TAGGED AS OTT
26% of Canadians access pirated content, new report shows
Media | 05/30/2018 6:16 pm EDT
A government-commissioned report is shedding light on the extent of copyright infringement in Canada, with data showing about a quarter of online Canadians consume infringing content, and 10 per cent report having received notice-and-notice letters — which led about a...
Historia, Series+ sale blocked in surprise move
Media | 05/28/2018 5:51 pm EDT
The Competition Bureau has blocked the $200 million sale of the Historia and Series+ channels from Corus Entertainment Inc. to BCE Inc., saying that the reasons that led the bureau to force Bell to divest the channels in the first place were still valid.
“The Bureau’s...
CraveTV price increases to help make up for advertising pressure: analyst
Media | 05/25/2018 3:53 pm EDT
Increasing prices for BCE Inc.’s CraveTV will help improve the...
Filipino company asks for set-top box sale shutdown in Ontario
Media | 05/14/2018 4:49 pm EDT
A media company from the Philippines is asking a Canadian court to put an...
Videotron says cord-cutting stable, eying IPTV to grow TV ARPU
Media | 05/09/2018 1:37 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron said it won’t force the migration of its...
NFB, Bell Media, V Media content coming to Tou.tv OTT service
Media | 05/08/2018 1:49 pm EDT
Three French-language broadcasters will make their content available on the...
Reality TV streaming service launching in Canada
Media | 05/02/2018 4:40 pm EDT
Hayu, a streaming service from Comcast Corp.'s NBC Universal focusing on reality TV programming, will launch in Canada.
The service said in a video on its website that Canadians would "soon" have access to 5,000 episodes of 150 shows, though it didn’t specify which...
CRTC rejects CUPE ask to pull digital media exemption
Media | 04/25/2018 4:45 pm EDT
The CRTC will not do anything about a Part 1 application filed by CUPE’s Provincial Council for Communications (CPSC) asking it to drop its regulatory exemptions for digital services because the arguments made in its Part 1 are...
CBS All Access launches early in Canada
Media | 04/23/2018 1:28 pm EDT
CBS Corp.’s All Access streaming service is now available in Canada, the company said in a press...
71% of households with Kodi can access unlicensed content: Sandvine
Media | 04/06/2018 2:50 pm EDT
The vast majority of households with Kodi in Canada have the software...
Corus plans TV ad tech test next month
Media | 04/05/2018 6:29 pm EDT
Corus Entertainment Inc. is “accelerating” its transformation into a more data-centric company, its...
New CEO’s content background indicates shift at CBC: experts
Media | 04/03/2018 5:19 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Catherine Tait’s appointment as head of CBC/Radio-Canada is...
Quebecor, cultural groups praise Que. budget digital sales tax
Media | 03/28/2018 4:01 pm EDT
The Quebec government’s 2018 budget, unveiled Tuesday, includes a measure...
In telecoms’ year-end, cord-cutting slows, wireline grows
Media | 03/21/2018 12:14 pm EDT
Canada’s publicly-traded telecoms lost fewer TV subscribers in 2017 than...
Radio-Canada asks broadcasters ‘to pool our strengths’ on OTT, content
Media | 03/16/2018 10:02 am EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada is in negotiations over opening up its French-language...
Videotron ‘full speed’ ahead on IPTV: Brouillette
Media | 03/14/2018 5:27 pm EDT
Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron is working on deploying its new IPTV service as quickly as possible, Manon Brouillette, CEO of the company’s telecom division, told analysts in a conference call Wednesday.
“We want to [get] to the market as fast as possible,” she said,...
Cybersecurity, LEO satellites, data on OTT services in federal budget
Media | 02/27/2018 4:21 pm EST
OTTAWA — The 2018 federal budget, released Tuesday afternoon, includes...
Data, programmatic ads benefit in telecoms’ media ownership: Moody’s
Media | 02/23/2018 12:53 pm EST
Data insights and programmatic advertising that could disrupt digital...
CBS All Access coming to Canada in June
Media | 02/16/2018 5:04 pm EST
CBS Corp.’s All Access streaming service is coming to Canada in June, the company’s president and CEO...
Get rid of digital media exemption, CUPE asks CRTC
Media | 02/16/2018 4:31 pm EST
CUPE’s Provincial Council for Communications (CPSC) in Quebec is calling on the CRTC to drop the rules that exempt digital over-the-top (OTT) services from the same regulations as traditional broadcasters, in a news release on...
Britbox officially launches in Canada
Media | 02/14/2018 4:30 pm EST
After hints Britbox was coming to Canada but with no specific date, the British television streaming service officially launched Wednesday.
