![Logo Shaw Communications](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Logo_Shaw_Communications.svg)
Shaw Communications Inc. is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
telecommunication
Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...
s company which provides telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. Headquartered in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, Shaw provides home telecommunications services primarily in Alberta and
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
and
satellite television
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
nationally. It also operates smaller
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
systems in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, and
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...
. Shaw provides mobile services through its subsidiary
Freedom Mobile
Freedom Mobile Inc. is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider owned by Shaw Communications. It has 6% market share of Canada, mostly in urban areas of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Freedom Mobile is the fourth-largest wirele ...
, under both the Freedom and
Shaw Mobile
Shaw Mobile is a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) division of Freedom Mobile, itself a subsidiary of Shaw Communications, which sells wireless services in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. Its launch was announced on ...
brands, in areas of Alberta, British Columbia, and
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a primary region of the province of Ontario, Canada, the other primary region being Northern Ontario. It is the most densely populated and southernmost region in Canada. The exact northern boundary of Southern Ontario is disp ...
. The company's chief competitor for home telecommunications in
western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada†...
is
Telus Communications
Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services including internet access, voi ...
.
History
Shaw was founded in 1966 by
JR Shaw
James Robert Shaw (August 14, 1934 – March 23, 2020) was a Canadian businessman. He founded Alberta-based Shaw Communications in 1966 and was the executive chairman of the company. As of 2016, Shaw and other members of his family controlled 85 ...
as ''Capital Cable Television Company, Ltd.'' in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, Alberta. It was originally a subsidiary of
Shawcor
Shawcor Ltd is a Canadian oilfield services company, based in Toronto, Ontario, and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. It specializes in providing services to the pipeline sector of the oil and gas market. It is one of the largest pipe-coating p ...
, JR's father's firm, but the business was split from Shawcor in the 1970s. The company changed its name to Shaw Cablesystems Ltd. (after founder and chairman JR Shaw) and went public on the
TSX
The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; french: Bourse de Toronto) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in t ...
in 1983. The company grew during the 1980s and 1990s through acquisitions of firms including
Classicomm in the Toronto area,
Access Communications
Access Communications is a Canadian telecommunications service provider operating in over 235 communities in Saskatchewan. Headquartered in Regina, the co-operative provides internet, cable television, telephone and security services to reside ...
in Nova Scotia,
Fundy Cable
Fundy Cable was a Canadian cable television provider, which served all major New Brunswick communities except for the Sackville area at the time of its purchase by Shaw Communications in 1999. Its operations were later acquired by Rogers Cable.
...
in New Brunswick,
Trillium Cable in Ontario, Telecable in
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
, Greater Winnipeg Cablevision (serving areas east of the Red River), and
Videon Cablesystems
Videon Cablesystems (also Videon Cable-TV or Metro Videon Community Antenna Television Inc.) was a Canadian cable television service in Manitoba, Alberta, and for a short period, northwest Ontario. The company was owned by Moffat Communicatio ...
of
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
(serving areas west of the Red River), which, back in 1998, had itself previously acquired
Vidéotron
Vidéotron is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Owned by Quebecor, it primarily s ...
's assets in Alberta. However, two swaps, in 1994 and 2001, with
Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc. is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, primarily in Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador. Ro ...
have resulted in its assets being restricted to
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada†...
and a few areas of
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a primary geographic and quasi-administrative region of the Canadian province of Ontario, the other primary region being Southern Ontario. Most of the core geographic region is located on part of the Superior Geological Provi ...
. In 1999, Shaw spun out its media properties into a second publicly traded company,
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
.
In 2001 the Moffat family sold
Videon Cablesystems
Videon Cablesystems (also Videon Cable-TV or Metro Videon Community Antenna Television Inc.) was a Canadian cable television service in Manitoba, Alberta, and for a short period, northwest Ontario. The company was owned by Moffat Communicatio ...
to Shaw.
Prior to 2003, Shaw owned cable systems in the United States previously owned by
Moffat Communications
Moffat Communications was a Canadian cable and broadcasting company. Privately owned by the Moffat family, the company was based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It first went public on the stock market in 1972.
In an interview with the Free Press reporter ...
, serving six communities in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
(Eastern
Pasco County
Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pasco ...
,
Clermont,
Palm Coast
Palm Coast is a city in Flagler County, Florida. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,180, more than twice the 32,832 counted in 2000. The population was estimated to be 89,800 in 2019. It is the most populous city in Flagler ...
,
Ormond Beach
Ormond Beach is a city in central Florida in Volusia County. The population was 43,080 at the 2020 census. Ormond Beach lies directly north of Daytona Beach and is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL Metropolitan ...
