The CRTC is consulting on changes to how to measure local programming requirements for conventional television stations. The commission said in a notice Tuesday that BCE Inc.’s media division had applied to amend the licence conditions for its conventional television stations. The changes would “allow those English-language conventional stations whose licences were renewed as part of the Commission’s group-based licence renewals in 2011 to average their weekly local programming obligations quarterly throughout the broadcast year,” the CRTC said. In a previous application Bell had said that allowing it to average local programming requirements over the broadcast year would give it “the flexibility to temporarily reduce the amount of local programming on its...
Claude Laflamme is the new vice-president of legal and regulatory affairs at Stingray Digital Group Inc., the company said in a release Friday. Laflamme, previously vice-president of corporate and regulatory affairs at Astral Radio, left Astral following its acquisition by BCE Inc. over the summer. “Having worked in the legal departments of large private companies for more than 20 years, Ms. Laflamme will be a key player in the execution of the company’s growth strategy,” the release said....
Nataline Rodrigues was appointed director of original programming at Rogers Communications Inc.’s media division. The appointment is effective Oct. 1, the company said in a release Monday. Rodrigues will “manage the submission, development, and production of original Canadian...
The CRTC approved a new video on demand service to serve “multi-unit dwellings in downtown Toronto.” In a decision Friday, the commission approved an application by Beanfield Technologies Inc. for a regional video on demand service. The service would “consist primarily of current titles from Hollywood studios, including movies and...
Heather Conway is the new executive vice-president of English Services at CBC/Radio Canada. In a release Thursday, the public broadcaster said Conway, now chief business officer at the Art Gallery of Ontario, would start in her new role in early December. “Her business-focus to decision...
Rogers Communications Inc.’s media division will launch a tablet app offering subscribers “all-you-can-read” access to more than 100 magazines. The company said in a release Thursday that the Next Issue Canada...
Roku Inc. will roll out two new streaming players in October, the company said. In a post on the company’s blog Wednesday, Roku said its new Roku 1 and Roku 2 devices will stream high-definition video to users’ TVs, and will complement its “flagship” Roku 3 streaming player, released earlier this month. The Roku 2, it said, will also come with a remote that has a built-in headphone jack and will feature “dual-band wireless for better Internet connectivity.” Both devices, the company added, will come pre-loaded with access to more than 450 channels when they launch next month. Roku is currently taking pre-orders for the two devices, it said, with the Roku 1 priced at $70 and the Roku 2 priced at $90....
Fifty-seven per cent of Canadians had access to four or more wireless carriers in 2012, while a 6.3 per cent increase in revenues to $20.37 billion for wireless providers was powered by higher use of...
David Basskin is retiring as president and CEO of the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency after 24 years with the copyright collective. His retirement is effective Sept. 30, the CMRRA, which licenses the reproduction of songs, said in a release this week. “It’s been an exciting...
Mike Fries, chief executive of cableco Liberty Global Plc., said he doesn’t expect Apple Inc. to come out with its own television, Bloomberg reported Monday. Previous reports predicted that Apple would release a new iTV...
The CRTC and the federal Competition Bureau reached a deal to encourage more cooperation between the two organizations, the CRTC said. In a release Wednesday, the commission said the deal will mean the two regulatory bodies share...
The CRTC approved a CBC/Radio-Canada application for a new English-language FM radio station in Saskatoon. In a decision Monday, the commission said the station will replace the rebroadcasting transmitter CBK-1-FM Saskatoon....
The CRTC dismissed a complaint by NB Spring and Manufacturing Ltd. against Rogers Communications Inc. The CRTC said in a decision Monday that NB Spring had alleged Rogers “subjected it to an undue disadvantage and had given...
In a fragmented media market, one thing hasn't changed: advertisers continue to look for eyeballs. And that means following Canadians in their online video viewing. Online video advertising...
