Fixed-line Internet data downloads surge 30%

The latest report on Internet usage from Sandvine Inc. shows average monthly data downloaded on fixed-line Internet accounts in North America was up about 30 per cent in the second half of 2014 compared to a year earlier.

The report, released Thursday, showed the average customer in North America downloaded 57.4 GB per month, up from 44.5 GB a year before.

Regulating Netflix the least of CRTC’s concerns: Blais

The CRTC is concerned with “much bigger issues with greater ramifications down the road” than the question of whether it will regulate over-the-top (OTT) services like Netflix, CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais said Thursday.

As the CRTC makes decisions on issues raised at the Let’s Talk TV hearing earlier this fall, “‘regulating’ Netflix is the least of our concerns,” Blais told the Vancouver Board of Trade in a speech, according to speaking notes provided by the CRTC.

Multi-screen Internet access growing: MTM

Five times as many Canadians now own the four principle media for accessing the Internet — computers, smartphones, tablets and Internet-connected televisions — than was the case in 2012, according to the latest Media Technology Monitor report.

The percentage of Canadians with those four screens is now at 17 per cent of all Canadian Internet users, said the report from MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada. More than 90 per cent of those who have access to four screens use the Internet on all of them.

OTT expected to cause Internet capacity crunch

Netflix isn’t the only game in town anymore.

Shomi signs deal with Warner Bros.

Shomi, the online-streaming partnership of Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc., said in a press release Friday that it has reached a deal with Warner Bros. that gives it the rights to a number of Warner Bros. movies and TV series.

The deal involves exclusive rights to series like 2 Broke Girls, Two and a Half Men and the upcoming iZombie, Shomi said, and “second-window” rights to shows like Veronica Mars and The West Wing.

Rogers-Netflix collaboration benefits both, experts say

While the announcement that Rogers Communications Inc. and Netflix Inc. are working together on an original TV series marked an unprecedented collaboration between the two rivals, it’s a logical move, experts said Monday.

Netflix subscriber growth slower than forecast

Netflix Inc. said Wednesday that subscriber growth in both the United States and internationally was less than it expected in the third quarter.

"We added about a million new members in the U.S., ending Q3 with 37.22 million members, with lower net additions than our forecast and versus the prior year," Netflix said in a letter to shareholders.

It added that it saw an additional two million members internationally to bring that number to 15.84 million members, also less than forecast.

EU countries could be next for regulator-Netflix conflict

When CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais faced off against Netflix Inc. in September, his ordering of the U.S.-based streaming service to give the CRTC information it had previously refused to provide added fuel to a debate about whether the CRTC can — or whether it should — regulate online video services.

Rogers ranked fastest Canadian ISP by PCMag.com

For the second year in a row, PCMag.com has named Rogers Communications Inc. the fastest Internet service provider in Canada.

Mulcair denounces Glover statements on Netflix regulation

OTTAWA — NDP Leader Tom Mulcair on Wednesday denounced Heritage Minister Shelly Glover's statements that ruled out regulation for online video services such as Netflix and YouTube, which were made while a CRTC hearing considering the future of television was ongoing.

Mulcair did not say what his position on the regulation of online video was when asked by The Wire Report after an NDP caucus meeting on Parliament Hill.

U.S. online industry group criticizes Canada

A coalition of some of the biggest Internet companies in the United States criticized Canada in a report released Tuesday for being a laggard in the usage and development of Internet technology to grow the economy.

The benefits of being ruled by the CRTC

In the past, an aspiring broadcast distributor had no choice but to go to the CRTC and get a licence before they launched their cable or satellite business. Now, in theory at least, they can bypass the entire process by launching an over-the-top (OTT) TV service.

While they would have more flexibility and freedom from regulation, such as Canadian content contributions and quotas, they also wouldn’t benefit from the rules that benefit licensed service providers, such as guaranteed access to content.

Netflix gets 4 Adam Sandler movies exclusively

Netflix Inc. said Thursday it has reached a deal to premiere four movies that will star and be produced by comedic actor Adam Sandler.

Cineplex refuses to show movies in conjunction with Netflix

Cineplex Inc. says it will not show movies at the same time they are made available by Netflix Inc.

Netflix hits 100,000 subs in France

Netflix Inc. has gained more than 100,000 subscribers in France two weeks after launching in the country, according to a newspaper report on Tuesday.

French newspaper Le Figaro attributed the figure to anonymous sources and drew a comparison to an online streaming service from French broadcaster Canal+, owned by Vivendi SA, which has 520,000 subscribers three years after launching.

Netflix announces first original movie

Netflix Inc. said Tuesday it would have its first original movie next summer.

