Representatives from Stingray Digital Group Inc., Google Inc.’s Google Music and Rdio Inc. will take part in the announcement about the new music service from Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron on Thursday, company spokeswoman France Gaignard said in an email Wednesday. The company said the service, called Unlimited Music, will be “a Canadian first in mobile services.”...
DHX Media Inc. announced Wednesday it has signed six broadcasters globally to air a new BBC-commissioned TV show called Twirlywoos. DHX said in a press release that the new channels include Lagardère in France, which will air on its Gulli and Tiji channels, Yle in Finland, Sveriges Television AB in Sweeden, NRK in Norway, and Hop Media Group in Israel. The release also noted that the show will broadcast on DHX’s own Family Jr. channel in Canada beginning this fall. “Twirlywoos is an inspired and carefully created series, which really stands out in the preschool market....
CBS Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp. announced on Tuesday that CBS All Access and Showtime streaming services will be delivered to Cablevision’s Optimum Online customers as part of a...
A Gatineau, Que., radio station on Tuesday was granted a seven-year licence renewal but was not relieved of the requirement that jazz and blues make up least 20 per cent of its musical programming. The CRTC said in an online...
BCE Inc.'s Bell Media division has undergone a number of changes to its executive ranks, with four individuals leaving and one new one coming in. The company confirmed in an email Tuesday that Phil King, president of CTV,...
The federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner has started an investigation into a data breach of customers of Ashley Madison, the website that helps married people have affairs. Valerie Lawton, a spokeswoman for the privacy...
A new report released Monday from Media Technology Monitor (MTM) says 85 per cent of Canadian users of Facebook Inc.’s photo and video-sharing app, Instagram, are younger than 50 and most are prone to owning new technology. MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in the report that nearly 55 per cent of Instagram users live in a cellphone-only household and “in general, Instagram users are a pretty tech loving group — they are more likely to own most technologies,” such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs, PVRs, Apple Inc.’s Apple TV, or Google...
Worldwide transactions using devices connected to the Internet will reach 125 billion annually in volume by 2018, a gain of 60 per cent over what's expected this year, Juniper Research Ltd. said...
The plunge in oil prices could end up hurting telecommunications service providers like Shaw Communications Inc. and Telus Corp., which have a high proportion of their business operations in Alberta, according to a Bay Street...
Worldwide smartphone sales in this year's second quarter grew at their slowest rate since 2013, largely as a result of the first year-to-year decline on record for sales of smartphones in China, Gartner Inc. said Thursday....
Quebecor Inc. on Friday announced it has shut down its Zik music-streaming service, citing a pattern of consolidation in global industry for online music. "Despite the efforts of many independent sites around the world, many...
Wearables and tracking tags are being used more frequently in a wider variety of workplaces to collect statistics on employee productivity, health and satisfaction — tracking the performance of professional athletes, helping...
Two Alberta radio stations were granted licence renewals by the CRTC Friday, though both were denied requested changes to the makeup of the music they play. Harvard Broadcasting Inc.'s CKEA-FM in Edmonton was granted a...
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...
Canadian chat-app maker Kik Interactive Inc. said Tuesday that it has received a $50-million US investment from China's Tencent Holdings Ltd., maker of WeChat messaging app. Kik CEO Ted Livingston said in a blog post on the...
The CRTC indicated Wednesday that it has updated its policy regarding how TV service providers must use time allotted to them for promotional content on U.S. channels, otherwise known as "local availabilities." As the commission indicated it would do in March, as it revealed new regulations for video-on-demand services, the CRTC said in an online posting that 75 per cent of local availabilities each day must be provided to licensed Canadian channels "in an equitable manner and on a cost-recovery basis, to promote first-run, original Canadian programs." The CRTC said in its decision Wednesday that remaining 25 per cent of local availabilities can be used by the service...
Industry Canada will repurpose the 600 MHz spectrum band for mobile use and collaborate with the United States on the move, which means at least some over-the-air (OTA) television stations will have...
CBC/Radio-Canada is being sued by a resident of Buffalo, N.Y., for allegedly using a video he posted on YouTube without his permission, according to a report from the Canadian Press. An article...
The tendency of major players in Canada's television industry to be involved in both content and distribution is helping the sector deal better with issues such as cord cutting and a declining...
An emerging Canadian provider of over-the-top (OTT) video content hopes that reaching viewers around the world, and particularly those with very specific interests, translates into keys to success in the fast-changing television...
