CCR Update

Rogers acquires 13 Ontario radio stationsRogers Media Inc has purchased 13 radio stations in Ontario from Standard Broadcasting for $100 million, subject to CRTC approval. Under the transaction, the stations, to be acquired by Standard Broadcasting from Telemedia Radio Inc, will be transferred to Rogers. Among the 13 stations is the all-sports radio station, CJCL - The Fan in Toronto. Rogers says the acquisition of the Fan will complement the sports programming on its specialty television channel Sportsnet. More details. CRTC approves two more Category 2sOn Sept. 4, the CRTC approved two more Category 2 digital channels - Sports Vault TV and the Gaming Channel. Sports Vault will provide programming focused on professional athletes, teams and organizations and sell related sports merchandise. Conditions of licence imposed on Sports Vault include a broadcast limit of 10 hours a week of live professional sports that it creates and produces itself, and a prohibition against providing any other coverage of live professional or amateur sports events. The Gaming Channel will feature live-event interactive programming about gaming, such as bingos and lottery draws. Decision CRTC 2001-550 Decision CRTC 2001-549 Shaw wants customers' help to determine pricing, packaging of digital channelsShaw Cablesystems GP says it won't decide how it is going to package and price the more than 30 new digital channels it will launch on a trial basis this September until after it hears from its customers. The new digital services, to be offered in the 80 to 150-channel range, will be free during a preview period. Shaw will use the results of an interactive survey, available Sept. 17, to help determine how it will bundle the channels and how much it will charge. More details. Rogers announces digital channel lineup for Newfoundland, New BrunswickRogers Cable Inc will be offering 41 new digital channels in St. John's NF, and 39 in Moncton, 38 in Fredericton and 28 in Saint John NB, the cableco announced Sept. 4. The channels will be offered in a 12-week free preview to existing digital subscribers. Non-digital customers must rent a digital terminal for $10.95 a month to receive the new channels. Rogers' customers in St. John's will be able to subscribe to the "NFL Sunday Ticket" premium sports package for the first time (over 200 football games for $159.96) beginning Sept. 9, and those in New Brunswick can subscribe to the "NHL Centre Ice" package (over 750 hockey games) beginning in October. Rogers Cable launches 41 new digital channels Rogers Cable launches 39 new digital channels Look obtains CCAA protection in refinancing bidLook Communications Inc has voluntarily sought and obtained protection under the Companies' Credit Arrangement Act (CCAA) for 30 days. The move will "provide the company with the time and flexibility necessary to attempt to finalize ongoing negotiations with potential new investors to secure the required financing for a fully funded business plan," according to Look board chair Michael Cytrynbaum. The company also reported revenue of $19.6 million and a negative EBITDA of $1.8 million for the second quarter. It also reported that it had 79,300 television subscribers at June 30, 2001, a decrease of 4,900 from the previous quarter. More details. Canwest closes sale of ROBTvCanWest Global Communications Corp announced Aug. 31 that it had completed the sale of its 50% interest in the specialty channel ROBTv. It was sold for about $30 million to an affiliate of Thomson Canada Ltd. More details. Canwest relaunches Internet properties under Canada.comCanWest Interactive has merged its globaltv.com, tvforbc.com, chektv.com and Southam daily newspaper sites into the canada.com national network. More details. Global completes licensing agreements with Fox Sports The Global Television Network and Fox Sports International have completed licensing agreements, allowing the two companies to launch its new digital channel Fox Sports World Canada on Sept. 7. More details. CHUM announces seven new digital channelsChum Television says it will be moving ahead with seven new specialty channels Sept. 7. They are FashionTelevisionChannel, BookTelevision: The Channel, CourtTV Canada, Drive-In Classics, SexTV: The Channel, MuchLoud, and MuchVibe. More details. Headline Media Group renews Bell ExpressVu agreementHeadline Media Group has signed a five-year agreement, retroactive to Jan. 1, with Bell ExpressVu that will see the monthly wholesale rate for the specialty channel The Score increase to 15 cents per subscriber in year one, to 25 cents per subscriber in year two, and to 50 cents per subscriber in years three to five. Previously, Bell ExpressVu was paying 10 cents per subscriber. More details. Shaw says it won't be affected by @Home financial concernsShaw Communications Inc says financial concerns with @Home Corp in Redwood City, CA would have no impact on the quality of its high-speed Internet service. It says it has been proactively building out its fibre-optic network and is in the position to provide all existing and new customers with a complete suite of services. More details. NakedNews.com expands to televisionNakedNews.com, the Web-based show where announcers strip down as they present the news, is prepping for a weekly television segment, which begins Sept. 7 on the pay-per-view channel Viewer's Choice. A new episode will premiere every Friday and will cost $3.99 per show. More details.

CCR Update

News | 09/05/2001 4:00 am EDT

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