The number of Canadian subscribers to Netflix Inc.'s online streaming service has almost doubled year-over-year, reaching 21 per cent of Canadian adults this spring, according to polling data by Media Technology Monitor. MTM,...
Technology has changed “old assumptions" about the CRTC's role as "a gatekeeper,” Peter Menzies, the CRTC’s vice-chairman of telecommunications, said in a speech at a Canadian Cable Systems Alliance conference on Monday. “But now the Internet and all the devices that can reach it directly have created a borderless world,” he said, according to a copy of the speech on CRTC’s website. He said the CRTC can’t define itself as a gatekeeper “in a world in which there may be no gates.” Menzies made the comments while speaking about a “conversation” the CRTC will hold with Canadians about television services, first consulting with the public and then with industry. He said he expects that the “conversation will...
Jacques Parisien, Bell Media’s president of national specialty and pay TV, radio, and out-of-home, is leaving the company, BCE Inc. said. In a release Monday, the company said Parisien has decided to leave at the end of 2013. Parisien was previously executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Astral Media Inc. and president of Astral Radio, prior to Astral’s acquisition by BCE in July. “I...
The CRTC is consulting on a radio licence renewal by Faithway Communications Inc. for its Fredericton, N.B. Christian music radio station. The regulator said in a notice Friday that the company applied to change the frequency of...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Media subsidiary is rebranding its MuchMore specialty channel as M3, the company said in a release Thursday. Bell said M3 would target viewers in their 30s and that its programming would include “music, the hottest scripted series, reality programming and blockbuster...
A dispute over the Illico brand has made its way to Federal Court as legal research services company Illico Communications Inc. appealled a decision by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office that favoured Videotron Ltd. Videotron, a Quebecor Inc. subsidiary, has been promoting its Illico on-demand television service,...
TVO appointed Michael Carpentier as its new vice-president of business development, innovation and marketing, the Ontario public broadcaster said in a release Tuesday. Carpentier will be responsible for growing revenues, overseeing marketing activities, and leading TVO's digital strategy, the release said. He has been serving in the role on an interim basis since July 2013, TVO said. Carpentier has more than 20 years of experience in strategic business development in the digital initiatives, TVO said, including at Big Truck TV, VerticalScope, Canada Computer Papers, and TMP Worldwide. "What excites me about TVO is the opportunity to leverage my experience with revenue growth and innovation on digital platforms to help make really engaging educational media experiences," Carpentier said in a statement. "Amazing content that's available when and where Ontarians want it coupled with increasing revenue is what will build a sustainable future for TVO."...
Online advertising revenues in Canada rose 15 per cent in 2012, reaching a total of $3.1 billion, said a new report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada. Chris Williams, president of IAB Canada, said in a telephone interview that the revenues were slightly higher than forecasted for 2012. “In general,...
The CRTC approved an application by Saugeen Community Radio Inc. to operate an FM radio station in Mount Forest and Wellington North, Ont., the commission said. In a decision Tuesday, the regulator said the English-language community FM station would broadcast 126 hours of programming each broadcast week, including 120 hours of local programming. The...
Rogers Communications Inc. appointed Hayden Mindell as its new vice-president of television programming and content at its Rogers Media division, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Rogers said Mindell will take on the newly created position and will “oversee, develop, and implement the programming and multiplatform strategy for all Rogers...
Canadian businesses should “dust off their copy” of Canada’ long-delayed anti-spam laws as Industry Minister James Moore is preparing to move on the file, experts say. Passed into law in December 2010, Canada’s anti-spam laws have stalled during the implementation process as the CRTC and Industry Canada consulted on a pair of...
The CRTC will consider applications to use the 102.7 FM frequency in the Toronto area, which could offer applicants an entry into Canada’s largest radio market. CRTC spokesman Guillaume Castonguay said when the regulator...
Nielsen Co. made its online campaign rating system commercially available in Canada. The company said in a release Monday that the rating “measures the audience of online advertising,...