,
West Palm Beach
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
and
Doral), and the
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
suburbs of
Kingwood,
Lake Conroe
Lake Conroe is a lake in Montgomery County, Texas, United States. Even though it is named Lake Conroe, only a small portion of the lake is in Conroe, Texas. Most of the lake is in unincorporated Montgomery County. The lake lies on the West For ...
and
Lake Livingston
Lake Livingston is a reservoir located in the East Texas Piney Woods. Lake Livingston was built and is owned and operated by the Trinity River Authority (TRA) of Texas under contract with the City of Houston for water-supply purposes. The lake is ...
. In February 2003, the Florida systems would be sold to
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable, Inc. (TWC) was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, operat ...
(with the West Palm Beach and Doral systems later sold to
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
, and the other systems spun off to
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks, LLC also simply known as Bright House, was an American telecom company. Prior to its purchase by Charter Communications, it was the tenth-largest multichannel video service provider and the 6th largest cable internet prov ...
), while the Texas systems were sold to Cequel III, as part of its then-Cebridge Connections subsidiary (now
Suddenlink Communications
Suddenlink was an American telecommunications subsidiary of Altice USA trading in cable television, broadband, IP telephony, home security, and advertising. Prior to its acquisition by Altice, the company was the seventh largest cable operator wi ...
).
In 2008, Shaw entered the
AWS spectrum auction
A spectrum auction is a process whereby a government uses an auction system to sell the rights to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign scarce spectrum resources. Depending on the specific auction form ...
with the intention of possibly becoming a wireless phone provider. The auction ended July 2008, giving Shaw Communications enough spectrum to build a wireless network in its home provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
. This spectrum ultimately went unused and was sold to
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...
in January 2013.
[
In July 2009, Shaw announced its acquisition of ]Mountain Cablevision
Mountain Cable was one of three cable television service providers for the city of Hamilton, Ontario and its surrounding area, specifically the Hamilton Mountain area and Haldimand County. Its operations were acquired by Shaw Communications in 2 ...
; in September, Rogers sued Shaw to block the sale, citing violations of a non-compete clause
In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition agains ...
. However, the suit was quickly dismissed by the Ontario Superior Court. The purchase was approved by the CRTC on October 22, 2009. The acquisition was Shaw's first cable property east of Sault Ste. Marie since the 2001 swaps with Rogers and Cogeco
Cogeco Inc. is a Canadian telecommunications and media company. Its corporate offices are located at 1 Place Ville-Marie in Montreal, Quebec. The company is structured into three strategic business units (SBU); Cogeco Connexion, Breezeline ( ...
. Shaw's re-entry into Southern Ontario would be short-lived, as its Hamilton system would be resold to Rogers in January 2013 as part of a deal which also saw unused wireless spectrum sold to the company, and saw Rogers sell its stake in specialty channel TVtropolis
DTour (styled as DTOUR) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment.
The channel was originally established by Canwest in 1997 as Prime, a cable companion to Global Television Network, Glob ...
.
Return to broadcasting
On April 30, 2009, Shaw announced a deal to acquire three television stations — CHWI-TV
CHWI-DT (channel 16) is a television station licensed to Wheatley, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting CTV 2 programming to the Windsor area. Owned and operated by Bell Media, the station has studios at the Bell Canada Building in downtown Windsor wit ...
in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...
, CKNX-TV
CKNX-TV was a television station owned by CTVglobemedia (now known as Bell Media) which served mid-western Ontario, Canada. It was part of the A television system. The station's offices, studios, and transmission facilities were located in Wingh ...
in Wingham, Ontario
Wingham (2016 census population 2,934) is a community located in the municipality of North Huron, Ontario, Canada, which is located in Huron County. Wingham became part of North Huron in 2001 when the Ontario government imposed amalgamation on th ...
and CKX-TV
CKX-TV, VHF analogue channel 5, was a television station licensed to Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, which served as a private affiliate of CBC Television. Owned by CTVglobemedia, it was the first privately owned television station in Manitoba. It ...
in Brandon
Brandon may refer to:
Names and people
*Brandon (given name), a male given name
*Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins
Places
Australia
*Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales
*Brandon, Q ...
, Manitoba — from CTVglobemedia
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
. CTV had indicated that it would shut down the stations, all of which were incurring extensive financial losses, later in the year if a buyer could not be found, and had placed them on the market at a price of just $1 each.[CTV Accepts Shaw Offer to Buy Local Stations](_blank)
CTVglobemedia press release via TradeMarkets, April 30, 2009 However, it was reported on June 30, 2009, that Shaw had backed out of the deal and was declining to complete the purchase. CHWI-TV would remain on the air as is; CKNX-TV would become a repeater of London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
station CFPL-TV
CFPL-DT (channel 10) is a television station in London, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Kitchener-based CTV station CKCO-DT, channel 13 (although the two stations maintain separate oper ...
in September 2009, while CKX-TV would close down entirely in October 2009.