The CRTC renewed the licence for Stingray Digital Group Inc.’s music TV channels, though it imposed a shorter licence term, citing Stingray’s past non-compliance with its licence conditions. The CRTC said Monday that it renewed the license through to 2020, and said the “shortened licence term will allow for an earlier review of the licensee’s compliance with the regulatory requirements and its conditions of licence.” It found Stingray was not in compliance with terms relating to Canadian content contributions between 2009 and 2012. The CRTC said Stingray stated...
BCE Inc. said Friday that it has sold its 15 per cent stake in the Globe and Mail newspaper. It said in a press release it has sold its newspaper stake to Woodbridge Co. Ltd., an investment company run by the Thomson family,...
A South Korean company is aiming to provide blind people with the first-ever braille-display smartwatch this year, and a representative from the Canadian Institute for the Blind (CNIB) says it...
Apple Inc.'s plans to offer live Internet-based television to residents of the United States have been delayed, said a report from Bloomberg on Friday. An article said sources have indicated talks are progressing slowly...
Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization, announced Thursday that its famous children's series Sesame Street will air its next five seasons on Time Warner Cable Inc.’s HBO. The company said in a press...
The CRTC has given two more companies permission to provide television services to small audiences, even though it has technically denied their applications for licences. The commission said Thursday it has rejected an...
Uniserve Communications Corp. on Wednesday made note of a decision from the CRTC last month that set the stage for it and Atop Broadband Corp. to provide television-distribution services in British Columbia under a new exemption...
OUTtv Network Inc. has accused BCE Inc. of an undue preference toward its company in a complaint that appeared on the CRTC's website Wednesday. The LGBT-oriented specialty channel said in a letter to the CRTC that it was...
A report released Wednesday shows that 27 per cent of anglophone Canadians surveyed have four different screens that connect to the Internet — a computer, smartphone, tablet and television. The study, from...
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron announced Tuesday it will be releasing an ultra-high-definition (UHD) set-top-box for its customers, making it the first Canadian telecom provider to commercially release such technology. Videotron said in a press release that the set-top-box processing speed will be 12 times faster than what is currently available in the market, allowing customers to navigate through content choices four times faster, record eight shows simultaneously, and store about 320 hours of standard HD content or 115 hours of UHD content. Manon Brouillette, CEO of Videotron, said in a...
Corus Entertainment Inc. said Tuesday that its new Disney Channel will debut in Canada on Sept. 1. This follows news Corus announced in April that it had struck a deal with Walt Disney Co. for the rights to the U.S. company's content in Canada. Corus said in a press release Tuesday that the Disney Channel will feature shows such as K.C....
The advocacy group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting says CBC/Radio-Canada is refusing to air TV advertisements critical of Prime Minister Stephen Harper for cuts to CBC. The group said in a press release that the ads in question...
Toronto-based TableRock Media announced on Tuesday plans to launch niche Internet-based video channels for worldwide distribution, starting next year. The company said in a press release that it would create channels dedicated to...
Canadian customers of Netflix Inc. are theoretically obliged to pay sales taxes on this service, even though Netflix does not collect the tax up front, the Toronto Star quoted a federal official as...
The Federal Court of Appeal has approved the National Football League as an intervener in the appeal BCE Inc. has made against the CRTC's decision to ban simultaneous substitution during the Super Bowl, starting in 2017. An entry that appeared on court's website Monday indicated that the NFL would be permitted to submit evidence in this case. The U.S.-based football league filed for permission to intervene in this case last month, arguing it has a direct financial stake in this decision that CRTC made in January. It has a multi-year contract with Bell Media's CTV network to show...
Individuals fighting BCE Inc.’s appeal of a CRTC decision on its mobile-TV service in the Federal Court of Appeal have called it an “over-the-top” or OTT service, along the same lines of what...
The CRTC on Thursday released final rules for a new category of video-on-demand (VOD) services in which operators can avoid regular broadcast regulations, even if the service is offered through a broadcast-distribution...
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) is contributing more than $6.2 million toward development and marketing funds for 28 digital-media projects as part of its first round of experimental stream funding for this year. It said Thursday in...
BCE Inc. said Thursday that its gigabit Internet service will launch Monday for 1.3 million households in Ontario and Quebec. It added that it will be available to households in Atlantic Canada by the end of September, resulting...
Videology Inc. said Thursday that the number of ad campaigns delivered on mobile platforms in Canada increased 260 per cent in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter. It added that 47 per cent of all advertising...
Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday posted a video of himself on Twitter standing in front of a screen with a Netflix logo and criticizing calls for taxes on video-streaming services. In the video, Harper said he is a fan...
Global service revenue from 5G wireless connections will skyrocket from $100 million US in 2020 to $65 billion US in 2025, Juniper Research Ltd. said Wednesday. The British research company said in a press release that 2020 is...
The Canadian Media Fund said Tuesday it is contributing $6.1 million toward 12 projects as part of its aboriginal program. The CMF said in a press release that the funding will go towards five...
Google Inc. said Tuesday that this Thursday's federal election debate will mark the first time such an event has been broadcast live and in full on its YouTube platform. Google's blog post noted that this debate sponsored by Rogers Communications Inc.’s Maclean's Magazine can be found on the YouTube Canada elections hub. This hub includes a link to Maclean’s YouTube channel, where it noted this debate will be available for streaming. It “will give Canadians a new option to follow the debate on the screen of their choice, whether that’s a television,...
The National Football League (NFL) said in court documents Tuesday that it did not participate in the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV review because the regulator did not give notice that it was...
The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) has appointed Reynolds Mastin as CEO following the departure of Michael Hennessy. It said in a press release Thursday that Mastin joined the CMPA as associate counsel in 2008....
Canadian companies’ recent embrace of gigabit Internet isn’t meeting a need that exists in the market, but it is setting telecoms up for the day customers start demanding such speeds, according to Greg MacDonald,...
Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. (ECGL) launched a Part 1 application Tuesday to amend the CRTC's new rules regarding Canadian content requirements for broadcasters with fewer than 200,000 subscribers. The company requested...
CBC/Radio-Canada announced Tuesday that more than 22 million Canadians watched some part of the Pan Am Games that aired from July 10-26. The public broadcaster said in a press release that nearly 2.16 million Canadians tuned in to watch the closing ceremonies that aired on July 26. In terms of digital content, CBC said in the release that it received more than 30 million total page views, and generated more than 3.2 video views over desktops, mobiles, and its app. ...
The National Football League shouldn’t be granted leave to intervene in BCE Inc.’s challenge of the CRTC’s decision to eliminate simultaneous substitution during the Super Bowl, the...
New data from Juniper Research Ltd. predicts the number of Internet of Things (IoT)-connected devices in the industrial and public services sectors will triple by 2020. The research company said in a press release Tuesday the...
Streaming is often perceived as a competitor to the traditional TV system, but the introduction of a new service in the U.S. raises the possibility that instead of one replacing the other, the two could merge into a new hybrid...
The CRTC has approved the distribution of the U.S-based Africa Channel in Canada. BCE Inc. applied to bring the channel to Canada in March. The CRTC noted Bell described the channel as “a 24-hour general interest service...
Rogers Communications Inc. said in its quarterly results that its revenues grew six per cent over the past year, from $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion. “Wireless revenue increased as a result of greater smartphone sales, higher network revenue from the continued growth in data use by our...
Stingray Digital Group Inc., a provider of music content through both traditional TV channels and streaming apps, announced Thursday it will acquire three TV music channels in order to expand its broadcast offerings. The...
The National Communications Federation (FNC-CSN) and the union representing Radio-Canada employees are criticising a recent report on the future of the CBC/Radio-Canada issued by the Senate’s transport and communications...
BlackBerry Inc. announced Wednesday that it plans to acquire AtHoc Inc., a software provider for secure networked crisis communication. The new platform will be integrated with BlackBerry’s existing secure system and will offer its enterprise customers safe, secure and mission-critical...
Canadian millennials are more active on mobile devices than other demographics, while Canadians aged 35 and above still slightly prefer using a desktop, according to the new global mobile report by comScore Inc. The report, which was released Tuesday, noted that 52 per cent of millenials spent time on mobile phones or tablets, while 48 per cent spent time on a desktop computer. ComScore said in the report that “millennials are the most mobile,” and that “18 to 34 year-olds exhibit the highest propensity to spend their Internet time on mobile – particularly...
TekSavvy Solutions Inc. is appealing a cost award in a dispute over filesharing with Voltage Pictures LLC. TekSavvy initially said it would appeal the order in March, following a court decision that set the price Voltage must pay...
New rules for monitoring Canadian children’s and youth television programming have been put forward by the CRTC. The commission said Tuesday in a press release that beginning Sept. 1 television licensees must record and log their program target audience, as well report program expenses based on their target audience...
