine-to-machine (M2M) technology – is a network of uniquely identifiable end points (or things) that communicate without human interaction, most commonly over a wireless network. The systems collect, analyze and act on information in real time and are being deployed to create ‘smart’ connected businesses, homes, cars and cities.
The survey, which examined the current state of IoT deployments in Canada, found that…
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TORONTO – Primus Telecommunications Canada unveiled its new leadership team under CEO Michael Nowlan, as the alternative telecommunications service provider undergoes a self-described “transformation”.
Nowlan, who joined Primus in January after 12 years as president and CEO of Marketwired, said that new team “will fundamentally change the way Primus goes to market and does business”.
That team includes:
– Walter Andri, senior vice-president, Sales: Andri is an experienced senior sales leader and business transformation specialist with a proven track record of leading global B2C and B2B businesses in the technology, telecommunications, retail and food and drug sectors. Prior to joining Primus,…
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GATINEAU – The quest of both the CRTC and the federal government to ensure consumers have more choice in their TV packages is running into some difficult headwinds. Vertically integrated broadcast distributors as well as content developers acknowledge that Canadians do say they want more channel flexibility, but they don’t want a so-called “skinny basic” tier of TV channels.
In the official TV Policy Review Notice of Consultation (2014-190), the Commission has proposed a basic cable package that only includes local Canadian TV stations, the 9(1)(h) must-carry channels, provincial educational services if they exist, and in some cases, the community…
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GATINEAU – Canadian prices for wireline, wireless and Internet services are generally competitive when compared to other G7 countries and Australia, with the exception of entry level mobile wireless service and high-speed Internet, according to an annual report commissioned by Industry Canada and the CRTC.
Prepared by Ottawa’s Wall Communications, the 2014 update Price Comparisons of Wireline, Wireless and Internet Services in Canada and with Foreign Jurisdictions is an annual telecom services price comparison study that combines and averages wireline, mobile wireless, broadband Internet, and mobile Internet service rates, as well as bundles of these services along with basic digital TV…
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TORONTO – Independent movie channel operator Hollywood Suite announced the launch of Hollywood Suite GO (HSGO) Tuesday, available on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and Android devices for subscribers through carrier partners Source Cable, Eastlink, Telus Optik TV, and Cogeco Cable.
Customers of each BDU can download the Hollywood Suite GO app immediately and take Hollywood Suite with them. Available at no additional cost for existing subscribers, HSGO gives movie lovers the freedom and the ability to enjoy their favourite movies in high definition with unlimited access whenever and wherever they want, says the company’s press release.
Optimized for Apple iOS and Android Devices,…
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GATINEAU – The place, and prominence, of American specialty networks in Canadian television programming packages may soon be changing as the CRTC grapples with the part that U.S. discretionary services play in our rapidly changing broadcast environment.
When the Commission launched the third phase of Let’s Talk TV: A Conversation with Canadians last April, it also proposed a potential new approach to licensing foreign services for carriage in Canada. That proposal suggested a simple test: a non-Canadian service would be authorized for carriage and distribution unless it would have “an undue negative impact” on the Canadian TV system. Services that…
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