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) launched a pilot program to boost international digital media co-productions involving Canadians. CMF said in a release Thursday that the $350,000 Digital Media Co-Production Incentive is “designed to stimulate digital media co-productions between Canadian producers and their international counterparts.” The...
Michel Houle will replace Rock Demers as the president of the Harold Greenberg Fund’s French-language committee, BCE Inc. said. In a release Friday, BCE’s Bell Media subsidiary said Houle has served on the fund’s board of directors and French-language committee for 11 years. It added that he has also been appointed to co-chair the...
Ten per cent of Canadian Internet users have four Internet-connected devices at their disposal: a smartphone, tablet, computer and Internet-connected TV, a new report from Media Technology Monitor said. The report, released Thursday by MTM, a joint research project between CBC/Radio-Canada and BBM Analytics, said the number rose from three per cent last year. In the past two years, tablet ownership increased to 32 per cent from four per cent, the report said, adding that “the incidence of connecting to the Internet via a TV set has grown nearly 2.5 times,” and smartphone penetration has doubled since 2010-2011. The computer was the most popular screen for online video, followed by the TV set and tablet, while the smartphone was the least popular, the report said, adding that...
BCE Inc.’s Bell Fund launched a new program to support existing digital media programs aiming to move to television, the non-profit organization said. In a release Tuesday, Bell Fund said the OnLine to OnTV program will...
Sun News Network has performed better than forecasted, reaching 4.9 million subscribers in 2012 and almost matching the channel's subscriber revenue projections under a business model involving...
The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) provided 574 projects with $371.8 million in funding in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the organization said. In an annual report released Tuesday, the CMF said it supported 489 “television and related digital media productions” which received a combined $322.1 million, and 85 “innovative and digital media projects,” which received $35.1 million in funding. That funding...
BCE Inc. has applied to the CRTC to add the Brazilian television network TV Record to the list of non-Canadian programming services authorized for distribution in Canada. In its application, BCE said TV Record is “the largest and oldest running Brazilian TV Network broadcasting in Portuguese to over 150 countries.” It said the channel...
Lawyer Geoff White has joined the Public Interest Advocacy Centre's (PIAC) team as counsel. In his practice, White “provides advice and representation on legal and regulatory matters, with emphasis on telecommunications, broadcasting, media, competition law, and privacy,” PIAC said on its website. White is working as counsel to PIAC following Janet Lo's move to the federal Finance Department through an interchange program....
Several broadcast companies are opposing the CRTC's proposed “news neighbourhood” regulations intended to help news channels like Sun News Network get a leg up in the broadcasting system. Shaw Communications Inc., Telus Corp., CBC/Radio-Canada, Cogeco Cable Inc., and a former senior...
Hank Intven has retired from his position as a partner at McCarthy Tétrault, and as head of the firm’s communications practice group. In an emailed statement Monday, Intven said he will continue to serve as a counsel for the firm—working out of Victoria, Vancouver and Toronto—while taking on an adjunct professor position at the...
Rogers Communications Inc. received authorization from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions to begin offering credit card services. The company said in a release Friday that it would roll out a pilot program...
Tom Anselmi resigned as chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., the company said Friday in a release. Anselmi joined MLSE in 1996 and was instrumental in the development of the Air Canada Centre, home to the company's Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2004 he was appointed chief operating officer and later named president of MLSE in September of 2012. "I am from this community, and I’m...
The CRTC finalized changes to Canadian content development rules for radio, exempting commercial and ethnic radio stations with less than $1.25 million in revenues from making Cancon contributions. The regulator issued a...
When fans of Sporting Kansas City are watching a live game at the team’s 18,467-capacity stadium and miss a kick, play, or goal on the soccer pitch, they can catch up by pulling out their...
Videotron has applied to the CRTC for a licence to launch a new community TV channel catered to Montreal’s English-speaking community. In a release Thursday, the Quebecor Media Inc. cable subsidiary said the new channel, if...
