Mark Slone to head CAFDE
Media | 05/11/2017 5:45 pm EDT
Mark Slone has been elected president of The Canadian Association of Film Distributors and Exporters. The lobby group announced the election of Slone, who is currently Entertainment One Ltd.’s executive vice-president of theatrical distribution and marketing, in a Thursday press release. This year “is promising to be an exciting year of opportunity for Canadian content feature films, with the Cancon consultations coming to a close and Canadian Heritage putting in place policy based on these consultations,” Slone said in the release. Slone, who was previously vice-president of CAFDE, is succeeding Victor Loewy, who remains with the organization. The new president has over 20 years of industry experience and previously held a position as senior vice-president of acquisition at Alliance Films Inc., the...
Appeal court rules ISPs can’t charge for disclosing customer info
Media | 05/11/2017 4:15 pm EDT
The Federal Court of Appeal has granted Voltage Pictures LLC its appeal challenging the costs Rogers Communications Inc. was asking for to disclose customer information in a copyright infringement case, which could increase the incentive copyright holders have for these kinds of cases. In a ruling Tuesday, justices of the appeal court determined that a lower court erred in allowing Rogers to charge $100 per hour per, plus taxes, to disclose the name...
Telus to support e-prescription platform
telecom | 05/11/2017 12:08 pm EDT
Telus Corp.’s ehealth division will develop and operate a Canada-wide tool for doctors to send prescriptions electronically, the digital health-care organization behind the service announced Thursday. In a press release,...
Price most critical factor when choosing telecom services: report
telecom | 05/10/2017 9:01 pm EDT
Telecom service subscribers who consider switching providers but ultimately don’t follow through are generally waylaid by it being too much of...
DHX shells out for Peanuts
Media | 05/10/2017 4:38 pm EDT
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and Peppermint Patty are joining Halifax-based DHX Media Ltd.’s stable of properties, as the company announced Wednesday its bid to acquire the Peanuts brand from an American management company. The deal with Iconix Brand Group Inc. includes an...
CCSA heads to the Hill to talk Wholesale Code, rural broadband
telecom | 05/09/2017 6:39 pm EDT
OTTAWA — The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) is hoping to build on what it calls a successful round of lobbying the federal government a year ago to have its concerns and ideas integrated...
Smartphone penetration at 80% among anglophones: MTM
Media | 05/09/2017 5:42 pm EDT
The number of anglophone Canadians who have smartphones climbed up to 80 per cent in the fall of 2016 from 77 per cent a year earlier, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM). At the same time, the percentage of anglophones who specified they had basic phones dropped from 11 per cent to eight per cent over that time. “Although they are still available for purchase, the vast majority of Anglophones are opting to get a smartphone when getting a new phone,” the report said. Half of anglophone smartphone owners now use their devices to stream music,...
Bell MTS to cut up to 85 jobs in Manitoba
telecom | 05/09/2017 5:31 pm EDT
BCE Inc. is looking to shed up to 85 jobs in Manitoba due to redundancy following its acquisition of Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. “We are offering a voluntary retirement program that provides eligible employees with the...
CRTC headquarters closed due to flooding
Media | 05/09/2017 2:43 pm EDT
The CRTC’s offices in Gatineau, Que., remained shut down for a second day Tuesday due to flooding in the area, according to the commission’s website. Among the releases the regulator was scheduled to issue...
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...
Lab to play ‘transformative’ role in wireless spectrum: Bains
Media | 05/08/2017 8:56 pm EDT
OTTAWA — The future of wireless spectrum in Canada won’t be about who holds the largest amount of it, but rather who wields it in the...
Bell touts good relationship with PMO: Barclays
telecom | 05/08/2017 7:58 pm EDT
BCE Inc. believes the company currently has a “good working relationship” with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), according to a note from Barclays Capital analyst Phillip Huang, written following meetings...
Partial sale would bring benefits to SaskTel: Desjardins
telecom | 05/08/2017 6:53 pm EDT
The sale of a stake in Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. would help the crown corporation when it comes to adopting new technologies, according to Desjardins Capital Markets...