It said in a press release that Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend will premiere on Netflix simultaneously with showings in Imax theatres around the world on Aug. 28 next year. The movie is the next chapter in the Ang Lee martial arts series.

CRTC to remove Netflix, Google input from Talk TV process

The CRTC said Monday it will remove all evidence presented by Netflix Inc. and Google Inc., including oral and written presentations, from the Let’s Talk TV process, following the companies’ refusal to provide the CRTC with information the regulator had requested.

“A company’s refusal to comply with requests and orders duly made at a public hearing is a serious matter,” it said in separate letters to Netflix and Google.

Parents watch less television, spend more time online: MTM

Anglophone parents whose children still live at home watch less television but spend more time on the Internet, according to a new report from Media Technology Monitor.

Households with children are slightly more likely than the overall angolophone audience to have access to television, with 74 per cent having some sort of digital TV access compared with 71 per cent of the general English-speaking population, according to the report by MTM, a project of CBC/Radio-Canada.

C.D. Howe warns against pick-and-pay TV

The C.D. Howe Institute released a report on Thursday that said the CRTC's proposal to mandate pick-and-pay television is "deeply misguided" and would be "irrelevant at best" and "harmful at worst."

The report argued that with increasing competition to TV service providers from alternatives, such as the video streaming offered by Netflix Inc., making a profit from channel bundling will become difficult and market forces themselves will force the conditions for more choice for consumers.

CRTC in tough spot after Netflix refuses to disclose: experts

Experts say that while CRTC must somehow respond to the refusal of Netflix Inc. to give the commission information it had been ordered to provide by CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais during a hearing last week, the government's stated refusal to tax and regulate online-video services cannot be ignored.

Netflix refuses to provide info to CRTC

Netflix Inc. will not produce some of the information CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais ordered from it last week.

“While Netflix has responded to a number of the CRTC's requests, we are not in a position to produce the confidential and competitively sensitive information ordered by the commission due to ongoing confidentiality concerns,” Netflix spokeswoman Anne Marie Squeo said in an email Monday evening.

Blais threatens to revoke Netflix’ exemption order

GATINEAU, Que. — During the sometimes-contentious appearance by Netflix Inc. on the last day the CRTC’s two-week hearings on the future of television, CRTC Chairman Jean-Pierre Blais repeatedly ordered the U.S. streaming company to provide information to the commission, and at one point threatened to revoke Netflix’ digital-media exemption order if it does not comply.

No tax on Netflix, YouTube: Harper

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Monday his government is determined not to tax Internet services such as Netflix and YouTube

In a wide-ranging speech in Ottawa to kick off the new parliamentary session, he also mentioned the government's support of a pick-and-pay TV system and a planned ban on extra fees for paper billing.

Telus calls Shomi service undue preference by Rogers, Shaw

GATINEAU, Que. — Telus Corp. says it is “very concerned” Rogers Communications Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. are using the beta-test phase of their recently launched over-the-top (OTT) service to give themselves an undue preference.

Shelly Glover rules out Internet-TV regulation

Heritage Minister Shelly Glover says the government will not allow new taxes or regulations on Internet-based television services.

Glover, the federal minister responsible for the CRTC, said so in a statement sent Monday night that responded to a presentation in the CRTC's Let's Talk TV hearings earlier in the day from Kevin Finnerty, Ontario's assistant deputy minister for tourism, culture and sport. Finnerty suggested that new media broadcasting services be regulated and required to contribute to Canadian content.

Netflix announces new Facebook feature

Netflix Inc. on Tuesday announced a new recommendation feature that works through Facebook Inc.'s social network.

The provider of online TV services said in a blog that, after viewing a program, users will be asked it they want to recommend what they have just seen to their friends and family. They choose those who are sent recommendations by accessing their friends list from Facebook.

Conspicuous by its absence in TV review: OTT services

In a little more than a week, the people who make and produce, broadcast and distribute, analyze and report on the Canadian television industry will gather in Gatineau, Que., to spend two weeks talking about its future.

Pay-per-view could stick around or go the way of the VHS

In 1985, a Los Angeles Times article explained that U.S. TV providers were planning to compete with “the burgeoning home-video business” that had “savaged” them by launching national pay-per-view (PPV) networks, which the Times explained was a “relatively new technology” allowing viewers to order programs much in the same way as “they buy movie theater tickets--or as they rent videocassettes.”

TV providers divided on set-top ratings system

Canada’s biggest television providers are divided over the future of audience measurement via the next generation of set-top boxes.

