Regulatory approval of Corus Entertainment Inc.'s planned purchase of Shaw Communications Inc.'s media division shouldn't be a problem since there's no real change in who's controlling the assets, said one consultant, though there is some question as to how tangible benefits will apply in this deal. As a condition of approving acquisitions in the broadcasting industry, the CRTC generally requires the purchasing company to contribute a proportion of the value of the sale toward initiatives that benefit the broadcasting sector. For transactions in the TV industry, that...
The CRTC is proposing a new fund to support local TV news programming, which would be funded by existing financial resources within the broadcasting system. The proposal was included a paper released Tuesday, which will be used as a basis for discussion at an eight-day hearing on local and community television that begins Jan. 25. The commission said in the document that it "remains convinced that there is sufficient funding within the broadcasting system to ensure the creation of quality local programming, including local news coverage tailored to the particular characteristics of each...
The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) said in a press release Friday it will be responsible for administering the CRTC's new television service provider code of conduct. The new TV code, which...
Television service providers have another 20 months before they are forced to abide by a new code governing their relationship with customers. The CRTC on Thursday released a finalized version of its television service provider...
The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) said Thursday that most cable community TV channels do not meet CRTC standards for operating a community TV channel,...
New CRTC regulatory changes from the Let’s Talk TV decisions could lead to a loss of more than 15,000 Canadian jobs and take $1.4 billion from the Canadian economy annually by 2020, according to a new report released Tuesday...
Ericsson AB announced Thursday that it has renewed its agreement with Eastlink to expand and upgrade its LTE and HSPA networks, as well as continue to be the exclusive supplier for radio access network equipment for another three years. It said in the press release that the renewed agreement will allow Eastlink to provide its customers with a suite of services that will include bundling options with TV, Internet and landline phone services. It added that LTE and HSPA expansion will be deployed through new routers that will provide operators with “highly scalable, consolidated platform...
In a survey of Canadian adults, 57 per cent said they are most likely to notice an advertisement while watching TV, compared to 13 per cent who said they were most likely to do so while listening to the radio and only two per cent...
Netflix Inc. is re-encoding its entire library of content in order to provide customers with a better experience for watching content while using less bandwidth to process it. The company said in a blog Monday that the...
Cogeco Cable Inc.’s Canadian cable division has appointed Daniel Boisvert as vice-president of marketing and innovation, and Antoine Shiu as vice-president of business solutions sales, it said...
Blue Ant Media Inc. announced Monday it has partnered with Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between CBS Corp.’s Showtime and the Smithsonian Institution, to create Blue Skye Entertainment,...
Yahoo Inc. announced Thursday the launch of its Yahoo Video Guide mobile app for customers in the United States to search for video content across multiple services they have installed on their devices. The company said in a blog...
The Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) announced Friday it has agreed on terms for a new three-year agreement with the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC). It said in a press release that the renewed agreement, which will...
The CRTC on Friday approved requests from BCE Inc. to delete many genre-related terms on its licences for three different specialty channels, but it was denied in all three instances its requests that...
Canadian millennials, defined as individuals aged 18 to 34, spend 31.8 hours a week on the Internet and are more likely to watch TV and video content online than those aged 34 and above, who...
DHX Media Ltd. announced Thursday it has been commissioned by BBC’s children's broadcasting arm, CBBC, in the U.K. to produce two seasons of Airmageddon, a new TV show for kids that features competitive radio-controlled drone flying. It said in a press release that the show will be produced by DHX in collaboration with U.K.-based Conceive Media Ltd., and added that DHX will be responsible for distribution and licensing of the show in Canada and globally. The show will air on CBBC in the new year, and in Canada on DHX's Family CHRGD channel in the spring. ...
The CRTC denied an application from Ethnic Channels Group Ltd. Wednesday to amend the exemption order for discretionary TV services serving fewer than 200,000 subscribers in order for third-language...
Amazon.com Inc. announced Tuesday it is launching an over-the-top (OTT) streaming subscription program for video providers to reach out to Amazon Prime members, and will also allow Prime members to add other video subscription...
Subscribers to BCE Inc.’s TV services will pay more for CraveTV starting in February, though the company isn’t saying how much customers who get the streaming service through other TV-service providers, or those...