The contract-free, $9-per-month subscription service teased its availability in Canada when it suggested on its website that it was...
Bell’s Snackable TV officially on the menu
Media | 02/05/2018 5:58 pm EST
BCE Inc.’s Bell Media has officially launched a free, ad-supported mobile app featuring video content...
Ad-supported VOD rising as OTT grips TV market
Media | 02/02/2018 6:54 pm EST
OTTAWA — More competition in the over-the-top (OTT) space is driving a trend of more ad-supported...
Joly cites confidentiality for redactions in Netflix ATIP request
Media | 02/02/2018 2:32 pm EST
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly faced questions this week about why a...
Canadian media industry still behind on data, conference hears
Media | 02/01/2018 7:57 pm EST
OTTAWA — The Canadian television industry is behind the curve when it...
Cross-industry coalition calls for website-blocking
Media | 01/29/2018 6:21 pm EST
A broad coalition made up of Canada’s largest telecoms and broadcasters, as well as groups representing...
Bell Media signs deal with Lionsgate, TMN Encore to become Starz
Media | 01/23/2018 11:26 am EST
BCE Inc.’s media division said Tuesday it has struck a deal...
Bell, Telus sign on to Ericsson’s TV platform
Media | 01/19/2018 2:53 pm EST
BCE Inc. said Thursday it has signed a deal with Ericsson AB to use its TV platform, following a similar...
BBC-ITV streaming service coming to Canada
Media | 01/15/2018 5:12 pm EST
Britbox, a streaming service showcasing British television, will be “coming soon to Canada,”...
As its TV ad revenue drops, Corus says ad tech is the future
Media | 01/10/2018 6:05 pm EST
Corus Entertainment Inc. executives emphasized their optimism about future plans in the advertising technology and programmatic ad space as the company reported quarterly results Wednesday that showed its television advertising revenues fell to the tune of four per cent in...
Rogers, CBC ink 7-year deal for HNIC NHL broadcast
Media | 12/19/2017 6:31 pm EST
Rogers Communications Inc. and CBC/Radio-Canada signed a seven-year sub-licensing deal for the...
CBC launches $5 a month premium OTT service
Media | 12/05/2017 4:20 pm EST
In a memo to its employees on Monday, CBC/Radio-Canada announced it has improved its over-the-top (OTT)...
Bell mulling advantages in prepaid wireless segment: CFO
telecom | 11/16/2017 4:35 pm EST
When it comes to the wireless industry’s torrid run of late, much of the...
Canadian classics released on YouTube
Media | 11/13/2017 1:14 pm EST
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) last week announced the release of hundreds of Canadian television and...
Amazon Fire TV stick launches in Canada
telecom | 11/07/2017 1:48 pm EST
Amazon.com Inc. is making available its Fire TV Stick Basic Edition plug-in streaming device available worldwide, including in Canada.
The device, which costs $49.99, “provides customers with access to popular content from multiple providers, including Amazon Prime...
Cell phone only households predict modern behaviour: MTM
telecom | 11/03/2017 4:21 pm EDT
Cell phone only households, meaning those that use only mobile phones and no landline, are growing across Canada and are a good indication of a series of modern habits, said a report published...
Live TV piracy to grow: Sandvine
Media | 11/02/2017 3:54 pm EDT
Piracy of live TV is expected to increase, according to Sandvine Corp., which says it poses...
Broadcast lobbying jumped ahead of Creative Canada release
Media | 10/24/2017 6:20 pm EDT
Creative organizations stepped up and added to a surge in lobbying activity...
57% of anglophones subscribe to OTT services: MTM
Media | 10/19/2017 5:41 pm EDT
Fifty-seven per cent of Canadian anglophones subscribe to over-the-top (OTT) streaming services, with Netflix Inc. as the strong leader, according to the latest report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM), a project of...
Government repeats no ISP tax in Heritage report review
Media | 10/18/2017 7:35 pm EDT
The federal government reiterated a previously held position that it will not implement taxes on internet service providers (ISP) in favour of Canadian content in a review of an earlier Heritage...
Corus focuses on content over broadcast with Historia, Séries+ sale
Media | 10/18/2017 6:16 pm EDT
Corus Entertainment Inc. announced Tuesday it is selling two...
Mobile video viewing at 70%: Ericsson report
Media | 10/12/2017 1:27 pm EDT
Today, approximately 70 per cent of consumers watch TV and video content on their smartphone devices, double the number from 2012, according to the eighth edition of Ericsson AB’s annual ConsumerLab TV and Media report. The...
NFL Sunday Ticket returns to broadcast TV with Dazn partnership
Media | 10/11/2017 6:16 pm EDT
Perform Group’s over-the-top (OTT) sports service Dazn is partnering with...