In February 2010, Shaw announced an agreement with the financially troubled Canwest
Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting an ...
, whereby Shaw would buy an 80% voting interest, and 20% equity interest, in the restructured entity of Canwest, pending approvals from the CRTC and others. Three months later, following negotiations with rival bidders, the company said it would purchase the entirety of Canwest's broadcasting assets, including the interests in the CW Media subsidiary partially held by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners is the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments globally. The group, which is based in New York City, was founded in 1986. As of 2019, GS Capital Partners had ...
. Canwest's newspapers were not part of the Shaw deal and were sold separately to Postmedia Network
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is a Canadian media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news ...
.
The acquisition was completed on October 27, 2010, after CRTC approval for the sale was announced on October 22, forming the Shaw Media
Shaw Media was the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owned the Global Television Network, which broadcasts nationally via 13 television stations, as well as 19 specialty channels including Slice (TV channel), Sli ...
division.
2012–present
In November 2012, Shaw underwent a corporate re-branding, introducing an updated logo and slogan, along with a new promotional campaign featuring animated robots (including two named mascot robots, Bit and Bud) that live in a representation of Shaw's infrastructure, depicting them as being responsible for how their services work. The campaign was designed by the Vancouver-based agency Rethink, who were also responsible for Bell Canada
Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...
's beaver
Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers ar ...
characters Frank and Gordon.
In April 2013, Shaw Business Solutions took over Enmax
Enmax Corporation (often styled as ENMAX) is a vertically integrated utility that generates and distributes electricity, natural gas, renewable energy, and value-added services to customers in Alberta, Canada.
Overview
Enmax, headquartered in C ...
's Envision subsidiary, which had built a fiber-optic network throughout Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
. The acquisition was completed for $225 million.
In 2014, Shaw partnered with Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...
to launch Shomi
Shomi (pronounced "show me") was a Canadian subscription video on demand service jointly owned by Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications. The service was viewed as a Canadian-based competitor to Netflix, with a library of 1,200 films and 1 ...
, a subscription video on demand service.
In February 2015, Shaw Communications announced that they would close operations for service call centres in Edmonton, Calgary and Kelowna, and consolidate operations in Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Montreal. 1,600 of Shaw's 14,000 employees were affected by the consolidation and cuts. The company offered affected employees the option to relocate to its centralised offices, apply for a new job at their location, or leave the company with a severance package for former employees unable to relocate.
In 2013, Shaw attempted to begin developing an IPTV
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...
-based platform for its television services. However, after experiencing issues developing the platform, Shaw took a $55 million write-down in June 2015, and announced that it was licensing Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
's cloud-based Xfinity
Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications company and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the com ...
X1 architecture. In January 2016, Shaw launched its mobile television
Mobile television is television watched on a small handheld or mobile device. It includes service delivered via mobile phone networks, received free-to-air via terrestrial television stations, or via satellite broadcast. Regular broadcast stan ...
app FreeRange TV, based on X1 infrastructure, which allows Shaw subscribers to stream selected TV channels and on-demand content. On January 11, 2017, Shaw launched its X1-based cable service, BlueSky, in Calgary. Shaw also launched "BlueCurve", a new suite of routers which was likewise based on Comcast's xFi platform and hardware.
Freedom Mobile, divestment of media assets
On December 16, 2015, Shaw announced its proposed acquisition of independent wireless provider Wind Mobile
Freedom Mobile Inc. is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider owned by Shaw Communications. It has 6% market share of Canada, mostly in urban areas of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Freedom Mobile is the fourth-largest wirele ...
from its investors in a deal worth approximately $1.6 billion. The transaction closed on March 1, 2016. Under Shaw, the company was renamed Freedom Mobile in November 2016, coinciding with the launch of its 4G LTE
In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA standards. It improves on those standards' capacity and speed by us ...
network. The acquisition of Wind was funded by a reorganization in April 2016, which saw the Shaw Media
Shaw Media was the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owned the Global Television Network, which broadcasts nationally via 13 television stations, as well as 19 specialty channels including Slice (TV channel), Sli ...
unit transferred to Corus Entertainment, in exchange for $1.85 billion in cash and 71,364,853 class B non-voting shares of Corus. The sale did not include Shaw's 50% stake in the Shomi
Shomi (pronounced "show me") was a Canadian subscription video on demand service jointly owned by Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications. The service was viewed as a Canadian-based competitor to Netflix, with a library of 1,200 films and 1 ...
streaming service and CJBN-TV
CJBN-TV, VHF analogue channel 13, was a Global- affiliated television station licensed to Kenora, Ontario, Canada. The station was owned by Shaw Communications under its cable systems unit, and was not part of the Shaw Media unit which was ...
