Ken Whyte, Rogers Communications Inc.’s senior vice-president of public policy, is leaving the company effective April 28. Whyte said in a posting on LinkedIn Monday that he resigned “this morning after 12 happy, fruitful years.” According to a note from Rogers chief legal officer David Miller posted by Whyte, the public policy team will be rolled into Rogers’ regulatory team upon his departure. Whyte “decided to leave Rogers to devote more time to other interests,” the note said. He was named president of Rogers’ publishing division in 2011, during which time he launched the company’s “all-you-can-read” magazine app. Last year, Whyte was appointed part of a 12-member panel advising the Heritage Minister as part of the...
The annual program budget for the Canada Media Fund (CMF) for 2017-2018 is smaller than the previous year due to a decrease in contributions from broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs). The CMF said in a news release Friday that the budget for the upcoming year will total $349.7 million, which "reflects a stable contribution from the Government of Canada and an expected decline in contributions from Broadcast Distribution Undertakings to the CMF for the year to come." CMF president and CEO Valerie Creighton said in the release that the organization understands "a...
Despite being well received in some western markets, it’s too early to determine how Shaw Communications Inc.’s BlueSky TV is working out for the company, according to Barclays Capital. “We expect it will take...
Though virtual reality is still in its early days, it holds promise for Canada’s media industry — including for broadcasters as a new way to draw eyes to live events, such as sports, according to...
Verizon Communications Inc. is working on delivering an online streaming television package this summer, according to Bloomberg. The report, published Thursday and citing anonymous sources, said the telecommunications...
A typically competitive process, disseminating new applications for radio licences seemed to take on a more culturally significant connotation for the CRTC as it navigated a three-day public hearing...
Alphabet Inc.’s Google has launched a research facility in Toronto dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence (AI). The Vector Institute will focus on “expanding the applications of AI by performing cutting-edge explorations in deep learning and other forms of machine learning,” Geoffrey Hinton, chief scientific advisor for the institute and vice-president and engineering fellow at Google, said in a Google blog post Thursday. Hinton, who’s also a professor at the University of Toronto, said the institute will “supply a large number of the...
A Quebec union representing communications sector employees said it is disappointed with both the federal and provincial budgets, saying that in “both cases, no action has been taken to counter...
Jacob Glick is leaving Rogers Communications Inc. after two years with the company and becoming a distinguished executive fellow in residence at the University of Ottawa. Glick was chief corporate affairs officer at...
OTTAWA — The federal privacy commissioner will be working with stakeholders to develop a “code of practice” to help address privacy concerns around connected and autonomous vehicles,...
A tool that allows users to see exactly where their Internet traffic is travelling, backed partially by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, has received a facelift make it easier to use...
Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp messaging service should not be a place “for terrorists to hide,” according to U.K. Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who appeared on a Sunday BBC program...
Following a quiet first quarter, wireless companies’ flanker brands stepped up the competition in March, ramping up promotional activity through data increases and handset discounts, according to Barclays Capital. Just...
A Canadian class-action lawsuit is being filed against Amazon.com Inc. for the collection of sales tax on tax-exempt products, the Consumer Law Group announced Monday. In a press...
Twitter Inc. had to respond to 51 requests for Canadian user's information and 11 requests for account removal in the latter half of 2016, according to the social media company’s latest transparency report. Out of...
AMC Networks Inc. is making its Sundance Now over-the-top (OTT) service available in Canada. “Sundance Now launches with hand-selected and award-winning documentary, art-house and independent films from around the globe,” the U.S. company said in a press release Thursday. The service costs $6.99 a month, or $4.99 a month with a year’s subscription, according to its website. “With its strong curatorial voice, Sundance Now’s library includes a growing and unparalleled selection of film, docs and TV series,” the release said. It follows the Canadian launch of AMC’s horror-focused streaming service, Shudder, last year....
The federal government has extended the deadline for comments in its consultation on licence requirements for non-geostationary satellite orbit systems (NGSO). In a notice on its website Thursday, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said “based on the merits of several requests for additional time to respond, the...
For all the focus on the digital economy, there was little in Wednesday’s budget for digital content creators, broadband infrastructure enthusiasts or fans of long-term planning, according to...
BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. are removing TSN, RDS and Sportsnet from traditional TV subscriptions for business customers with a liquor license and offering the channels...
OTTAWA — With a focus on the digital economy, the federal government will start looking beyond geography to bridge the digital divide in Canada, adding new funding to encourage Internet Service...
The upcoming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could include pressure to change rules requiring some information to stay in Canada, University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist told a Parliamentary committee. He said the talks seem “likely to include U.S. demands that Canada refrain from establishing so-called data localization rules that mandate the retention of personal information on computer servers located in Canada,” he said at...
Alphabet Inc.’s Google will give companies that advertise on its platforms more control over where their ads are placed, the company said in a blog post Tuesday. “Recently, we had a number of cases where...
Cogeco Inc. has launched a new 4K personal video recorder (PVR) to allow its subscribers to record and watch content at four times the resolution of high-definition TV. “This evolution in our offering is consistent with our ongoing commitment to better meet the changing needs of our...
The acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. expands the scale at which BCE Inc. operates, which is “becoming one of its most important competitive advantages,”...
Facebook Inc. is increasing its government relations presence in Ottawa, with three new registrations filed with the lobbying commissioner’s office last month. According to the federal lobbyists’...
MONTREAL — The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed Monday a challenge to an injunction on the sale of pre-loaded set-top boxes. “In our view, in light of the uncontradicted evidence, including the advertisement that...
The Office of the Privacy Commission (OPC) is looking into searches of electronics by the Canadian Border Services Agency. OPC spokeswoman Tobi Cohen confirmed in an...
Quebecor Inc. reported $3.88 billion in revenue in the fourth quarter of 2015, up 7.5 per cent or $271.8 million from a year earlier. It also reported a net loss of $22.5 million in the three-month period ending...
In another deal that highlights the value of e-sports, Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube has signed a multi-year partnership with competitive gaming company FaceIt to be the exclusive hub for its content. FaceIt, creators of the...
After analyst speculation about whether Quebecor Inc.’s returning CEO would affect the strategic direction of the company, Pierre Karl Péladeau confirmed on a conference call Wednesday that his return won’t alter Quebecor’s plans. “With the last 16 years, we’ve been following the same strategy…in the combination of content and distribution,” Péladeau said on the call with analysts reporting the company’s fourth quarter earnings. “I think we’ve been able to enhance and position our...
Twitter Inc. and the National Lacrosse League (NLL) have teamed up to live-stream games in the U.S. and Canada, the men’s indoor professional league announced Wednesday. In a press release, the league said its...
Rogers Communications Inc. has rolled out a security tool aimed at helping businesses safeguard their social media accounts, the company said in a Wednesday press release. Social Media Security “monitors,...
Canada has become the first non-European country to be granted membership to the Council of Europe’s coproduction fund, Canadian Heritage announced Wednesday. According to a press release, Eurimages was established in 1989 to support the European audiovisual industry and has an annual budget of about $32.2 million that supports roughly 70...
The arguments made by BCE Inc. subsidiary Northwestel in its request to the CRTC to review and vary a decision setting rates for Northwestel’s Wholesale Connect service have already...
Facebook Inc. has updated its policies to state that developers cannot use data obtained from its social media networks “to provide tools that are used for surveillance.” While the change was prompted by events that took place in the United States, Facebook spokesman Jay Nancarrow said in an email Tuesday that the policy applies globally. “Over the past several months we have taken enforcement action against developers who created and marketed tools meant for surveillance, in violation of our existing policies; we want to be sure everyone...
Global revenue from streaming e-sports and video game content will nearly double four years from now, according to Juniper Research, which projected total revenues from video game streaming...
As the federal government gears up to review the Copyright Act later this year, information about the rate of piracy in Canada remains elusive, two full years since the implementation of the...
A pair of channels originating from India and the United States have been approved for distribution in Canada, the CRTC said Friday. NDTV 24 X 7, described by the CRTC as a “24-hour niche...
On May 27, members of the Conservative Party of Canada will select who will succeed former prime minister Stephen Harper as permanent leader of the party, relieving interim Opposition leader Rona...