DHX Media Ltd. announced Tuesday it has signed a five-year deal with DreamWorks Animation LLC to produce, broadcast and distribute content across several channels. DHX said in the press release that it will be co-producing 130...
The use of data analytics to build a global audience steered much of the discussion around content discoverability at an event hosted by the CRTC in collaboration with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). The panel of experts at Tuesday's event in Vancouver, held as part of the lead-up to the CRTC's Discoverability Summit, said industry should look at discoverability from a global perspective rather than focusing only on Canada. “Companies should start reaching out to audiences globally. Don’t just think about driving people into your own flagship store...
OTTAWA — Canada's major TV service providers argued before the Copyright Board of Canada on Monday that they should pay less for distant-TV signals because these channels are losing value as...
OTTAWA — David Purdy, senior vice-president of content at Rogers Communications Inc., said Monday that he will leave the company and that an official announcement will be issued later this week. Purdy told the Copyright Board of Canada, during a hearing to set the royalty rates that TV...
As the Canadian TV industry approaches an era where customers have more choice over the channels they subscribe to, large broadcasters should “pick their winners” and consolidate into a...
Blue Ant Media Inc.’s international division announced Friday it has made sales of more than 175 hours of content from its catalogue of factual, factual entertainment, nature and wildlife, lifestyle and documentary series to...
Blue Ant Media Inc.’s international division announced Tuesday in a press release that it has signed a multi-year, exclusive distribution deal with Cream Productions Inc., an international factual content creator based in...
When Channel Zero Inc. announced the launch of its Bloomberg TV Canada channel this week, it listed every TV-service provider that was carrying it and absent from that list was Canada's biggest provider of TV service. Channel...
Blue Ant Media Inc. on Wednesday announced several changes to its leadership team, including the appointment of Jamie Schouela to the newly created position of executive vice-president of Canadian networks. Blue Ant said in a...
Telus Corp. and Cogeco Cable Inc. have filed their opposition to BCE Inc.'s attempt to fight, before the Federal Court of Appeal, the CRTC's wholesale code governing relationships between television stations and TV-service...
Seven out of every 10 Canadian between the ages of 18 and 34 have a subscription-TV service in their home, while that proportion is 87 per cent for those 35 and older, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitoring (MTM), a project of CBC/Radio-Canada. It also found 19 per cent of millennials rely on the Internet for watching all of their TV content versus four per cent those who are older. MTM added that 37 per cent of millennials watch content on services provided by Netflix Inc., while that rate is 18 per cent for everyone older. The report noted that only 24 per cent of...
A group that previously battled MAtv, the community channel operated by Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, is telling the CRTC that MAtv is still violating the conditions of its licence months after a...
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. said Thursday that all of its TV customers will have access to BCE Inc.’s TSN GO and CTV GO mobile apps for free. MTS said in a press release that the apps are available through Apple...
The Television Bureau of Canada (TVB) announced Wednesday it has appointed Kathy Gardner to the newly created position of vice-president of media insights. TVB said in a press release that Gardner will oversee research and...
The Cable Public Affairs Channel (CPAC) announced Tuesday that Catherine Cano will become its new president and general manager. The privately-owned, not-for-profit television service said in a press release that Cano’s...
Third-quarter results indicate the mobile market has adjusted to the higher-priced, two-year contracts that became the norm after the CRTC implemented the wireless code in 2013, says Scotia Capital telecom analyst Jeff Fan. In a research note issued Monday evening, Fan said this assertion is based on data showing that, for the first time in three years, all the publicly traded wireless carriers in Canada combined reported higher net gains for postpaid customers than a year earlier. "We note that this was not driven by a shift from pre-paid because pre-paid net additions were also...
Ontario residents are not moving as fast toward newer ways of getting TV content, such as IPTV and Netflix, as other parts of the Canada, according to newly released figures. Survey results released last week from Media...
The CRTC on Friday made certain clarifications about the policy implemented early this year to prohibit providers of telecommunications services from requiring 30-days' notice of subscription...
Rogers Communications Inc. said Thursday it will launch a new 24-hour specialty channel aimed at millennials next year as part of its partnership with Vice Media Inc. It said in a press release that the new channel, called...
Quebecor Inc.'s third-quarter financial report showed the company is seeing strong gains in the areas of mobile service and its over-the-top streaming service, Club Ilico. The company said in a press release Thursday that...
