GENERAL:
The CRTC has directed all wireless service providers to implement a wireless public alerting system on their LTE networks by April 2018. The system will allow emergency management officials like fire marshals and police agencies, to warn Canadians on their mobile devices of potential dangers. Service providers have been tasked to work with federal and provincial governments to develop an awareness campaign and test schedule.
Shaw Communications Inc. stock was up sharply Wednesday morning after the release of its Q2 results, rallying $1.24 or 4.52 per cent to $28.69, setting a new 100-day high. Shaw reported revenue increases of 13.3 per cent to $1.3B in the three months ended Feb. 28. Profits were down 10.4 per cent to $147M, however excluding its media division which it sold to Corus Entertainment last year, profit was up 26.7 per cent. Net income increased by 7.6 per cent to $540 million. Shaw added 33,000 new wireless customers in the quarter, its best subscriber numbers in five years.
Corus Entertainment has released its second quarter results, reporting consolidated revenue increases of 86 per cent for the quarter and 96 per cent year-to-date. Net income attributable to shareholders was $24.9 million ($0.12 per share basic) for the quarter and $96.0 million ($0.48 per share basic) for the year-to-date. President and CEO Doug Murphy credits continued momentum from strong overall ratings performance, transformed cost structure and sequentially improving advertising revenue trends.
RTDNA Canada has recognized its 2017 Atlantic region award winners. Global Halifax News at 6 took home the Bert Cannings Award for Best Television Newscast (Medium Market), while VOCM-AM St. John’s was recognized with the Byron MacGregor Award for Best Radio Newscast (Medium Market). This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipients were CBC Newfoundland fixture Debbie Cooper and Global Maritimes news director Jim Haskins. You can view a complete list of winners here.
John Daly and Cecilia Walters will be presented with their RTDNA Canada Lifetime Achievement Awards during the BC Regional Meeting on Apr. 22. John Daly has been a reporter with BCTV and Global BC for 35 years, breaking some of the province’s biggest stories. Cecilia Walters was the longtime voice of morning news on CBC Radio Vancouver until her retirement in 2015.
Gord Gillies of Global News Calgary and David Spence, meteorologist with CTV Calgary, have been announced as the Prairie region recipients of the RTDNA Canada Lifetime Achievement Award. They’ll be presented during the Prairies Regional Meeting on Apr. 29.
Lyse Doucet, BBC’s chief international correspondent and senior presenter for BBC World TV and BBC World Service Radio, will host this year’s Canadian Journalism Foundation Awards on June 8 at The Fairmont Royal York in Toronto. Born and raised in New Brunswick, Doucet spent 15 years as a BBC foreign correspondent with postings in Jerusalem, Amman, Islamabad, Tehran, Kabul and Abidjan. She was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) in 2014 and the Columbia Journalism Award for lifetime achievement in 2016.
Rogers Media is finally poised to reap some reward from its $5.2B NHL broadcast deal with five Canadian teams in the playoffs. With all seven Canadian teams eliminated last season, television ratings fell 61 per cent over 2015, averaging 513,000 viewers for the first 20 games. With the Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs for the first time since 2013, along with the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, viewership is back in the seven-figure range. On Mar. 25, 2.08 million viewers watched the Leafs play the Buffalo Sabres in the Hockey Night in Canada game on CBC and Sportsnet. Sportsnet president Scott Moore revealed this week Hockey Night in Canada will continue to air on CBC for at least one more year, with Rogers interested in extending the partnership beyond the 2017-18 season.
Despite recent layoffs in several B.C. newsrooms, a survey on media consumption and trust from Mustel Group and FleishmanHillard has determined that while less than one-third (30 per cent) of British Columbians pay for news, nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) trust professional media over their personal networks (39 per cent) to help form their opinions. Research was conducted in March using 500 online interviews with a random sample of B.C. residents 18 years of age or over.
