New Apple software routes iPhone calls through Macs

Media | 06/02/2014 7:40 pm EDT

At its Worldwide Developers Conference Monday, Apple Inc. revealed new software for Mac computers that, among other things, will allow iPhone calls and texting to be facilitated through a computer. Apple said in a press...

World Cup presents chance to test 4K TV

Media | 05/30/2014 8:17 pm EDT

When the World Cup begins in Brazil in two weeks, 3.2 billion people around the world will tune into the tournament, according to FIFA’s estimates. And while many of them will cheer on their team through a high-definition...

Advocacy groups object to nominee for privacy commish

Media | 05/30/2014 7:25 pm EDT

OpenMedia.ca said Friday it has sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper — on behalf of itself and other advocacy groups — protesting his nomination for a new federal privacy commissioner. OpenMedia, which...

Mark Rogers named sales VP at Pattison

Media | 05/30/2014 6:05 pm EDT

The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group said Friday it has made Mark Rogers its vice-president of sales. The company said in a press release that Rogers has more than 39 years of experience in broadcasting, and since 1999 had been the...

Bell, Shaw extend mobile-TV to each other’s subs

Media | 05/30/2014 5:03 pm EDT

BCE Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. announced Friday, in separate press releases, that mobile applications for each of their conventional television networks are now available to subscribers of the other's TV-distribution services. Bell Media's CTV network said that its CTV Go application for Apple Inc. mobile devices is now available to subscribers of Shaw's cable and satellite TV services. Shaw Media said that subscribers of Bell's Fibe TV or satellite services can now access its Global Go application, which works on Apple devices and those powered by Google Inc.'s Android software. Both companies said their respective apps would allow users to stream live feeds from their networks and provide access to on-demand content....

Brian Mulroney nominated as Quebecor chairman

Media | 05/29/2014 2:50 pm EDT

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney has been nominated to be chairman of Quebecor Inc.'s board of directors, according to a corporate filing the company made on Wednesday. Mulroney would replace Françoise Bertrand,...

S-4 copyright trolling concerns not ‘valid’: Moore

Media | 05/29/2014 2:24 am EDT

OTTAWA — Industry Minister James Moore said Wednesday that he is not concerned that the government’s Digital Privacy Act will, as critics as have charged, open the door to copyright...

CRTC splits difference on two Nova Scotia radio applications

Media | 05/28/2014 4:30 pm EDT

Two non-profit organizations applied to launch radio stations on the 88.7 FM frequency within 40 kilometres of one another outside of Halifax, and the CRTC on Wednesday said it approved the bid from...

Rogers announces first sponsorship in NHL deal

Media | 05/28/2014 3:19 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. on Wednesday announced a six-year sponsorship agreement with Scotiabank for its various hockey programs in the upcoming season, which the broadcaster said is the first sponsorship agreement related to...

Carol-Ann Kairns joins Corus

Media | 05/27/2014 7:55 pm EDT

Carol-Ann Kairns is the new general sales manager at Corus Entertainment Inc.  The company said in a press release Tuesday that Kairns would oversee advertising sales and revenues for Corus’ Historia,...

Distributors will pay for Rogers’ rich hockey deal: analyst

Media | 05/27/2014 7:46 pm EDT

Broadcast distributors across the country are likely to pay for a big chunk of the billions of dollars for which Rogers Communications Inc. is on the hook as a result of the deal it struck for 12...

Twitter enters $230M mobile advertising deal

Media | 05/27/2014 6:25 pm EDT

Twitter Inc. has entered into a two-year, $230 million mobile advertising deal with holding company Omnicom Media Group, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The deal will integrate Twitter’s mobile advertising...

Bell Media signs trade agreement with francophone producers

Media | 05/27/2014 5:13 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s media subsidiary has signed an agreement with Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada (APFC), which represents French-language independent producers across...

TSN signs ad deal with Canadian Tire

Media | 05/26/2014 8:50 pm EDT

Canadian Tire Corp. and TSN announced a multi-year advertising and production deal on Monday that will see the sports broadcaster produce branded content for the retailer that will appear on TSN’s broadcast and web platforms. The agreement includes traditional advertising for Canadian Tire during TSN’s sports programming as well as TSN-produced content that will appear in Canadian Tire flyers, in online ads, and on in-store displays, according to a joint news release. TSN, partially owned by BCE Inc., will also produce content for Canadian Tire’s social media feeds,...

