OTTAWA — It wasn’t a hard sell for David Graham to recruit Liberal colleagues for a new Parliament Hill research body. “[I said] ‘I want to talk about digital issues. Who’s with me?’” Graham, Liberal MP for Laurentides-Labelle, recalled during an interview. “There’s an immense interest, so it wasn’t difficult at all to get started.” That interest led to the January formation of the digital infrastructure caucus, a subset of roughly 40 Liberal members of Parliament and staff, chaired by Graham, with a shared goal of taking...
The number of anglophone Canadians with smartphones reached 77 per cent in the fall of 2015, up from 73 per cent in the spring of that year, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada. Apple Inc.’s iPhone had 46 per cent of the market share, while Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Galaxy line was the second-most popular with 26 per cent. The report noted that BlackBerry Ltd.’s market share “continues to decline,” falling to eight per cent of anglophone smartphone owners, less than half of...
Industry association ThinkTV has released a new study that says story-driven, visually complex and brand-focused advertisements are better-suited to television than other platforms. ThinkTV, an...
If communications providers stick to principles of transparency and openness, zero-rated and sponsored data services can stay out of regulatory and consumer trouble, according to a report released...
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) has purchased Seattle-based music technology company MediaNet. The organization said the move will improve its ability to match music to its right holder and help increase revenue for rights holders, especially those whose...
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. is going private in a move it plans to close by the end of the fourth quarter of 2016, the company announced Friday. “SiriusXM and certain Canadian shareholders will form a new company to acquire shares of Sirius XM Canada not already owned by them pursuant...
The office of the privacy commissioner is asking for input on “how Canadians can meaningfully exercise their right to consent to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information.” A Wednesday press release said interested parties can weigh in until July 13. It noted that while the law requires organizations to obtain consent before collecting, using, and disclosing personal information, “technology and business models have changed so significantly since the law was drafted that many are calling into question the feasibility of obtaining meaningful...
The CRTC will issue a notice of consultation on how telecom companies carried out its skinny basic TV package rules later this month. Spokeswoman Patricia Valladao said in an email Friday the commission had asked TV providers, as...
A collection of radio stations are gearing up for a campaign for easy access to FM radio on smartphones in Canada. Similar to a campaign in the United States, Free Radio on My Phone is looking for collaboration with carriers to...
Quebecor Inc. reported a five-per-cent increase to revenue in the first quarter of 2016, bringing in $975.4 million compared to $929 million the same period a year earlier. According to quarterly earnings...
Canadians will now be able to use Apple Inc.’s Apple Pay service with Visa, MasterCard and debit cards, according to a Tuesday press release from payment processing company Moneris Solutions Corp. Previously, the service...
Former Quebec deputy premier Nathalie Normandeau is suing Cogeco Inc.’s media division for wrongful dismissal, according to media reports. Radio-Canada reported Monday that Normandeau has filed a lawsuit...
Amazon.com Inc. has launched Amazon Video Direct, a new “self-service program” that will allow video creators to distribute their content to Amazon customers. The company said in a...
OTTAWA — A panel discussion on net neutrality Friday dug into whether zero-rating can help or harm market competition, with Ted Woodhead, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Telus Corp. taking issue with the...
OTTAWA — The results of the sweeping review of Canadian content in a digital age announced by Heritage Canada last week could take 10 years to materialize, University of Ottawa law professor...
OTTAWA — Former BlackBerry Ltd. co-CEO Jim Balsillie doubled down on his dire warnings against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and what he calls its failure to support Canadian innovators. “There will never be a large Canadian tech company again under TPP. Period,” Balsillie told members of Parliament Thursday morning during an appearance in front of the House of Commons standing committee on international trade. Balsillie’s testimony was part of the committee’s public consultation on the trade agreement, which is still to be ratified....
NDP MPs pushed the innovation minister to closely scrutinize BCE Inc.’s proposed $3.9-billion acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. in the House of Commons Wednesday. Manitoba MP Niki Ashton...
Private conventional TV station revenues fell another 2.6 per cent in 2015, continuing a five-year downward trend, according to new data released Wednesday by the CRTC. The 93 over-the-air (OTA) stations brought in $1.76 billion...
BCE Inc.’s media division has acquired Canadian rights to Gusto Worldwide Media’s Gusto brand in Canada, including its food and cooking channel. Gusto said in a press release Wednesday that Gusto TV, which launched in 2013, will continue operating “until the transition is...