The federal Conservative cabinet rejected a request to order the CRTC to review a decision to let CBC/Radio-Canada air commercials on its Radio 2 and Espace Musique radio networks. “[T]he Governor in Council, having considered the petition, is not satisfied that those decisions derogate from the attainment of the...
The Copyright Board issued its first decision on private copying since the Conservative government introduced regulations to exempt memory cards from the levy. The decision, issued Aug. 30 and covering the years 2012, 2013, and 2014, maintained a levy of 29 cents per disc on blank CDs. In November 2012, the Conservative government introduced regulations to exempt microSD memory cards from a possible copyright levy. The Canadian Private Copyright Collective (CPCC), the collective that collects the levy and distributes it to music copyright owners, said in a release Tuesday that it was...
Roku Inc.’s new Roku 3 streaming player is now available in Canada, the company said. In a post on the company’s blog Wednesday, Roku said the new device is its “fastest and most powerful streaming player to...
Overall Canadian TV subscriptions fell by a net 10,810 in the second quarter of 2013, a new report from IHS said. While Internet protocol television (IPTV) services gained customers, they were not enough to offset losses in cable...
Newcap Inc. is looking for opportunities to further expand its radio footprint in large Canadian cities after striking a deal to enter the “major leagues” of Canadian radio, said the...
BCE Inc. has found potential buyers for all of the radio stations it was required to sell as a result of its acquisition of Astral Media Inc. following an agreement to sell five stations to Newfoundland Capital Corp.’s Newcap Inc. subsidiary, the company said. In a joint release Monday, Newcap and BCE’s media subsidiary said Newcap will pay...
Advertising agencies are increasingly interested in the “new phenomenon” of second screen initiatives, “and are looking to hone in on second screen experiences that can generate real-time, personalized, geolocalized behavioural data,” a new report commissioned by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) said. Broadcasters’ marketing and programming departments must coordinate with advertisers and app developers while developing second screen initiatives, and this coordination...
The CRTC approved an application by non-profit group Lillooet Camelsfoot T.V. and Radio Association to acquire local community station CHLS-FM from the Radio Lillooet Society in Lillooet, B.C. The commission said in a decision...
Independent broadcaster Blue Ant Media Inc. will rebrand its specialty channel “bold” as the Cottage Life channel. The channel will launch on Sept. 4 with a free national preview, the company said in a release Thursday. The channel’s programming will focus on “themes like DIY, food, real estate and outdoor living,” the...
Google Inc. has opened talks to acquire the rights to the National Football League’s (NFL) “Sunday Ticket” subscription TV service, tech blog AllThingsDigital reported on Tuesday. U.S. broadcast distributor DirecTV currently holds the American rights to the Sunday Ticket service, which allows subscribers to watch out-of-market NFL...
Ted East will step down from his position as president of the Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters, The Hollywood Reporter reported Monday. East will leave the organization, which lobbies on behalf of film distributors, on Sept. 15 as the group “restructures and considers whether to find a replacement or out-source public...
Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Videotron Ltd. and BCE Inc.’s media division reached a new agreement for Videotron to carry former Astral Media Inc. channels, allowing the companies to avoid CRTC arbitration. In a letter to the CRTC Friday, Kevin Goldstein, Bell Media’s vice-president of regulatory affairs, said the companies “have now...
A CRTC proposal to group national all-news channels in “news neighbourhoods” and to more closely regulate how they are carried by broadcast distributors will make Canadian news channels a more viable business opportunity, industry experts said. “I think that those two things...
Jennifer Smith will serve as the national sales director for CBC/Radio-Canada’s Radio 2 network when the station begins airing ads this fall, the Crown corporation said. In a release Monday, CBC’s revenue group said Smith will assume Radio 2’s top ad sales position while continuing to serve as the broadcaster’s director of sales...
The CRTC rejected two broadcasting complaints, one by the former Astral Media Inc. about Quebecor Media Inc.’s illico Club Unlimited service and another about CBC/Radio-Canada’s Explora specialty service, the...