How big a threat are OTT sports services?
Media | 10/10/2017 5:55 pm EDT
Sports remains one of the last bastions of defence for traditional TV against a wave of over-the-top (OTT) services that continue to push audiences toward cord-cutting, though for now at least, they appear to form a stronger barrier in Canada than south of the border....
Quebec legislature votes to tax Netflix
Media | 10/04/2017 2:46 pm EDT
The Quebec national assembly voted Tuesday to impose provincial sales tax on foreign digital services,...
Netflix in 33% Que. households, Illico at 19%: report
Media | 10/03/2017 2:55 pm EDT
Just over half, or 53 per cent, of Quebec households with internet access watch streaming video services,...
Joly’s cultural policy continues drawing mixed reaction
Media | 09/29/2017 5:20 pm EDT
Various groups praised the promised investment in production and promotion...
Future reviews to determine much of DigiCanCon strategy: experts
Media | 09/28/2017 11:25 am EDT
OTTAWA — While the response to the long-awaited results of Heritage...
Dazn to refund customers after streaming issues
Media | 09/22/2017 4:18 pm EDT
After a rough first week, Perform Group’s sports streaming service Dazn will partially refund customers and offer a month of service for free.
The United Kingdom-based company said in an email to subscribers this week that it will be giving its monthly users $20 and...
Quebec ready to tax Netflix: culture minister
Media | 09/22/2017 3:55 pm EDT
If the federal government isn’t willing to impose taxes on foreign over-the-top (OTT) services, Quebec is willing to do so itself, Le Devoir quoted Quebec culture minister Luc Fortin as saying Thursday. He said Quebec would...
MHz Choice launches in Canada
Media | 09/20/2017 2:58 pm EDT
Streaming service MHz Choice, which exclusively features international productions, is now available in...
BQ criticizes Joly over OTT tax policy
Media | 09/19/2017 4:56 pm EDT
The Bloc Québécois has accused Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly of favouritism toward the likes...
Regulatory rejigs, cultural changes in store as Parliament resumes
Media | 09/18/2017 1:56 pm EDT
Everything old is new again when it comes to telecom and media issues...
Dazn admits launch ‘did not go as planned’
Media | 09/15/2017 2:40 pm EDT
Following problems streaming games on the first weekend of the National Football League (NFL) season that...
Cultural groups team up in push for Cancon regulations
Media | 09/14/2017 3:33 pm EDT
More than 30 cultural organizations have teamed up to call for the Canadian and Quebec governments to take action to “help the industry overcome the current difficulties” wrought by the digital...
Specialty film OTT service launches in Canada
Media | 09/08/2017 4:44 pm EDT
Filmatique, an over-the-top (OTT) service featuring international films, became available in...
Canadian cities interested in hosting 2nd Amazon HQ
Media | 09/07/2017 4:54 pm EDT
Amazon.com Inc. issued a request for proposals Thursday for North American cities interested in...
House of Cards arrives on Canadian TV
Media | 09/07/2017 4:29 pm EDT
Netflix Inc. original series House of Cards will broadcast on Channel Zero Inc.’s CHCH this fall, the company said in a press release Wednesday, calling the broadcast “a first for conventional television in North America.”
The French-language version of House of...
Smartphone streaming flat from last year: MTM
Media | 09/01/2017 10:00 am EDT
More than half of anglophones who own smartphones use the devices to stream audio content, according to a...
Major boxing fight shows PPV target for piracy
Media | 08/28/2017 5:39 pm EDT
Nearly three million viewers around the world watched the much-anticipated boxing match between Floyd...
Changes ahead for ‘use-it-or-lose-it’ as terms of trade expires
Media | 08/25/2017 5:06 pm EDT
While online discussion forums are rife with debate — and more often, complaints — about why Canadians can’t access popular American television shows legally online, Canadian content producers...
CMF, Germany partner for coproduction fund
Media | 08/23/2017 5:53 pm EDT
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and a German film funding and media business development body are setting up...
No immediate impact on Bell, Rogers from decision review: Desjardins
Media | 08/23/2017 3:02 pm EDT
The government’s move to order the CRTC to reconsider its May licence decision should have a neutral effect on BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. in the short to medium...
Skinny TV has room to grow: Macquarie
Media | 08/21/2017 11:52 am EDT
Skinny-basic uptake will only grow in Canada and that could spell bad news for broadcasters’ bottom lines in the future, according to Macquarie Capital Markets analyst Greg MacDonald. In a Monday note, MacDonald highlighted...