Rogers announces new direction to combat customer flight

Media | 05/23/2014 9:03 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. on Friday released a “comprehensive” plan to overhaul its customer service and restructure its corporate hierarchy. CEO Guy Laurence, who took over the job in...

CRTC approves Cycle TV

Media | 05/23/2014 3:46 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved a broadcasting licence for Cycle TV, a national English-language specialty TV channel. The commission said in its decision Friday that the channel would “offer programming devoted to the world of cycling and its associated activities, including purchasing, cycling...

CBC to take Radio 2 off the air, advocacy group says

Media | 05/22/2014 9:12 pm EDT

OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada will stop over-the-air broadcasts of its Radio 2 service and make it an “exclusively on-line music offering,” advocacy group Friends Of Canadian Broadcasting said at a news conference on...

Study outlines positives, negatives of an Internet of Things future

Media | 05/22/2014 8:03 pm EDT

Experts from industry and academia mostly agree that by 2025 the Internet of Things will be pervasive and ubiquitous while agreeing on little else in a new report from the Pew Research Center. The...

Rogers’ Boynton, Stoneham depart as corporate revamp set

Media | 05/22/2014 6:30 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said two senior officials in its marketing operations have left the company in advance of CEO Guy Laurence announcing a new corporate strategy to employees on Friday. In an email to The Wire Report, Rogers spokeswoman Patricia Trott said John Boynton, chief marketing officer, and Shelagh Stoneham, senior vice-president of brands and marketing communications, “have left the company. We’re doing some restructuring of the marketing organization. The company thanks them for their years of service.” Stoneham’s LinkedIn profile shows she had been...

Broadcaster applies to bring BeIN Español to Canada

Media | 05/22/2014 4:34 pm EDT

Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. applied to the CRTC to add BeIN Español to the list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution. In a May 15 application, the ethnic broadcaster described the channel as...

Former CRTC vice-chair joins DHX board

Media | 05/21/2014 2:15 pm EDT

David Colville, a former vice-chairman and commissioner with the CRTC, has been appointed to the board of directors for television content creator and distributor DHX Media Ltd. The company said in a press release Tuesday that...

Netflix to expand in Europe

Media | 05/21/2014 1:50 pm EDT

Netflix Inc. on Tuesday said it is expanding in Europe by adding service in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium and Luxembourg later this year. That follows other European launches in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands in...

Jeremy Depow starts roundtable on digital policy

Media | 05/20/2014 4:52 pm EDT

A new organization has been formed to facilitate discussions on public policy relating to  technology. Canada’s Digital Policy Forum bills itself on its website as “a new and unique roundtable that focuses on...

Google buying BYOD support company

Media | 05/20/2014 2:14 pm EDT

Google Inc. is purchasing Divide, a company that provides technology and services for workers who bring their own mobile devices to work. Divide posted a notice on its website on Monday that said it is “thrilled to be...

Musicians’ collective getting less than asked for on webcasting tariffs

Media | 05/16/2014 8:37 pm EDT

The Copyright Board of Canada issued a decision Friday that gives musicians and record companies a fraction of the money from webcasting that their collective had asked for. The board said in a news release that the tariff for non-interactive and semi-interactive webcasting would be 10.2 cents per 1,000 plays for...

CRTC approves distribution of Hindi movie channel

Media | 05/16/2014 6:34 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved an application from Asian Television Network International Ltd. to add UTV Movies International to its list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution. ATN described the channel as a...

Newcap asks for flexibility in local TV requirements

Media | 05/16/2014 4:55 pm EDT

Newcap Inc. is asking the CRTC for more flexibility in how the company meets local programming requirements for two television stations in Lloydminster, Alta. In an application posted to the commission’s website on Friday,...

Ultra-HD TV ownership in U.S to hit 33% by 2020: report

Media | 05/16/2014 3:34 pm EDT

The ownership rate of ultra-high-definition televisions will hit 33 per cent in the United States by 2020, up from less than 10 per cent now, according to a report from Strategy Analytics. The research group said in a press release Monday that North America overall would have a world leading Ultra-HD TV penetration rate of 32 per cent, by broader region, by 2020, followed by Western Europe at 22 per cent and Asia Pacific at 18 per cent. The release said entry prices are expected to drop below $2,000 US for Ultra HD sets offered by one or more manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics Co., LG...