David McGovern moves to ISED
telecom | 05/08/2017 5:21 pm EDT
The former deputy national security advisor to the prime minister has been appointed to a position in the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), effective Monday. David McGovern will become...
CRTC grants two new radio licences
Media | 05/05/2017 7:48 pm EDT
The CRTC has approved two applications for new radio broadcasting licences, for a community FM station in Kingston, Ont., and a commercial ethnic FM station in Toronto. It granted an application for the Toronto station to a...
Nitin Kawale leaves Rogers
telecom | 05/05/2017 3:15 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc.’s Nitin Kawale is leaving his position as president of the company’s enterprise business division. “Nitin Kawale has decided to move on from Rogers and focus on his philanthropic and community activities,” Sarah Schmidt, Rogers’ director of media relations said in an emailed statement. “We thank him for his contributions to our enterprise business.” Kawale started at Rogers in December 2014. He was previously president of Cisco Systems Inc.’s Canadian division for six years. Rogers’ appointment of Kawale was part of a strategic shift by former CEO Guy Laurence, who reorganized the company to have enterprise- and consumer-focused divisions. ...
Shoan vows court challenge of second dismissal from CRTC
Media | 05/05/2017 2:41 am EDT
Raj Shoan, the CRTC’s regional commissioner for Ontario who was fired again just four days after a return to his post, said he will be heading back to court to challenge the second...
Rob Farina given expanded radio role
Media | 05/04/2017 9:01 pm EDT
Rob Farina will take on the role of head of radio content, strategy and iHeartRadio for BCE Inc.’s media division, the company announced in a Thursday press release. The position, effective May 29, will...
Cultural exemptions at risk in NAFTA renegotiations: Nantel
Media | 05/04/2017 8:42 pm EDT
NDP heritage critic Pierre Nantel is raising the alarm that cultural protection could be on the chopping block if a wholesale renegotiation of the country’s trade agreement with the United States and Mexico occurs, and is asking the heritage minister to take a stand. In an opinion piece published in French-language...
Competition Bureau shouldn’t compel market studies: C.D. Howe
telecom | 05/04/2017 8:34 pm EDT
Granting the Competition Bureau additional powers to compel businesses to provide information for market studies “could result in significant costs for Canadian businesses,” according to...
Illegal streaming on Kodi boxes in 6% of households: Sandvine
Media | 05/04/2017 8:10 pm EDT
A new report from broadband equipment maker Sandvine Corp. says about six per cent of households in North America “currently have a Kodi device configured to access unlicensed content.” Overall ownership of the boxes sits at 8.8 per cent, the report said. It noted that because the boxes don’t come with any content, and it is up to the user to configure them, “it’s best to view Kodi as a piece of software in the same way that we think of web browsers and other media players.” The report said that 68.8 per cent of those boxes are used for...
CBC privatization bill dies in House
Media | 05/04/2017 8:04 pm EDT
A private member’s bill to privatize CBC/Radio-Canada met a decisive defeat Wednesday night, after members of Parliament voted 260-6 to send it to the legislation graveyard. Saskatchewan MP and Conservative Party...
Big three haven’t met with minister about SaskTel sale: report
Media | 05/03/2017 9:41 pm EDT
Canada’s big three wireless providers have not spoken with the minister for Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. about the potential partial sale of the company, even though last week he said he met with a major telecom, according to a Tuesday Regina Leader-Post report. SaskTel Minister Dustin...
Net neutrality issues will re-emerge with IoT: MEI
telecom | 05/03/2017 9:04 pm EDT
The growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) will force a new perspective on net neutrality and zero-rating, a report from the Montreal Economic Institute argues. “The development of the Internet of Things will bring to the...
Privacy proponents point to problems with connected cars
telecom | 05/02/2017 7:19 pm EDT
Connected cars “raise significant privacy concerns,” Vincent Gogolek, executive director of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association, told a Senate committee Tuesday....
Nat’l security committee recommends status quo for lawful access
telecom | 05/02/2017 7:11 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Members of a House of Commons committee studying Canada’s national security framework said they weren’t compelled to increase the ability of law enforcement to obtain...