New OTT offerings pose threat to BDUs, opportunity for producers
Media | 08/17/2017 4:47 pm EDT
A proliferation of new streaming TV competition in Canada is set to benefit...
23% of Canadians say they’re likely to cut the cord: MTM
Media | 08/10/2017 4:23 pm EDT
The percentage of Canadians who reported being either likely or very likely to get rid of their TV service stood at 23 per cent in the spring of this year, according to a Media Technology Monitor...
Disney going it alone with planned streaming services
Media | 08/09/2017 5:17 pm EDT
Walt Disney Co. will end its partnership with Netflix Inc. and launch two of its own separate...
CBS All Access expanding into Canada
Media | 08/08/2017 4:24 pm EDT
CBS Corp. will launch its CBS All Access streaming service in Canada next year, the company said in a...
Kodi add-on host prepping for legal battle
Media | 08/02/2017 5:36 pm EDT
A Montreal man connected to a popular repository for Kodi add-ons, who was ordered by the Federal Court...
YouTube introducing new CanCon channel
Media | 07/31/2017 1:18 pm EDT
In a company first, Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube will begin specifically highlighting Canadian content on...
Dazn not too big a threat without hockey: Desjardins
Media | 07/24/2017 4:14 pm EDT
Without the digital rights to Canadian hockey teams’ games, there may not be much reason for panic among traditional TV providers with the entry of new over-the-top (OTT) provider Dazn into the Canadian market, according to...
New sports OTT service launches in Canada
Media | 07/20/2017 3:01 pm EDT
A streaming service focused on sports content, including National Football League (NFL) games, is now available in Canada.
The U.K.-based Perform Group’s Dazn is “the only place Canadians can access NFL Game Pass, which includes every live NFL game of the 2017...
Protect Canadian culture in new NAFTA: Council of Canadians
Media | 07/20/2017 12:03 pm EDT
The government must protect Canadian culture as it renegotiates the North...
TMN Go to offer downloads
Media | 06/29/2017 3:58 pm EDT
TMN Go, the TV-everywhere service from BCE Inc.’s media division, will begin allowing viewers to download content for offline viewing.
The service will be available to...
Time Warner programming heading to Snapchat
Media | 06/21/2017 12:38 pm EDT
Snap Inc. has teamed up with Time Warner Inc. to develop programming for the picture- and video-sharing app Snapchat, Time Warner said Monday. In a blog post, Time Warner announced a new “global partnership” that will see...
Canadians watching more movies online: MTM
Media | 06/19/2017 5:25 pm EDT
More anglophone Canadians are watching movies online, as the popularity of over-the-top (OTT) services continues, according to the latest Media Technology Monitor (MTM) report. The Thursday report by MTM, a project...
Committee’s ISP tax proposal a non-starter: PM
Media | 06/15/2017 4:29 pm EDT
OTTAWA — A House of Commons committee recommendation to expand the five-per-cent contribution broadcast distribution undertakings (BDUs) are required to make to the Canadian Media Fund to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) was dead on arrival Thursday, with both Prime...
Joly notes creator ‘anxiety’ over CRTC licence renewal decision
Media | 06/09/2017 4:52 pm EDT
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly acknowledged the “anxiety” members of...
‘Alternative video’ services more satisfying than pay TV: study
Media | 06/08/2017 3:10 pm EDT
Non-traditional TV subscribers, such as those who use over-the-top (OTT) services, are more satisfied than those with traditional pay-TV subscriptions, a new J.D. Power survey suggested. Customers...
Rogers targets gamers with new e-sports content, peering deals
Media | 05/25/2017 4:58 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc. has begun marketing itself as the Internet...
CBC must collaborate with OTT competition: Lacroix
Media | 05/23/2017 2:34 pm EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada’s president and CEO Hubert Lacroix said the Crown corporation’s competition comes...
Joly could reconsider OTT regs over Quebec: Desjardins
Media | 05/23/2017 2:27 pm EDT
Pressure from Quebec could lead Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly to consider imposing taxes on foreign over-the-top (OTT) services, according to Desjardins Capital Markets analyst Maher Yaghi....
Facebook partners with MLB for U.S. live streams
Media | 05/19/2017 5:33 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. will live stream 20 Major League Baseball (MLB) games this season on its social media...
Netflix to have Ont. ‘download zones’ for cottage season: CP
Media | 05/19/2017 4:43 pm EDT
Netflix Inc. is setting up “download zones” in certain areas in Ontario to help the data starved pre-load movies and TV shows onto their devices, according to a Canadian Press report. WiFi...
Licence decision could devastate Canadian production: WGC
Media | 05/16/2017 6:03 pm EDT
A day after the CRTC released its decision on broadcast licence renewals for large ownership groups, three organizations representing the country’s production sector said they are concerned the new...