Radio-Canada ads not violating licence: CRTC

Media | 05/15/2014 7:32 pm EDT

The CRTC ruled in a decision Thursday that CBC/Radio-Canada’s airing of a radio advertisement for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra did not violate the broadcaster’s licence, which prohibits local advertising. The case...

Consumers ‘embracing mobile technology’ for social networking: report

Media | 05/15/2014 6:21 pm EDT

More users of social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, are connecting to those sites on mobile devices, MTM, a CBC/Radio-Canada project, said in a report Thursday. The report said 63 per cent...

CRTC denies Rogers request for French radio ads

Media | 05/15/2014 4:35 pm EDT

The CRTC denied two requests from the broadcasting arm of Rogers Communications Inc. to add up to a half-hour of French-language commercials per week to three English-language radio stations in northern Ontario on Thursday. In...

Yahoo buys Snapchat rival Blink

Media | 05/14/2014 7:11 pm EDT

Yahoo Inc. has acquired mobile-messaging application company Blink, according to a blog post on the latter’s website. “We’re excited to announce that as of May 13, 2014 Blink is joining Yahoo!” Blink said. Blink's application lets users send self-destructing text messages, audio, sketches, video and photos, its website...

Google opens up Glass sales to U.S. public

Media | 05/14/2014 6:58 pm EDT

Google Inc. said Tuesday any resident of the United States is invited to sign up for the opportunity to purchase its Glass technology, which is still in development. “We’re still in the Explorer Program while we continue to improve our hardware and software, but starting today anyone in the U.S. can buy the Glass Explorer Edition, as long as we have it on hand,” the company said in a blog posting. With the exception of one day last month, the wearable device has generally only been available to a select group of developers, contest winners and invitees as the company tests...

Apple, Pandora challenge SOCAN on streaming tariffs

Media | 05/14/2014 5:41 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Lawyers representing two streaming music services told the Copyright Board of Canada in hearings this week that a request from the not-for-profit group that represents Canadian songwriters and music publishers to...

Cord-cutters dominate Internet usage: report

Media | 05/14/2014 5:37 pm EDT

North American cord-cutters are dominating Internet network usage market by consuming more than seven times the typical subscriber, according to a report Wednesday from Sandvine Inc. On average, cord-cutters consume 212 GB over...

Mobile TV is not a broadcast distribution service: CNOC

Media | 05/13/2014 8:53 pm EDT

Mobile-TV services, such as that offered by BCE Inc.'s Bell Mobility subsidiary, are not broadcast distribution services, critics said in final reply letters that were due this week in a case...

Africa Sports channel considered for distribution

Media | 05/13/2014 7:27 pm EDT

The CRTC is considering an application to approve for distribution in Canada a U.S.-based channel that specializes in African soccer. The channel in question is called Africa Sports, according to a posting that appeared on the...

BeIN Sports gets carriage on Eastlink, Videotron

Media | 05/13/2014 2:43 pm EDT

BeIN Sports Canada, the sports specialty television network owned by Qatari Sports Investments, said Tuesday that it is adding its channel to the East Coast and Quebec markets through Eastlink and Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron....

Two non-Canadian, Greek-langage TV channels approved

Media | 05/09/2014 4:18 pm EDT

The CRTC on Friday announced the approval of two separate applications for Greek-language, non-Canadian TV channels to be distributed in Canada. Soundview Entertainment Inc. was the sponsor for both. One channel is RIK, which...

New Netflix customers to pay $1 more

Media | 05/09/2014 2:33 pm EDT

Netflix Inc. is raising its monthly subscription rates for new customers to a basic cost of $8.99 from $7.99 per month, though existing customers are getting a two-year reprieve from the higher price. Emails went out to...

Most don’t recall government’s wireless ads: survey

Media | 05/08/2014 8:55 pm EDT

Polling done for Industry Canada suggests most Canadians have not noticed the government's advertising campaign about the wireless industry. The poll was done by research firm TNS Canada and the...

CRTC dismisses complaints against Hindi women’s channels

Media | 05/08/2014 6:27 pm EDT

The CRTC dismissed one challenge and overruled another on Thursday against Ethnic Channels Group Ltd., the operator of a channel aimed at Hindi-speaking women, allowing them to add a second channel of the same type to their offerings. Asian Television Network International Ltd. (ATN) had complained to the CRTC that the Zee TV Canada channel, Ethnic Channels Group’s first channel for Hindi-speaking women, was operating as a general-interest service rather than a niche third-language channel as required by its licence. ATN, which operates the ethnic general-interest South Asian...

