User-content TV station approved by CRTC

Media | 04/10/2014 6:00 pm EDT

The CRTC on Thursday issued a decision approving a broadcast licence for a new specialty channel to be based entirely on user-generated content, though it denied the broadcaster’s request for allowance to show local...

Corus profits up after Teletoon acquisition

Media | 04/10/2014 2:40 pm EDT

In its first quarterly report since the company took full control of the Teletoon channel and two Ottawa radio stations, television and radio broadcaster Corus Entertainment Inc. reported revenues up more than 10 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Corus posted a profit of $59.3 million on revenues of $191.4 million in its second-quarter...

Shaw earnings rise, TV subs decline

Media | 04/10/2014 2:34 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc.’s second quarter earnings released Thursday showed gains in both overall revenue and profit, though a decline in TV subscribers was noted, as was a dip in revenue from its media business. The...

OMNI still profitable despite ‘financial crisis’: union

Media | 04/09/2014 7:21 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc.’s OMNI stations, which the company described as being in “financial crisis” during a CRTC hearing Tuesday, are making profits on its ethnic programming, two organizations said in information presented to review broadcasting licences for Rogers stations. Rogers Media president...

Bell, CBC denied relief on local-programming quotas

Media | 04/09/2014 5:18 pm EDT

The CRTC on Wednesday said it had denied requests by both BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division and CBC/Radio-Canada to calculate local-programing hours for their conventional TV stations differently. Both are generally required to have 14 hours a week of local programing in metropolitan areas, and seven hours a week in smaller communities, in English-language markets, the CRTC notice said. Bell, which owns the CTV network, and CBC were asking that these quotas be averaged quarterly to provide flexibility around covering special events and providing programing during the holidays when there...

VMedia offers cloudy version of IPTV

Media | 04/08/2014 11:01 pm EDT

George Burger wants to give Canadians a more streamlined television experience, yet analysts say the high-tech Internet-protocol TV offerings from his VMedia Inc. might have limited appeal. The IPTV service from VMedia now...

OMNI troubles could be ominous sign for other conventional TV: Pelley

Media | 04/08/2014 8:54 pm EDT

GATINEAU, Que. — Other conventional television stations in Canada could soon be affected by the same factors that have led to a “financial crisis” for Rogers Communications...

Digital Privacy Act tabled in Senate

Media | 04/08/2014 7:33 pm EDT

The federal government on Tuesday announced it has introduced the new Digital Privacy Act in the Senate, which, among other things, proposes fining companies up to $100,000 for not informing Canadians when their personal data is...

End royalty exemption for radio, says performers’ collective

Media | 04/08/2014 6:07 pm EDT

The president of a collective for Canadian music performers and recording companies wants the federal government to revoke an exemption radio stations have on paying royalties for the music they broadcast. Ian MacKay from Re: Sound Music Licensing Co. made the pitch Tuesday in front of the House of Commons heritage...

More cuts expected at CBC, meeting Thursday

Media | 04/08/2014 1:59 pm EDT

More job cuts are expected at CBC/Radio-Canada as CEO Hubert Lacroix is scheduled to address all employees at a town hall meeting Thursday, according to a report by the Financial Post. An article that appeared on the Post’s...

TV cord cutting on the rise: report

Media | 04/07/2014 9:17 pm EDT

An annual report from Convergence Consulting Group Ltd. says Canadians are increasingly moving away from television subscriptions, and the trend is accelerating this year. The report’s summary, on the company’s...

CRTC approves third-language niche channels

Media | 04/07/2014 7:54 pm EDT

The CRTC announced Monday it has approved national broadcast licences for two third-language niche television channels from the same company. Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. was granted a licence for a channel called South Asian Food...

CRTC questions service providers in mobile-TV case

Media | 04/04/2014 6:41 pm EDT

The CRTC has sent out a series of questions to be answered by telecommunications service providers at the centre of a complaint over undue preference in providing mobile-TV services for flat fees. In a questionnaire sent Friday,...

Government’s long-awaited digital strategy ‘nothing new’: analyst

Media | 04/04/2014 1:55 pm EDT

A document released by Industry Minister James Moore Friday that outlines the government’s long-promised digital strategy includes “nothing new and nothing bold,” according to telecom analyst Jean-Francois Mezei of Vaxination Informatique. The government has already put in place many of the measures included in the strategy, Mezei said, making the document “more of a report card than a vision for the future.” The strategy, titled Digital Canada 150, includes many...

