MONTREAL – Bell Canada said late Monday it has surpassed 2.7 million total TV customers in the third quarter of 2015 and launched “Enhanced Restart”, which lets customers go back in time, and “Trending”, which shows what Canadians are watching and lets customers join in.
(The company also said in its release it is now the largest TV provider in the country, passing the approximately 2.6 million TV customers served by Shaw Communications under its cable and satellite TV banners.)
"Bell has transformed into a broadband communications growth company in recent years, and becoming Canada's favourite TV provider is proof of our ongoing progress," said George Cope, president and CEO in the press release sent out hours before the company’s Q3 results will be announced Thursday morning. "As Bell celebrates our 135th year of providing the world's best communications to Canadians, the new broadband networks we're building today are sparking innovation, transforming our company and ensuring Canada's leadership in advanced communications."
Bell's Fibe and Atlantic Canada FibreOP networks are delivering new features such as the Restart feature on Fibe TV, which lets customers start live TV shows already in progress from the beginning. Restart has now been enhanced to let viewers go back in time to watch and restart shows that aired in the previous 30 hours.
Also new is Resume, which lets users change channels while replaying a show, then change back to the original channel, and pick up where they left off. As well,
Another new service, Suggestions now offers customized viewing recommendations for video on demand, and Trending will immediately list the five most-watched shows in Canada in both English and French at any given time. Viewers can then switch to them to watch live or Restart from the beginning.
"Canadian television is a competitive and fast-changing sector and Bell is embracing the challenge and the opportunity with the best viewing options across every platform and a dedication to being first with the new TV features that consumers want," said Rizwan Jamal, president of Bell Residential and Small Business, in the release.