Representatives from the Commission for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) told the CRTC Tuesday that making telecom companies' participation in the CCTS voluntary would affect the...
Rogers Communications Inc. announced Tuesday that its Sportsnet network had its highest viewership ever in October, highlighting that 21.1 million Canadians watched some part of the Major League...
The notion that "content is king" is challenged in a new report that points out that connectivity services take in significantly more revenue than content providers in Canada and have seen...
Mascon, a small telecom service provider in British Columbia, announced Monday that it is now offering a skinny-basic TV package for $20 a month, getting a head-start on the CRTC requirement that packages for no more than $25 a...
The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) announced Tuesday it is funding five productions that are part of its francophone minority program with $2.6 million. CMF said in a press release that the funding is part of the second round of financing that is part of the program to support productions that reflect living in French-language communities outside of Quebec. The five productions include a drama production, one documentary, two children’s and youth productions, and one variety and performing arts production, the release said. It added that one is from Manitoba and the rest are from...
The idea of a merger between Canada's two biggest cable providers — Shaw Communications Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. — is on the radar again, with at least two market analysts saying the conditions are right...
BCE Inc.'s Bell Media division has asked the CRTC to approve the disaffiliation of two TV stations it owns in British Columbia from CBC/Radio-Canada. Bell Media filed applications with the commission, which appeared online...
CBS Corp. has picked up CBC/Radio-Canada sitcom Mr. D and will be creating a U.S.-based version, according to an online report by Postmedia Network. Postmedia reported that Gerry Dee, the creator and star of the show that is...
Cogeco Cable Inc. reported higher revenue and profit numbers this week, with its U.S. operations bringing in substantially more money as it benefited from a favourable trend in the U.S.-dollar exchange rate. The company said in a...
The CRTC approved Wednesday an application from Corus Entertainment Inc. on behalf of OWN Inc., the Oprah Winfrey Network, to amend certain conditions of its broadcasting licence as well as its terms-of-trade agreement. The regulator said in the announcement that Corus had asked the CRTC to change the description of OWN from a national English-language specialty channel that provides formal and informal educational programming focusing on adult education, to a national English-language specialty channel that provides entertainment dedicated to women. It had also asked that a list of about a...
Yahoo Inc. said in its third quarter financial results that it incurred a $42 million US loss on its original TV video content. Ken Goldman, chief financial officer for Yahoo, said during an earnings conference call with analysts...
Canadian Netflix Inc. subscribers will be the only ones able to stream Walt Disney Co.'s Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2016. A Netflix representative confirmed in a phone call that the seventh installment, and latest...
Commissioner Raj Shoan has brought another case against the CRTC to court, asking the Federal Court of Appeal to limit the ability of the CRTC chairman to assign commissioners to panels that make...
The CRTC announced Friday that all telecom service providers (TSPs) that fall under the purview of the Commission for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) will remain CCTS members on an interim basis until final...
The Commissioner for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) said Thursday that VOIS! Inc., an Alberta-based telecom provider, has breached its regulatory obligations towards its customers. CCTS said in a press release that after an...
The CRTC denied Thursday a transfer of ownership application submitted by NMTV Inc., a national third-language general interest ethnic specialty channel. The application, which was filed on Aug. 1, requested the commission change...
Rogers Communications Inc. announced Thursday in its third quarter results it saw a 40 per cent increase in net income to $464 million, up from $332 million the previous year. It said that there was an increase in revenues for its wireless, cable and media divisions in the three months ending Sept....
Shaw Communications Inc. announced Thursday a 43.8 per cent increase in its fourth quarter profits. It said in its quarterly results that its net income for the three months ending Aug. 31 was up 43.8 per cent to $276 million, up...
Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc.’s Shomi announced Wednesday that it is partnering with Facebook Inc. to show the first episode of a three-part horror TV show on the social media site the same day it debuts on Shomi. The streaming service said in a press release that it is "the first time a Canadian entertainment company has run a full episode on Facebook." “We know our Shomi audience -and potential audience- is deeply engaged in social media and when they’re passionate about a great entertainment experience, they want to share it with their...
CBC/Radio-Canada said in a press release that it has secured the broadcasting rights for the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games and the 2024 Olympic Games. CBC will become the official broadcaster for the next five Olympic Games...
A telecom-market analyst says incumbent telecommunications-service providers would benefit under a Liberal government. Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan said in a research note released the Friday before Monday's election:...
