Ted spins things cable’s way
During his conference call this week with financial analysts to present the company’s very strong second quarter results, Rogers Communications founder and CEO Ted Rogers lit into Bell (again) for daring to complain about regulation. During the call Rogers grumbled that the distribution rules between cable and satellite are still different – and more favorable to DTH companies when compared to cable.
While a case can be made for that, one can’t be made for what he said next when he insisted that Canadian satellite companies have used those rules to take cable customers away, "to the tune of millions." While Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice collectively have over 2.5 million customers, most of those are people who either had no cable before or were served by a company with a limited channel lineup. A drive anywhere north of the GTA confirms that. Every house, every trailer, every hut, tent or outhouse along the Trans Canada Highway I saw on a recent trip to Sault Ste. Marie had some kind of dish. Only a minority of ExpressVu and Star Choice customers live in urban centres (much to the chagrin of those companies), which is where most of Rogers customers lie. Canadian DTH companies took customers away more "to the tune of thousands" than millions.
It’s hard to get through on the phone
With only half an hour set aside to talk to Canadian media types every quarter when it presents its financial results, Bell Canada routinely leaves questions unanswered for the unfortunate lot (hopefully it’s more than just lil’ ol’ me) still patiently waiting to ask a question when its decided that time is up. I really wanted to ask if the scuttlebutt I’ve heard in the industry that Bell is unsatisfied with the IPTV technology it is testing and won’t launch until the second half of 2007 is true. But the teleconference was wrapped up before the operator got to me. I never got the chance to put my query to the honchos and my e-mail follow up query wasn’t answered by press time.
All Cope said during the earlier analyst call (where we reporters aren’t allowed to ask questions) was: "It is the intention of the company to enter the IPTV market. Clearly we have been pushing that date out." To when? He wouldn’t say.
Northern needs
The CRTC just wrapped up a hearing in Whitehorse on the future of the regs surrounding Northwestel. The Bell Canada division, which is a cable and a telephone company, wants to increase the amount it charges business and residential customers and draw an additional $30 million, in addition to the $10 million it already receives from a national subsidy fund all ILECs pay into. Cartt.ca has four editors working for us plus several other freelancers in certain Canadian cities but none in Whitehorse. The Whitehorse Daily Star did a fine job covering the hearing. Click here to go there.
Quebec battle
Bell and Videotron are locked in a heated battle for customers in La Belle Province. Videotron has taken over a quarter of a million local phone customers with its $16 a month phone service. Bell, however, has hit the cable company where it hurts, slashing its DSL retail price in Videotron areas. That strategy, said Bell’s president and COO George Cope, "will continue until we see some reasonable pricing on the phone side from our competitor in that market."
An odd ad and some small screen reservations
An Ontario electronics retailer recently ran a promotion heavy on radio ads pushing the U2 iPod. The retailer was offering all those who bought the digital music player a free U2 CD. Is it just me or is that a little strange. If you’re getting the iPod, do you really want or need the CD?
Speaking of iPods, I’ve had my 30GB iPod Video for about a year now. It’s got 500 songs in it, give or take, but my use of it has dropped by about 90% compared to my first six months of ownership. I’m more apt to listen to MaxTrax and Galaxie via my TV or tune to a local radio station on line these days. I think I’ll try satellite radio, too. As for video on my iPod, forget it. I can’t be bothered to download any and if I’m going to spend my free time in front of a screen – it’s going to be my television, not a micro portable one.
And speaking of portable screens, video to mobile phones still has a long way to go. During the World Cup I had a Sony Ericsson W810i from Rogers Wireless. The incessant text messaging was a great way to keep up with the game action when I was in the office – although in the opening rounds I kept threatening to flush the thing away because of the seemingly non-stop messages of who scored or shot or got a red card. But when I went to the Grand Prix of Toronto on Cup Championship Sunday and it was fun to update the folks on the train on the way back from Toronto on what was going on in the final game. "Zidane got a what???"
The drawback to the service was the video. It was so pixilated and distorted I couldn’t make out the ball on the tiny screen when viewing the highlights – and the audio without the headphones in left much to be desired as well. It’ll only get better but for now, the wireless video I’ve seen (including MobiTV) confirms that cell phones are still voice and data gadgets showing best-effort video for now.
What do you think? Let us know at editorial@cartt.ca.
