TORONTO – Nascent FX Canada kicked off a free long-weekend preview Thursday through Monday for Rogers, EastLink, Cable Cable and Telus’ Optik TV customers. MTS and SaskTel subscribers continue their two-month free preview of the channel through May 31st.
The Rogers-owned specialty channel, which launched last October, will offer “marathon programming” of Wilfred (season one), The Ultimate Fighter Live and Sons of Anarchy (season two).
www.fxcanada.ca
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – Canada’s wireless providers may soon have to adhere to a new code of conduct.
The CRTC said Wednesday that it is seeking comments on whether the wireless market has changed enough to warrant its intervention in the development of a national retail wireless services consumer code, after receiving “several applications” recommending that one be established. (Cartt.ca first reported back in February on Telus's demand for such a process.) A number of provinces have recently introduced amendments to consumer protection legislation that directly or indirectly impact wireless services.
In 1994, the CRTC decided against regulating the wireless…
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IT’S PRETTY UNUSUAL for dropped cellular phone calls to be mentioned in a Speech from the Throne.
But, that’s exactly what happened last fall when Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor Gordon Barnhart said in that speech that “improving digital and electronic infrastructure is essential to the new economy,” and that “(d)ropped cell phone calls are still a problem, despite an increased investment in SaskTel’s 4G network of $170 million in my government’s first term.”
SaskTel’s ownership – the taxpayers of Saskatchewan – is a holdover of the past, when many telcos were government-owned. While its competitors feel competing against the government is unfair, the…
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I READ WITH INTEREST your commentary concerning the dispute between the independent BDUs (CIDG) and Bell Media.
Like Kevin Crull, the CEO of Bell Media, I too have “walked on both sides of the fence” (as noted in his letter of March 28). I was the president of the Canadian Cable Television Association and the CEO of Star Choice, Bell ExpressVu’s principal competitor, now known as Shaw Direct. More recently, I was the head of English services at the CBC, which, like Bell Media, includes a big conventional network and a number…
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ON THURSDAY, A PANEL of seven CRTC commissioners and a dozen industry executives took part in a hearing where they all must have asked themselves repeatedly, “Geez, how often have I heard this before?” At least, that’s the question that popped into my head as I listened in.
Bell Media faced off against the Canadian Independent Distributors Group during an expedited hearing concerning the parties’ fight over Bell Media’s 2011 wholesale carriage agreement, as we have already covered extensively. The CIDG (Telus, Cogeco, EastLink, Canadian Cable Systems Alliance and MTS) say the dispute isn’t primarily about…
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TORONTO – What would radio be without good, lively banter among radio personalities? And that’s exactly what attendees at the Radio Interactive conference on Thursday were treated to during a panel discussion called “Social Radio” that included execs from both terrestrial and pure-play digital radio companies. Radio Interactive was held as part of Slacker Canadian Music Week 2012 in Toronto last week.
A friendly but competitive vibe among the panellists could be felt early in the session, especially between Dave Farough, vice-president of brand, programming and new media for Corus Radio, and Rob Farina, executive vice-president of content for Astral…
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MONTREAL – In its third major content acquisition in a little over 18 months, BCE Inc. (Bell) announced today the purchase of Astral Media Inc. and all its assets for $3.38 billion. If approved, the deal would dramatically boost Bell’s French language TV viewership in Quebec from 6% to 32%, placing it within striking distance of Quebecor, which reaches about 35% of viewers. But at least one market analyst has questioned the value of the deal and believes Bell should have invested the money in its broadband network.
"Bell is gaining a well-seasoned national Astral management team, dramatically expanding our…
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OTTAWA – Reaction was predictably mixed when Industry Canada Minister Christian Paradis released the 700 MHz spectrum auction policy Wednesday, with some saying that it struck the right balance, while others describing the rules as devastating to new entrants.
Mobilicity, which had asked for the entire 700 MHz band to be set aside for new entrants, still saw the decision as a positive step for competition and support for the upstart wireless companies.
“I think Industry Canada had a tough decision to make and it tried to make all sides happy to some extent. So I thought it was a reasonable compromise,…
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TORONTO – The newly announced rules for the pending 700 MHz wireless spectrum auction and on foreign ownership could damage the credit ratings of the country’s three wireless incumbents, according to Moody's Investors Service.
The ratings agency said Thursday that the government’s new rules are credit-negative for Baa1-rated Bell Canada, Rogers Communications and Telus Corp.
Conversely, those rules are credit-positive for Canada’s five regional service providers and the three wireless-only new entrants.
www.moodys.com
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TORONTO – Despite how the rules to be applied to the auction of 700 MHz wireless spectrum have yet to be announced, one telecom industry analyst believes (taking all variables into account) the federal government can expect to earn about $3.5 billion when that auction finally does take place.
In a note to clients last week, Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan took into account potential changes to foreign investment rules, the possibility of a cap on the amount of spectrum to be purchased by any one company and the potential for certain blocks of spectrum Continue Reading