Cogeco Cable Inc. announced Monday that its combined subsidiaries Cogeco Data Services and Peer 1 will be renamed Cogeco Peer 1. It said in the release that combining the two subsidiaries will help grow Cogeco’s enterprise...
Following Corus Entertainment Inc.’s announcement at MIPCOM, the global entertainment content conference, it said in a press release Monday that it has signed deals to distribute its original...
DHX Media Inc. announced Monday it has signed a deal with Turner Broadcasting System Inc. for the rights to the new TV show, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: The Series. It said in a press release that the show, which is based off of the movie with the same title, will be produced by DHX’s Teletoon in Canada in co-operation with Sony Corp. “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has a huge global fan-base following the successful movie franchise and we are confident that the equally whacky and wonderful TV series will resonate with children and families globally,” Josh...
Barclays Capital analyst Phillip Huang said in a research note Monday that, despite the uncertain outcome of this month's federal election, a significant change in policy with regard to...
Prices for TV subscriptions in the coming pick-and-pay era will be one of the main factors determining how over-the-top (OTT) video services are affected, say experts, noting that competitive pricing...
Rogers Communications Inc.’s OMNI TV announced Wednesday it will be broadcasting its first production of an original series on its channel. OMNI said in the release that the show, titled Blood and Water, will be a Chinese...
The CRTC on Thursday released a final version of its anticipated wholesale code governing the business relationships between TV-service providers and channel operators, which, among other things, bans provisions that would prevent...
Stingray Digital Group Inc. has launched a channel that it says is the first in North America to offer around-the-clock 4K content. The Stingray Ambiance channel is available through TV service offered by Quebecor...
Cogeco Cable Inc. announced Monday it has converted 15 local TV stations, part of its TVCogeco division, to high-definition (HD) quality. Cogeco said in a press release that the $5 million investment in upgrading the stations...
The BBC says it is planning to launch an over-the-top (OTT) video subscription service in North America next year. “Next year, we’re launching a new OTT video service in America, offering BBC fans programs they...
Altice SA, a France-based telecom and cable company, announced Thursday it has acquired Cablevision Systems Corp. for $17.7 billion US, making it the fourth largest cable operator in the U.S. market. Altice said in a press...
Cogeco Cable Inc. CEO Louis Audet said Tuesday he believes Canada's telecommunications regulators will come around to mandating access for mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), notwithstanding the CRTC's decision on the wholesale wireless market this year that featured few new provisions for this kind of operation. Audet was addressing the company's ongoing expansion of WiFi hotspots at the Bank of Montreal's media and telecom conference in Toronto, when the idea of using these facilities to provide mobile service came up. "If you have a WiFi strategy for a wireless...
The CRTC is asking whether maintaining a physical presence in an area is necessary to produce local programming and whether community-access TV is still relevant as part a proceeding on local and community television it announced...
Incognito Software Systems, a Vancouver-based provider of Internet account management services, announced Thursday a new line of services it says can save broadband providers millions of dollars by preventing fraud and finding...
Telecommunications and media have not been prominent issues in this year's federal election campaign, taking a backseat to things such as the Mike Duffy trial, the deficit and Syrian refugees. The Wire Report has made...
The CRTC approved Wednesday three applications from BCE Inc. to include various non-Canadian programming to the existing list of non-Canadian programming services and stations. For two of the applications, which were posted May...
Quebecor Inc. announced Wednesday that its Quebecor Media unit has bought 28.6 per cent of the stake in that division held by for Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ). It said in a press release that Quebecor Media purchased about 7.3 million common shares of Quebecor Media from CDPQ for $500 million. The shares were then cancelled. CDPQ is left with an 18.93 per cent interest in Quebecor Media, the company said. “This transaction continues the process announced in October 2012, when we introduced a plan to purchase the shares of Quebecor Media held by...
The Canadian Media Fund (CMF) said Monday that it provided $365.5 billion in funding for television and digital-media productions last year. That's up from $354.5 billion that it reported spending in the previous year's...
The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Quebec’s financial market regulator, said Thursday that it has uncovered an illegal insider-trading scheme involving a former BCE Inc. employee that allowed this...
DHX Media Inc. announced Wednesday it has signed six broadcasters globally to air a new BBC-commissioned TV show called Twirlywoos. DHX said in a press release that the new channels include Lagardère in France, which will...