Quebecor earnings up as wireless revenue surges

Media | 05/08/2014 4:05 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc. improved its bottom line in this year’s first quarter as its telecommunications segment saw a revenue boost of 4.8 per cent, featuring some strong gains in its wireless business. Revenue was up 1.1 per cent...

VMedia plans could ‘undermine’ broadcast system: Ethnic Channels

Media | 05/07/2014 8:15 pm EDT

Granting VMedia Inc. licences to operate a national video-on-demand (VOD) service and expand its broadcast distribution service would mean approving a distribution structure that would...

Federal Court date set for carriers vs. SOCAN

Media | 05/07/2014 5:27 pm EDT

A Federal Court hearing has been set for Sept. 3 for the case in which Canada’s major wireless carriers are trying to retrieve $12 million back from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) in...

Google changes up Canadian leadership: report

Media | 05/07/2014 4:58 pm EDT

Google Inc. has made a switch in the managing director’s position at its Canadian operations, the Financial Post reported Wednesday. An article on the Post’s website said Chris O’Neill was leaving the post after...

‘Rentership society’ friendly to music streaming: Deezer exec

Media | 05/06/2014 7:04 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Canada is becoming a “rentership society,” and this bodes well for the future of music streaming in this country, the managing director for Canada of online music provider Deezer told a parliamentary committee reviewing the music industry.  “Young people see no need to buy things as they once did,” Justin Erdman said before the House of Commons heritage committee meeting on Tuesday. “Homes, cars, cable TV and, of course, music — you can...

Uncertain future for targeted TV ads in Canada

Media | 05/06/2014 6:35 pm EDT

One of television’s strengths as a vehicle for advertising has always been its ability to reach a lot of people with the same message at the same time. The industry has the technological capability to move in a different...

Another U.S. cableco offers Netflix

Media | 05/06/2014 5:40 pm EDT

Another U.S. cable company said it will provide the services of Netflix Inc. to its customers through set-top boxes made by TiVo Inc. Suddenlink Communications announced the arrangement in a press release on Tuesday, saying...

CBC conventional-TV financial performance improves: CRTC

Media | 05/06/2014 4:51 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada’s conventional-television operations improved their financial performance in the 12 months ended last August while private-sector, over-the-air TV stations collectively recorded...

BCE earnings up as wireless, media divisions boost revenue

Media | 05/06/2014 2:52 pm EDT

BCE Inc. improved its bottom line in this year’s first quarter as wireless data revenue surged and last year’s purchase of Astral Media contributed to its overall revenue. Revenue was up...

TSN expands to 5 national feeds

Media | 05/06/2014 2:00 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division announced Tuesday that it will expand TSN from two to five national feeds this fall. According to a press release, the five national feeds will be branded as TSN1, TSN2,...

CBC’s Hubert Lacroix talks about lack of money

Media | 05/05/2014 8:23 pm EDT

CBC/Radio-Canada CEO Hubert Lacroix made a speech before the Canadian Club of Montreal on Monday that focused on how crucial a role funding — or rather a lack of it — is playing in the public broadcaster's current problems. Lacroix’s online speaking notes and a CBC press release that went out Monday both said that CBC receives...

Google Play Music available in Canada

Media | 05/05/2014 5:16 pm EDT

Google Inc. announced Monday that its online music streaming service, Google Play Music, is now available in Canada. Paul Joyce, product manager for Google Play Music, said in a Google Canada blog post that Canadians can try...

Vermont radio station protests Concordia FM application

Media | 05/05/2014 3:41 pm EDT

Vermont Public Radio is appealing to its listeners in Montreal to pressure the CRTC to not allow a Concordia University students group to launch a new FM signal that would be on the same frequency. A...

Antitrust class-action lawsuit launched against Google

Media | 05/02/2014 3:06 pm EDT

An antitrust class-action lawsuit in the U.S. has been filed against Google Inc., claiming the search engine illegally monopolized and stagnated the American market for Internet and mobile search. The lawsuit, filed by the law firm Hagens Berman in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, said Google’s monopoly of these markets stems from the company’s purchase of the Android mobile operating system, which it used to expand its dominance by pre-loading its own suite of applications onto the devices through secret mobile-application distribution agreements,...