The CRTC approved an application by BCE Inc.’s Bell Media division to allow more programming flexibility for its Comedy Gold channel. The CRTC said in a decision Thursday that the Category B specialty channel channel can now air news, reporting and actualities, and religious programming, as well as music video clips and music video programs. The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) opposed the application on the basis that it would “alter the service’s fundamental nature of service and dilute its brand,” the CRTC said. The commission said the channel cannot devote more than 10 per cent of its programming to music video clips and music video programs. The CRTC rejected in July a Bell Media request to allow its Book Television...
Eastlink introduced a new pick-and-pay option that will allow customers to add individual channels to their TV service packages, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Eastlink, a Bragg Communications Inc. subsidiary, said it...
Part of the process that helps determine the fates and ad rates for television shows in North America has remained essentially unchanged for decades. Thousands of television viewers across Canada and...
Alysia York-Suen Lau is the new legal counsel for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), as former counsel Janet Lo leaves to join the federal finance department through an “interchange agreement,” PIAC said. In a notice posted on its website Friday, PIAC said Lo started a two-year stint with Finance Canada on Monday. It said York-Suen...
Facebook Inc. is launching a program that pairs up media agencies and Toronto-area small businesses, the company said. Facebook’s six-week “Grand for Good” program will team up local businesses in the Greater...
Shaw Media, a division of Shaw Communications Inc., is rolling out a new lifestyle specialty channel named Dtour. The channel will launch on Aug. 26 with a national free preview, the company said Thursday. “The exclusive schedule is chock full of big personalities and powerful experiences, including overhauling RVs with legendary rocker Bret Michaels, exploring the wildest fan events imaginable, sampling bizarre foods and taking a closer look at the ins and outs of the hotel industry,” the company said in a release....
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) said it supports the CRTC's decision to deny 13 applications for mandatory carriage under Section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act. The CRTC decision emphasized “making television services accessible and affordable for Canadians while encouraging competition and uniqueness of programming in...
Quebecor Inc. reported a loss of $45.1 million as revenues rose 0.8 per cent during its second quarter of 2013. For the three-month period that that ended June 30, revenues were $1.09 billion, up from $1.08 billion from the same...
BCE Inc. said it added a net 50,555 subscribers to its Fibe TV service in the second quarter of 2013, more than in any other quarter to date, as the company continued to expand its IPTV footprint. In a financial statement...
Citing the affordability of television services, the CRTC denied 13 applications for mandatory carriage on basic TV, granting just three new must carry licences to nonprofit channels. Among the 13...
The CRTC denied Sun News Network's application for mandatory carriage on basic TV packages while opening a consultation on a proposal to give Canadian all-news channels “must offer” licences and requiring distributors to group them together on the dial in “news...
Employment Minister Jason Kenney said the government introduced further changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program, including a new $275 processing fee and additional advertising requirements. The advertising requirements will double the length and reach of employers’ advertising to increase Canadians’ awareness of available jobs, a...
Rebecca Shropshire is the new director of digital sales at CBC/Radio-Canada's revenue group, the public broadcaster said. Shropshire will be responsible for “establishing digital sales and business development strategies for all program properties in support of CBC Revenue Group targets and objectives,” the Crown corporation said in a release Tuesday. Shropshire was previously vice-president and director...
The CRTC approved an application for a Banff, Alta. English-language commercial FM radio station and two applications for English-language specialty audio services. The commission said in a decision Tuesday that it approved an application by the Banff Centre to launch an FM radio station, which would operate at 107.9 MHz and with an “Adult...
Cogeco Cable Inc. appointed Louise St-Pierre as president and chief executive officer of its Canadian cable division, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Cogeco said the “unanimous” decision reflects efforts to “adapt” its corporate structure, following acquisitions of U.S. cableco Atlantic Broadband Inc., completed in December, and Canadian network operator Peer 1 Network Enterprises Inc., completed in April. It said St-Pierre’s appointment will bring its decision-making capacity “closer to the field of operations,” and will positively affect product innovation, customer service and the company’s financial performance. “This nomination and the concomitant adjustment to our organizational structure will allow us to accelerate the...
