Village Gamer

Canadian Satellite Radio Holdings Inc., the parent company of XM Canada, and Sirius Canada Inc., are pleased to announce that the organizations have completed the merger announced in November 2010. Operating as SiriusXM Canada, the newly merged entity will have more than 1.8 million subscribers and form one of the country’s leading media companies.   The combined company’s stock will continue to be traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “XSR”.

“Today’s news brings us to an exciting conclusion of a process we started late last year,” commented Mark Redmond, President and CEO of SiriusXM Canada. “With this combination we have created a powerful Canadian media company with more than 1.8 million subscribers that is among the largest subscription entertainment companies in Canada. Today, SiriusXM Canada is stronger financially and well positioned to succeed in the highly competitive audio entertainment industry. Our increased size will bring a renewed focus to our strategy to lead the in-car entertainment experience as well as mobile and online listening.”

“While both companies have enjoyed much success since the launch of the category in 2005, the growth opportunities for SiriusXM Canada are tremendous,” noted John Bitove, Chairman of SiriusXM Canada. “Our partnerships with all of the major automotive manufacturers will be a key catalyst to our growth.”

As a combined organization, SiriusXM Canada will have a total subscriber base of over 1.8 million.  On a trailing 12-month basis (ending August 31^st, 2010), the combined company will have pro forma revenues of approximately $200 million, and pro forma adjusted EBITDA of approximately $3.7 million. Not only is the merger expected to yield synergies of approximately $20 million within 18 months, the company will benefit from accelerated growth and a laser-focus on the subscriber experience.

The merged company will continue to have a strong presence at more than 3,000 retail locations, an expanding online/mobile offering, and its radios will be factory installed in more than 800,000 vehicles sold in Canada this year.

Canadian consumers will benefit from this merger in several ways over the coming months.  To start, SiriusXM Canada will be launching a new channel dedicated to Aboriginal content by September of this year. “We’re excited about the launch of this new channel which further demonstrates our commitment to the diverse cultural makeup of Canadian content,” said Redmond.

“We also look forward to the introduction of an interoperable receiver later this year, allowing customers to subscribe to either or both of the two services.  SiriusXM Canada has the most exciting audio entertainment content available anywhere. We’ll continue to listen to what our subscribers want from us, we’ll deliver the best music and entertainment listening experience anywhere,” said Redmond.

The merger will have no immediate effect on the current service coverage or existing radios, and in the near term, customers can expect to interact with each company as they always have.

“We will work quickly to integrate the two companies, creating a best-in-class management team and employee base,” said Redmond.  “The opportunity in front of us is huge; for our shareholders, our employees, our partners, and most of all, our customers.”

As consideration for all of the issued and outstanding shares of Sirius, Sirius XM Canada issued from treasury to the former shareholders of Sirius (the “Sirius Shareholders”), the following:

• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation: 53,570,361 Class B Voting Shares (“Class B Shares”) (approximately 19.90% voting interest);
• Slaight Communications Inc.: 53,570,361 Class B Shares (approximately 19.90% voting interest); and
• Sirius XM Radio Inc.: 25,248,444 Class A Subordinated Voting Shares and 30,967,680 Class B Shares (approximately 25.00% voting interest).

The approximate ownership interest in Sirius XM Canada following the closing of the Merger is represented by the ownership interests of the Sirius Shareholders set out above as well as an approximate 30.50% voting interest held by CSRI Inc., the balance being widely held.

Quebec’s D-BOX Technologies Inc. has signed a new agreement with Cobb Theatres to expand its presence in the Southeastern U.S. and equip three new locations with its D-BOX MFX Seats.

Scheduled to debut the immersive movie experience this summer, Cobb Theatres’ Dolphin 19 at Dolphin Mall in Miami, Florida is one of the best performing locations in the U.S. and will offer 36 D-BOX MFX Seats. Additional locations include Cobb’s Hollywood 16 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Lakeside 18 in Lakeland, Florida, each with 34 D-BOX MFX Seats.