Snapchat adds instant messaging, video calling

Media | 05/02/2014 2:38 pm EDT

Mobile picture-sharing service Snapchat has introduced instant messaging and video-calling capabilities to its application. Snapchat has been known for being a way to share photographs between users on Apple Inc. iPhones or...

Price hikes for sports in pick-and-pay ‘big concern’: CMPA lawyer

Media | 05/01/2014 9:14 pm EDT

OTTAWA — The CRTC would be unlikely to intervene if a move to pick-and-pay television caused price increases, said Reynolds Martin, chief negotiator and chief legal officer at the Canadian Media...

Canada needs more music streaming services: music exec

Media | 05/01/2014 7:58 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Canada needs more online music streaming providers, though the regulatory environment here keeps them away, the president of Nettwerk Music Group told a parliamentary committee...

Microsoft extending Explorer fix to XP users: report

Media | 05/01/2014 6:22 pm EDT

Despite saying it was ending support for Windows XP last month, Microsoft Corp. will make an exception in making a security update for Internet Explorer available to users of that operating system, Reuters reported. The news...

Bell defends targeted ad program as ‘transparent’

Media | 05/01/2014 2:07 am EDT

BCE Inc.’s chief legal and regulatory officer told a Senate hearing on Wednesday night that his company’s targeted advertising program respects Canada’s current privacy laws. Mirko Bibic repeatedly compared his company to Facebook Inc. and Google Inc., which he said have access to richer and more personal data than Bell, and said his company needs the targeted advertising program to compete with those “global players.” “We are by no means the first to launch initiatives designed to deliver more relevant ads,” he said. “Formidable global...

Video-on-demand, pay-per-view revenues fall: CRTC

Media | 04/30/2014 9:38 pm EDT

Television providers earned less from their video-on-demand services last year, according to CRTC data released Wednesday, despite investing in increasing the availability of content. The CRTC said in the statistical and...

Audio streaming popular but not replacing radio: MTM

Media | 04/30/2014 7:23 pm EDT

Online streaming of audio is gradually growing in popularity but not replacing traditional radio listening, according to a new report from the Media Technology Monitor. MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, said Tuesday that 64 per...

CRTC postpones application for radio frequency change

Media | 04/30/2014 5:50 pm EDT

The CRTC said Tuesday that an application that was to be heard May 13 from a radio station seeking to change its frequency has been delayed due to an advisory from Industry Canada that its request “is not technically...

Peter Levin gets senior position at Lions Gate

Media | 04/30/2014 4:54 pm EDT

Lions Gate Entertainment announced Tuesday that Peter Levin is its president of interactive ventures and games. The company said in a press release that Levin will be responsible for expanding the company’s content creation into video games and other interactive ventures. Lions Gate said Levin recently served as CEO and co-founder of Nerdist...

Tangible benefits spending dropped 39% last year: report

Media | 04/30/2014 4:38 pm EDT

Television broadcasters’ spending on tangible benefits related to acquisitions dropped 39 per cent for the 12 months ended last August, according to a new report. Boon Dog Professional...

Sun News gets on Bell, Bell Aliant TV services

Media | 04/30/2014 4:37 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s Sun News Network said Tuesday it has reached agreements for carriage on BCE Inc.’s Bell Fibe and satellite TV service, along with Bell Aliant Inc.’s FibreOP TV. The terms of the agreements...

Alan Dark to head national sales at Rogers Media

Media | 04/29/2014 7:45 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. on Tuesday said Alan Dark will take over as vice-president of national sales at Rogers Media, starting May 26. The company said he will be based in Toronto and set the strategic direction for national...

Carriers make case for getting ringtone money back

Media | 04/29/2014 6:55 pm EDT

Mobile carriers have filed a memorandum in Federal Court late last week that makes the case for why they want $12 million back from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) in relation to tariffs...

CTV launches online platform for digital series

Media | 04/29/2014 4:25 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s CTV network is launching an online platform for digital series, the company’s media division said in a release Tuesday. It said the platform, called CTV Extend, will be supported by advertising and feature “more than 10 series and 120 episodes.” The release described the platform as a “first in Canada for a private Canadian broadcaster,” and said that it would feature commissioned series, acquired programs and extensions of CTV shows. “With CTV EXTEND, we can deliver exclusive digital content that extends CTV series in unique ways, while...