The Supreme Court of Canada said Thursday it will hear a case centering on whether an Ontario court has jurisdiction over an Israel-based website that a Canadian is accusing of libel....
England’s biggest soccer league has been granted a court order to block computer servers that host and deliver content to a set-top box (STBs) application that allows users to watch its games...
The number of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) subscribers on 4G LTE mobile connections is expected to increase significantly and overtake over-the-top (OTT) applications over the next four years, according to Juniper Research. The...
Taxing foreign digital services such as Facebook Inc., Amazon.com Inc.’s Prime service, Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube and Netflix Inc. could provide the federal...
A Federal Court judge ruled last week that a defendant must pay damages for selling products that allowed users to bypass another company’s technological protections, in the first such ruling in Canada. The case sets a precedent that will have a ripple effect on other industries, including media, according to McCarthy Tétrault LLP intellectual property lawyer Barry Sookman. In a case between Nintendo Co. Ltd. and a Waterloo-Ontario based company called Go Cyber Shopping (2005) Ltd., judge Douglas Campbell determined that Go Cyber violated Nintendo’s technological protection measures (TPMs), including its boot up security checks, encryption and scrambling technologies and the physical configuration of the game cards by allowing users to circumvent them and...
United States president Donald Trump has nominated Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chairman Ajit Pai for another five-year term at the helm of the regulator. Pai was first appointed as commissioner in 2012 and...
Blue Ant Media Inc. has appointed Nick Solowski as its new director of international sales and acquisitions. He will be responsible for licensing Blue Ant content in various international markets, including the U.S. Hispanic...
The federal budget will be presented March 22, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced Tuesday. Morneau will rise to give the budget speech at 4 p.m. that day in the House of Commons, marking the Liberal...
Four CRTC job postings have been extended for a second time, with prospective chairperson, vice-chairperson and regional commissioners having until March 15 to apply. The four jobs were first posted on the federal government’s appointment opportunities website in late January, with a deadline of Feb. 20. That deadline was pushed to March 6 and, on Tuesday, again extended...
Corus Entertainment Inc. is now selling to advertisers users’ cookie data to better target audience members, the company announced Monday. In a press release, Corus said it’s the “first major Canadian broadcast publisher to offer first-party data to advertisers,” allowing buyers to “target audiences based on anonymous cookie data.” The data sets are available through Corus’ digital programmatic — or automatic ad-buying — platforms, the company said. “Corus allows us to target specific audiences against any media...
In a move that it says positions it as the “leading 4K content provider on TV,” Stingray Digital Group Inc. announced it purchased NatureVision TV, which specializes in nature programming. In a press...
Rogers Communications Inc. is offering a cable and Internet package that includes speeds of 1 Gbps at a heavily discounted price in what Barclays Capital says is a surprising move. At $100 per...
Canada has one of the “world’s most open cultural markets” and the CRTC’s decision to ban simultaneous substitution during BCE Inc.’s broadcast of the National Football League’s...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.'s president and CEO will leave the company following the closing of its acquisition by BCE Inc. MTS said in a press release Friday that Jay Forbes will leave after the deal closes on March 17. The $3.9 billion acquisition received...
Former Rogers Communications Inc. senior official John Boynton is the new president and CEO of Torstar and publisher of its Toronto Star newspaper, the company announced Friday. As of March 31, Boynton...
About half of Canadians who watch TV online are cord-cutters, but there are more of their ilk among those who have chosen to rely on over-the-air (OTA) transmission, according to the latest report from Media Technology Monitor...
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly is meeting this week with digital platforms, telling a CBC morning radio show Friday that she was in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., region Thursday meeting...
The Attorney General of Canada is arguing in a memorandum of fact and law that the CRTC investigation that led to the dismissal of former CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan was “procedurally...
More than 400 Canadian radio stations across the country are now available on a newly launched app featuring both public and private broadcasters. The free Radioplayer app launched Wednesday “gives radio listeners access to nearly every style of music, news, talk, and entertainment content, in both official languages, on any connected device, at any time of day, from anywhere,” a press release said. The app, which was initially slated to launch late last year, will feature big names including CBC/Radio-Canada, Rogers Communications Inc. and Corus Entertainment Inc. The release noted there will be more stations joining every week. BCE Inc. properties are not currently included in the app. It also said it will facilitate “listener discovery of radio content through search and...
Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube will be launching a live and on-demand TV service that will enable subscribers to watch more than 40 traditional TV channels online without the need for a subscription from a telecom provider, it...
Appellant Voltage Pictures LLC is asking the Federal Court of Appeal to reverse a decision it made earlier this month forcing it to pay the court costs for the respondent if he wins his...
A Swiss corporation and two of its subsidiaries are alleging that Shaw Communications Inc.’s new IPTV service is infringing on a handful of its patents, according to a statement of claim...
Randy Lennox has been named the new president of BCE Inc.’s media division following the departure of Mary Ann Turcke, the company announced Monday. In a press release, Bell Media...
OTTAWA — When talking about CBC/Radio-Canada’s role in the media landscape, the public broadcaster is a “pygmy amongst giants,” and more focus should be aimed at large telecom companies, Dwayne Winseck argued Saturday during a debate about whether to “pull the plug” on the CBC. “Over the last three decades, the CBC has actually become a much dimmer star against a much bigger media universe,” Winseck, a Carleton University...
CBC/Radio-Canada reported self-generated revenues that were 0.8 per cent lower than last year, which was off-set by higher advertising in its third quarterly report for the year, released...
The CRTC is seeking feedback on proposed changes to the broadcasting distribution and television broadcasting regulations that would, among other things, remove daily Canadian content requirements for over-the-air (OTA) TV...
Otono Networks Inc.’s Roam Mobility is launching new monthly roaming plans for travellers in the United States. “With Roam Mobility, Canadians can get the highest value USA roaming plan with plenty of 4G LTE data, and...
The federal government should require foreign providers of digital services to remit tax on sales in the jurisdiction where the final customer is located, the C.D. Howe Institute said. In a report...
OTTAWA — Fines levied against companies who breach privacy rules in Canada need to be increased to help prevent breaches in the future and to come in line with European Union data...
Verizon Communications Inc. said Wednesday that it’s ready to test its 5G network, with services to 11 markets expected to start on a trial basis by the summer. In a press release, Verizon said it will pilot...
The need to modernize the CRTC was one of the themes raised during Heritage Canada’s review of Canadian content in a digital age, according to a summary report released Tuesday....
The start of the new year was marked by new registrations for new and not-so-new companies and groups in the federal lobbyists’ registry. Iristel Inc. registered to lobby the federal government as of Jan....
Some investors are worried about potential disruptions at Quebecor Inc. following the return of former CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau to the company, though such concern is overblown, said Barclays Capital analyst Phillip Huang. “We believe the stock's unsurprising negative reaction on the news reflects investors' concerns that there will be disruptions to the four years of disciplined execution under professional management, after Mr. Peladeau had stepped down as...
Stingray Digital Group Inc. has received approval from the CRTC to bring its live-performance channel to Canada. The CRTC said Monday that Stingray Festival 4K has been added to the...
A private members’ bill to privatize CBC/Radio-Canada was met with vigorous opposition Friday as members of Parliament stood in the House of Commons to defend the...
Ontario public broadcaster TVO has decided to keep broadcasting over-the-air (OTA), after the provincial government moved to provide $1 million in funding to keep the transmitters operational. TVO said in a press...
OTTAWA — Canadians expect the federal privacy commissioner to be able to make orders and levy fines against companies that break privacy rules, Daniel Therrien told members of Parliament studying the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) Thursday, noting that the current inability to do so erodes trust in a...
The man who led Quebecor Inc. for 14 years but left to join provincial politics will return as head of the company Thursday, though despite the change in leadership, analysts expect business to continue as usual. Effective immediately, Pierre Karl Péladeau will return to the company his father founded in 1965 and he headed from 1999 to 2013. National Bank Financial analyst Adam Shine said in a research note that “Mr. Péladeau is back. Figuratively, we’re...
A Carleton University professor has received a $600,000 federal grant to support research studying 5G networks, the school announced Wednesday. Richard Yu’s funding — a Strategic Partnership Grant from the...