As part of their submissions in the CRTC’s ongoing Let’s Talk TV consultation, BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Telus Corp., Quebecor Inc. and Shaw Communications Inc. all weighed in on the creation of a new audience measurement system based on set-top box (STB) data.

Inaction against VPN usage ‘may speak volumes’: lawyer

Users of Netflix Inc.’s Canadian feed who feel like watching a few episodes of 30 Rock, Louie or Les Revenants will find themselves out of luck.

But in a world where Canadians know these shows are available on Netflix’ U.S. service, accessing them can be as easy as installing an app or browser extension. Perhaps it’s no wonder millions of subscribers have chosen to.

Web operators must pay SOCAN for music videos

Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and Netflix Inc. must pay Canadian songwriters and publishers for music videos viewed on their services, the Copyright Board of Canada ruled on Friday.

The board certified two tariffs from the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) that cover both official music videos and user-generated content on the Internet viewed online from 2007 to 2013.

Netflix subscriber growth slows

Netflix Inc.'s quarterly results, released Monday, showed the lowest level of global subscriber growth in a year.

Netflix-Disney deal expected to hit movie channels, BDUs

A deal between Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. that will see Walt Disney Studios’ movies appear on Netflix’s Canadian streaming service as soon as eight months after they hit the theatres will affect premium movie channels most directly, though it will also have a “trickle-down” effect on the whole TV system, said broadcasting analyst Mario Mota.

Third of Canadians subscribe to Netflix: MTM

Penetration of Netflix Inc.’s streaming service among anglophones in Canada is now at 32 per cent, with 28 per cent watching in a typical week, according new report.

CBC/Radio-Canada's Media Technology Monitor said in a report released Tuesday that number is up from 25 per cent last year, 13 per cent two years ago and six per cent three years ago.

It added that more than a third of subscribers use the U.S. version of the service, which has a larger library of content than the Canadian version.

Cogeco partners with TiVo, ditches IPTV plans

Cogeco Cable Inc. has abandoned a multi-year project to establish an Internet protocol-based TV platform in Canada and will instead launch a service in partnership with TiVo Inc. that its CEO says gives it "all of what we want and more."

The decision to cancel plans for building out an IPTV system for Canada resulted in its third-quarter profit being cut almost in half, the company announced in a press release issued late Wednesday.

Service providers support TV choice, but not to extent suggested

In interventions submitted as part of the CRTC’s review of the future of the television, both BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc. said they supported a pick-and-pay television system, though details of their submissions showed they did not favour going as far as the CRTC has suggested.

Ottawa company brings PVR capability to over-the-air TV

Amid the many challenges television service providers were already facing, along came an Ottawa company making devices with digital recording capabilities and electronic-guide functionality for those who rely on over-the-air signals for their TV.

Netflix for BlackBerry, among other things

BlackBerry users will gain access to several applications this fall, including Netflix, as a result of making Amazon.com Inc.'s Appstore part of the BlackBerry 10.3 operating system that becomes available this fall, BlackBerry Ltd. said in a news release Wednesday.

There are more than 240,000 Android apps BlackBerry 10 users gain access to as a result of this partnership with Amazon, including Groupon, Pinterest, Candy Crush Saga and Minecraft, the company said.

FCC to examine U.S. Internet traffic management

Tom Wheeler, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, said Friday that his organization is looking into whether Internet service providers are purposely diminishing, for their own benefit, the flow of content from sources such as Netflix Inc.

In a statement posted online, Wheeler referred to recent disputes between Netflix and ISPs such as Comcast Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc.

Videotron’s new TV app ‘sign of what’s to come’: analyst

MONTREAL —Videotron’s new iPad application, which allows users to access live TV, free and paid video-on-demand (VOD) content and programming stored on a personal video recorder (PVR), in addition to a recommendation function and integrated social networking, is a sign of where "TV-everywhere" strategies are heading, said Alan Breznick, a media, telecom and technology analyst at research group Heavy Reading.

FCC moves ahead with Internet ‘fast lanes’ proposal

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moved forward Thursday with plans to explicitly allow Internet service providers give select content providers so-called “fast lanes” to end users.

The FCC passed a preliminary plan, led by Chairman Tom Wheeler, with a 3-2 vote, despite criticisms that it undermines the principle of an open Internet that treats all data equally.

Bloomberg reported that the FCC now enters a “comment-and-review period” that will precede a second and final vote later this year. 

Cord-cutters dominate Internet usage: report

North American cord-cutters are dominating Internet network usage market by consuming more than seven times the typical subscriber, according to a report Wednesday from Sandvine Inc.