“We are pleased to announce that D-BOX will soon be available at one of the top grossing theatres in the U.S.,” said President and CEO of D-BOX Technologies, Claude Mc Master. “This is a significant advancement for D-BOX, one that increases market share while presenting D-BOX on a larger scale.”

“The D-BOX experience has proved highly successful at our current theatres and we are looking forward to expanding on that, rolling out the motion technology at multiple locations,” said Chief Operating Officer of Cobb Theatres, Jeremy P. Welman.

Intertainment Media Inc., creators of real time experiential translation platform Ortsbo, has begun the full roll-out of  its multi-language application for the world’s most popular email platform, Microsoft Outlook. Users who register at Ortsbo.com for the free trial of Ortsbo for Outlook, or “O4O” will receive the ability to send and receive emails in over 50 languages. Later this year, Ortsbo will release Ortsbo 2.0 expanding the entire platform of services with 80 languages and enhanced email, online, mobile, portable, translation and learning based language services.

All currently registered and new O4O users who register by early August 2011 will be eligible to participate in Ortsbo’s Cruise Into Translation promotion and have the opportunity to win 1 of 5 trips on the KISS KRUISE in October 2011. Ortsbo is making available up to 10 Million copies of O4O beta for initial free trials and users who choose to convert to the full version of O4O will be entitled to initial introductory pricing of as low as $29.95 US for the application.

Ortsbo has also begun to ramp up its activation of users on its cloud computing based Windows Azure Platform, providing global users of Ortsbo the ability to connect through any desktop, mobile or portable computer browser. Ortsbo for Azure is a HTML based platform and does not require any downloading, allowing users in both consumer and commercial settings to use the program. Recent tests of the updated platform have seen the daily traffic accelerate by up to 150% over the previous records set for Ortsbo engagement and without the time delays experienced with the Silverlight version of Ortsbo. The Company is confident that Windows Azure will allow virtually unlimited global connections and immediate response for the Ortsbo platform. Ortsbo plans to release additional user statistics as it completes testing of the new platform. Read the rest of this entry »

The next generation of connected entertainment continues with the launch of the Shaw Gateway experience for Edmonton customers, who join  Shaw Gateway customers in Calgary, where the new program was launched; other Canadian markets will have access to Gateway soon.

The Gateway brings customers a shared PVR experience and more than 1,200 HD Video On Demand titles. The PVR supports the recording of up to six programs at once, while playing back up to three previously recorded programs – all in HD.

“The Gateway is the first product of its kind in Canada and brings customers a totally new way of experiencing technology and connectivity,” said Peter Bissonnette, President, Shaw Communications Inc. “We’re excited to launch the product to our Edmonton customers and provide them with the ultimate in entertainment with the Shaw Gateway.”

Customers can seamlessly pick up recordings on another TV and resume playback without missing a beat. The Gateway also enables customers to maximize HD/SD recordings with Shaw’s PVR expanders. An enriched Program Guide with content filters and enhanced search is one of the Gateway’s key features. Customers can access VOD titles through a live TV storefront, along with on-screen video games and live Shaw Pay Per View events.

In the coming months more features will be available on the Shaw Gateway, including:

• Integration of web content, providing customer access to Internet content through their TVs
• Remote PVR scheduling that allows customers to set up program recordings online and on their handheld devices
• Global Content Search of live TV, recorded TV, VOD and PPV content, and PC files on PCs and laptops
• Home sharing allowing customers to share pictures and content from their computer onto their television

The Shaw Gateway brings together broadband and HD technology with DLNA (Digital Life Network Alliance) standards to deliver the industry’s best in-home entertainment. The product launched in Calgary on May 3, and will be available in Vancouver and throughout the country during summer 2011.

The Gateway is available with the Shaw Easy Own program for $17 per month over 36 months or $598.