Kenora; Shomi was shut down in November 2016 and CJBN-TV Kenora was shut down in January 2017.
Failed acquisition by Rogers
On March 15, 2021, Rogers announced that it will acquire Shaw for $26 billion, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. This proposed acquisition was criticized by public lobby groups like OpenMedia, as a move that would reduce national competition in the Canadian wireless communication market by removing one of the four major competitors from the market.
For the sale to go ahead, the CRTC has ordered Rogers to divest Freedom Mobile
Freedom Mobile Inc. is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider owned by Shaw Communications. It has 6% market share of Canada, mostly in urban areas of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Freedom Mobile is the fourth-largest wirele ...
. It was reported on March 16, 2022 that Globalive
Globalive is a Canadian telecommunications and investment company founded in 1998. It is based in Toronto, Ontario. Globalive is best known for its telecommunication businesses like WIND Mobile, Yak Communications, and OneConnect.
The company, G ...
, the former parent company of Freedom (formerly Wind), intends to re-acquire the wireless company for $3.75 billion. The CRTC approved the merger on March 24, 2022.
On May 9, 2022, the Competition Bureau
The Competition Bureau (french: Bureau de la concurrence) is the competition regulator in Canada. It is an independent Canadian law enforcement agency that ensures that markets operate in a competitive, innovative manner.
Headed by the Comm ...
announced an application to the Competition Tribunal to block the transaction due to its effects on the wireless market.
On August 1, 2022, Rogers announced that the merger is expected to be completed at the end of the year, however, on October 25, 2022, it was announced that the Rogers-Shaw merger has been rejected.
Other activities
Shaw was the parent of Shaw Broadcast Services
Shaw Broadcast Services (French: Services de Radiodiffusion Shaw) is the division of Canadian telecommunications company Shaw Communications that is responsible for providing and managing the distribution of television channels to cable companies ...
(previously Shaw Satellite Services, Canadian Satellite Communications, or Cancom) and, through Shaw Broadcast Services, Shaw Direct
Shaw Direct is a direct broadcast satellite television distributor in Canada and a subsidiary of the telecommunications company Shaw Communications. As of 2010, Shaw Direct had over 900,000 subscribers. It broadcasts on Ku band from two commu ...
, one of Canada's two national direct broadcast satellite
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...
providers. For many years it also owned a number of radio stations and specialty television services; these assets were later spun off into Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
in an effort to satisfy a now-repealed CRTC policy discouraging cross-ownership of cablesystems and specialty services.
Controversy
Internet usage-based billing
In December 2010, Shaw filed complaints with the CRTC to have competing internet video services such as Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
classified as broadcasters under Canadian law. In the same month, Shaw introduced usage-based billing on internet plans and lowered plan caps an average of 25% while introducing overage fees of $1 to $2 per gigabyte. On February 8, 2011, Shaw agreed to put a hold on usage-based billing for its services and to this date continues to not charge customers any overages for surpassing Internet data caps.
Eponymous buildings
* Shaw Court, Calgary (head office)
* Shaw Tower, Vancouver
* Shaw Centre, Ottawa
* Shaw Park
Shaw Park (formerly CanWest Global Park) is a baseball stadium in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is located adjacent to The Forks, near the city's downtown, and is home to the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association.
Features
Shaw Park ...
, Winnipeg
* Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea not-for-profit cultural and learning centre sponsored by Shaw Communications, Sidney, British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
*
See also
* '' Burning Log''
* Canwest
Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting an ...
* Classicomm
* Cybertip.ca
* List of assets owned by Shaw Communications
This is a list of assets owned by Shaw Communications.
Approximately 80% of the voting control in Shaw Communications is held by the family of founder JR Shaw. The same family also owns about 80% of the voting rights in Corus Entertainment, and h ...
* Media ownership in Canada
* Telecom
* List of internet service providers in Canada
This is an alphabetical list of notable internet service providers in Canada.
Among Canada's biggest internet service providers (ISP) are Bell, Rogers, Telus, and Shaw—with the former two being the largest in Ontario, and the latter two dominat ...
Notes
External links
*
CRTC chart of Shaw Communications' assets
{{Authority control, state=expanded
Companies based in Calgary
Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange
S&P/TSX 60
Telecommunications companies of Canada
Telecommunications companies established in 1966
Canadian companies established in 1966
1966 establishments in Alberta
Canadian brands
Internet service providers of Canada