On average, cord-cutters consume 212 GB over the Internet per month while the typical Internet subscriber will use about 29 GB per month, Sandvine, a Waterloo, Ont.-based provider of broadband network services for fixed and mobile operators, said in a press release.

OpenMedia joins fight in U.S. over net neutrality

OpenMedia said Tuesday it is actively fighting a proposal in the United States that would allow content companies to pay service providers for faster access to end users on the Internet, arguing that such a policy would affect the quality of Internet service in Canada.

New Netflix customers to pay $1 more

Netflix Inc. is raising its monthly subscription rates for new customers to a basic cost of $8.99 from $7.99 per month, though existing customers are getting a two-year reprieve from the higher price.

Emails went out to customers on Friday, informing them that the price hike is needed “to continue adding more movies and TV shows,” but that as a “thank you,” existing customers would not pay the higher rate for two years.

Tech giants call for FCC to protect net neutrality

Almost 150 U.S. technology companies, such as Google Inc., Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp., have written a letter to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission calling its proposed net-neutrality rules a “grave threat to the Internet.”

Another U.S. cableco offers Netflix

Another U.S. cable company said it will provide the services of Netflix Inc. to its customers through set-top boxes made by TiVo Inc.

Suddenlink Communications announced the arrangement in a press release on Tuesday, saying it’s the largest U.S. cable operator to date, with 1.2 million TV-service subscribers, “to provide its customers seamless access to Netflix through the same set-top box they already use to watch television.”

Suddenlink said the arrangement with Netflix will take effect in the summer.

Video-on-demand, pay-per-view revenues fall: CRTC

Television providers earned less from their video-on-demand services last year, according to CRTC data released Wednesday, despite investing in increasing the availability of content.

The CRTC said in the statistical and financial summaries for Canadian specialty, pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand (VOD) services that revenues for VOD services fell nearly 3.6 per cent in 2013, to $254.5 million. That decline is a change from the revenue increases reported for the previous four years; in 2012, revenues were up 2.5 per cent while they increased 25.3 per cent in 2011.

Netflix to be carried by U.S. TV providers

Netflix Inc.’s video streaming service is poised to be a feature of some providers of television service in the United States, as opposed to just competing with them.

RCN Telecom Services LLC, Grande Communications LLC and Atlantic Broadband said in a joint press release Friday that they will offer Netflix to customers through set-top boxes made by TiVo Inc.

Atlantic Broadband is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canada’s Cogeco Cable Inc.

Netflix to raise prices by ‘one or two’ dollars

Netflix Inc. will put in place “a one- or two-dollar increase” for new members later this quarter, the company said in a letter to shareholders Monday.

It said that existing members would keep their current pricing “for a generous time period,” while the changes “will enable us to acquire more content and deliver an even better streaming experience.”

VMedia offers cloudy version of IPTV

George Burger wants to give Canadians a more streamlined television experience, yet analysts say the high-tech Internet-protocol TV offerings from his VMedia Inc. might have limited appeal.

The IPTV service from VMedia now includes a cloud-based PVR, the company announced last week.

Netflix CEO attacks ISPs that demand payment for connectivity

Netflix Inc. CEO Reed Hastings said in a blog post on the company’s website Thursday that a stronger sense of net neutrality is needed to prevent situations like the one that has his company paying Comcast Corp. to ensure customers get a more reliable connection to Netflix content.

Netflix to pay Comcast for faster streaming: report

Netflix Inc. will pay Comcast Corp. for access to its network in order to be able to provide its streaming video customers with faster speeds and improved reliability, Bloomberg reported Monday, quoting anonymous sources.

Based on information from one source, the news service said Netflix would pay Comcast millions of dollars each year in order “to deliver its content more efficiently,” in the wake of “complaints about quality and speed.”

Cancon should be on all screens: Blais

In response to a question on Twitter about whether the CRTC will regulate Canadian content on all screens, CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais said that “it’s important for Canadian content to be on all screens.”

Blais made the statement on Wednesday during live chat about the CRTC’s ongoing review of the television system.

Phase 2 of CRTC TV review asks about OTT regulation

The CRTC is asking Canadians for feedback about Canadian content in online television services and their adherence to programming standards in an online questionnaire released Tuesday as part of Phase 2 of its review of television services in Canada.

In a section about online programming, the CRTC asks respondents whether they would be willing to pay extra to have more Canadian programming available within online services, and in order to have online services provide closed-captioning and adhere to programming standards.

Netflix in 3 million Canadian homes: SRG

Three million Canadian households have access to Netflix Inc.’s over-the-top streaming service, according to consulting firm Solutions Research Group.