NHL contract was factor in Rogers’ 700 MHz auction bidding

Media | 04/03/2014 8:14 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. made it clear Thursday that there was a connection between the several billions of dollars it spent separately on National Hockey League content and wireless spectrum in...

CRTC’s consumer focus not at odds with industry: Blais

Media | 04/02/2014 9:14 pm EDT

GATINEAU, Que. — The reviews the CRTC will be holding over the coming year, which include proceedings covering wholesale access to wireless and fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) networks, the future of...

Amazon releases set-top streaming box

Media | 04/02/2014 4:40 pm EDT

Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc. announced a new television set-top box at an event in New York on Tuesday, pledging to improve the over-the-top (OTT) experience for customers frustrated by the limitations of rival offerings...

Cisco announces educational, health network for North

Media | 04/02/2014 2:41 pm EDT

Cisco Systems Inc. announced Wednesday it is investing $1.6 million in a video network to bring educational and health services to Canada’s North. The project is called Connected North, and uses high-definition, two-way video, along with other technology, Cisco said in a press release. Cisco said that a pilot project that began in September...

Streaming services need certainty to thrive: Songza exec

Media | 04/01/2014 9:23 pm EDT

OTTAWA — Canada’s regulatory environment doesn’t promote technological innovation in the music industry, and that’s part of the reason why streaming services here are lagging behind their U.S. counterparts, said Vanessa Thomas, managing director for Canada at Songza Media Inc. Thomas made the remarks Tuesday while speaking by video link to a House of Commons heritage committee meeting, which is undertaking a review of the Canadian music industry. “The environment is not built to let digital companies thrive and succeed,” she said. “The regulatory...

Videotron launches Illico iPhone streaming app

Media | 04/01/2014 7:38 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron unit said Thursday it has launched a new app that allows users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4 or 5 access content through its Illico program for online video content. It noted in a press release...

Blue Ant Media partners with YouTube-focused music network

Media | 04/01/2014 7:35 pm EDT

Blue Ant Media Inc., a Toronto-based media group, said Tuesday it has struck a partnership with Omnia Media, which it said is the third-largest largest music-focused network on Google Inc.’s...

Bram Abramson moves to Teksavvy

Media | 03/31/2014 8:59 pm EDT

Communications lawyer Bram Abramson has joined Teksavvy Solutions Inc. as chief legal and regulatory officer. Abramson left McCarthy Tétrault, a Toronto-based business law firm, where he specialized in telecommunications and regulation. Abramson received his law degree from McGill University in 2007, according to his LinkedIn page....

Videotron’s MYtv launch delayed by year

Media | 03/31/2014 8:45 pm EDT

A complaint against Quebecor Inc. subsidiary Videotron Ltd.’s French-language community channel MAtv is holding up the launch of its English-language equivalent, MYtv. Peggy Tabet, Videotron’s senior director of...

TSN makes Al Banks group director of sales

Media | 03/31/2014 8:03 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s TSN sports specialty network on Monday said longtime executive Al Banks has been appointed its group director of sales. At this position, Banks will report directly to Nathalie Cook, TSN’s vice-president of...

CRTC approves cricket specialty channel

Media | 03/31/2014 4:02 pm EDT

The CRTC said Monday it has granted Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. a broadcasting licence for a specialty channel focusing on cricket. The commission said in a decision posted online that ECGL Cricket TV would be a “national,...

BlackBerry’s hardware business shrinking proportionally

Media | 03/28/2014 3:12 pm EDT

BlackBerry Ltd.’s fourth-quarter earnings show the company is a getting smaller proportion of its revenue from hardware and a bigger slice from services. Results released in a press release...

Internet hasn’t killed the radio star: CRTC

Media | 03/27/2014 9:14 pm EDT

OTTAWA — The CRTC’s head of broadcasting says radio revenue does not appear to be suffering as a result of competition from Internet-based streaming services. Scott Hutton, the commission’s executive director of...

Online video watched by 3 in 4 anglo adults: MTM

Media | 03/27/2014 7:03 pm EDT

More than three out of every four anglophone Canadian adults are consumers of online video, according to report released Thursday. Media Technology Monitor (MTM), a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, said 76 per cent of respondents in a survey last fall indicated they had watched video online within the previous month. That was up from 73 per cent who answered this way a year earlier and 69 per cent two years before. People in the age group of 18 to 34 were the most likely to view online video, with 92 per cent answering in the affirmative. At the low end, 41 per cent for those 65 and older said...