Shoan back to work following CRTC reinstatement
Media | 05/02/2017 5:29 pm EDT
Raj Shoan, the once-former CRTC commissioner, returned to work Monday, following a 10-month gap in his role as the regional representative for Ontario. As Shoan put it in a statement issued over the weekend, his tenure was...
Valery Zamuner appointed VP of mergers and acquisitions at Stingray
Media | 05/02/2017 5:11 pm EDT
Stingray Digital Group Inc. has named Valery Zamuner to the position of senior vice-president of mergers, acquisitions and strategic initiatives, effective May 23. “With her...
Twitter to host 24/7 Bloomberg stream
Media | 05/01/2017 9:20 pm EDT
Twitter Inc. and Bloomberg LP have come to an agreement that will see the financial news outlet provide round-the-clock streaming content for the social media platform as part of 12 streaming deals...
SaskTel minister confirms discussions about partial sale
telecom | 05/01/2017 8:22 pm EDT
Saskatchewan's minister for Saskatchewan Telecommunications Holding Corp. said last week the government met with a major Canadian telecom company to discuss a partial sale of the province's telecom company, but no formal offer was made, according to a Regina Leader-Post report. Minister Dustin Duncan told a legislative committee on Wednesday that his chief of staff met with the unidentified potential suitor's representative and told them about Bill 40, which opens the door for 49 per cent of SaskTel to be sold off to private investors without privatizing the...
U.S. court declines to rehear net neutrality appeal
telecom | 05/01/2017 8:11 pm EDT
A U.S. appeal court said Monday it won’t reconsider an appeal of the Federal Communication Commission’s (FCC) net neutrality rules. In July 2016, CTIA-The Wireless Association asked the court to...
Shaw looking to sell ViaWest: report
telecom | 05/01/2017 7:31 pm EDT
Shaw Communications Inc. wants to sell its ViaWest data centre division, according to a Reuters report, a move analysts had been predicting would help it focus on its wireless business. Shaw bought the...
Use of AI will bring benefits to telecoms, but also risks
Media | 05/01/2017 5:22 pm EDT
Artificial intelligence is a tool telecoms will increasingly use to manage networks and enhance various products, but its susceptibility to hacking will also pose big security-related concerns,...
Shoan wins appeal of CRTC dismissal; judge sends decision for reconsideration
Media | 04/29/2017 12:23 am EDT
Raj Shoan was denied procedural fairness when he was fired from his job as the CRTC’s regional commissioner for Ontario last summer, three years into a five-year term, a Federal Court justice...
Gov’t info requests to Facebook fall in second half of 2016
Media | 04/28/2017 8:41 pm EDT
Facebook Inc. received 773 requests for customer information from Canadian law enforcement and government agencies in the second half of 2016, down from 1,004 requests in the first half of the year. The company said in its Global Government Requests report, released Thursday, that figure included 477 emergency requests and 296 legal process requests. They involved a total of 1,041 accounts and Facebook produced data in 84.5 per cent of the requests. It also received 1,333 preservation requests — that is, requests to “preserve account records in connection...
Digital platforms open to cultural diversity message: Joly
Media | 04/28/2017 8:29 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly said she found a receptive audience for her message of cultural diversity on digital platforms among the executives of the digital media giants she...
AI, 5G, rural broadband funding in Ont., N.S. budgets
Media | 04/27/2017 9:27 pm EDT
The Ontario government said it will support the latest technologies in the coming years, with funding for artificial intelligence and 5G networks included in its 2017 budget. Finance Minister Charles Sousa tabled Ontario’s...
CRTC issues first non-telemarketing fine to telecom
telecom | 04/27/2017 8:44 pm EDT
A $15,000 fine imposed on VOIS Inc. Thursday marks the first time the CRTC has fined a telecom under the Telecommunications Act for not complying with a regulatory requirement “not related to...
Quality of service regime needed for wholesale Internet: CNOC
telecom | 04/27/2017 6:51 pm EDT
Small Internet service providers (ISPs) and advocacy groups are asking the CRTC to put in place protections regarding the quality of service they and their customers receive when buying wholesale...
Virgin Mobile leads in wireless customer satisfaction: study
telecom | 04/27/2017 4:40 pm EDT
Good customer service goes hand-in-hand with price as a popular reason customers pick their wireless service provider, according to a new J.D. Power study released Thursday. When asked why they...