In a release Thursday, SRG said that number includes paid subscribers, those using a free trial and Canadians who are using Netflix’s U.S. service.

“In a given day, half of Netflix subscribers are streaming some kind of content,” it said, adding that the average user, when they use the service, spends about 1.5 hours a day with it.

Netflix expands CBC licensing deal

Netflix Inc. and CBC/Radio Canada have expanded their licensing agreement, adding CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries, as well as new seasons of series like Republic of Doyle and Heartland, to Netflix’s streaming service.

“Beginning this December and continuing through 2014, new shows and seasons will be available to Canadian members,” Netflix said in a release Wednesday.

Netflix, YouTube account for half of North American Internet traffic: report

A new report shows that Netflix Inc. and Google Inc.’s YouTube are the source of more than half the traffic being accessed by Internet users on fixed networks in North America.

Private over-the-air broadcasters struggle to regain lost advertising revenues

Five years after the 2008 global financial crisis caused a 10 per cent decline in Canada's TV advertising revenues, private conventional broadcasters are still feeling the pain.

“If you look at the conventional numbers, the recovery isn't there,” Theresa Truetler, president and CEO of the Television Bureau of Canada (TVB), said in an interview last week.

“It's not a simple answer. There's a whole bunch of factors at play here.”

Broadcasters still pondering: To license, or not to license, to Netflix

If viewers of Netflix Inc.’s Canadian streaming service are in the mood for a Canadian show, they might find their selections pretty limited.

Not counting children’s content, viewers can choose from CBC/Radio Canada series like Dragons' Den, Mr. D, Cracked, Heartland, Being Erica and Camelot, though not too much more than that.

MTM says 21% of Canadians subscribe to Netflix

The number of Canadian subscribers to Netflix Inc.'s online streaming service has almost doubled year-over-year, reaching 21 per cent of Canadian adults this spring, according to polling data by Media Technology Monitor.

MTM, a joint research project between CBC/Radio-Canada and BBM Analytics, said that 21 per cent of Canadian adults say they subscribe to Netflix.

The next battle for OTT? Licensing

Television providers have had a few years now to get used to online competition from over-the-top streaming services, though they should brace for more. As early as this year, they will be facing a new generation of online competition.

Google Inc., Apple Inc., Sony Corp. and Intel Corp. are working on launching new over-the-top television services that may allow the viewer to flip through feeds from paid cable TV channels, including live programming.

A la carte would drop U.S. TV revenues almost 50%: analyst

The American television industry's annual revenues of $150 billion US would be cut nearly in half if broadcast distributors moved to an a la carte model, said a report by research firm Needham & Company.

Laura Martin, an Internet, entertainment and consumer analyst with Needham & Company, said in a July 11 report that a move to unbundled, or a la carte, TV services would cost the industry $70 billion US in annual revenues as advertising dried up and subscriptions for less popular channels fell.

Netflix signs original content deal with DreamWorks

Netflix Inc. signed its biggest-ever deal for original content, inking a multi-year contract with DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., Netflix said Monday.

The new TV shows will be “inspired by characters” from Dreamworks’ films and franchises, such as Shrek and Madagascar, as well as its classic library, which includes characters like Lassie and Casper the Friendly Ghost.

Hastings says Netflix pushing competitive responses

The future of television in the next 10 to 20 years will be application-based as Netflix Inc. pushes traditional TV providers to innovate with online, on-demand models, Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said.

In a speech at the Canada 3.0 conference in Toronto on Tuesday, Hastings said companies will move from offering channels to offering apps with tailored content. 

Netflix will exceed 3m Canadian subs this year, producer predicts

Netflix Inc. has more than 2.18 million Canadian subscribers and has become a “significant competitor” in the Canadian media environment, Tom Berry, the president of independent production company Première Bobine, told a panel of CRTC commissioners.

Canada unaffected as Netflix drops titles in U.S.

About 1,700 classic titles removed from Netflix Inc.’s online library this week will affect U.S. subscribers only and have no impact on Canadian users, Netflix said.

Online news service Mashable reported Wednesday that Netflix’s distribution rights to 1,794 classic movie titles expired on May 1, including popular 1990s films Deep Impact and Cruel Intentions, among others.

Netflix Canada again reports profit in Q3

Netflix Inc.’s revenues continued to outpace content acquisition costs in Canada during the third quarter of 2012, the company said in a financial statement released Tuesday.

“We expanded our profitability in Canada in Q3 as revenue grew more quickly than content expense, and we intend to steadily expand our contribution margin over time, even as we continue to add more content,” Netflix said in a letter to shareholders.

The company, based in Los Gatos, Calif., launched in Canada two years ago.