DAZN has partnered with MLS to livestream U.S. matches for Canadian soccer fans. Games featuring the three Canadian clubs will continue to be broadcast on TSN, but will be available on DAZN, either in full or condensed form, 48 hours after the match. Under terms of the three-year deal with MLS LIVE, a minimum of 262 regular season games featuring the league’s 19 American clubs, will be available on the platform.
Rogers Media has expanded its digital news offering in the Ottawa-Gatineau region with the debut of OttawaMatters.com. With editorial coverage led by 1310 NEWS (CIWW-AM) Ottawa, the site also features live stream video from Rogers tv Ottawa. OttawaMatters.com marks the second collaboration between Rogers Media and Village Media, following last October’s launch of HalifaxToday.ca.
Facebook has set parameters around the ability to label “Breaking News.” In Canada, the CBC, Global News, CityNews, and Journal de Montreal alone, will have the capability to start. The move is an expansion of a test by the social platform allowing just a small group of national publishers to use the indicator once a day.
Macleans.ca has closed comments, encouraging readers to move the conversation over to its social platforms. A post to readers says the vast majority of comments it receives are already coming from social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. It also cites similar moves by NPR, CNN, the Toronto Star and The Atlantic, to close their comment sections.
The Athletic has raised $20 million to double its staff and expand to 45 markets. The subscription-based sports media startup, which launched two years ago, previously raised $10 million in two separate funding rounds. Currently in 23 markets in the U.S. and Canada, The Athletic is moving to establish a presence in every U.S. market with a professional sports team by the end of the year and expand its current staff of 120 to between 200 and 350 employees.
Open Media says its Feb. 28 drive to collect comments against the Fairplay Coalition’s anti-piracy website blocking proposal was successful. With the support of more than 30 organizations and businesses, including digital rights groups, library associations, independent Internet service providers and civil liberties organizations, Open Media says by the end of the day more than 50,000 comments had been registered with the CRTC. The commenting period has been extended to Mar. 29.
BlackBerry has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Facebook and its WhatsApp and Instagram apps. The Canadian-based company argues technology and features from BlackBerry Messenger were copied. Facebook says it intends to fight the lawsuit. Blackberry has more than 40,000 global patents on everything from operating systems to networking infrastructure and cybersecurity.
