Diginet news

Fusca blasts Star ChoiceStornoway Communications president Martha Fusca blasted Shaw Communications Inc.-owned Star Choice and Shaw cable for their refusal to pick up more Category 2 diginets. "Rogers has said it would pick up the channels of anyone who is willing to take the risk (of moving ahead). Bell ExpressVu and Cogeco are also offering a lot of Category 2s. If the others can do it, why can’t Star Choice?" she asks. Stornoway’s dance channel was not picked up by Star Choice, and Fusca wonders if Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw is looking for a self-fulfilling prophecy. Earlier this year, Shaw predicted that 50% of the new channels would fail (CCR, June 7/01). Stornoway has a deal with members of the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) members to carry the dance channel, but because the signal is not being sent via Star Choice, they are unable to receive the channel. Some smaller cablecos do not have the technological ability to receive signals from Bell ExpressVu. "Westerners enjoy dance as well," she said. "I just hope that Bell ExpressVu sells its dishes like crazy (and Star Choice loses out)," she added. Bell ExpressVu says Lonestar leads the packChris Frank, Bell ExpressVu VP of business development, says that subscribers to the direct-to-home satellite TV distributor have preferred Lonestar, Animal Planet, Sex TV, the NHL Hockey Channel, Men TV and Showcase Fashion the most during the free preview period. Speaking at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention on Oct. 30, Frank said that Lonestar, featuring westerns, was the surprise leader. In sports, ESPN Classic Canada is the most popular, and Mystery and Biography rank high in the variety genre, according to Frank. Kaan Yigit, partner of Solutions Research Group, agrees that the selection did rank high, but he cautions that the sample size is too small to come to any conclusions. Only about 12% of cable customers receive the new digital channels as well as a further 1.6 million Canadians via satellite. Ted Rogers opposes distant signals but is moving ahead anywayTed Rogers, president and CEO of Rogers Communications Inc., says he doesn’t believe in bringing in distant television signals to local markets. Speaking at a panel at the annual convention of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, Rogers said, however, that Rogers would move ahead with offering distant signals to digital subscribers because others are doing it (CCR, Oct. 26/01). Gerry Noble, president and CEO of Global Television Network Inc., told a room full of broadcasters that the practice of beaming in distant signals was "a big problem" that could involve infringement of copyrighted programming. However, Ivan Fecan, president and CEO of Bell Globemedia, said it was not a new problem, and that the issue was not so "black and white." Global preparing for Cool TVGlobal television plans to launch another specialty channel, which it will call Cool TV, early next year. The channel will be aimed at youth and feature some music. According to Bill Hunt, VP of specialty affiliate relations at Global Television Network, the channel will be based on a Category 2 licence that has already been granted. However, he says Global will have to apply to the CRTC for some changes, including the name. Global’s Extreme Sports could face competitionIf Alistar Gosling, CEO of U.K.-based Extreme Sports, has his way Global’s Extreme Sports channel will soon be facing some competition. Gosling said at the Sportel trade show in Monaco last month that he’s shopping around for partners in Canada to launch an extreme sports channel here. "Canada is one of the toughest markets," he says. Gosling has been unable to come to a deal with Global, but does provide the channel with some programming. He also anticipates bringing the specialty channel, which he has launched in Europe, to the United States early next year. Alliance Atlantis launches another digital channel, BBC Kids Alliance Atlantis trumped recognition of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) brand in launching its second digital channel in conjunction with Britain’s public broadcaster. BBC Kids began airing Nov. 5. Over 80 per cent of Canadians are familiar with the BBC brand, according to a national telephone survey of 1,200 English-speaking Canadians conducted in October 2001 by Pollara on behalf of Alliance Atlantis. "We’re thrilled that this survey has reaffirmed that the majority of Canadians are not only aware of the BBC but that they also associate it with cutting-edge programming," says John Gill, VP of programming for BBC Canada and BBC Kids. Alliance Atlantis launched BBC Canada on Sept. 7. Chum acquires Bosomania CollectionChum Ltd.-owned diginets Drive-In Classics and SexTV: The Channel have acquired Russ Meyer’s Bosomania Collection, a series of 17 classic sexploitation titles. Meyer is known for such films as The Immoral Mr. Teas, Faster Pussycat Kill, Kill, Beneath the Valley of the Ultravixens and Mondo Topless. Chum says these are a few of the movies which will have their North American television premiere on its diginets in February 2002. Look surveying its subscribers on appeal of diginetsCash-strapped Look Communications Inc. has put up an online survey to canvass its subscribers on which of the diginets they are interested in. Look is also asking customers if they would prefer to buy the channels in packages, or as pick and pay options, and how much they would be willing to pay for a package. (http://www.look.ca/survey/channels.asp) Quebecor’s Vidéotron increases digital subscribersQuebecor Inc. said that its Vidéotron ltée cable television unit had reached 104,000 digital subscribers at Sept. 30. That figure is up from 94,000 at the end of June.

Diginet news

News | 11/09/2001 5:00 am EST

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