Radio station says frequency made it seem like ‘loser’

Media | 03/27/2014 3:49 pm EDT

Winnipeg radio station Jewel 101 FM is asking the CRTC to change its frequency from 100.7 to 100.5 in order to be less of a “loser,” the station wrote in a filing released on Thursday. The station, owned by Evanov Communications Inc., said over the past nine years it has performed consistently poorly with...

Crack down on free online services: PIAC

Media | 03/27/2014 3:47 pm EDT

The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) is calling on governments to do more to protect people from companies that offer so-called free online services. In a press release issued Wednesday, it said consumers have little...

Rivals must collaborate on ‘TV everywhere’ offerings: Bell exec

Media | 03/26/2014 8:19 pm EDT

As Canadian television providers have rolled out their TV-everywhere strategies, aimed at fighting off over-the-top (OTT) competition by making content easier to access online, customers can be...

Virtual reality ‘the next social and communications platform’: Facebook

Media | 03/26/2014 6:31 pm EDT

Facebook Inc., in announcing the purchase of a pioneering virtual reality company, said this kind of immersive technology is "a strong candidate to emerge as the next social and communications...

Ray-Ban maker to help manufacture Google Glass

Media | 03/25/2014 2:12 pm EDT

Italian eyewear maker Luxottica Group S.p.A. said Tuesday that it has reached a deal with Google Inc. to collaborate on making its Google Glass wearable technology. The company said in a press release that its main brands, Ray-Ban and Oakley, would be included in the partnership, which would combine Luxottica's expertise in eyewear-making with Google’s technological know-how “to design, develop and distribute a new breed of eyewear for Glass.” “We believe that a strategic partnership with a leading player like Google is the ideal platform for developing a new way...

Telus, MTS add Sun News to channel lineup

Media | 03/24/2014 5:38 pm EDT

Telus Corp. and Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. have fulfilled their regulatory obligations by adding the Sun News Network to their TV-service channel lineups. In December, the CRTC said news channels Sun News and Le Canal...

Viacom, Google settle copyright lawsuit

Media | 03/24/2014 1:41 pm EDT

Google Inc. and Viacom Inc. have settled a copyright lawsuit relating the uploading of content owned by the latter on Google’s YouTube platform, the company’s said in a joint news release issued last week. Terms of...

Netflix CEO attacks ISPs that demand payment for connectivity

Media | 03/21/2014 5:45 pm EDT

Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings said in a blog post on the company’s website Thursday that a stronger sense of net neutrality is needed to prevent situations like the one that has his company...

Marguerite Pigott to join CMPA

Media | 03/21/2014 5:39 pm EDT

The Canadian Media Production Association said Marguerite Pigott will become its vice-president of outreach and strategic initiatives. The CMPA said in a press release Thursday that Pigott will start her position in early May and...

Blue Ant Media goes international

Media | 03/21/2014 5:36 pm EDT

Blue Ant Media Inc. has officially launched its international distribution arm, the company said this week. The Toronto-based distributor of television content said in a press release Thursday that its new division is called Blue...

French photography channel approved by CRTC

Media | 03/20/2014 7:03 pm EDT

A French-language, photography-focused documentary channel has been approved by the CRTC, the regulator announced Thursday. The channel, Le réseau de la photographie (RDP) will broadcast feature-length and short films...

Pierre Bonin named Videotron’s IT VP

Media | 03/20/2014 6:06 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron unit said Thursday that Pierre Bonin is its new vice-president of information technology. It said in a news release that Bonin has almost 30 years of experience in IT and telecommunications...

NHL should focus on digital coverage, new Canadians: study

Media | 03/20/2014 3:34 pm EDT

A research group studying the demographics of Canadians who follow the National Hockey League said Rogers Communications Inc., which has exclusive national rights to NHL broadcasts as of next season,...

TMN Go now available for Android devices

Media | 03/20/2014 3:23 pm EDT

The Movie Network said Thursday that its TMN Go app is now available for smartphones and tablets running on Google Inc.’s Android software. The network, which is owned by BCE Inc., said in a news release that the app is for devices that run on Android 4.0 or later versions. TMN Go had already been available for Apple Inc.’s iPhones and iPads, Samsung Electronics Co.’s Smart TVs, Blu-ray players and directly from its website, the network’s news release said. This was the latest in a number of recent announcements about BCE broadcasting brands, including TSN and CTV...