The Senate's transport and communications standing committee is recommending that CBC/Radio-Canada “explore alternative funding models and additional ways to generate revenue to minimize the...
PayPal Holdings Inc. announced Monday in a press release its separation from Ebay Inc. is complete and it will now be an independently traded company on the Nasdaq. “Mobile technology is transforming payments, making it...
The CRTC announced Monday it plans to review rules for French-language vocal music on the radio. It said in a release that it would re-examine the current framework in order “to ensure that it takes into account the current and future environment” of music. The aim of the review will be to make sure that French-language vocal music is better discovered, promoted, created and consumed, especially in light of the ongoing movement toward listening to music on platforms other than the radio, the release noted. Comments must be submitted by Sept. 3, and the public hearing will begin...
The practice of sharing passwords so that more than one person or household can access a streaming service has financial ramifications for the industry, according to a new report, though it could also provide new services with a...
The National Football League has filed for permission to be an intervener in BCE Inc.'s appeal against the CRTC's decision to start banning simultaneous substitution during the Super Bowl. A motion filed by the NFL with...
Netflix Inc.'s growth in subscriber numbers and revenue continued on an upward trajectory in the second quarter, yet its profit was cut to about a third of what it made last year as international expansion costs added up....
Corus Entertainment Inc. on Tuesday reported declining revenue in its third quarter in both its television and radio operations, as it ended the period with a net loss of more than $8 million The company said in a press release...
Morgan Elliott has taken on the job of vice-president of regulatory and government relations at Shaw Communications Inc., according to his LinkedIn profile. The profile indicates Elliott started the job in June. It also indicates that during the same month he left his job as vice-president of government relations at...
Telus Corp. said Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to sell the website of the Blacks photography retail operation to Montreal-based photo finishing company Les Pros de la Photo. It said in an emailed statement the sale will close on Aug. 4, at which time the purchasing company will do...
A community group is launching a class action lawsuit against the MAtv community channel owned by Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron. Independent Community TeleVision (ICTV) said in a statement on its website Tuesday that it...
Wearable devices could replace everything in our pockets, eventually wiping out smartphones in five to 10 years, says one wearable-technology company CEO. However, others say functionality, design and...
Canadian television production company DHX Media Ltd. said Tuesday that an Italian broadcaster has acquired the rights to its Teletubbies children's series, including the new season currently in production and 14 past seasons of the "classic" version of this show. DHX said in a press release that the broadcaster in question is Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana S.p.A. and will air it on its Rai YoYo channel. The new season of Teletubbies is to debut on BBC's CBeebies channel later this year, DHX said....
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...
The website for the Pan Am Games, underway in Toronto, has had a rule indicating a ban on unauthorized links removed. On Friday, the following quote appeared on the terms-of-use section for the website Toronto2015.org:...
A potential sale of the Shopping Channel could net Rogers Communications Inc. $300 million, which Cannacord Genuity analyst Aravinda Galappatthige said is an “attractive price” for the...
“Sharp” price hikes in wireless service over the past year are prompting people to reduce how much they spend on other telecommunications services, according to a Conference Board of...
The CRTC has opened a consultation on a number of decisions it made as part of its Let's Talk TV review of television services ahead of making official changes to its broadcasting regulations to include them. It is consulting on amendments relating to its “skinny basic” and pick-and-pay TV service, the elimination of genre protection, rules requiring vertically integrated providers to offer a certain ratio of independent channels, and rules improving accessibility for people with disabilities. The deadline is Sept. 4....
CRTC commissioner Raj Shoan and the government, who are battling in court over a finding that he committed workplace harassment, have reached an agreement on keeping the identities of individuals involved in this case private. A...
The use of live-streaming apps such as Periscope and Meerkat has helped journalists provide unfiltered, live as-it-happens moments for viewers, according to some proponents, though others claim such technology compromises the...
A new piece of technology is causing controversy within Canada’s oldest broadcast medium. Over the past months, some radio stations in Canada have quietly begun using a device called Voltair in an attempt to improve their ratings — at least until ratings service Numeris stepped in and told them to stop a few weeks ago. Now Numeris says...
The CRTC said Wednesday that two separately owned French-language commercial radio stations in Gatineau, Que., will be allowed to combine their sales teams. The stations involved are Cogeco Cable Inc.-owned CKOF-FM, which has a...
Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday it is cutting as many as 7,800 positions primarily as a result of restructuring its phone hardware business. The company said in a press release that this will result in a write-down of about $7.6...
