CANADIAN OLYMPICS BROADCASTER REPORTS RECORD RATINGS

The media group broadcasting the Summer Olympics in Canada, the Canadian Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium (also known as CTV Olympics), is reporting a 74-percent increase in viewers compared to its audience for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. It also noted on Thursday that 28 million Canadians, representing 83.4 percent of the population, have watched at […]

CANADIAN CABLERS, BROADCASTERS UNITE OVER NETFLIX

Representatives of Canadian cable-TV and satellite providers, local broadcasters, film producers and unions are scheduled to hold “crisis” talks in Ottawa today (Friday) to discuss the entry of Netflix into their territory. Last year, the online video rental company launched a “streaming only” service in the country for $7.99 a month, but unlike other outlets, […]

BIEBER DOCUMENTARY MAKES WRITERS BELIEBERS

Hardened film writers are indicating that the upcoming Justin Bieber concert documentary Never Say Never should give the 16-year-old singer what the Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night gave them: legitimacy. Nearly all of them remark that the movie, being rushed out on Friday in order to take advantage of Bieber Fever, paints the 16-year-old as a […]

CANADIAN MOVIE CHAIN TO SELL, RENT DVD’S

Canada’s biggest theater chain doesn’t have to worry about competition from online DVD renters. That’s because it’s getting into the digital rental — and selling — business itself. As reported by Home Media magazine, Cineplex Entertainment, which operates 129 theaters with 1,342 screens, has opened a “digital storefront” that will allow Canadians to rent movies, […]

NETFLIX’S CANADIAN PROMO EXPOSED AS A SHAM

A promotional event in Toronto for the launch of Netflix’s Canadian service on Wednesday backfired when it turned out that many people in the crowd being interviewed by reporters were actually paid extras. The Toronto Globe & Mail learned that the extras had received printed instructions to “play types, for example, mothers, film buffs, tech […]

NETFLIX COMES TO CANADA — STREAMING VIDEO ONLY

Netflix announced today (Wednesday) that it is launching its online video-rental service in Canada, but there’ll be no red envelopes piling up at Canadian post offices. Netflix said that its library of thousands of movies will be available only via online streaming — and at a subscription cost significantly lower than what Americans pay for […]

NETFLIX ANNOUNCES CANADIAN PLANS

Netflix is planning to expand into Canada in the fall — but not with its rent-by-mail service. The company announced Monday that it will launch a subscription service that will allow Canadians to access thousands of movies and TV episodes via the Internet at a single monthly charge. It did not indicate what the charge […]