CBS Corp. and Cablevision Systems Corp. announced on Tuesday that CBS All Access and Showtime streaming services will be delivered to Cablevision’s Optimum Online customers as part of a...
The plunge in oil prices could end up hurting telecommunications service providers like Shaw Communications Inc. and Telus Corp., which have a high proportion of their business operations in Alberta, according to a Bay Street...
The tendency of major players in Canada's television industry to be involved in both content and distribution is helping the sector deal better with issues such as cord cutting and a declining...
Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization, announced Thursday that its famous children's series Sesame Street will air its next five seasons on Time Warner Cable Inc.’s HBO. The company said in a press...
The CRTC has given two more companies permission to provide television services to small audiences, even though it has technically denied their applications for licences. The commission said Thursday it has rejected an...
BCE Inc. says in a filing with the CRTC that it is not violating regulations by requiring customers to pay for various services by the month in advance and not providing partial refunds if subscriptions are ended before the paid-for period is finished. Bell made the filing last week in response to an application to the commission from Quebecor Inc. that claimed the practice violates both the wireless code and the CRTC's policy of banning the requirement of 30-days' notice of cancellation of telecommunications service. However, Bell said in a document filed in French that this...
A report from Boon Dog Professional Services Inc. released Wednesday said Canada's publicly traded TV-service providers lost six times as many subscribers in the first half of 2015 than in the...
The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) issued a decision Friday regarding a complaint made against Brama Telecom Inc., a Toronto-based company that provides wireless,...
Quebecor Inc. reported Thursday in its quarterly results a revenue increase, with $960.9 million in revenues, up from $893 million the previous year. President and CEO Pierre Dion said in the release the revenue increase was...
CBC/Radio-Canada announced Tuesday that more than 22 million Canadians watched some part of the Pan Am Games that aired from July 10-26. The public broadcaster said in a press release that nearly 2.16 million Canadians tuned in...
The FCC announced Friday it has approved the merger of AT&T and cable- and satellite-TV provider DirecTV. FCC said in a press release that the terms of the merger between the largest U.S. telephone and Internet service provider and the largest U.S. satellite video provider will require the merged company to expand and deploy its services to 12.5 million customer locations, schools, and libraries. It also noted in the release that the companies are “prohibited from using discriminatory practices to disadvantage online video distribution services and will submit its Internet...
Rogers Communications Inc. said in its quarterly results that its revenues grew six per cent over the past year, from $3.2 billion to $3.4 billion. “Wireless revenue increased as a result of greater smartphone sales, higher network revenue from the continued growth in data use by our...
The CRTC is calling for comments regarding simultaneous substitution regulations. The regulator said in a notice of consultation Thursday that the comments would will help implement the policies it already made as part of its...
Stingray Digital Group Inc., a provider of music content through both traditional TV channels and streaming apps, announced Thursday it will acquire three TV music channels in order to expand its broadcast offerings. The...
The National Communications Federation (FNC-CSN) and the union representing Radio-Canada employees are criticising a recent report on the future of the CBC/Radio-Canada issued by the Senate’s transport and communications...
Distributel Communications Ltd. is expanding its high-speed cable Internet services to 29 more markets throughout Quebec. Some of new communities covered include Asbestos, Baie Comeau, Chelsea, Drummondville, Trois...
Cogeco Cable Inc. reported higher third-quarter earnings on Tuesday, attributing gains largely to its U.S. operations, which benefited from favourable terms when translating U.S. dollars to Canadian. The company said in a press...
“Sharp” price hikes in wireless service over the past year are prompting people to reduce how much they spend on other telecommunications services, according to a Conference Board of...
Companies spent $138.7 million on TV-related tangible benefits in Canada in the 12 months ended Aug. 31 last year, marking a 27 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to TV-industry research...
A new study conducted by Miner & Co. Studio. suggests watching regular cable TV is declining among kids in the United States, who would prefer to watch their favourite shows on a smartphone or tablet. The report released Monday noted that 57 per cent of parents surveyed said their children would prefer to watch shows on other devices because they are able to take the device anywhere, the devices have easy interfaces, and kids are able to watch and re-watch shows at any time. The sense of freedom and independence that children get when using a tablet or smartphone is another reason why 58...