OTTAWA — Privacy experts raised the idea of a Canadian “right to be forgotten” in front of a House of Commons committee studying the Personal Information Protection and Electronic...
Interactive digital media companies in Ontario are set for “significant growth” within the next two years, according to a report commissioned by industry trade association Interactive...
A Canadian broadcaster and an international entertainment provider are joining forces to bring to Canada a 24-hour channel dedicated to video gaming. The deal between Canadian broadcaster Super Channel, owned by Allarco...
The introduction of Xplornet Communications Inc. into Manitoba’s wireless market was a “surprise twist” to the story of BCE Inc.’s $3.9-billion acquisition...
OTTAWA — Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Canada told members of Parliament Tuesday they don’t see themselves as “arbiters of truth” in...
Kurt Eby, former director of regulatory and government affairs for the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), has taken a new role with Pelmorex Media Inc. According to his LinkedIn account, Eby left the CWTA after nearly five years for the Toronto-based position as...
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. announced Friday the creation of the NSERC-Huawei Industrial Research Chair in Future Wireless Technologies at Polytechnique Montréal....
More than 13,000 Canadian households have signed up for Rogers Communications Inc.’s Internet service for low-income housing residents, the company said Friday, in announcing a new community housing partner in Ottawa. Last year, Rogers said it was expanding its Connected for Success program, which provides $10 monthly Internet service to eligible customers, outside of its Toronto pilot area to other locations in Ontario as well as New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. More than 135 non-profit housing providers in the three provinces have partnered with Rogers...
Plaintiff Voltage Pictures LLC is responsible for the defendant’s costs in a reverse class action suit until the certification process, a judge has ruled. In January,...
The CRTC has approved an application by Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. to add Sky News Arabia to the list of foreign channels authorized for distribution in Canada, the commission said Tuesday. The channel is a...
A lengthy legal battle between BCE Inc. and two companies that claim Bell infringed on their IPTV patent has been extended, one month after a Federal Court judge dismissed the case. MediaTube Corp. and NorthVu...
According to a new survey commissioned by Internet advocacy group OpenMedia, while half of Canadians support creating a new revenue source for Canadian content, there is strong opposition to taxing Internet service and more...
The CRTC’s decision to ban simultaneous substitution for the National Football League’s Super Bowl has had a significant effect on viewership, as BCE Inc.'s media division reported an audience drop-off of 39 per cent on its channels compared to last year’s game. “It’s the outcome we predicted despite our efforts to mitigate the audience loss and the support of the Canadian companies that stepped up to advertise on the domestic broadcast,” Scott Henderson, vice-president of communications at Bell Media, said in an email. Sunday’s game was...
Quebecor Inc. said Monday music creation will be a key focus for the company going forward, as it announced the appointment of a new executive vice-president of music development, Anne Vivien. “Already a big music...
Almost 100 tech companies in the United States have filed a brief in a court case against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order blocking entry of citizens from seven countries and all refugees into the United States....
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada is leading the charge in pushing for the presence of “cultural diversity,” or domestic content, on foreign digital platforms like the over-the-top (OTT) service provided by Netflix Inc. — despite other countries already having regulations and tax...
BCE Inc.’s media division has entered into an agreement with Nashville, Tenn.- based record label Big Machine Label Group (BMLG). Bell Media said in a press release Monday BMLG is the world’s top independent...
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said Friday it won’t “focus on denying Americans free data” going forward, as it ended its investigation into zero-rated offerings. New chairman Ajit Pai said in...
A Federal Court judge on Monday ordered a foreign website to be taken down and some of the content it published removed from search engines internationally due to a violation of Canadian...
OTTAWA — If Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly was clear about anything during a Thursday afternoon appearance at the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) Prime Time in Ottawa conference, it was that the...
BCE Inc. continued the industry-wide trend of strong wireless numbers, as its fourth quarter earnings report showed a surge in data usage over the year and a better view of when it...
OTTAWA — CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais used his opening remarks at a panel discussion Thursday to criticize individuals who are calling for “political interference” in the commission’s decisions. Referring to a speech made earlier in the morning by Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) president Reynolds Mastin at the opening of the Prime Time in Ottawa conference, Blais said that he is “very heartened that you applauded the independence of a very important...