The CRTC said Monday it has approved the addition of Canal Q to its list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution. It said in the decision that the channel is “a 24-hour...
OTTAWA — Parliamentarians hoping for answers to outstanding questions about Monday’s news that BCE Inc. had struck a deal to acquire Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. were left disappointed when representatives from Bell’s media division appeared on Parliament Hill Tuesday morning. Winnipeg-area Liberal MP Dan Vandal was looking for “some measure of comfort that there will not be massive layoffs as a result” of Bell’s $3.9-billion proposal to absorb MTS and its related plan to sell one-third of postpaid wireless...
Sony Corp.’s Sony Pictures Television (SPT) said Monday it has named Phil King its new senior vice-president of distribution for Canada. “Based in Toronto, King will be responsible for managing and growing SPT’s distribution activity across Canada, leading all film, television and formats licensing...
Pierre Karl Péladeau announced Monday he is resigning as the leader of Quebec’s Parti Québécois, citing family reasons. Quebecor Inc. said in a press release following the announcement that it...
BCE Inc.’s CraveTV streaming service gained more than 100,000 “direct to consumer” subscribers in 90 days after launching as a stand-alone service in January, the company said in its...
The CRTC has decided that the Kentville, N.S., market cannot accommodate any additional radio stations. The commission said in a decision Friday that it has returned an application submitted by Newcap Inc. “To survive, a new radio station in Kentville would need to garner tuning, and consequently draw advertising revenues, from...
The CRTC is asking for input on whether the Quebec City market has the capacity to support an additional radio station and on whether it should issue a call for applications. It said in a notice Thursday it has received...
The CRTC said in a decision Thursday that it has added Charming China Entertainment to its list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution in Canada. The channel is...
BCE Inc. reported a 0.6 per cent increase in revenues, rising to $5.27 billion in its first quarter of 2016 compared to the same three-month period a year earlier. The company said in a press release Thursday that...
CBC/Radio-Canada’s coverage of the summer Olympics in Brazil will incorporate some virtual reality content. The broadcaster said in a press release Wednesday that “it will provide viewers with both...
Voltage Pictures LLC is seeking certification in Federal Court for a class-action lawsuit against respondents who illegally file-shared its content. The document, filed Tuesday, asks the court to declare that the respondents infringed its copyright to five movies, to issue injunctions forbidding the respondents from engaging in that infringement, and to order damages. The movies cited in the document are: The Cobbler, Pay the Ghost, Good Kill, Fathers and Daughters and American Heist. It added the identities of those respondents aren’t currently known to Voltage, though the individuals...
In recent weeks, BCE Inc. and HBO have begun using copyright infringement notices to steer recipients toward legal sources of TV content — but some of the Internet service providers...
DHX Media Ltd. has launched a new subsidiary, Wild Brain Family International Ltd., which “operates a Multi-Platform Kids Network dedicated to connecting content owners with advertisers on platforms such as...
Industry insiders and observers are calling Canadian Heritage’s impending study of Canadian content in the digital age — which could potentially affect CBC/Radio-Canada, legislation like...
Canadian commercial radio stations earned $1.6 billion in revenue in 2015, a 0.7 per cent decrease from a year earlier, according to new data from the CRTC. “Ethnic radio services’ total revenues have recorded an...
In response to a question about the federal government’s position on a Quebec bill that would lead to the blocking of gambling websites, Heritage Minister Melanie Joly said “we believe in net neutrality.” “We will be having ongoing discussions with our counterparts in Quebec regarding that question,” she added, according to a transcript of question period from April 20. “I had the opportunity of meeting many stakeholders that have raised issues regarding that particular bill. It will be a pleasure to have further discussions on this subject.” Last...
In the United States, mobile advertising revenues were up 66 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous financial year, totalling $20.7 billion US in 2015, according to a new report from the Interactive Advertising Bureau....
Corus Entertainment Inc. said Wednesday that it plans to launch programmatic, or automatic, ad-buying for traditional TV. “Corus will be the first Canadian broadcaster to commit to bringing programmatic TV advertising...
The CRTC has approved an application for a radio broadcasting licence in St. Catharines, Ont., while denying a licence for a developmental community station in Mississauga, Ont. The commission said...
Canadians who can’t afford Internet access don’t face an “affordability problem,” but a “poverty issue that is in need of a social safety net,” which should be addressed by different levels of government, Robert Malcolmson, BCE Inc.’s senior vice-president of regulatory...
