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Bruce Anderson has been named chair and CEO of Decima Inc. Decima Reports, the publisher of Canadian Communications Reports, is one of three wholly-owned subsidiaries of Decima Inc.

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Cogeco registers net gain in basic TV subs, digital TV on rise
Cogeco Inc. registered its first net increase in basic TV customers since 1998, adding about net 3,200 basic customers in fiscal 2004 to reach a total of 823,855. It added 16,211 digital terminals in the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, 2004 to reach a total of 823,855, and its Internet subscriber base rose by 5,190 to a total of 245,026. In fiscal 2004 ended August 31, Cogeco’s digital TV subscriber base increased 28%, or by 56,984, and its Internet customers grew by 19%, or by 39,847.

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Industry Canada’s decision to reclaim allotment C-band spectrum doesn’t affect the country’s primary satellite operator, says an executive with the firm. Paul Bush, VP of broadcast and corporate development at Telesat Canada, explains that the spectrum was virtually unuseable and so its repatriation by the government from commercial use doesn’t affect the company.

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Canada’s advertising industry is lending its support to a proposal by cablecos that commercial advertising in Canada be sold on U.S. specialty TV services such as CNN and A&E. Robert Reaume, VP of policy and research at the Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), says that the proposal would be even more enticing if the avails on the U.S. channels were sold on a regional or even local market basis.

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Canadian-owned Ethnic Channels Group has big plans to eventually bring 30 third-language channels into Canada, but a wrench could be thrown into its scheme if the CRTC makes policy changes. The commission is currently reviewing its approach to granting foreign-owned third-language services into the country, with both a Canadian Heritage-appointed panel (CCR, Oct. 7/04) and the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Commission (CCTA) calling for a liberalization of the one-channel-per-genre policy (CCR Update, Oct. 15/04).

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As a smaller-sized cableco, Mountain Cable in Hamilton insists that it faces unique challenges in introducing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, particularly in spreading capital expenditures over fewer subscribers than larger TV distributors. But Pat Kiely, director of business operations and development at Mountain Cable, says the company has no choice but to take the plunge because "it represents part of our survival as a business."

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