CRTC to launch women-in-production talks
Media | 04/27/2017 4:33 pm EDT
The CRTC will explore the topic of generating more participation of women in media production, according to Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais. Speaking at the annual awards gala for Women in Communications and...
Sirius privatization plan gets final OK from CRTC
Media | 04/26/2017 8:37 pm EDT
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. received the final nod required in its bid to privatize, with the CRTC granting its approval Wednesday for the transaction it said was worth $479 million. The deal is in the public...
FCC head outlines plans for Open Internet rejig
telecom | 04/26/2017 7:58 pm EDT
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will introduce a proposal next month for a new plan to replace the existing Open Internet order, also referred to as Title II, Chairman Ajit Pai said Wednesday. Speaking at an...
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 company’s first quarter earnings. “On the IPTV side…[we’re] clearly seeing a maturing, as our footprint expansion is not as aggressive as it has been in the past, and absolutely seeing some of the … [over-the-top] substitution,” Cope said on the call Wednesday. He added the company would “address the OTT substitution market...
Shaw, Corus closing 3 community TV stations, shifting to Global
Media | 04/26/2017 6:06 pm EDT
Shaw Communications Inc. and Corus Entertainment Inc. will close three Shaw local TV stations in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary, and redistribute the annual funding to Global News...
Canadian music streaming brings in $128M US: report
Media | 04/26/2017 5:43 pm EDT
Canada has become the world’s sixth-largest market for recorded music, according to a new report from the International Federation for the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The group’s 2017 Global Music Report said...
11th domestic Internet exchange point opens in Moncton
telecom | 04/26/2017 4:29 pm EDT
Atlantic Canada is gaining a second Internet exchange point (IXP), in Moncton, N.B., the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) announced in a Wednesday press release. The Moncton...
Rogers buying Vancouver station for Sportsnet brand
Media | 04/25/2017 6:14 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc. said Tuesday it intends to purchase a Vancouver radio station from Newcap Inc., adding it to its stable of all-sports stations. In a press release, the company said the transaction...
Cyber security costs to outpace spending by 2022: Juniper
telecom | 04/25/2017 5:04 pm EDT
Global cyber security spending is expected to reach almost $135 billion by 2022, but that will be dwarfed by losses due to security and data breaches, according to a new report by Juniper Research. Spending will increase on a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent from $93 billion this year, Juniper predicted. However, by 2022, that $135 billion in spending will be a fraction of the $8 trillion in fines, lost business and other costs associated with security breaches, Juniper said in the Tuesday report. “The cultural change required in many organisations to invest...
CRTC consulting on broadband funding regime
telecom | 04/25/2017 4:20 pm EDT
The CRTC is asking for input on the $750-million fund for improving broadband service it first announced in December as part of its basic service decision. The project will be funded by repurposing the existing local service...
Telus investing $80 million in Quebec fibre network
Media | 04/24/2017 8:50 pm EDT
Telus Corp. announced Monday a new investment of $80 million in its fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in Quebec. It said in a French-language press release that the investment would affect almost 20 communities in...
Canadian, int’l satellite providers at odds on NGSO licensing
telecom | 04/24/2017 8:26 pm EDT
Canadian satellite companies are asking Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) to ensure a level playing field with their international competition when it comes to the licensing...
Sirius ordered to make up $300K CanCon contribution shortfall
Media | 04/24/2017 7:04 pm EDT
Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc. has to pony up more than $300,000 to make up a deficit in its Canadian content development contributions, the CRTC said. In a letter dated April 5, the regulator...
CCSA leads March lobbying pack
Media | 04/21/2017 8:39 pm EDT
The Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) led the telecom field for lobbying the federal government in March, logging 15 communication reports for the month, according to the federal lobbyists’ registry. Those...
Telus intros $20, no contract IPTV service
Media | 04/21/2017 7:13 pm EDT
Telus Corp. has quietly launched an IPTV service that will allow subscribers to watch live TV and on-demand content for $20 a month with no contract. The box itself, which is powered by Alphabet Inc.’s Android,...