Tata Communications Ltd. announced Tuesday it has partnered with Asian Television Network International Ltd. to launch a new over-the-top (OTT) service. ATN will use Tata’s cloud-based platform to...
The CRTC granted Tuesday Shaw Communications Inc.’s request to revoke broadcasting licences for Fox Sports World Canada and Global Reality Channel. In two separate applications dated March 15, Shaw said its media division...
OTTAWA — Rogers Communications Inc. moved its request to be compensated for the sale of 600 MHz spectrum to a new battlefront Tuesday morning, with representatives pleading the company’s case with parliamentarians. During an appearance in front of the House of Commons standing committee on Canadian Heritage,...
TVA Group Inc., the broadcasting and magazine publishing division of Quebecor Inc., announced Tuesday its Argent channel, a business and financial specialty service, will go off the air as of April 30. TVA said in a press release...
Amazon.com Inc. will now allow customers to subscribe to its Amazon Prime streaming service month-by-month, the company said Monday. The Amazon Prime video service was previously bundled with its Amazon Prime shipping service, which costs $99 U.S. a year. On Monday, Amazon introduced a video-only membership that will allow customers to pay on a monthly basis, as well as a monthly subscription option for a bundle that includes both the shipping and streaming services, according to information emailed by a company spokeswoman. The video-only option costs $8.99 U.S. a month while the bundled service is $10.99 U.S. a month. The email said the company made the new options available so that “people can join Prime for the first time without an annual commitment.” While the...
Microsoft Corp. is suing the United States federal government over orders to keep government requests for customer emails and records secret. President and chief legal officer Brad Smith...
Steve Ladurantaye, head of news and government partnerships at Twitter Inc.’s Canadian division, will be the new managing editor of digital news at CBC/Radio-Canada. The move is effective May 9, Ladurantaye said in a...
More than 66,000 Canadians have signed up for a skinny-basic TV package since its rollout on March 1, according to the CRTC. In a Friday press release, the regulator said a third of those who signed up also took...
Corus Entertainment Inc., which holds to the Canadian rights to Viacom Inc.’s Nickelodeon content, said it has sold the digital streaming rights for a number of shows to Netflix...
Cogeco Communications Inc. reported a $42.1 million, or 8.3 per cent, increase in revenue in its second quarter, which totaled $551.5 million in the three-month period ending Feb.29. It said in a press release Tuesday that was mainly due to 36.9 per cent growth “in the American broadband services segment (previously named American cable services segment) with essentially stable revenue growth in the Canadian broadband services segment,” partly offset by a 3.3 per cent decrease in its business information and communications technology services segment. The...
Entertainment One Ltd. said Thursday in a statement that though there has been “press speculation regarding a potential offer” by U.K.-based TV broadcaster ITV PLC to buy the company, “no approach has been...
BCE Inc. announced Tuesday it is partnering with Index Exchange to offer a “private programmatic,” or automated ad buying, marketplace for Bell Media clients. Bell said in the press...
Corus Entertainment Inc. reported Wednesday a three-per-cent rise in revenue in the second fiscal quarter of 2016 to $197.7 million, up from $191.5 million the same period a year earlier. In the three months...
GATINEAU, Que. — On the first day of the CRTC’s hearing on what basic telecom services should be available to all Canadians, small ISP TekSavvy Solutions Inc. asked the CRTC to...
Next month, long-time Netflix Inc. subscribers will be notified of a price hike to their monthly bill, with subscriptions going from $7.99 per month to $9.99 per month, the company confirmed in an email Monday. The price...
A rural Internet service provider in Nova Scotia will receive about $46,000 from the federal government to help increase broadband connectivity, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada said in a press release. On Monday, the ministry said the funding from the Connecting Canadians program will go to Acadian Communications...
When companies launched TV-everywhere products a few years ago, they did so as part of an effort to compete with then-new streaming services — but now that many of those same companies have...
The number of Canadians without TV subscriptions is currently 20 per cent, according to a pair of new reports from Media Technology Monitor, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada. MTM noted that “living without a paid TV...
Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. is expanding Internet service in three rural towns in Saskatchewan, it said in a press release Thursday. Download speeds of 5 Mbps will available in Craven, Sask., while Alvena and Riverhurst will have access to speeds up to 10 Mbps, it said....
Facebook Inc.’s WhatsApp will automatically encrypt all communications going through its service, the company announced. “From now on when you and your contacts use the latest version of the app, every call...
Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. (ECG) said in a press release that Christian Morsanutto is its new senior vice-president of business development and operations. It said he will oversee “television transmission sales initiatives,” including in video-on-demand (VOD), subscription VOD, pay-per-view (PPV) and both specialty and...
A new report from Convergence Consulting Group Ltd. estimates 3.43 million Canadian households, or about 23.7 per cent, didn’t have a traditional TV subscription with a cable,...
CBC/Radio-Canada said in a press release Wednesday that Katherine Wolfgang will be its new head of publicity as of April 26. Wolfgang most recently worked as vice-president of marketing and communications at...
The CRTC has launched a map that shows where broadband Internet connections are available in Canada. The map shows “the availability of broadband Internet services at or above the CRTC's target speeds of 5 megabits per second (Mbps) for downloads and 1 Mbps for uploads as of end of 2014,” the commission said in a press release Wednesday. It added the map is “meant to provide context” to the hearing on basic telecom services that launches next week. The map shows the availability of cable, DSL/fibre, fixed wireless and LTE connections as...
The National Football League (NFL) announced Tuesday a new deal with Twitter Inc. to stream NFL games on the social media platform, and though Canadians won’t have access,...
The CRTC said Tuesday it has approved the France 24 Arabic TV channel for distribution in Canada. The channel is an Arabic-language news service originating in France, it said. The regulator said in a separate...
The CRTC said Friday 42 companies providing basic international telecommunications services can no longer operate in Canada. It revoked their licences after they failed to comply with licence conditions...
The Competition Bureau has updated its Intellectual Property Enforcement Guidelines, as part of what it said in a Thursday press release would be an annual review. It said the updated guidelines clarify “the Bureau’s...
BCE Inc. said in a press release Friday it has begun allowing customers to buy ongoing access to on-demand movies. The Own with Bell service is available to its IPTV customers, who can access it through their...
Corus Entertainment Inc. has closed its $2.65-billion acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc.’s media division and appointed a team of executive vice-presidents for the combined company....
Rogers Communications Inc. will begin offering its Sportsnet channels without a TV subscription for $24.99 per month, the company announced Thursday. Scott Moore, president of Sportsnet and NHL...
This week is a long-awaited one for virtual reality enthusiasts, as Facebook Inc. starts to ship its Oculus Rift headset to people who pre-ordered their $599 US devices as far in advance as early...
BCE Inc. is bringing in a new face to help lead the launch of iHeartMedia Inc.'s free digital radio and music streaming service in Canada. As of May 1, Rob Farina will be Bell Media's senior advisor for the "development, launch, and overall execution" of the iHeartRadio service in Canada, Bell said in a press release. According to the release, Farina was the vice-president of programming and innovation for Rogers Communications Inc.'s radio division and served on Rogers' Senior Content Council. Earlier in his career, Farina was program director for...
The CRTC has approved an application by Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. to add Nautical Channel to the list of non-Canadian services authorized for distribution. The British TV channel focuses on “programming...
Corus Entertainment Inc. announced Wednesday it has appointed Deirdre Brennan as the new vice-president of content for its Corus Kids division. It said in a press release that Brennan will “oversee all content aspects of...
The CRTC has approved the acquisition of Shaw Communications Inc.’s media division by Corus Entertainment Inc., and decided not to require Corus to pay any tangible benefits, a contribution...
The percentage of Canadians subscribing to TV service in Canada fell to 77 per cent in the fall of 2015, according to a new report released Tuesday by Media Technology Monitor, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada. That’s a...
In its first budget, the new Liberal government is continuing the previous Conservative government’s practice of setting aside funds for broadband service in underserved areas, cyber security and research frameworks, according to the financial plan released Tuesday, but isn’t shedding much light on its own telecommunications strategy. Budget documents highlighted a five-year investment of $500 million, starting with $6 million in 2016-17, for a new program to “extend and enhance broadband service in rural and remote communities.” A pre-budget report by the House of...
The CRTC said in a letter Tuesday it closed the “moot” Part 1 complaint by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) against Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw...
CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said in a speech to the Canadian Marketing Association in Toronto Tuesday that “legitimate marketers” should welcome anti-spam rules. “They’re not going anywhere....
T-Mobile U.S. Inc. announced Thursday it has added more video providers to its unlimited mobile video streaming service, Binge On, including Google Inc.’s Youtube, Google Play Movies and Discovery GO. It said in a press...
