Anglophone TV subs fall to 73%: MTM

The number of anglophones subscribing to TV service continues to fall, according to a new report by Media Technology Monitor (MTM), a project of CBC/Radio-Canada.

Stingray Digital buys 4K TV channel

Stingray Digital Group Inc. said Wednesday that it has acquired the Festival 4K television channel, which broadcasts live performances, including festivals, concerts and theatre productions, according to the press release.

The Montreal-based music distributer said in a Wednesday press release that Festival 4K, launched in April 2015, has seven million subscribers under contract worldwide.

Club Illico announces 4K production

Another Canadian company is joining the ultra-high-definition field, with Quebecor Inc. announcing its media division was producing its first 4K show.

Videotron’s over-the-top (OTT) service Club Illico said in a Tuesday press release that new police series Victor Lessard, based on books by author Martin Michaud, would premiere in the winter of 2017 in 4K.

Bell Media adding to 4K arsenal

BCE Inc.’s media division is commissioning original, scripted 4K content, the company announced Wednesday.

Bell Media buys Gusto TV

BCE Inc.’s media division has acquired Canadian rights to Gusto Worldwide Media’s Gusto brand in Canada, including its food and cooking channel.

Juno Awards to be broadcast in 4K

Sunday's Juno Awards ceremony will be broadcast in 4K, BCE Inc. announced Thursday, with the company calling it the first music awards show in North America to be broadcast in the ultra-high-definition format.

Fibe TV customers with a 4K television and receiver can fully experience the live 4K broadcast airing on CTV at 7 p.m., the company said in a press release.

Rogers launching 4K versions of Sportsnet channels

Rogers Communications Inc. will make two dedicated 4K sports channels available this week, the company announced Monday.

Sportsnet 4K and Sportsnet ONE 4K will be available as of April 1, the day before the first ultra-high definition broadcast of a Major League Baseball game featuring the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox, Rogers said in a press release.

Videotron to stream 4K sports content

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron announced Thursday it will be offering live sports in 4K quality to its Illico ultra-high-definition set-top-box customers.

The company said in a press release that it will stream 12 games in total – four upcoming Ottawa Senators NHL games and eight Toronto Raptors NBA games.

Videotron said in an email that these are the only games that will stream "for the moment," and will be produced by BCE Inc.’s TSN on channel 910.

Gusto TV sells show to South Korean 4K channel

Canada's Gusto TV on Tuesday announced that has sold one of its original shows to a South Korean 4K channel.

It said in a press release that 30 episodes of A is for Apple — a cooking-challenge program — had been sold UMAX, which is owned by Cable TV VOD Corp.

UMAX is known as becoming the first dedicated 4K channel in the world in 2014.

Rogers broadcasts first 4K NBA game

Rogers Communications Inc., the National Basketball Association and BT Group PLC’s BT Sport teamed up Thursday to produce the world's first live broadcast of an NBA basketball game in 4K, a Rogers spokesman confirmed Friday.

The game between the Toronto Raptors and the Orlando Magic, played at London's O2 arena, was to be made available to Rogers cable customers in Canada through 4K-capable NetBox set-top boxes on channel 999, according to a press release issued Wednesday.

Rogers gigabit Internet, 4K set-top box now available

Rogers Communications Inc.’s gigabit Internet service is now available in “select neighbourhoods in downtown Toronto” and the greater Toronto area, Rogers said Wednesday. 

Blue Ant partners with Smithsonian Networks to create content

Blue Ant Media Inc. announced Monday it has partnered with Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between CBS Corp.’s Showtime and the Smithsonian Institution, to create Blue Skye Entertainment, in order to develop and distribute 4K natural history and wildlife content.

Blue Ant to distribute Cream Productions content

Blue Ant Media Inc.’s international division announced Tuesday in a press release that it has signed a multi-year, exclusive distribution deal with Cream Productions Inc., an international factual content creator based in Toronto.

Bell Media launches Discovery GO

BCE Inc.’s media division has launched a TV-everywhere app for five Discovery Canada channels, and said Discovery GO would soon begin offering 4K content.

The company said in a press release Monday that programming from Discovery, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Discovery Science, and Discovery Velocity will be available “live and on demand on smartphones, tablets, computers, and television set-top boxes.”

Sports content helping drive interest in 4K: experts

Sports fans are an ideal market to sell 4K content to in its early stages, say analysts, though at least one expert says this quality of video has not yet achieved "must-have" status.

