By David Farrell
Rogers reports $593M Q3 profit
Rogers Communications Inc. cut its financial guidance as it reported a profit of $593 million in its latest quarter, compared with $594 million in the same quarter last year.
In its outlook, Rogers said it now expects its 2019 revenue compared with 2018 to range between a decrease of one percent and growth of one percent. It was the first full quarter since the Toronto-based company adopted a new pricing model for its wireless services that include unlimited amount of data for a fixed price per month. — The Canadian Press
Voters unimpressed with election coverage
A clear majority of Canadians say most of the news coverage and social media posts they’ve seen about the federal election have been negative.
According to an Ipsos poll done exclusively for Global News, 71 percent of Canadians report seeing, hearing or reading mostly negative news about the parties and their leaders, compared to just 29 percent who say what they have seen focused mostly on party policies and proposals. — Amanda Connolly, Global News
The parties went negative, and the media enabled them
It would be wrong to say that the media alone were responsible for the negativity of this campaign. What we witnessed was rather a cycle, much of it beginning with the parties themselves, turbo-charged by the media, spun through social media, then picked up again and further amplified by the politicians. This cycle could have been broken had the parties presented big ideas or divided more clearly on issues of principle or policy, but for the most part they chose not to. And there were signs of resistance in the media. — Paul Adams, Policy Options Politiques
The Score is betting against weak financials
On Wednesday, Score Media reported its Q4 and fiscal 2019 results. In the fourth quarter, the company posted an EBITDA loss of $4.1-million on revenue of $6.4-million, a topline that was up 25 percent over the same period last year, but one analyst is bug-eyed on the stock as the media brand rolls out its sports betting app in the US. — Nick Waddell, CanTech Letter
OTG celebrates 50 years on the air
Radio One’s afternoon show On the Go, serving Newfoundland and Labrador, has had some wild moments getting to air, and just as many on the air. Ted Blades recounts some wild moments as a 20-year veteran producer of the show, and how the crew jury-rigged equipment to launch what became a collective voice for small communities strung across expansive geography.
While Canada moves forward, CBC TV moves backward
As sure as the sun came up on the day after the federal election, there were huge sighs of relief at CBC HQ. After all, it would have been super awkward to find Andrew Scheer was prime minister, given that CBC entered into a hissy-fit lawsuit against the Conservative Party during the election campaign. For using the broadcaster’s footage in an online advertisement.
SiriusXM hitting the jingle bells player starting Nov. 1
The US system goes live today with its Hallmark channel pumping out a very merry collection of hackneyed seasonal ringers designed to transform passive listeners into credit card-wielding consumers but, like its Canadian counterpart, the full-frontal assault hits Nov. 1, which just happens to be the day following the night before when ghoulish little monsters rub their bleary eyes and sore tummies from a Halloween night masquerading as gremlins and goblins.
