C-R-T-C DENIES B-C-E ASTRAL BID OUTRIGHT
Canada’s broadcast regulator has given a thumbs-down to B-C-E’s controversial 3.4-billion-dollar takeover of Astral Media. The C-R-T-C says the deal would have placed too much power in the hands of one...
View ArticleC-R-T-C OK’S TELUS
The CRTC says it won’t be reviewing the level of foreign ownership in Telus Corporation. The broadcast regulator has denied a request by new wireless competitor Wind Mobile to review Telus’s foreign...
View ArticleDEMANDS FOR AN END TO 3-YEAR CELLPHONE CONTRACTS
Canada’s telecom regulator is being blasted by the public over allowing three-year cellphone contracts. Hundreds of people have contacted the Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications...
View ArticleCRTC CAN’T FORCE CABLE COMPANIES TO PAY BROADCASTERS
It’s a major victory for cable and satellite companies. The Supreme Court of Canada says the CRTC cannot force them to pay broadcasters to carry their signals. The broadcast regulator had asked for a...
View ArticleMOSES ZNAIMER SAYS ”VISION TV” SHOULD STAY WHERE IT IS
Millions of viewers who enjoy VISION TV on basic cable and satellite are worried that the CRTC will allow distributors to drop the channel from their affordable “basic” packages or move it to a...
View ArticleCRTC URGED TO REDUCE CELLPHONE CONTRACTS
Three consumer groups are leading the charge against three-year cellphone contracts at a federal hearing in Gatineau, Quebec. They want the C-R-T-C to cap contracts at two years and are also against...
View ArticleVISION TV CAMPAIGN EXTENDED
There’s now more time to “Protect Your Vision.” The CRTC, our federal broadcast regulator, has extended the deadline to February 27th for viewers of our sister station Vision TV to intervene against...
View ArticleBCE GETS APPROVAL TO BUY ASTRAL MEDIA
BCE has received clearance for its 3.38-billion dollar acquisition of Astral Media The Competition Bureau says Bell must divest itself of Astral’s ownership interests in several pay and specialty...
View ArticleSMALLER MOBILE PHONE COMPANIES SPLIT FROM INDUSTRY LOBBY GROUP
Three of Canada’s smaller mobile phone carriers are withdrawing from the industry’s main lobby group, claiming it is biased against their interests in favour of their main rivals. Wind Mobile, Public...
View ArticleBELL’S ASTRAL DEAL APPROVED – WITH CONDITIONS
Bell has the thumbs-up for its second bid to buy Astral Media and its coveted suite of TV speciality channels and radio stations. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission...
View ArticleMANY ARE CUTTING THEIR LANDLINES AND GOING WIRELESS
Maybe you’re one of these people… More and more Canadians are hanging up on traditional telephone landlines -and going wireless. The national telecom regulator says the number of residential phone...
View ArticleCRTC UPHOLDS AND BOLSTERS DO-NOT-CALL REGULATIONS
Canada’s communications regulator is hanging up – on telemarketers. And the C.R.T.C. says it will continue to maintain the rules preventing automated calling devices – from contacting recipients who...
View ArticleCOMPETITION HAS A NICE RING TO IT
A fourth national wireless carrier could benefit you and the Canadian economy by $1-billion a year. So says the Competition Bureau in a submission to the CRTC, the telecommunications regulator. The...
View ArticleCOULD “PICK AND PAY” CABLE OPTIONS BE ON THE WAY
Cable television subscribers may soon be able to pay for just the channels they want, rather than paying for bundles that include channels they have no desire to watch. The CRTC has concluded public...
View ArticleCRTC SAYS PICK ‘N PAY SHOULD BE OK –“FRIENDS” SAY NO WAY
Proposals from the CRTC, the country’s broadcast regulator, would hurt the economy and cost jobs. So says a TV industry group. The CRTC wants Canadians to be able to pick the channels they want from...
View ArticleCABLE SUBSCRIBERS TO GET ‘PICK AND PAY’ OPTIONS
By this time next year television viewers will be able to pick and choose the channels they want and part of that choice will be a basic, bare-bones cable package with a maximum price of $25 per month....
View ArticleTORONTO COMPANIES FACE FINES FOR ILLEGAL TELEMARKETING
Nine companies linked to illegal telemarketing calls about duct cleaning services have been named and shamed by the CRTC. Four companies have already paid fines totalling $55,000, while another five...
View ArticleBELL MEDIA BOSS APOLOGIZES FOR INTERVENING IN NEWS COVERAGE
Kevin Crull calls it a valuable lesson ”re-learned”. The president of Bell Media says he was wrong to try to influence the editorial decisions of CTV journalists and has apologized to them directly for...
View ArticleBCE CUTS KEVIN CRULL LOOSE
Media giant BCE says Kevin Crull is leaving his position as president of Bell Media, effective immediately. Late last month Crull issued a public apology for intruding on the editorial integrity of...
View ArticleSMALLER ISP’S GET BIG ACCESS
A big victory for the little guy. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is forcing the country’s big Internet service providers – to give access to their fibre optic networks...
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