Television providers have had a few years now to get used to online competition from over-the-top streaming services, though they should brace for more. As early as this year, they will be facing a new generation of online...
Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary TVA Group Inc. reported revenues of $111.5 million in the second quarter of 2013 that ended June 30, down from $113.5 in the same period a year earlier. The company said profits were $6.98 million...
The CRTC opened a consultation on purchases of radio broadcasting assets. My Broadcasting Corporation has applied to purchase CJMB-FM Peterborough, to obtain a broadcasting licence to operate an FM radio station serving Carleton...
More than half of Canadians are now smartphone users, according to a report released by Google Inc. The report, dated May 2013, found that smartphone penetration rose from 33 per cent in 2012 to 56 per cent this year. It also found that 79 per cent of smartphone owners won’t leave home without their devices, while two-thirds reported using them...
Toronto application developer Polar Mobile Group Inc. launched a new “native advertising platform” that will allow publishers using the company’s applications a greater ability to use targeted ads in their newsfeeds, the company said. In a release Monday, Polar Mobile said its new MediaVoice product allows users to integrate sponsored stories, videos, photos and “outbound content” into their content on Polar Mobile-built applications. MediaVoice will also allow those publishers to access real-time analytics of the ads’ performance, and to target users based on their location or other identifying features, the company said. It also facilitates easy integration of content across publishers’ mobile and desktop websites, the release said. Polar...
Watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting asked the federal cabinet to direct the CRTC to reconsider allowing CBC/Radio-Canada to air ads on its Radio 2 and Espace Musique radio channels. In an...
An rising number of anglophone Canadians are watching full TV programs over the Internet, Media Technology Monitor said in a new report. MTM, a joint research project between CBC/Radio-Canada and BBM Analytics, said in a July 25 report on video streaming that 28 per cent of anglophone Canadians watched a complete episode of a TV program online in March...
Google Inc. introduced a new device that will allow users to play video and audio files on their televisions while controlling the content and playing options through their mobile devices or computers. Google’s new Chromecast device, launched in the U.S. Wednesday and priced at $35 US, is capable of streaming online content on high definition TVs...
Corus Entertainment Inc. named Colin Bohm to run its children’s programming specialty services Nelvana Studios and Nelvana Enterprises, the broadcaster said. In a release Wednesday, Corus said it appointed Bohm as vice-president of television and head of its Corus kids division. The company...
Andrea Rosen, the CRTC’s chief compliance and enforcement officer, is retiring and leaving the commission at the end of September, Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said. Rosen, former deputy commissioner of the federal Competition Bureau, established the CRTC’s compliance and enforcement...
Mobile providers Telus Corp. and Bragg Communications Inc. could pay higher prices to access TV content on wireless devices following a mobile TV rights deal announced last week between BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., said Janet Lo, legal counsel at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre...
Rogers Communications Inc.’s operating revenue rose slightly to $3.2 billion for the second quarter of 2013 from $3.1 billion at the same time last year. The company released its second quarter financial results Wednesday, reporting profits of $532 million from $413 million during the same period a year ago. The...
The CRTC approved foreign specialty channels TV Naija, Afrotainment Music HD, Afrotainment HD and Africa Box Office for distribution in Canada. Soundview Entertainment Inc., located in Mississauga, Ont., had applied to the CRTC to bring the U.S. channels into Canada, and in regulatory documents filed in March, competitor Afromedia Communications Inc....
Waterloo, Ont.-based startup WestonExpressions Inc. launched a device that turns televisions and digital signs into displays that customers can interact with by tapping their smartphones to buy products, or receive coupons, apps or games, the company said. In a release Tuesday, WestonExpressions said the new device “gives displays the ability to understand when a consumer is walking by, looking at or interacting with a smartphone which triggers different content to appear based on the consumer’s level of interest.” It said customers who pre-order the device in advance of its release this fall will receive the device and two months of service for $99....
