EDMONTON – The man many thought would finally bring western telco Telus into the TV distribution game, former Videotron president Guy Beauchamp, has left the western telco after only a year as its executive vice-president, consumer solutions.
While the company made no announcement and could not make anyone available for comment to www.cartt.ca, Beauchamp’s last day was April 15th. He worked in cable for over 25 years, starting with the company his father ran, Telecable Laurentien, in Hull, Que. He was appointed chair of the Canadian Cable Television Association in 1989 at the age of 29 while general manager of Telecable Laurentien and went from Laurentien to CF Cable when it was purchased and finally to Videotron when it bought CF Cable. Beauchamp was promoted to president and CEO of Videotron Communications in January, 2000. He was made president and COO of Videotron ltee later in the year.
He and Videotron parted acrimoniously in 2001, after the company was acquired by Quebecor Inc.
Where Beauchamp’s departure leaves Telus’s push into digital television is unclear – but not really any less clear than it had been before, since the company has been very tight-lipped about when it might push its TV product into the market in Alberta and British Columbia.
However, a source very close to the situation told www.cartt.ca that the lone remaining hold-up for Telus is that its digital set top box supplier, Thomson (RCA), has yet to supply it with enough decoders for a large launch. However, that source believes that problem should soon be rectified and that Telus will launch Telus TV sometime later this summer.
– Greg O’Brien
