Aug 8 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The owner of Canada's largest chain of movie theatres says its strategic diversification into multiple forms of entertainment helped drive the company's second-quarter revenue to a record high $439.2 million. In the main theatre business, Cineplex Inc. said a 1.7 per cent decline in attendance from last year was offset by higher box office revenue per […]
Aug 2 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — A committee of independent directors of Hudson's Bay Co. said Friday that the price per share offered by a group of its largest shareholders is inadequate — although an independent valuation has yet to be completed. The special committee was set up to consider alternatives to the group's June 10 offer of $9.45 cash per common […]
Aug 1 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Canada's wireless industry will have more difficulty growing revenue as overage fees are eliminated from monthly data plans, but Bell Canada will be very competitive and could win market share in that environment, according to BCE chief executive George Cope. Wireless plans with unlimited amount of data at a fixed price will increasingly focus on network […]
Jul 31 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Canada's internet service providers will be required to abide by a new code of conduct imposed by the industry's federal regulator, which is giving them until Jan. 31 to prepare for the new rules. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said Wednesday that the code will apply specifically to ten of Canada's largest internet service […]
Jul 31 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Torstar Corp. booked a $17.4-million loss attributable to shareholders in its second quarter, as revenue dropped 11 per cent from the same time last year and restructuring expenses increased, the company reported Wednesday. The newspaper and digital media company's net loss for the second quarter was equivalent to 22 cents per share and compared with a year-earlier […]
Jul 26 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Freedom Mobile is using a limited-time offer of free phones to fight back against a recent change in pricing strategy by Canada's three national wireless carriers. Customers who buy one of a selection of two-year service contracts from Freedom will also get to choose a no-cost Apple, Samsung or LG smartphone from a list of about half-a-dozen models. The Calgary-based regional […]
Jul 23 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The chief executive of Rogers Communications Inc. said Tuesday that a major change in wireless billing strategy is surpassing internal expectations, although overall subscriber additions in the second quarter missed analyst estimates. The Toronto-based wireless, internet, cable and media company began selling wireless plans that don't charge overage fees on June 13, a move since followed by […]
Jul 11 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The CEO of Canada's fourth-largest publicly traded cable and internet company said Thursday that there's still room to introduce "reasonable" price increases despite competition from other technologies. A relatively small proportion of Cogeco's television subscribers are cord-cutters, who drop cable in favour of "over-the-top" services such as Netflix, Cogeco chief executive Philippe Jette told analysts. Even for […]
Jul 10 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Postmedia Network Canada Corp. cut its third-quarter loss nearly in half to $7.7 million as growth in digital revenue partly offset continued declines in its print business, the publishing company's latest financial report said Wednesday. The owner of the National Post and other newspapers had $157.1 million in total revenue for the quarter ended May 31. That compares to total […]
Jul 8 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The cause of a service outage that affected voice calls on numerous Canadian mobile brands, starting Sunday afternoon, remained unclear Monday as carriers said only some customers continued to have problems. "Teams are working hard to fully resolve the issue and we sincerely apologize to our customers," a Rogers statement said Monday. Telus, Bell […]
Jul 8 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Rob Roberts, who has held senior editorial positions at The Canadian Press since late 2015, is leaving the news service to become editor-in-chief at the National Post. Roberts will succeed Anne Marie Owens, who was the Post's editor-in-chief for nearly five years until departing in April to take a new position at McMaster University in Hamilton. A […]
Jul 3 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Telus's decision to offer wireless plans with unlimited amounts of data for a fixed monthly price, starting at $75 for 10 gigabytes, is the latest evidence of a fundamental change in how Canada's mobile phone industry does business. As with similar unlimited data plans offered by Freedom Mobile, Rogers and Bell, the new Telus data […]
Jun 28 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — The announcement Friday that George Cope will retire in January after nearly 12 years as chief executive of BCE Inc. has focused fresh attention on the sprawling telecom and media giant as the industry undergoes fundamental changes. The Montreal-based company, which owns Bell Canada, CTV Inc., and a portion of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., said chief operating […]
Jun 26 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — Corus Entertainment Inc. had a $66.4-million net profit attributable to shareholders in its latest quarter, as an increase in television advertising helped to boost revenue. The owner of the Global television network, specialty TV channels, radio stations and content studios said the profit amounted to 31 cents per diluted share for the quarter […]
Jun 26 2019 — David Paddon — TORONTO — BlackBerry Ltd. stock took a deep dive Wednesday as concern about a competitor seemed to overshadow first-quarter financial results that were ahead of analyst estimates on several key measures. Shares of the Waterloo, Ont.-based company fell 99 cents or nine per cent, closing at $9.90. Among possible reasons cited for the decline: insufficient revenue growth from […]