Sue Prestedge has been appointed senior VP of the Category 1 digital channel Women’s Sports Network (WSN) by CTV Inc-owned NetStar Communications. She will oversee the day-to-day operations of the new network, including program production, acquisition, scheduling, marketing and strategic planning. For the past five years, she has directed the broadcast journalism program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, ON.

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Vidéotron appeals winback rules for high-speed Internet
Vidéotron ltée wants the CRTC to reverse an earlier ruling forcing it to wait 90 days before attempting to lure back high-speed Internet customers who switch to a competitor. Filed March 5, the application takes issue with Order CRTC 2000-789 which categorizes Vidéotron as a dominant player in the high-speed Internet market, and as such, subjected it to a 90-day winback restriction. The cableco points out, however, that its relative share of the high-speed ISP market in Quebec dropped from 71% to 56% between March 31 and Dec. 31 last year. In comparison, it claims Bell Canada’s market share during that same period increased from 29% to 44%. Vidéotron also challenges the scope of the new rules, saying they apply to all of its retail Internet services. If the CRTC decides to retain the winback rules, Vidéotron says they should be applied equally to all facilities-based high-speed ISPs, and not exclusively to Vidéotron and to cable modem technology.

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SaskTel says it won’t be delayed in rolling out cable service in Regina and Saskatoon this year, despite a CRTC order that the telco first prove it’s free of political influence from the provincial government. An executive with the Crown-owned telco says they will begin work immediately to comply with commission concerns that provincial cabinet has the power to remove directors from SaskTel’s board at its "pleasure".

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Specialty services and broadcasters could end up paying more for their satellite capacity if the CRTC forces Telesat Canada to pay into a subsidy fund for local telephone service.

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Quebecor Média Inc should get regulatory approval for its acquisition of Vidéotron ltée and Groupe TVA inc because as a vertically integrated company, it will be able to compete globally and improve domestic policy outcomes, according to the Canadian Cable Television Association.

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There is little industry consensus between distributors and programmers on how to convert to digital television, according to a new report prepared for the CRTC by an industry task force studying the issue.

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The CRTC should order Rogers Communications Inc to retract a letter it sent to producers asking them to support cable ownership of analog channels, say the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. The lobby group also wants the commission to force Rogers to reveal to whom it sent the Feb. 28 letter, and to demonstrate that future funding decisions by it and its $20-million Rogers Telefund "are in no way influenced by any action, or lack of action, on the part of recipients of this letter."

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