Matt Stein named Distributel’s new CEO

Media | 04/29/2014 4:00 pm EDT

Independent Internet service provider Distributel announced Tuesday that Matt Stein is taking over as the company’s new CEO. The company said in a press release that Stein took on the role on March 31. It said Mel Cohen,...

Parks Canada looking for WiFi providers

Media | 04/29/2014 3:53 pm EDT

Parks Canada has issued a public tender for suppliers of equipment and service to provide WiFi access to visitors of national parks and historic sites. The tender was published on the Merx website on Monday. A Canadian Press...

Quebecor’s Robert Dépatie steps down, citing health

Media | 04/28/2014 9:14 pm EDT

Robert Dépatie, the president and CEO of Quebecor Inc. who succeeded Pierre Karl Péladeau when the media mogul stepped down in March 2013, is resigning his position due to health reasons, the company said in a press release. Pierre Dion, who since 2005 has been president and CEO of TVA Group Inc.,...

‘Mobile TV is a broadcasting service’: Bell

Media | 04/28/2014 8:39 pm EDT

In defending their practice of charging rates separate from regular data charges for mobile-TV service, both Rogers Communications Ltd. and Quebecor Inc., in written submissions to the CRTC, talked about being in the early stages of trying to develop a market for this kind of service. BCE Inc., meanwhile, said its...

Internet Explorer vulnerable to hacking

Media | 04/28/2014 4:51 pm EDT

Microsoft Corp. said in an Internet security advisory Saturday that it is aware of attacks that attempted to exploit vulnerability in Internet Explorer that could potentially corrupt a user's memory and result in an attack on their computer. Internet Explorer versions 6 through 11 are the ones affected, Microsoft said. With such software, visits to certain malicious websites could allow hackers to take over a user’s computer remotely, the company said. Microsoft said it is investigating these attacks and will take the appropriate measures to protect customers, “which may...

Ending simultaneous substitution could be ‘huge financial hit’: analyst

Media | 04/25/2014 8:39 pm EDT

If the CRTC ends the practice of simultaneous substitution, as it has suggested it could as part of its review of television, conventional broadcasters would be in for a “huge financial...

Netflix to be carried by U.S. TV providers

Media | 04/25/2014 6:43 pm EDT

Netflix Inc.’s video streaming service is poised to be a feature of some providers of television service in the United States, as opposed to just competing with them. RCN Telecom Services LLC, Grande Communications LLC and...

CRTC backs pick-and-pay while acknowledging ‘risks’

Media | 04/24/2014 6:07 pm EDT

The CRTC has officially endorsed a move toward pick-and-pay television, though it has admitted the transition to such a model is unlikely to be pain-free. The commission proposed in a report Thursday...

New FCC rules create Internet ‘fast lanes’

Media | 04/24/2014 4:39 pm EDT

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday proposed new net-neutrality rules that would allow Internet service providers to charge content providers for faster and more reliable connections to end users. Under the proposed rules, ISPs would be allowed to charge a “commercially reasonable” fee to...

Shaw announces partnership with streaming service

Media | 04/24/2014 4:01 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. and music streaming service Rdio Inc. have entered a “marketing, content and promotion partnership,” the companies said Thursday in a release. Shaw CEO Brad Shaw said Rdio is “a great...

U.S. watchdog approves Facebook purchase of Oculus

Media | 04/23/2014 7:31 pm EDT

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that Facebook Inc. has been given the go-ahead to purchase virtual-reality technology maker Oculus VR Inc. Facebook announced its intention last month to buy the company, which is...

TV, basic services, payphones among CRTC’s upcoming priorities

Media | 04/23/2014 7:01 pm EDT

For the coming year, CRTC has prioritized issues including the ongoing review of Canada’s television-broadcasting system and looking into what telecommunications services should be accessible to...

HBO signs first online-only streaming deal with Amazon

Media | 04/23/2014 4:59 pm EDT

Time Warner Inc.'s HBO pay-TV service has signed a multi-year licensing deal with online retailer Amazon.com Inc. to bring its back catalog of shows, including critically acclaimed hits such as...

Rogers’ Phil Lind to retire at year’s end

Media | 04/22/2014 8:41 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. said Phil Lind, the company’s executive vice-president of regulatory affairs, is retiring after this year. In an email to The Wire Report, Rogers spokeswoman Jennifer Kett said Lind has been with the company 45 years. She said he has agreed to stay on in an advisory role and maintain his position on the board of directors. Lind was among 16 individuals re-elected to seats on Rogers’ board of directors at its annual general meeting Tuesday, the company announced in a press release, as was CEO Guy Laurence....