Telecoms to compete on service after zero-rating decision: analysts
Media | 04/21/2017 4:11 pm EDT
The CRTC’s decision Thursday to ban most forms of zero-rating means telecoms will have to rely on service in order to stand out from the competition, analysts said. The...
Int’l broadcasters team up for export portal
Media | 04/21/2017 4:04 pm EDT
CBC/Radio-Canada is leading a collaboration between public broadcasters and other media distributors to boost video exports via a new online platform, it said Tuesday. The platform, called Panora.tv “aims to...
CRTC effectively bans most zero-rating in differential pricing decision
Media | 04/20/2017 8:04 pm EDT
As the CRTC banned most forms of differential pricing practices Thursday — including declaring that telecoms can’t pick and chose Internet content to zero-rate and ordering Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron to stop offering its Unlimited Music service — Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais suggested the move levels the playing field between small and large telecoms and content providers and their customers. While noting that though there were Unlimited Music subscribers who...
Gatineau says it can’t reach access agreement with telecoms
telecom | 04/20/2017 6:21 pm EDT
The city of Gatineau, Que., is turning to the CRTC to approve its municipal access agreement after BCE Inc., Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, Rogers Communications Inc., Telus...
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...
Telus to offer WiFi in Montreal’s Old Port
telecom | 04/20/2017 5:25 pm EDT
Telus Corp. said Thursday it will provide free WiFi in Montreal’s Old Port as part of a 20-year agreement “to equip the historic site with the latest next-generation wireless technology.” The company...
Bell claims first launch of quad band LTE-A in North America
telecom | 04/20/2017 4:39 pm EDT
BCE Inc. said it is now the first carrier on the continent to have the capability of delivering quad band LTE-advanced service. “Also known as 4-carrier aggregation, Quad Band...
Scant evidence to oppose HPODs in 5GHz: telecoms
telecom | 04/19/2017 9:59 pm EDT
Canada’s largest telecoms said opponents of high-power and outdoor devices (HPODs) in the 5GHz frequency band have failed to provide adequate evidence against the move. Earlier this month, Canada’s major telecoms said the country should harmonize with the United States in opening the 5GHz band to HPODs — which use spectrum to allow for high-speed data transfer between devices, such as for outdoor WiFi — before the World Radiocommunications Conference in 2019. But opposition from parties including Transportation Canada and the...
Natale says ‘more work to do’ as he takes the reins at Rogers
Media | 04/19/2017 8:25 pm EDT
In his first day on the job, newly minted Rogers Communications Inc. president and CEO Joe Natale gave few details about his priorities, but said he’ll be working on a strategy in the coming...
Sandvine warns about zero-rating ‘fraud’
telecom | 04/19/2017 5:33 pm EDT
A new report from broadband equipment maker Sandvine Corp. says that some Internet users are avoiding data charges by disguising Internet traffic to look like zero-rated content. “Enticed by the potential of receiving...
Canada signs coproduction agreement with Luxembourg
Media | 04/19/2017 2:52 pm EDT
The federal government has signed an audiovisual coproduction treaty with Luxembourg. “This treaty will further position Canada as a partner of choice in audiovisual coproductions, and strengthen our cultural and...
Telecoms shouldn’t be gatekeepers, Blais says ahead of differential pricing decision
Media | 04/18/2017 8:30 pm EDT
The CRTC may very well complete the record on net neutrality policy in Canada when it releases its decision Thursday afternoon on differential pricing practices,...
ISED releases timeline, allotments for 600 MHz transition
Media | 04/18/2017 8:16 pm EDT
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has released a schedule and details how it plans to shift the use of 600 MHz spectrum from over-the-air (OTA) television to wireless. ISED...
Bell asks CRTC for clarity on stolen-device tariff clause
Media | 04/18/2017 4:11 pm EDT
BCE Inc. is asking the CRTC to reinsert a phrase into its terms and conditions removed in last month’s decision on mobile wholesale mobile wireless roaming service tariffs that the company...
Cathia Badiere joins ACTRA
Media | 04/18/2017 3:47 pm EDT
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) has hired Cathia Badiere as its national director of research. Effective immediately, Badiere will oversee the organization’s collective bargaining, policy and industry research “to support ACTRA’s objective of...