Mobio Identity Systems, an international mobile payment and marketing company, is pleased to announce the launch of its flagship Mobio App for BlackBerry. This enables BlackBerry devices with all the mobile payment and identity management capabilities found on Mobio for iPhone and Mobio for Android applications. Mobio is the only mobile payment and identity management application on App World and the only one that leverages QR barcode technology. All BlackBerry Pearl, Curve, Bold, Tour, Torch and Style models are supported.

With the addition of Mobio for BlackBerry to its offerings, the Company will be able to engage an additional 2.8 million Canadian Smartphone users who are loyal BlackBerry fans. According to ComScore’s latest survey on Canadian Smartphone usage, RIM’s BlackBerry operating system is the most popular with a 42.0 percent share of the country’s Smartphone subscribers.

To celebrate Mobio’s recent listing on BlackBerry App World, the Company is holding its first national interactive TV contest. Together with exclusive broadcast partner, Shaw Media, the contest will be available to 14 million Shaw viewers across Canada. For a 2-week period beginning June 20, 2011, Mobio barcodes will be displayed on three of Shaw’s most popular channels – Action, Diva and Showcase. Using their Smartphones, viewers will be able to scan the barcode off the TV screen to be instantly entered to win a tablet PC. Viewers are encouraged to watch often and enter as many times as they like.

“We are excited to celebrate the launch of Mobio for BlackBerry with an exciting national Mobio-enabled TV contest,” said Clovis Najm, CEO of Mobio Identity Systems. “Now virtually all 6.6 million Smartphone users in Canada will be able to benefit from Mobio’s payment and identity capabilities as well as participate in interactive multi-media contests and promotions.”

Mobile local search service provider Poynt Corporation has announced a multi-year agreement with mobile ad-server Mocean Mobile (NYC) to create a complete advertising solution for direct local marketing campaigns targeted to smartphone users when and where the consumer is searching for specific goods and services.

The Poynt application is a convenient and timesaving GPS-enabled mobile application that connects consumers to local businesses, events, restaurants, movie theaters, gas prices and weather information at the moment they are looking to buy or acquire products. Poynt provides consumers the ability to move beyond discovery of their local area to view movie trailers and reviews, buy movie tickets, click-to-call businesses, get directions, browse listing websites and read reviews and book dining reservations. Poynt Corp. has content partnerships with Citysearch, Yellow Pages, Superpages, OpenTable, Movietickets.com and many more.

“We drive revenue and conversions for established global media operators by helping them reach the right audience,” said Andrew Osis, CEO of Poynt Corp. “Our implementation through the Mocean Mobile service will give us the much-needed infrastructure to easily and effectively run our advertisers’ campaigns from soup to nuts, ultimately driving revenue and conversions for individual advertisers.”

The Mocean Mobile platform is used by some of the largest publishers and content providers in the world to streamline their mobile revenue opportunities on all mobile devices. Poynt Corp.’s implementation of the platform will give their advertisers the ability to engage with users most relevant to the advertiser’s needs through dynamic and rich media creative campaigns on mobile. Poynt Corp.’s mobile marketing partners will also have the best available tools at their disposal for executing direct campaigns, as well as conducting mediation where needed through Mocean Mobile’s fully-integrated capabilities.

“Poynt is an exciting and incredibly useful application. We are pleased to be chosen as the solution that can best help Poynt Corp. effectively serve relevant ads to their users and as their monetization platform,” said Tony Nethercutt, GM North America for Mocean Mobile. “Given the level of due diligence Poynt Corp. put into selecting their ad serving partner, it makes us all proud that our technology came out on top. We look forward to a fantastic and lasting relationship.”

Poynt is available as a free download for iPhone and iPod Touch, Android, Nokia QT, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet users in Canada, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Spain and Australia from the respective App Stores. Poynt is also available via over-the-air download at m.poynt.com.