Shaw introduces online closed captioning

Media | 03/19/2014 7:15 pm EDT

Shaw Communications Inc.’s media division on Wednesday said it has become the first private-sector Canadian broadcaster to offer closed captioning for television programming accessed online. It said in a press release that...

Canadians willing to pay for more TV choice: survey

Media | 03/19/2014 6:02 pm EDT

A majority of Canadians taking part in a survey, for which results were released Tuesday, said having more choice and control over what they watch on television is an “excellent” or “good” idea. The...

CRTC approves Newcap acquisition of 5 Bell radio stations

Media | 03/19/2014 5:03 pm EDT

The CRTC has approved Newcap Inc.’s acquisition of five radio stations from BCE Inc.’s media subsidiary for a purchase price of $112 million. The commission said Tuesday that it had...

Rogers lobbied PM Harper in busy February

Media | 03/18/2014 6:09 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. had the ear of some of the highest officials in the federal government in early February, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Harper communicated with Rogers on Feb. 5, according to information in...

Bell Media releases 2 news-channel apps

Media | 03/18/2014 5:46 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division on Tuesday announced the release of two new applications that will bring live breaking news video to smartphones and tablets. Apps for CTV News Go, featuring content from the national news service CTV News Channel, and CP24 Go, based on Toronto TV station CP24, are now available for Apple Inc.’s iPhones and iPads, and smartphones and tablets powered by Google Inc.’s Android software, Bell said in a news release Tuesday. The apps are available for free for any user to access to a selection of on-demand programming, Bell Media spokeswoman...

Canadians heaviest website visitors globally: CIRA

Media | 03/18/2014 5:31 pm EDT

Canadians are the most prolific visitors of websites in the world, according the Canadian Internet Registration Authority’s Factbook, released Tuesday. Citing data from ComScore, CIRA said Canadians, on average, visited...

Availability of VOD content doubled last year, CRTC data shows

Media | 03/17/2014 9:38 pm EDT

The availability of video-on-demand (VOD) titles doubled across Canada’s eight largest TV providers between 2012 and 2013, the CRTC said on Monday, from 44,535 titles available from all eight...

CRTC approves Oui TV

Media | 03/17/2014 4:42 pm EDT

The CRTC said Monday that Oui TV has been approved as a foreign channel for distribution in Canada. An online posting from the commission said it is a 24-hour French-language service featuring drama and comedy programming. The channel originates in the U.S. and its programming is sourced from...

Bell’s customer-info tracking can’t be treated like Google’s: PIAC

Media | 03/14/2014 7:24 pm EDT

BCE Inc. should not compare itself to companies like Google Inc., Facebook Inc. or LinkedIn Corp. when it comes to tracking and collecting customer information for advertising purposes, the Public...

CRTC approves sale of two Rogers radio stations

Media | 03/14/2014 5:31 pm EDT

The CRTC said Friday it has approved the sale of two radio stations in New Brunswick by Rogers Communications Inc. The commission said in an online notice that the sale of CHNI-FM in Saint John to Newcap Inc. has been given the...

One in five downgraded TV services in last year: survey

Media | 03/14/2014 4:51 pm EDT

One in five Canadians surveyed by U.S. research firm Parks Associates said they downgraded their TV service over the last year. A report from the company said 20 per cent of Canadian households, out...

Péladeau’s politics will have little impact on Quebecor: Barclays

Media | 03/14/2014 3:48 pm EDT

Analysts from Barclays Capital said there is little risk to Quebecor Inc.’s businesses from former CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau’s candidacy for the sovereigntist Parti...

Industry Canada announcement on updated radio rules

Media | 03/14/2014 2:59 pm EDT

Industry Canada issued a statement on Friday about rule changes for radio broadcasters first reported by The Wire Report on Wednesday. The amendments to the Radiocommunication Act did away with issuance and reinstatement fees for...

Thunder Bay station wants to disaffiliate from CBC

Media | 03/13/2014 7:37 pm EDT

Thunder Bay Electronics Ltd. has put in a request to the CRTC to disaffiliate from CBC/Radio-Canada, the company said in a Feb. 28 letter filed with the CRTC. It said it was seeking the disaffiliation “so that CKPR-DT can move forward and be an economically viable operation.” It asked for the disaffiliation agreement to become effective Aug. 31, 2014. “This will allow for the orderly development of information to effectively advise the community being served, to meet fall launch time frames and to ensure an effective marketing campaign to allow for revenue development with...