Netflix to raise prices by ‘one or two’ dollars

Media | 04/22/2014 6:21 pm EDT

Netflix Inc. will put in place “a one- or two-dollar increase” for new members later this quarter, the company said in a letter to shareholders Monday. It said that existing members would keep their current pricing...

Rogers’ quarterly financials show decline

Media | 04/22/2014 2:58 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. took a hit in this year’s first quarter in both revenue and profit numbers, according to results released Monday. The company said it had $3.02 billion in operating revenue for the three months...

CRTC re-approves distribution of Cantonese-language channel

Media | 04/17/2014 6:08 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved an application to add The Satellite Channel of Southern Television Guangdong to the list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution, following its removal...

Rogers paid almost $40 million to CEOs last year

Media | 04/17/2014 4:47 pm EDT

The incoming and outgoing CEOs of Rogers Communications Inc. racked up almost $40 million in total compensation last year, according to an information circular filed ahead of its annual general meeting next week. That included a...

Twitter ramping up app advertising

Media | 04/17/2014 2:48 pm EDT

Twitter Inc. said Thursday it is opening up more opportunities for developers to promote their mobile applications to Twitter users, and up to a billion others not on the social network through a mobile-ad exchange. The company said in blog post Thursday that it can arrange for ad developers to have simultaneous access to its 241 million active users, as well as about a billion mobile devices connected to a mobile advertising exchange called MoPub Marketplace. Twitter said it has “developed a full suite of targeting, creative and measurement tools to enable Twitter advertisers to...

Canadian TV subs to start rising again in 2015: study

Media | 04/16/2014 9:27 pm EDT

The number of Canadian TV subscribers will fall 0.31 per cent this year, and then begin increasing in 2015 at an average rate of 0.25 per cent annually until 2019, according to a new study by research company Strategy Analytics....

Game of Thrones sets filesharing record: report

Media | 04/16/2014 4:34 pm EDT

The most recent episode of Game of Thrones set a new record this week for having a single file shared by the greatest number of people simultaneously on BitTorrent, according to a report. A website called TorrentFreak said...

Twitter purchase signals growing importance of data tracking

Media | 04/15/2014 7:48 pm EDT

Twitter Inc. said Tuesday it is acquiring social media analytics provider Gnip Inc., a move one analyst said could cause trouble for other companies that analyze and monetize the social...

CBC chief discussed cable tax to support network

Media | 04/15/2014 5:31 pm EDT

Hubert Lacroix, CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, discussed at last week’s town hall meeting the possibility of having a levy attached to bills of cable- and satellite-TV customers and using that money to support the network. The...

Jury out on what Digital Privacy Act does to privacy, copyright

Media | 04/15/2014 5:09 pm EDT

The Digital Privacy Act, the government’s most recent attempt to update the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), has experts disagreeing about the effect it...

CIRA adds feature to combat ‘domain hijacking’

Media | 04/15/2014 3:25 pm EDT

The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), which manages the dot-ca domain, on Tuesday announced a “registry lock” to combat incidents of “domain hijacking.” CIRA said in a press release its new...

Shaw reorganizes with units for consumers, businesses

Media | 04/14/2014 9:20 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc. said Monday it is reorganizing the company’s telecommunications businesses into two units that will focus on either consumer or business services. It said in a press release it would consolidate its...

Two third-language TV channels approved

Media | 04/14/2014 5:54 pm EDT

The CRTC on Monday said it has approved two third-language television stations, and both were granted permission to use local advertising for six of the 12 permitted hourly minutes of advertising. One station approved will be...

CRTC forcing sale of Montreal-area radio station

Media | 04/11/2014 5:47 pm EDT

The CRTC is forcing the owner of a Quebec radio station to sell its broadcasting licence within the next 90 days or have it revoked after years of ignoring the regulator’s orders. CJMS Saint-Constant, an AM country station broadcast from a small suburb on the south shore of Montreal, has provided multiple excuses for why over the years it has faltered on filing a mandatory annual report, contributing to Canadian talent development and keeping logs of the music it broadcasts, the CRTC said in a posting on its website Friday. “This is the last call,” CRTC spokeswoman Patricia...