Sonomax Technologies Inc. has signed an agreement with JAM Industries Ltd., North American distributor of products to the Musical Instruments & Professional Audio channels (MI&PRO). JAM owns and operates American Music & Sound (AM&S) based in Los Angeles. AM&S will distribute sculpted eers™ in the U.S.  Erikson Audio, another division owned by JAM and headquartered in Quebec, will distribute sculpted eers™ throughout Canada. JAM reported sales of $230M in 2010 and distributes to 3,800 dealers in North America.

“We have been evaluating this technology for close to a year now and believe that the market is ready for this product,” said Martin Szpiro, JAM’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are watching the product launch that is currently underway, very closely.  Our goal is to learn as much as possible about the product and the consumer experiences, so that we are very prepared for the second phase of the Sonomax launch, which is planned for this fall,” added Szpiro.

“There are so many advantages to doing business with a company like JAM,” said Nick Laperle, CEO of Sonomax. “They have offices across the U.S. and Canada, and a huge dealer network.  They also cater to one of our core niche markets, the amateur and semi-professional musician, who understand that getting custom earphones or in-ear monitors, as they are known in the industry, is a 3 to 4 week process that can cost anywhere from $400 to $3,500. With sculpted eers™, musicians can walk in and out of a store with custom-molded earphones in minutes, for between $199.99 and $299.99, based on the model they choose.  How cool is that?” Laperle added.

Sonomax reminds shareholders of its Annual & General Meeting to be held tomorrow, Tuesday June 21^st at 10:00am, Hotel Vogue, 1425 De La Montagne Street, Montreal, Quebec. Martin Szpiro, JAM’s CEO will be at the meeting to discuss the agreement and provide outlook for 2011-2012.

Two Toronto companies will have greater opportunities to develop new technologies thanks to a Government of Canada investment of nearly $2 million announced today by the Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).

“The Government of Canada is investing in the people, businesses and communities of southern Ontario to create jobs and encourage economic growth,” said Minister Goodyear. “New businesses face many challenges getting access to capital. Today’s investment will help these companies develop new ideas and bring them to market.”

Nulogy Corporation will receive a contribution of up to $954,687, which will allow it to be first-to-market with its ‘PackShop’ software that is used to customize packaging design for marketers and retailers. The company has also received support from the growth equity investment company Klass Capital Corporation.

“Nulogy will use this financing to expand as we secure new customers and enter new markets around the world,” Jason Tham, Chief Executive Officer of Nulogy Corporation. “Living and investing locally, while competing globally, has always been important to us, and we are very grateful to be able to continue our journey with great partners like FedDev Ontario and Klass Capital.”

Maintenance Assistant Inc. will receive a contribution of up to $975,000 to enhance its Collaborative Computerized Maintenance Management software to help businesses better maintain equipment and machinery, as well as procure parts and services through a web-based format. The company has also received support from accredited angel investors.

“I am extremely pleased to receive this federal funding through Investing in Business Innovation,” said Marc Castel, Chief Executive Officer of Maintenance Assistant Inc. “In combination with our angel investment through the Golden Triangle Angel Network and the Niagara Angel Network, the government support will allow us to focus on our growth objectives and build a world-class enterprise software company for equipment maintenance.”

Investing in Business Innovation is a direct result of feedback from business leaders, academics and community leaders from across southern Ontario, who suggested FedDev Ontario take a leadership role in encouraging entrepreneurs and investors to take the risks necessary to put southern Ontario businesses on the map.

FedDev Ontario was created as part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan to support businesses and communities in southern Ontario. Now in its second year of operation, the Agency has launched a number of initiatives to create a Southern Ontario Advantage and place the region in a strong position to compete in the global economy. These initiatives are designed to support businesses and other organizations through partnerships and investments in skills and training; innovation; research and development; and increased productivity. 

In response to the growing consumer and merchant demand for mobile payment technologies in Canada, Vancouver’s Payfirma Corporation has launched its proprietary iPhone Mobile Payment app, also compatible with iPod Touch and iPad.