Quebecor reports higher profits, revenue up slightly

Media | 03/13/2014 4:53 pm EDT

Quebecor Inc. reported higher fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday on revenue that was slightly higher than a year earlier. Overall revenue for the fourth quarter was $1.12 billion, up 0.5 per cent from a year earlier, Quebecor...

Report criticizes Cancon, ownership regs, funding in entertainment industry

Media | 03/12/2014 7:44 pm EDT

Regulating entertainment content that’s increasingly coming from online sources, funding mechanisms to promote productions and foreign-ownership restrictions in the broadcasting industry are...

TSN launches online streaming app

Media | 03/12/2014 7:20 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s media division on Wednesday announced that online streaming of TSN content is now available to those who subscribe to the channel through TV service from either Bell or Rogers Communications Inc. Bell Media said...

Péladeau’s PQ affiliation could affect Quebecor’s fortunes: experts

Media | 03/12/2014 7:03 pm EDT

Pierre Karl Péladeau’s decision to run for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois in the upcoming Quebec election could cause problems for the company he used to lead and of...

Collecting customer data not against Telecom Act: Bell

Media | 03/11/2014 9:20 pm EDT

BCE Inc.’s collection of customer data for its targeted-advertising program doesn’t violate the Telecommunications Act, the company said in a filing to the CRTC. The letter, submitted on March 3, was made in response to a challenge filed by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and the Consumers’ Association of Canada in January against Bell’s practice of tracking customers’ information and habits for the purpose of targeted advertising. Bell pointed to the collection of data by companies such as Google Inc. and Facebook Inc., and said “these...

Stroumboulopoulos to centre Rogers’ NHL ‘dream team’

Media | 03/10/2014 6:05 pm EDT

Rogers Communications Inc. on Monday named George Stroumboulopoulos as the next host of Hockey Night in Canada, which Rogers takes over production of next season. Stroumboulopoulos, currently host of...

Cecil Hawkins appointed to CBC board

Media | 03/10/2014 3:04 pm EDT

Cecil Hawkins, the Toronto executive who heads metal fabricator Canerector Inc., has been appointed to the board of CBC/Radio-Canada, Canadian Heritage announced Monday. Hawkins, president and CEO of Canerector, has been involved...

Pierre Karl Péladeau resigns after PQ announcement

Media | 03/10/2014 1:51 pm EDT

Pierre Karl Péladeau has resigned from a number of Quebecor Inc. board positions following news that he intends to run as candidate for the sovereigntist Parti Québécois in the upcoming provincial election in...

Shaw lobbying activity spikes in recent weeks

Media | 03/07/2014 9:26 pm EST

There were 18 communications between Shaw Communications Inc. and the federal government within the last month, for which company CEO Brad Shaw was listed as the lobbyist, according to the federal lobbyists registry, including one...

Mobile TV not undue preference, promotes Canadian content: Rogers

Media | 03/06/2014 9:38 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc.’s mobile-TV service upholds the Broadcasting Act by making Canadian content available and is not an undue preference, the company told the CRTC Wednesday. Rogers made...

Telus, Rogers customers get preferred treatment on Radio-Canada platform

Media | 03/06/2014 7:09 pm EST

CBC/Radio-Canada announced Thursday that will be adding a subscription-based section to its ICI Tou.tv streaming platform, and a partnership with Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. will give...

CBC at ‘forefront’ of digital media: CRTC’s Hutton

Media | 03/06/2014 3:21 am EST

OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada has been at the vanguard of changes the broadcasting industry has faced due to the emergence of digital media in recent years, Scott Hutton, the CRTC’s executive...

Channel Zero faces CRTC hearing on adult channel Cancon

Media | 03/05/2014 7:52 pm EST

Independent Canadian broadcaster Channel Zero Inc. will have to answer to the CRTC for violations of Canadian content and closed-captioning rules on its specialty channels, including three adult-movie stations, at a hearing in April. The CRTC claims that multiple channels, including film channels Moviola and Silver Screen...

BlackBerry testing sponsored content on BBM

Media | 03/05/2014 7:10 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. said in blog post that it is testing sponsored content on its BBM messaging service with some users. A posting on BlackBerry’s website Tuesday by Jeff Gadway, head of product and brand marketing for BBM, said the company is seeing how its BBM Channels feature functions as a way for certain brands and businesses to directly connect with BBM users. Gadway said featured placements, where companies have their own forums indicated in in the “Featured Channels” section of BBM, is one method being tried out. Another is sponsored invitations, where companies can...