Rogers Communications Inc. said Tuesday that Rick Brace will become president of its media division later this summer, replacing outgoing media president Keith Pelley. Rogers said in a press release that Brace will assume the new...
The CRTC erred in finding that BCE Inc. gave itself an undue preference with the pricing of its mobile TV product because the Telecommunications Act does not apply to this case, Bell argued in a court document Monday. Bell said the CRTC committed a jurisdictional error in its decision earlier this year, in which it...
The CRTC said Tuesday that it has approved a request from soccer TV channel Gol TV, owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., to have its broadcast licence revoked as of Aug. 31. The notice on the CRTC's website said Gol TV has a Category 2 specialty channel licence and it would cease operations at the end of August. The application...
Companies spent $138.7 million on TV-related tangible benefits in Canada in the 12 months ended Aug. 31 last year, marking a 27 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to TV-industry research company Boon Dog Professional Services Ltd. Boon Dog said in a news release Tuesday that of the amounts spent on TV tangible benefits — contributions required by the CRTC as a condition of acquisitions involving regulated broadcasting entities — 87 per cent went toward on-screen or program-related projects, mostly resulting in the creation of new Canadian programming. The rest went...
The volume of online and mobile messaging will increase 70 per cent over the next four years, Juniper Research Ltd. said Tuesday. The research group said the number of emails, instant messages, social media posts, and text...
A new study conducted by Miner & Co. Studio. suggests watching regular cable TV is declining among kids in the United States, who would prefer to watch their favourite shows on a smartphone or...
International Datacasting Corp., the Ottawa-based maker of broadcasting technology, said Monday that Chris Barrett and Steeve Huin have been appointed co-CEOs of the company. Barrett and Huin replace Doug Lowther, who will be...
ADR.TV said Friday that it has applied to Federal Court for a judicial review of the CRTC's decision in August 2013 not to grant it mandatory carriage on basic TV packages in Quebec past Aug. 31...
The federal government has filed a notice of motion in Federal Court to keep certain details under wraps in the judicial review CRTC Commissioner Raj Shoan is seeking of a process that found he committed workplace harassment. A notice filed by the Attorney General of Canada on Monday said a representative would appear in a Toronto courtroom next Tuesday to argue that certain evidence in this case not be made public. That evidence includes an unredacted version of a report from a third-party investigator that found Shoan had harassed Amanda Cliff, the CRTC's executive director of...
Rogers Communications Inc. said in a press release late Thursday afternoon that its acquisitions of Mobilicity and wireless spectrum from Shaw Communications Inc. have received all necessary approvals and are now closed. Both...
Susan Marjetti has been appointed executive director of radio and audio for CBC's English services, CBC/Radio-Canada announced Tuesday. CBC said in a news release Tuesday that Marjetti has been with the broadcaster for almost...
Netflix Inc. has hired Environics Communications Inc. to lobby the Canadian government on its behalf, The Lobby Monitor reported this week. It has three new filings under Environics, represented by three different Ottawa-based...
Telus Corp.’s Optik TV customers will now have access more than 1,000 National Film Board of Canada (NFB) films on their TV via a new app. Telus announced Thursday in a press release that the NFB app is now available to...
Shifts in TV consumption reveal most Canadians aren't concerned about seasonality of popular TV shows, according to a new study conducted by Videology Inc. Videology said Thursday in a press release that 39 per cent of...
The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) said Tuesday it will be going across the country for a consultation process this fall. It said in a press release that the consultation process will include several components, including focus groups...
Netflix Inc.'s audience is already on par with two out of the three major U.S. television networks and will be bigger than all three in about a year, U.S. investment analysts said last week. Chase White and Barton Crockett of FBR Capital Markets & Co. said in a note issued June 24 that Nielson Co. does not issue...
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. ranks first among fitness-band makers for customer-satisfaction among U.S. residents, while Fitbit Inc. is second, according to a survey by J.D. Power and Associates. It said in a press release...
Cisco Systems Inc. announced Tuesday it is planning to acquire OpenDNS, a security systems company with offices in San Francisco and Vancouver. Cisco said in a press release that it will buy the company for $635 million US and use the aquisition to provide security for the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT), which in Canada is expected to have an annual growth of 18 per cent and generate $6.5 billion revenue in 2018, with The Wire Report recently reporting on the growth and expansion of the IoT space. It said in the release that OpenDNS’ security will be on a...
