GATINEAU, Que. — The question of whether news stations owned by vertically-integrated (VI) companies need safeguards for journalistic independence came up at the CRTC’s English-language TV licence renewal hearing Wednesday, with the commission chairman floating the idea of implementing rules codifying independence. CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais asked Telus Corp. representatives whether codifying “principles of independence” as a condition of licence would solve concerns they identified in their opening statement Wednesday. Telus had argued that...
BCE Inc. said Thursday that its CraveTV streaming service is now available online to Canadians without TV subscriptions, but they will pay about twice what subscribers to Bell TV and other TV services have been putting out for CraveTV so far. Its Bell Media division said in a press release that CraveTV is now available on an over-the-top basis for $7.99 a month, with one-month free trials being offered to new customers. That compares to the $4 monthly fee that subscribers to various TV services, including those from Bell, Telus Corp. and Eastlink, have been paying since the service launched...
Subscribers to BCE Inc.’s TV services will pay more for CraveTV starting in February, though the company isn’t saying how much customers who get the streaming service through other TV-service providers, or those...
BCE Inc.'s Bell Media has parted ways with more senior employees, a spokesman confirmed Friday. Bell Media's Scott Henderson said in an email: "I can confirm there have been some director-level departures at Bell...
U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Corp. is offering free service to customers of DirecTV, the satellite-TV provider that was recently purchased by AT&T, a competitor to Sprint in the mobile market. Sprint said in a press release...
As of Thursday, any Canadian with Internet was able subscribe to Shomi without being a customer of other services from its owners, Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., though one industry observer said this does not mean these companies have given up on their TV services. Shomi announced Thursday in a...
BCE Inc. will make its CraveTV streaming service available to all Canadians as of Jan 1., 2016, it said in a press release Monday, in what marks a change in strategy for the company. Bell Media president Mary Ann Turcke said in the press release that as “our business model has continued to evolve the time is right to also offer CraveTV as a standalone product.” The service, which was launched in December, is currently available only to customers who subscribe to TV service from Bell and partner providers, including Telus Corp. and Eastlink. “It’s a big change in strategy since [former Bell Media president Kevin] Crull repeatedly said they weren’t going to do this,” broadcasting consultant Kelly Lynne Ashton said in an email. “It’s a necessary change, though, as it’s the only...
At some point this summer, Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.’s Shomi streaming service will be made available to customers of other TV and Internet service providers...
Kevin Crull, former president of BCE Inc.'s Bell Media unit, will join Sprint Corp. as chief marketing officer at the end of this month, Sprint said Wednesday. The company said in a press release that Crull will report to Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure and his responsibilities will include customer...
Rogers Communications Inc. said Friday that Keith Pelley will leave as president of the company's media division this summer to take over as CEO of the PGA European Tour. Pelley was appointed president of Rogers Media in...
BCE Inc. said Thursday that Kevin Crull is out as president of its Bell Media division, and a press release appeared to link Crull's ousting to his recent conflict with news staff over coverage of the CRTC's decision on...
CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais on Wednesday issued a statement warning about the seriousness of "manipulating news coverage" in the wake of a report that a prominent BCE Inc. executive did...
OTTAWA — The retransmission of U.S. networks in Canada is the equivalent of Aereo, the service ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court last year, Kevin Crull, president of BCE Inc.'s media...
OTTAWA — Kevin Crull, president of BCE Inc.'s media division, said Thursday that monetization is currently his organization's biggest challenge, given the usage of over-the-top (OTT)...
Newly released results from a Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) survey show the availability of online video content is a factor for four in 10 Canadian Internet users who do not subscribe to cable TV. The data,...
The $4-a-month price tag for CraveTV, Bell Media’s new streaming service, is part of the company’s attempt to differentiate itself from competitors, according to Kevin Crull, president of BCE Inc.’s media division. “We’re not duplicating what you currently get from your TV subscription. We’re bringing something that isn’t there,” he said in a phone interview. “We thought $4 was the right price point in order to encourage Canadians to sign up in droves and to really get a very high adoption rate of this product.” Bell announced Wednesday it would launch the new service — which was previously known by the code name...
Several new options for online television are about to become available in Canada. On Thursday BCE Inc. announced a new streaming service it's currently code-naming "Project Latte." The service, operated by the Bell Media division, will be available to TV service providers across the country, pending...
GATINEAU, Que. — BCE Inc. executives asked the CRTC Wednesday to put in place a “local specialty” model for local television stations, which it said are no longer financially sustainable. “The economics of...
BCE Inc.'s media division will cut 120 staff from its Toronto television operations, according to an internal memo from Bell Media president Kevin Crull, obtained by The Wire Report on Monday. Crull said the cuts represent a...
OTTAWA — Industry executives disagreed about the best way to give consumers more choice as they discussed the CRTC’s ongoing review of the television system during a panel discussion at...
Carriage negotiations between broadcasters and the broadcast distributors who deliver their channels to consumers will focus on finding the right “penetration-based” price rates in a future pick-and-pay TV model, industry insiders and experts said. “If you have a channel and it’s put in a position where its penetration is much lower —because of a la carte, pick and pay, or shifts in packaging — then that channel, to maintain the content it has, has to charge...
The CRTC’s review of the future of television services should bridge the gap between consumers’ desire to have more flexible programming options and the high cost of standalone services, said Kevin Crull, president of Bell Media. The CRTC launched last month a “conversation” that asks consumers for their ideas about the future...
BCE Inc. didn’t waste any time in absorbing the former Astral Media Inc. BCE, Canada’s largest vertically integrated communications and media company, formally gained control of Astral at 12:01 a.m. Friday, eight days...