‘Undesirable’ spectrum now key to Rogers mobile-video plans

Media | 03/05/2014 5:09 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. shelled out billions in this year’s 700 MHz spectrum auction for what was once “second-class” spectrum and what could now be the most coveted wireless real...

CTV averages 6.12M viewers for Oscars

Media | 03/04/2014 10:08 pm EST

The Canadian broadcast of the Academy Awards Sunday night attracted an average of 6.12 million television viewers, said BCE Inc.’s CTV network, which had the broadcast rights to the awards show. In a press release put out...

U.S. music creators to face limited payment rights in Canada

Media | 03/04/2014 9:13 pm EST

The government of Canada plans to limit the remuneration rights of music creators in the United States, among other countries, when it ratifies the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)...

Tanya Woods leaving Bell for gaming association

Media | 03/04/2014 7:23 pm EST

Tanya Woods, director and legal counsel for regulatory and copyright law at BCE Inc., is leaving to become vice-president of policy and legal affairs the Entertainment Software Association of Canada, The Lobby Monitor reported....

Disney signs first major OTT deal with Dish Network

Media | 03/04/2014 5:17 pm EST

Dish Network Corp. announced a deal with Walt Disney Co. that will bring content from some of the most popular channels in United States, including worldwide sports leader ESPN, to over-the-top streaming services for the first time. In a press release late Monday, the satellite provider said live and on-demand programs from ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel and ESPN will be available to its 14 million subscribers on televisions, computers, smartphones and tablets. Its subscribers will be able to log on to the new online TV service from anywhere, the announcement said. Dish Network is the first...

CRTC idea could violate net neutrality: experts

Media | 03/03/2014 3:53 pm EST

A question posed by the CRTC in its review of television services, focusing on exempting over-the-top (OTT) services from Internet data caps, could have implications on net neutrality, according to some industry experts. In an...

Rogers’ analog customers could lose some channels

Media | 02/28/2014 8:27 pm EST

Rogers Communications Inc. customers who are on an analog cable service are losing some of their channels as the service provider phases out what remains of analog signals of certain services. The company said any customers...

TVA Group profits, revenue down

Media | 02/28/2014 4:19 pm EST

TVA Group Inc., the broadcasting and magazine publishing arm of Quebecor Inc., on Friday reported declines in profits and revenue for the last quarter of 2013. TVA said in a press release that net income in the fourth quarter was...

CRTC consulting on mandatory emergency alerts

Media | 02/27/2014 7:46 pm EST

The CRTC is consulting on amending its rules to make it mandatory for the broadcasting industry to distribute emergency alert messages. In a notice Thursday, the commission said the amendments would make distribution of emergency...

Bell Media makes Oscars free on CTV Go app

Media | 02/27/2014 6:12 pm EST

BCE Inc.’s media subsidiary will make the live broadcast of the Oscars free on its CTV Go service. It normally requires viewers to have an account with a participating TV service provider, Bell Media said in a release...

Shaw launches on-demand viewing of History

Media | 02/27/2014 4:42 pm EST

Shaw Communications Inc. said Thursday it has launched a mobile app and upgraded the website for its History channel to allow its subscribers on-demand viewing of almost 300 hours of programming. Shaw said in a press release the...

CBC chief asks for support, flexibility from government

Media | 02/27/2014 3:53 am EST

OTTAWA — The CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada told a Senate committee Wednesday night that he has never asked for “one dollar more” of public money but that the public broadcaster needs...

CRTC approves ownership transfer for CJHQ-FM Nakusp

Media | 02/26/2014 7:20 pm EST

The CRTC has approved an ownership transfer of the English-language community radio station CJHQ-FM Nakusp in Nakusp, B.C., from the Nakusp Roots Music Society to the Nakusp Community Radio Society. The commission said Wednesday...

Bell Media extends support of TV training course

Media | 02/26/2014 6:40 pm EST

BCE Inc.’s Bell Media announced Wednesday it was making a $930,000 investment into the NSI Totally Television training course to keep the program going for another seven years. The course matches writer/producer teams with executives at major Canadian networks, bringing them together to hone a pitch in pursuit of a development deal with broadcasters. The institute’s website says the program has been in place since 2002. Bell Media said in a press release that the program has resulted in 12 television series that have gone into development, including five that have gone to air,...