Alt TV managed service, doesn’t violate CRTC rules: Cope
Media | 05/15/2017 5:45 pm EDT
MONTREAL — BCE Inc. has launched a new TV product hoping to appeal to a segment of the market that’s less likely to subscribe to traditional TV, which independent consultant Peter Miller says could face regulatory challenges over tied selling and its classification as an IPTV service.
Alt...
Verizon streaming deal for NFL game to include Canada
Media | 05/08/2017 10:02 pm EDT
Canadian viewers will get to watch a National Football League (NFL) game that will be played out of London, England, this fall after Verizon Communications Inc. purchased the streaming rights to the game. The one-game...
Bell to launch new TV service to combat cord-cutting
Media | 04/26/2017 7:04 pm EDT
BCE Inc. will introduce a new television service aimed at customers who have been turning away from traditional TV to online alternatives, president and CEO George Cope said on a conference call with analysts discussing the...
OTT revenues north of $970M by 2018: Convergence
Media | 04/20/2017 5:27 pm EDT
Annual subscription revenue from over-the-top (OTT) providers is estimated to be inching toward the billion-dollar mark in Canada, according to a new report from Convergence Consulting Group Ltd., which estimated a...
Joly to discuss promoting CanCon with Google, Facebook
Media | 04/11/2017 8:41 pm EDT
Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly will travel to California later this month to meet with representatives from Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc., her office has confirmed....
Trudeau meets with YouTube head
Media | 04/07/2017 4:29 pm EDT
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the CEO of Alphabet Inc.’s YouTube Thursday, and used the opportunity to express “his appreciation for Google and YouTube’s continued investment in Canada and looked forward to further collaboration,” according to a readout from the Prime Minister’s Office. The meeting in New York City with Susan Wojcicki also covered “a range of issues in relation to women’s empowerment, including how to promote women in business leadership,” the readout said....
10 web series get $2M from CMF
Media | 04/06/2017 9:13 pm EDT
Canada Media Fund (CMF) is providing $2 million for 10 web series as part of a pilot project. The organization said in a press release Thursday the funding is “the result of the pilot program the CMF had put in place to...
Amazon scores NFL deal, Canadian rights still under negotiation
Media | 04/05/2017 9:50 pm EDT
Amazon.com Inc. has secured the streaming rights to 10 Thursday Night Football games from the National Football League (NFL), according to a Wall Street Journal report. The deal is...
Verizon planning new online TV service: report
Media | 03/31/2017 8:39 pm EDT
Verizon Communications Inc. is working on delivering an online streaming television package this summer, according to Bloomberg. The report, published Thursday and citing anonymous sources, said the telecommunications...
Quebec union ‘disappointed’ budgets didn’t address taxation imbalance
Media | 03/29/2017 8:58 pm EDT
A Quebec union representing communications sector employees said it is disappointed with both the federal and provincial budgets, saying that in “both cases, no action has been taken to counter...
Sundance Now launches in Canada
Media | 03/24/2017 3:25 pm EDT
AMC Networks Inc. is making its Sundance Now over-the-top (OTT) service available in Canada. “Sundance Now launches with hand-selected and award-winning documentary, art-house and independent films from around the...
Affordable Internet carrot, legislation review in federal budget
Media | 03/22/2017 8:54 pm EDT
OTTAWA — With a focus on the digital economy, the federal government will start looking beyond geography to bridge the digital divide in Canada, adding new funding to encourage Internet Service...
TV subscriber losses steady, wireless adds at record high in 2016
telecom | 03/16/2017 9:10 pm EDT
Following a year in which cord-cutting increased sharply, the trend seems to have levelled out somewhat in 2016, with Canada’s publicly traded telecoms losing 220,990 TV subscribers, compared to...
Video game streaming revenue to double by 2021: Juniper
Media | 03/14/2017 5:05 pm EDT
Global revenue from streaming e-sports and video game content will nearly double four years from now, according to Juniper Research, which projected total revenues from video game streaming...
CPC leadership contenders outline views on media, telecom issues
Media | 03/09/2017 9:51 pm EST
On May 27, members of the Conservative Party of Canada will select who will succeed former prime minister Stephen Harper as permanent leader of the party, relieving interim Opposition leader Rona Ambrose of her caretaker duties. Fourteen people are in the running for the party’s top job, with an eye to becoming the country’s next prime minister following the 2019 election. The Wire Report reached out to all of the candidates for their positions on telecom and media issues and received emailed responses from five: Chris Alexander, Maxime Bernier, Michael Chong, Pierre Lemieux...