Developed in Vancouver by the Company’s Fintech Innovation Team, the app is available as a free download from Apple’s iTunes App Store. It can be activated remotely by any merchant account customer of Payfirma’s, and the optional card swiper can be purchased directly from the Company.

“Canadian consumers and businesses are extremely technology literate and savvy,” says Michael Gokturk, Founder & CEO of Payfirma, Canada’s leading innovator of payment processing technologies & services. “They are always seeking efficient and secure means of transacting financially with one another, and our mobile payment app enables them to do just that.”

Payfirma’s proprietary app lets any business or consumer accept all major credit cards securely on an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Users can swipe or manually input a credit card, capture a digital signature on the screen, and authorize the transaction within 10 seconds. A customizable receipt can then be emailed directly to the customer from within the app.

“We developed the this product with Canadians in mind,” continues Gokturk. “While there are other apps similar to Payfirma’s out there, none are designed with the needs and culture of Canadian merchants or consumers in mind.”

The app is offered for free, but users must have a valid Canadian merchant account to process live transactions. Opening a merchant account with Payfirma is easy, and can be opened directly within the app itself, or on the Company’s website.

The Quebecor Fund Board of Directors is pleased to announce the names of the four production companies and three distributors whose projects will receive second-round funding under the Event and Film Production Assistance Program (EFPAP), following June 3, 2011 submissions. The distributors whose projects were selected will share a total of $675,000 in funding. The following companies are involved in those productions: feature film producers Go Films L.P.R.S. Inc., Christal Films Productions Inc., Les Films Camera Oscura Inc. and micro_scope inc.; and distributors Alliance Vivafilm Inc., Christal Films Inc. and Filmoption International Inc.

Quebecor Fund’s EFPAP program seeks to capture synergies with all industry stakeholders in order to:

• support the production of Canadian French-language feature films;
• support multiplatform exploitation of feature films and, in particular, foster integrated marketing strategies with an interactive component, starting from the development stage;
• enable the creative and production teams to produce a work as close as possible to their original creative vision;
• support television coverage of French-language events with Canadian content;
• support television coverage of events with integrated promotion and distribution on multiple platforms, including TV on demand;
• help recipients realize a return on investment in order to increase the Fund’s impact.

Quebecor Fund, a major source of financing for the production of Canadian television content, is an independent fund with a mission to support the production of Canadian content intended for television broadcast. Quebecor Fund backs television and film production, as well as the production of related interactive multimedia components that use new information and communication technologies, particularly platforms such as high-speed Internet, interactive television (ITV), video on demand (VoD), and/or various fixed and mobile devices.

Quebecor Fund was established through Videotron Ltd., which provides over $7.2 million annually in broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU) contributions to the Canadian industry. Under its new Event and Film Production Assistance Program (EFPAP), launched in September 2010, Quebecor Fund has granted financial assistance totalling more than $1.5 million in its first two rounds of funding.

RECIPIENTS

FILM PRODUCTIONS

L’Affaire Dumont

• Producer: Go Films L.P.R.S. Inc. – Distributor: Alliance Vivafilm Inc.

Michel Dumont is charged, tried and convicted of sexual assault, all the while protesting his innocence. A 10-year-long David and Goliath saga set in modern times that raises basic questions about guilt and innocence.

Pee-Wee

• Producer: Christal Films Productions Inc. – Distributor: Christal Films Inc.

A 12-year-old hockey player must overcome multiple obstacles to lead his team in the world pee-wee hockey tournament in Québec City.

Roche-papier-ciseaux

• Producer: Les Films Camera Oscura Inc. – Distributor: Filmoption International Inc.

A young Aboriginal man and a depressed crime kingpin become friends; a ruined Italian man risks everything to save his wife; a banned doctor flees the Chinese triads. Because of a mad Mafia boss, their paths intersect.

Inch’Allah

• Producer: micro_scope inc. – Distributor: Christal Films Inc.

Chloé, a young Québec obstetrician, works in a Palestinian refugee camp. She experiences the checkpoints and the separation wall; she sees war and those who wage it.