In addition to expanding the mandate of the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) Thursday to include TV service, the CRTC told the organization to make more use of...
The portion of advertising budgets dedicated to TV is expected to fall 3.5 per cent in 2016, as Canadian marketing companies plan to allocate more of their budgets to advertising on digital platforms, according to a new study...
The CRTC has denied an application by a low-power station that has to stop broadcasting over its current frequency as a result of a previous CRTC decision, because its proposal would put it in direct...
CBC/Radio-Canada said in a French-language press release Tuesday that it hasn’t decided on the future of its Montreal headquarters. It said it is currently studying its options,...
Shopify Inc. announced Tuesday its merchants will now be able to sell products using WordPress, a free open-source content management system that is used predominantly to host blog content. The Ottawa-based company said in a blog...
Shaw Communications Inc. announced Wednesday a restructuring of its executive team and has appointed Jay Mehr, Shaw’s chief operating officer, as its new president, replacing Peter Bissonnette. The press release said Mehr has been with the company for almost 20 years and in his new role he will “be responsible for overseeing operational and customer-facing areas of the business, including Shaw consumer, Shaw business, Wind, and supply chain.” The rest of the executive team includes Vito Culmone as chief financial officer, Jim Little as chief marketing and culture...
The CRTC shouldn't be moving forward with its plan to end simultaneous substitution of the Super Bowl next year until related court challenges are settled, according to BCE Inc. The Federal Court...
Corus Entertainment Inc. announced Wednesday it has voted in favour of acquiring Shaw Communications Inc.’s media division at a shareholders' meeting in Toronto. “Corus’ shareholders have spoken, voting in...
Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. announced Tuesday it is increasing the amount it will invest in 5G research. Huawei is planning to invest up to $303 million over the next five years to be put towards 5G-related research...
The CRTC approved Friday two radio licence applications from Wawatay Native Communications Society to operate in two Ontario markets. The first is for a Type B Native FM station in Sioux Lookout, Ont. located in northwest...
The National Football League (NFL) is repeating its opposition to the CRTC's plan to end simultaneous substitution of the Super Bowl next year. The league filed an intervention with the regulator in regards to a proposed distribution order, which implements the simsub policy initially announced last January. In a letter to the CRTC, posted Thursday to the regulator's website, the NFL's legal counsel said the league wants to be "considered a party in this proceeding" and to participate, in person, in "any future public hearing." Alongside BCE Inc., which has...
The CRTC Thursday gave Shaw Communications Inc.’s BC News 1 channel more flexibility in the kind of programming it can broadcast than the company had asked for. In a decision, the regulator amended the licence condition for...
The CRTC decided Thursday Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron no longer has to distribute ADR.TV, known as Avis de recherche, and that Videotron did not give itself an undue preference by dropping the channel while continuing to...
The National Film Board (NFB) of Canada said Wednesday it has launched a new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service on Vimeo LLC's platform. It said in a press release that the service will include NFB-produced...
Shaw Communications Inc. has partnered with BCE Inc. to provide Bell’s over-the-top (OTT) streaming service, CraveTV, at a discount to its cable and satellite customers. The companies said in a joint press release that...
BCE Inc.’s media division announced Tuesday it has expanded The Movie Network (TMN) and TMN Encore to Western Canada. In November Bell said that along with becoming the sole operator of HBO Canada, it was planning to expand TMN into a “national pay TV platform.” Previously the...
The CRTC denied Blue Ant Media Inc.’s application to reduce its Canadian programming requirement for its Cottage Life specialty channel from 80 per cent to 50 per cent for the broadcast day. The regulator said Tuesday that...
Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Monday in a press release that it has signed an agreement with EITC’s du, a provider of mobile, Internet, cable and IPTV services in the United Arab Emirates, to provide Stingray Music and...
Bloomberg TV Canada is now available to Quebecor Inc.'s Videotron subscribers, the channel's broadcast distributor announced Tuesday. Chris Fuoco, Channel Zero Inc.'s vice president of sales and marketing, said in a...
On the day Canadian TV providers were required to make their skinny basic options available to consumers, experts expressed skepticism about how many Canadians will sign up for the new offers and their ability to improve the trend toward cord-cutting. Drew McReynolds, an analyst with RBC Dominion Securities, said in a research note Tuesday that the new options launched by the TV providers “are designed to protect profitability and/or incentivize households to largely stick with existing channel bundles, which in some cases have been improved.” The new offers are the...