600MHz auction wraps in U.S.
telecom | 04/13/2017 9:21 pm EDT
A year after it began, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has completed its incentive auction of 600 MHz spectrum to be repurposed for wireless use. The auction, which ran March 29, 2016 to March 30, 2017, grossed $19.8...
Digital ads only in their infancy, Google’s Gingras says
Media | 04/13/2017 9:01 pm EDT
MONTREAL — Digital advertising will continue to evolve into new forms we can’t yet predict, Richard Gingras, vice-president of Alphabet Inc.’s Google News, said Thursday as he spoke about criticisms by media outlets that Google is taking ad revenue away from their platforms. “I suspect in the book of the history of digital advertising, we’re probably, at best, at the end of Chapter 1. We’ll see how that evolves. There are new approaches happening every day,” he said, citing the growth of native or branded advertising, which he said now...
Digital media finances on CRTC’s three-year plan
Media | 04/13/2017 7:01 pm EDT
The CRTC will begin measuring the books of digital media operations in the country, with the aim of eventually publishing data on their finances, the regulator said in its new three-year plan. Published on its...
Joe Natale to join Rogers next week
Media | 04/13/2017 4:29 pm EDT
After a series of high-profile departures from the company, Rogers Communications Inc. announced Thursday that it will welcome its new president and CEO next week. Former Telus Corp. head Joe Natale...
Shaw promises more integration with Freedom under new COO
telecom | 04/12/2017 9:10 pm EDT
Shaw Communications Inc. said Wednesday that its Freedom Mobile division will have a new chief operating officer, as Paul McAleese takes over from Alek Krstajic. CEO Brad Shaw...
Rogers-CBC extend HNIC deal to 2019
Media | 04/12/2017 7:15 pm EDT
Rogers Communications Inc. has extended its deal with CBC/Radio-Canada to broadcast its flagship Hockey Night in Canada program for one more year, spokesman Andrew Garas confirmed to The Wire Report. Rogers and CBC...
Anglophone TV subs drop to 75 per cent: MTM
Media | 04/12/2017 5:41 pm EDT
Analog and digital cable’s share of the TV market declined from 40 per cent to 36 per cent in 2016, while IPTV subscriptions picked up among English-speaking Canadians, according to new research from Media Technology Monitor (MTM). “The decrease can be attributed partly to the increase of competition in many markets across Canada, and the increasing availability of Fibre Optic (IPTV) services,” said a report released Wednesday by the CBC/Radio-Canada research project. Satellite TV subscriptions have declined from their peak of 27 per cent of the market...
Mobile ad spending on the rise: report
Media | 04/12/2017 4:53 pm EDT
Canadian advertisers are catching up to their American counterparts, with the market share of digital ad spending on mobile platforms forecast to hit 77.6 per cent by 2021, according to research firm eMarketer Inc. This...
Bell says retroactive regulation can’t be basis for simsub ban
Media | 04/11/2017 9:11 pm EDT
The CRTC can’t retroactively apply regulations established almost a year after the fact to justify its prohibition simultaneous substitution during the broadcast of the National Football...
‘Unprecedented’ collaboration necessary for connected cars: lawyer
telecom | 04/11/2017 8:44 pm EDT
OTTAWA — Canada must develop a national policy and form a multi-party committee involving different levels of government to help inform decisions on autonomous and connected cars, 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....
Rogers must make 4K channel available to Telus: CRTC
Media | 04/11/2017 4:45 pm EDT
The CRTC has resolved a dispute between Rogers Communications Inc. and Telus Corp. over 4K content, telling the companies in an April 5 letter that Rogers has to provide its 4K content to Telus immediately. Telus...
Debate resumes on CBC-privatization bill, vote deferred
Media | 04/10/2017 6:57 pm EDT
OTTAWA — A Conservative backbencher’s bill to privatize CBC/Radio-Canada found a little more support from party colleagues in the House of Commons Monday, but it likely...
Twitch asks for court order to identify Shaw customer
Media | 04/10/2017 5:52 pm EDT
Amazon.com Inc.’s Twitch is asking the Supreme Court of British Columbia to order five companies, including Shaw Communications Inc., to identify a customer Twitch is accusing of “malicious spambot...
