VANCOUVER – Rogers must stop referring to itself as “Canada’s most reliable network” by the end of this week, said Justice Christopher Grauer in a written order.
As reported by Cartt.ca, after launching its own HSPA wireless network in partnership with Bell last month, Telus filed a lawsuit to halt the use of Rogers’ marketing claims of being the fastest and most reliable network.
While Rogers has already dropped the “fastest” claim, it steadfastly held on to the “most reliable” title in its advertising. But Justice Grauer has ordered Rogers to drop the reference from its website and all other Internet advertising immediately, and has…
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By Christopher Maule, Professor Emeritus, Carleton University
THE BATTLE BETWEEN CANADIAN BROADCASTERS and cable companies taking place before the CRTC is about the past and the disappearing present and not about the future of traditional television and other forms of video.
If the protagonists and the Commission are to consider the public interest as reflected by how consumers spend their money and time, they need to look for ways to profit from what consumers want instead of struggling over what consumers have been forced to take.
Today, consumers use their Kindle and computers to read books and view pictures, use their iPhones…
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TORONTO – Media companies looking to monetize their content with online subscription models would be advised to look for additional sources of revenue.
According to results from the Q3 edition of Digital Life Canada, Solution Research Group’s quarterly trend survey.
The research benchmarked consumers’ willingness to pay for various types of content online. Only 14% said they would pay for newspapers online; TV shows did better at 22%, and books seemed worthy of payment to 29%. At the top of the list was movies which had the most potential, with 37% indicating a willingness to pay.
Those currently paying for online or…
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BURNABY – Telus has invested over $70 million in upgrades to its wireless and broadband infrastructure in cities across B.C. for its 3G+ wireless network.
In a flurry of press releases on Friday, the B.C.-based telco announced that the new network is now available in Delta, the tri-cities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody, Burnaby and New Westminster, North Vancouver and West Vancouver, Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, Richmond, Vancouver, Surrey and White Rock, Whistler and Pemberton, Squamish and along the Sea-to-Sky highway corridor.
Covering 1.1 million square kilometres, the network also extends high-speed Internet service to about 2,100 locations in…
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VANCOUVER – Now that Telus and Bell also operate HSPA wireless networks, too, Rogers Communications can’t call itself “Canada’s most reliable network” any more without proper qualifiers.
As we reported last week, Telus launched a lawsuit over Rogers’ claims to be fastest and most reliable, asking the Supreme Court of British Columbia to step in and force the big red machine to alter its marketing messages.
While Rogers dropped the “fastest” claim in early November when the new Telus and Bell net was launched, it has stuck with “most reliable”, a claim Telus insists must end.
After hearing all about HSPA…
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GATINEAU – The sale of advertising time on American cable channels, by a new third-party company, can help fix what ails the broadcasting system, says former Canadian Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell.
His new company, Mediadenovo (Italian for “media of the new”, we’re told) would be a new programming undertaking that would sell the two minutes per hour of local availability ad time to national advertisers. Mediadenovo submitted its application for a license to the CRTC months ago, said O’Farrell, but it has yet to be made public.
American cable channels like CNN, A&E, Golf Channel and others…
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CAMPBELL RIVER, BC – Telus TV has arrived to challenge the television provider incumbents in more five more communities in British Columbia and Alberta.
Over the last week, the telco has launched its IP-based TV product in Campbell River, Mission and Chilliwack BC, and in Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge, AB. The service offers more than 390 channels, including 35 in HD, as well as an HD PVR, video-on-demand and pay-per-view.
As an added incentive, Telus is pledging to donate $100 for every new subscriber to various local charities such as a park restoration or the local YMCA/YWCA. On Vancouver Island, its donations…
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GATINEAU – The sale of advertising time on American cable channels, by a new third-party company, is now back on the industry’s agenda.
In its presentation to the CRTC this morning Telus advocated an approach by Mediadenovo which would see the new company (Italian for “media of the new”, we’re told) – which is headed by former Canadian Association of Broadcasters president and CEO Glenn O’Farrell – sell the two minutes per hour of local availability ad time to national advertisers.
American cable channels like CNN, A&E, Golf Channel and others make that time available to distributors to sell into local…
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OTTAWA – Telus’ Michael Hennessy says that it all comes down to priorities.
In advance of his company’s presentation in front of the CRTC on Tuesday, the SVP of regulatory and government affairs said that the current fee-for-carriage discussions are “doing everything backwards” because they failed to set priorities, and to recognize consumer sovereignty in today’s digital world.
“Our fundamental position is that what we’re talking about now is a tremendous waste of our time and resources because we’re not giving consumers enough credit, and listening to how they want to define the television world, or the entertainment and informational world…
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VANCOUVER – A week after the launch of its new HSPA wireless network, Telus launched a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against Rogers Communications over the latter’s continuing claim to the “fastest network.”
“(S)ince November 5, 2009, Telus has been using a newer HSPA/HSPA+ network than the HSPA/HSPA+ part of the Rogers… network,” reads Telus’ statement of claim. “The Rogers… Network is not more reliable than the Telus… network.”
The claim also notes that Rogers claim to be the fastest also no longer stands and that Telus’ new net – which is built along with Bell Canada –…
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