Media Beat: September 29, 2022

By David Farrell

CRTC is asking viewers for comments on basic cable pricing

We want to hear your views on a joint application filed by four TV service providers (Bell, Cogeco, Bragg and SaskTel), to increase the maximum price of the basic TV package from $25/month to $28/month, with adjustments based on the rate of inflation for each subsequent year.

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15 Canadian companies on the rise, according to LinkedIn data

The 2022 LinkedIn Top Startups list reveals 15 emerging Canadian companies gaining attention, backed by LinkedIn data measuring different elements of growth and demand. The list reveals companies like @Neo Financial, @BenchSci and @Drop that are deserving of attention.  – LinkedIn News

Bell Media employees: ‘Let’s Talk’ about CTV’s toxic, abusive workplace

CTV News is a toxic and abusive workplace, according to 20 current and former employees who have penned a document outlining their personal experiences working for the company, in the wake of the high-profile dismissal of the organization’s lead anchor Lisa LaFlamme.

Accounts of bullying, abusive language and unsustainable labour demands have created an environment that has caused a great deal of damage, in the eyes of those who have come forward. – Sarah Lawrymuik, Canadaland

Lengthy delay on Rogers’ takeover of Shaw hurting entire telecom market, analysts say

There is also frustration in telecom circles over the government’s inability to deliver long-promised regulations for telecom upstarts, known as mobile virtual network operators or MVNOs, which encourage competition by reselling cellphone service on another company’s wireless infrastructure. – Andrew Willis, The Globe and Mail

Global pay-TV subscriptions forecast to hit 1B by 2027

The number of pay TV subscribers in 138 countries is forecast to reach 1.03 billion by 2027, according to new research.

This would represent more than half (57%) of TV households, a decrease from the peak reached in 2018 of 61%. – Ella Sagar, The Media Leader

Z-bag loses $71B

As of this writing, Mark Zuckerberg has lost over $70 billion this year. With that kind of money he could have bought a junior space cadet moon rocket from Bezos or paid an entire week of Trump lawyer's fees. The poor bastard only has $55 billion left.

Meanwhile, investors in his company have lost about 60% of their money since he renamed his shithole organization Mega Pratfalls ...oops...Meta Platforms.

This chart shows what Market Watch calls "The Meta Meltdown" and how Facebook (ok, Meta) in red, has done against other big ass companies on the Dow in recent times.

All-in-all it has not been a good couple of weeks for the Z-man.

A Harvard expert called him a dipshit. Okay, he didn't actually use the word "dipshit." But in an interview with CNBC, Harvard Business School senior fellow Bill George said, “I think Facebook is not going to do well as long as he’s there... He’s likely one of the reasons so many people are turning away from the company. He’s really lost his way.”

George says there are three reasons Z-bag is dragging Facebook down:
   - He doesn't take responsibility and he delegates blame
   - He's a loner who won't take advice
   - He puts "fame and fortune" ahead of integrity

I agree that Z-bag is dragging Facebook down. But my reason is simpler. He's a dipshit.

Then there's this. According to the Wall Street Journal, Facebook is "reorganizing departments and giving affected employees a limited window to apply for other roles within the company." Anyone who's ever run a business knows that this is just legal cover for finding excuses to get rid of people.

While companies use this trick all the time to dump unwanted employees, according to the Journal, “workers with good reputations and strong performance reviews are being pushed out on a regular basis.” This is indicative of something very new to Facebook -- financial problems.

Finally, in a class action suit filed this week, Adweek reported that Meta was accused of "Tracking Users, Flouting Apple's Privacy Rules."

According to the lawsuit, a Facebook app gets around Apple's privacy rules by using an in-app browser to bypass the user's default browser. I have no idea what the hell that means, but apparently, “This allows Meta to intercept, monitor and record its users’ interactions and communications with third parties, providing data to Meta that it aggregates, analyzes and uses to boost its advertising revenue."

A Meta spokesferret said they will be defending this lawsuit "vigorously." As you'll see below, there's gonna be a lot of "vigorous" defending going on in adtech world. – Bob Hoffman, The Ad Contrarian