Canadian consumers need incentives to make the switch to environmentally friendly electronic bills, SaskTel said in response to CRTC questions about telcos' charges for paper billing. SaskTel, a provincial Crown...
CBC/Radio-Canada refused to air television ads that criticize a new federal law that undermines the public broadcaster’s independence from government, watchdog group the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting said. In a release Monday, Friends said CBC refused to air the ads, commissioned by Friends, because they were critical of a part of Bill C-60...
Paula Gignac is the new global chief marketing officer at marketing company Exchange Lab Inc. The new role is effective immediately, and Gignac will be “responsible for defining and leading the company's global marketing objectives and strategy, while working hand in hand with both global and country general managers and marketing teams to localize and implement it,” a release said. She will also...
The CRTC temporarily suspended its final offer arbitration process for a carriage dispute between BCE Inc. and Quebecor Media Inc. to give the companies more time to negotiate a deal. In March,...
Quebecor Media Inc. subsidiary Groupe TVA purchased Les Publications Charron & Co. Inc., which owns magazine La Semaine. In a release Thursday, Groupe TVA said the acquisition is part of the company's strategy to remain a market leader in magazine publishing in Quebec. Claude J. Charron, head of the magazine company, said in a statement he is retiring. The release did not disclose a purchase price....
Apple Inc. acquired Locationary Inc., a Toronto startup that focused on location data, the Canadian Press reported. CP reported Friday that Apple confirmed the acquisition, though it would not say how much it paid or why it bought the company. According to its website, Locationary uses “revolutionary real-time blending technology that can merge...
BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. have reached a deal to license rights to each other’s sports and over-the-air television content for distribution on their mobile platforms, the companies said. In a release Friday,...
Regional B.C. cableco Coastline Broadcasting Ltd. has reached a deal to acquire Teliphone Corp.’s Internet protocol television (IPTV) assets, Teliphone said. Teliphone, a Teliphone Navigata-Westel Inc. subsidiary that offers home phone, Internet and other digital services, said in a release Friday that Coastline will use the IPTV assets to expand its own IPTV service. It said Coastline currently serves about 800...
Canadian media sector, watch out. Shelly Glover’s path to cabinet included a 19-year career with the Winnipeg police, which at times involved going undercover as a sex trade worker, raiding crackhouses and investigating gangs. The Manitoba MP worked as a patrol officer and spokeswoman for the...
BCE Inc. division Bell Media has a new organizational structure for its sales division, the company said in a release Tuesday. The re-organization follows the company’s acquisition of the former Astral Media Inc. The Wire...
Newcap, owned by Newfoundland Capital Corp., is selling its radio broadcasting licence for Fort McMurray’s CHFT-FM to Harvard Broadcasting Inc., Newcap said in a release. "This was a unique situation in a market where...
Quebecor Media Inc. is asking the CRTC to review the definition of “indeterminate contracts” in its wireless code to “level the playing field” in Quebec’s wireless market, said Serge Sasseville,...
The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) reached a tentative deal with CBC/Radio-Canada on two new collective bargaining agreements for CBC’s English-language TV and radio services, the groups said. The agreements, effective Sept....
Corus Entertainment Inc. outlined changes to its executive team as it prepares to more closely align its television and radio businesses, the company said. In a release Tuesday, Corus said it will appoint Doug Murphy as the company’s new executive vice-president and chief financial officer, effective Sept. 1. Murphy, currently the company’s executive vice-president and president of Corus Television, will report to Corus CEO John Cassaday, the company said. According to the release, Corus will make other changes to its executive leadership team, primarily by adding responsibilities to existing executives’ portfolios. “The changes capitalize on our strengths and streamline decision-making across our Television and Radio businesses, as we prepare for the integration of our new assets, and grow the Corus brand in Canada...