5G wireless substitution ‘not in the cards,’ says Cogeco’s Audet
Media | 04/07/2017 8:14 pm EDT
Cogeco Inc. CEO Louis Audet said Friday that he’s not concerned about customers substituting wireline Internet service with wireless with the advent of 5G, and that the company...
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....
Eliminating digital ads would harm TV: CBC
Media | 04/06/2017 9:22 pm EDT
Getting rid of digital advertising on CBC/Radio-Canada online platforms would undermine its television arm, the public broadcaster said Wednesday. It argued in a posting on its website that “going ad-free on only one platform is a half measure. It doesn’t provide any of the advantages of being completely ad-free, and it...
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...
Chris Jones joins CWTA
Media | 04/06/2017 9:11 pm EDT
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunication Association has hired Chris Jones as its new director of regulatory affairs, policy and research. Jones replaces Kurt Eby, who left the role at the CWTA in January to take a position in Toronto. According to emails from CWTA spokeswoman Sophie...
Ad pulls from YouTube show money shift to TV: Corus CEO
Media | 04/06/2017 8:05 pm EDT
The fallout from Alphabet Inc.’s placing of advertisements next to unfavourable content is in line with an ongoing trend of some advertisers shifting money from digital back to traditional...
Wireless emergency alerts to be mandatory by April 2018
telecom | 04/06/2017 6:34 pm EDT
The CRTC has ordered wireless service providers to implement a system for the sending of emergency alerts over LTE networks that will be operational in a year’s time. In its decision Thursday, the CRTC said that since more Canadians now have cellphones than landlines, and that alerts have been mandatory for broadcasters since March 2016, requiring wireless providers “to distribute emergency alert messages on mobile devices would be in the public interest and would help protect Canadians from imminent threats to life and property.” The CRTC noted interveners,...
Consumer advocates request basic services rejig for affordability fund
telecom | 04/06/2017 5:32 pm EDT
A trio of consumer advocacy groups are asking the CRTC to revise December’s basic telecom services decision, stating in a review-and-vary application filed Wednesday that the regulator...
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...
Telus, B.C. pledge $2M to connect youth in government care
telecom | 04/05/2017 9:33 pm EDT
Telus Corp. and the government of British Columbia are committing $2 million to offer subsidized smartphones to up to 1,000 youth who are currently, or were previously, in government care. The...
CCTS complaints continue downward trend
telecom | 04/05/2017 9:27 pm EDT
There were fewer complaints accepted by the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) in the second half of 2016 than in the comparable time period a year earlier, according to the CCTS mid-year...
Quebec approves class action over Fibe advertising
telecom | 04/05/2017 9:15 pm EDT
The Quebec Superior Court has approved a class-action lawsuit against BCE Inc. for allegedly misrepresenting the type of connections customers receive when subscribing to its Fibe services. The representative plaintiff,...
Shaw expands BlueSky availability, marketing
Media | 04/05/2017 6:06 pm EDT
Shaw Communications Inc. has made its new IPTV platform available across Western Canada and will launch an “extensive mass marketing campaign” to promote the service, it said in a press release. Earlier this...
Letter to Joly urges media-production reps in new CRTC posts
Media | 04/05/2017 5:14 pm EDT
Nearly two-dozen representatives from the screen-based media industry, such as the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), and...
Regional telecom disruption on Competition Bureau’s radar: commissioner
Media | 04/05/2017 4:44 pm EDT
The Competition Bureau will be keeping an eye on how regional telecom providers can disrupt the incumbents’ hold on the market, the commissioner said Tuesday. In a speech to the...
Karine Moses and Debbie Drutz move up at Bell Media
Media | 04/05/2017 3:29 pm EDT
BCE Inc. has announced two new appointments in its Bell Media division. Karine Moses, president of advertising arm Astral Out of Home (AOOH) since July 2016, is having her role in the company expanded to include vice-president of Bell Media sales in Quebec. She will lead TV, radio, AOOH and digital integrated sales strategies and operations for all media properties in the province, according to a Wednesday press release. Speaking to her leadership and management skills, Bell Media’s president of media sales and marketing, Stuart Garvie, said in the...