CRTC approves Viewers Choice request to revoke satellite licence

Media | 02/25/2014 9:31 pm EST

The CRTC said in an notice on its website Tuesday that it has consented to a request from Viewers Choice, a pay-per-view service owned by BCE Inc., to revoke its broadcast licence for carriage on...

BlackBerry CEO would consider selling BBM: reports

Media | 02/25/2014 8:10 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. CEO John Chen said Tuesday he would consider selling BBM, the company’s messaging service, according to different media reports Tuesday. CNBC quoted Chen in an interview as saying: "If somebody comes to...

CBC says 15M tuned into men’s gold medal hockey game

Media | 02/25/2014 7:28 pm EST

About 15 million people in Canada tuned in to at least part of the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game on Sunday, which had an average audience of 8.5 million throughout the contest,...

Disney launches cloud-based movie service in U.S.

Media | 02/25/2014 3:51 pm EST

Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday announced the launch of a cloud-based movie service called Disney Movies Everywhere to consumers in the United States. It’s available as an free application for Apple Inc.’s iPhones, iPads...

Netflix to pay Comcast for faster streaming: report

Media | 02/24/2014 9:05 pm EST

Netflix Inc. will pay Comcast Corp. for access to its network in order to be able to provide its streaming video customers with faster speeds and improved reliability, Bloomberg reported Monday, quoting anonymous sources. Based on information from one source, the news service said Netflix would pay Comcast millions of dollars each year in order “to deliver its content more efficiently,” in the wake of “complaints about quality and speed.” The two companies said in a release Sunday that they had reached a multi-year deal for a “more direct connection between...

BlackBerry makes BBM available for Windows, Nokia phones

Media | 02/24/2014 2:50 pm EST

BlackBerry Ltd. said Monday that its BBM instant-messaging service would become available to users of Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phones and Nokia Corp.’s X smartphones. BlackBerry made the...

TekSavvy ordered to turn over subscriber info to Voltage

Media | 02/21/2014 9:44 pm EST

A Canadian Internet service provider is being required by court order to give information on its subscribers linked with illegal filesharing to a Hollywood production company, and advocates on both...

Bell not licensing content to OTT service is undue preference: complaint

Media | 02/21/2014 8:47 pm EST

Leiacomm, a company that plans to launch an over-the-top TV service in Canada, has filed a complaint against BCE Inc.’s Bell Media subsidiary for refusing to license its content to the service....

Variety on television must be preserved, says Bell’s Crull

Media | 02/20/2014 10:26 pm EST

OTTAWA — Industry executives disagreed about the best way to give consumers more choice as they discussed the CRTC’s ongoing review of the television system during a panel discussion at...

Facebook to pay $19B US for WhatsApp

Media | 02/20/2014 6:52 pm EST

Facebook Inc. said Wednesday has reached an agreement to pay about $19 billion US for mobile-messaging application company WhatsApp Inc. Facebook said in a press release that the purchase price includes $4 billion US in cash and...

Two Urdu-language channels approved for distribution

Media | 02/19/2014 9:42 pm EST

The CRTC said Wednesday it has approved two Urdu-language channels, Business Plus and Zaiqa TV, for distribution in Canada. The CRTC said the application to add the station was received from Soundview Entertainment Inc. The...

U.S. broadcasters file trade complaint against Canada

Media | 02/19/2014 8:43 pm EST

The U.S. Television Coalition, which represents U.S. television stations whose signals are retransmitted in markets across Canada, has asked the Office of the United States Trade Representative to place Canada on its priority...

Phase 2 of CRTC TV review asks about OTT regulation

Media | 02/18/2014 10:22 pm EST

The CRTC is asking Canadians for feedback about Canadian content in online television services and their adherence to programming standards in an online questionnaire released Tuesday as part of Phase 2 of its review of television...

Quebecor files complaint against Bell Fund

Media | 02/18/2014 7:56 pm EST

Quebecor Inc.’s media division has filed a complaint against the BCE Inc.-supported Bell Fund, claiming it had three TV projects that were unfairly turned down for funding last year. In letter filed on the CRTC’s website, Peggy Tabet, Quebecor Media’s senior director of regulatory affairs, said the projects in question were all intended for broadcast on TVA Group-related platforms. The first was a proposed nostalgic variety show called Prise 2 se souvient. It sought $258,00 for this project, which was abandoned when the funding did not come through, the letter said. A...