Richard Grunberg, associate professor of media at Ryerson University, said in a phone interview that most consumers see the transition from regular high definition (HD) to 4K as a less dramatic change than the move from standard definition to HD.

Blue Ant makes 4K channel available worldwide

Blue Ant Media Inc. announced Thursday that its 4K Love Nature channel content is now available for worldwide distribution.

The content company said in a press release that the 4K content will be available on linear and streaming video-on-demand platforms. It added that the commercial-free programming will include natural history series, as well as documentaries.

Stingray launches 4K TV channel

Stingray Digital Group Inc. has launched a channel that it says is the first in North America to offer around-the-clock 4K content.

The Stingray Ambiance channel is available through TV service offered by Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, Stingray said in a press release Thursday.

Blue Ant launches new 4K content at MIPCOM conference

Blue Ant Media Inc. announced Tuesday that its international division will launch new 4K titles in the nature, wildlife and documentary categories at MIPCOM, a global entertainment content conference.

Blue Ant said in the press release that along with the new 4K content, it will also release new and returning content in high-definition (HD) quality in the factual entertainment category.

Sony unveils first 4K smartphone

Sony Corp. announced Wednesday at IFA Berlin, one of the world’s largest consumer electronics trade shows in Europe, the release of the world’s first 4K smartphone.

Sony said in a press release that the Xperia Z5 Premium’s 4K display has “four times the resolution of full HD,” and will allow users to watch any 4K content, including from Netflix Inc. and Google Inc.'s YouTube.

Videotron 4K box seen as cord-cutting prevention

Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron announced Tuesday it will be releasing an ultra-high-definition (UHD) set-top-box for its customers, making it the first Canadian telecom provider to commercially release such technology.

Videotron said in a press release that the set-top-box processing speed will be 12 times faster than what is currently available in the market, allowing customers to navigate through content choices four times faster, record eight shows simultaneously, and store about 320 hours of standard HD content or 115 hours of UHD content.

5G revenue predicted to surge between 2020 and 2025

Global service revenue from 5G wireless connections will skyrocket from $100 million US in 2020 to $65 billion US in 2025, Juniper Research Ltd. said Wednesday.

The British research company said in a press release that 2020 is expected to be the first year 5G services are commercially available, though widespread adoption and sufficient spectrum licensing will take years to achieve.

TV-Internet connections rising: MTM

New data from Media Technology Monitor (MTM) indicates growth in connections between television sets and the Internet.

MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in a report released Thursday that 42 per cent of anglophone Canadians polled this spring reported accessing the Internet with a TV. That was up from 38 per cent last fall and 33 per cent the previous spring.

Small ISPs take the lead on gigabit Internet in Canada

Small Internet service providers are taking the lead on providing gigabit Internet service in Canada, in contrast to the United States where Internet giant Google Inc. is pioneering efforts to bring this type of ultra-fast web connection to the masses.

Blue Ant to make 4K programming

Independent broadcaster Blue Ant Media Inc. will make 200 hours of 4K, or ultra high-definition, “nature and wildlife” content each year, the company said in a press release Wednesday.

“Over 150 hours of the first year’s slate is currently in production and will be available beginning spring 2015,” Blue Ant said, adding that the programming will be developed “through a combination of in-house production and partnerships with key global content creators.”

World Cup presents chance to test 4K TV

When the World Cup begins in Brazil in two weeks, 3.2 billion people around the world will tune into the tournament, according to FIFA’s estimates.

And while many of them will cheer on their team through a high-definition television, some broadcasters will be using the World Cup as an opportunity to test 4K — or ultra-high-definition— television signals. 4K TVs have a resolution that’s about four times higher than regular high-definition sets.

Ultra-HD TV ownership in U.S to hit 33% by 2020: report

The ownership rate of ultra-high-definition televisions will hit 33 per cent in the United States by 2020, up from less than 10 per cent now, according to a report from Strategy Analytics.

The research group said in a press release Monday that North America overall would have a world leading Ultra-HD TV penetration rate of 32 per cent, by broader region, by 2020, followed by Western Europe at 22 per cent and Asia Pacific at 18 per cent.

4K TV imposes hurdles on telcos, broadcasters

As the holiday shopping season begins, shoppers in electronics stores might find their eye caught by a new type of television set—one that offers a more detailed, crisper and richer picture than its high-definition brethren.