MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable CEO Louis Audet said yesterday that the existing subscription TV model of providing large multi-channel programming packages to customers will soon be a thing of the past as companies evolve towards a model of more choice and flexibility.
Speaking to financial analysts after the company’s release of its strong fourth quarter results, Audet said irrespective of the CRTC’s demand for a report on providing more choice to the consumer (as the Commission has demanded as part of its Vertical Integration Policy), the overall video market will push cable in that direction.
“It’s…
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MONTREAL – Surging fourth quarter profits helped drive Cogeco’s “strong” year-end results, the cable and media company said Thursday.
For the fiscal year ended August 31, Cogeco Inc. reported a 9.2% increase in consolidated revenue to reach $1.44 billion, while fourth-quarter consolidated revenue grew 12.5% year-over-year to $375.4 million.
Quarterly net income was $21.1 million, up almost 72% from $12.3 million in the same period last year, though the company recorded a $9 million net loss for the year due in large part to an $225.9 million impairment loss of recorded on its investment in its Cabovisao subsidiary in Portugal.
"Cogeco posted…
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TORONTO – Canadian telephone companies long sought a way to deliver a TV experience to their customers.
Bell Canada opted early on for a satellite solution, having come to realize during many technical trials during the 1990s that delivering a quality TV experience on par with what cable could offer was still years away.
Other Canadian telcos continued to test the delivery of digital television signals using various technological options through the 1990s and early 2000s. Cost, inefficient compression technology, and the physical limitations of the telco plant all held back viable solutions to the telephone company’s missing link when it…
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MONTREAL – Guy Laflamme has joined the board of Montreal-based ISP Colba.Net Inc, replacing Bertrand Bolduc as director of the company.
Laflamme was CFO of Vidéotron from 1975 to 1984 before launching Portuguese cable company Cabovisao, which is now owned by Cogeco.
No reason was given for Boluc’s departure from the role.
www.colba.net
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable has added almost 100 hours a month to its on-demand content in Quebec, aimed at women, cooking and home decor enthusiasts, and movie fans.
The new content includes Mlle Sur Demande, CASA Sur Demande, addikTV Sur Demande plus Cinepop Sur Demande, a Cogeco Cable exclusive. It is available now to Quebec-based customers who subscribe to one of these channels and have access to Cogeco On Demand.
"Our customers are real fans of the shows offered by Mlle, CASA, addikTV and Cinepop, but sometimes their schedules just don't allow them to tune in right at broadcast time, and they'd…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable has added TVA Sports to its programming lineup in Quebec, and is offering the French-language sports channel to its digital TV customers in the province free of charge for one year.
The new channel is available now on channel 88 in SD, and in HD on channel 538. Effective October 31, 2012, TVA Sports will be added to Cogeco’s 'Franco' and 'Selectif' programming packages.
“As soon as we heard the announcement that TVA Sports was going to be created, we expressed a keen interest, and we're extremely pleased to be able to carry it”, said Ron Perrotta,…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable has redesigned its high speed Internet packages in Ontario and Quebec to offer customers more speed and higher data transfer capacity, plus lower rates if they exceed their monthly caps.
Effective immediately, Ontarians may choose from new packages called ‘Express 4’, ‘Express 8’, and ‘Turbo 14’, while in Quebec, the new packages are called ‘Express 3’, ‘Express 7’ and ‘Turbo 14’. They replace Cogeco’s former Lite, Lite Plus and Standard offers, respectively.
Cogeco Internet customers in territories where DOCSIS 3.0 technology has been launched in may also choose a brand new package called ‘Turbo 20’ which offers download speeds…
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TORONTO – Cogeco Data Services (CDS) is increasing its data centre space by almost two football fields to meet the growing demand for managed information technology services and support for cloud computing initiatives.
The company said that through new construction and its recent acquisition of Quiettouch Inc., CDS will have more than 100,000 square feet of data centre space spread across six facilities – one in Vancouver, three in Toronto, one in Barrie, ON and one in Oakville, ON.
The new facilities, which will be designed, built and operated by CDS, will also offer 24/7/365 monitoring, power redundancy, support, biometrics,…
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WHILE SAYING HIS company has not yet decided on a course of action, Bell Canada’s regulatory chief says thanks to the CRTC’s new vertical integration policy, he wants to start over when it comes to our broadcasting laws and its regulation.
(Explained here, the new policy: prohibits exclusives on linear TV content when it comes to mobile and online platforms; bans tied selling of specialty services ensuring BDUs can buy them from programmers one at a time; calls for consumers to be able to buy more specialties one at a time in a pick-and-pay format; outlines a specific code…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Diffusion-owned CKAC will be rebranded as Radio Circulation 730 starting early Tuesday morning, with programming now dedicated to traffic, road work, and weather in the Greater Montreal area.
In addition, sister station 98.5 FM will become “Montreal’s super station for opinion, news and sports”, and include select sports programming from CKAC such as Montreal Canadiens, Alouettes and Impact game broadcasts.
The radio division of Cogeco Inc. said Friday that the move was made in order to honour the agreement struck in May between Cogeco Diffusion and the Ministère des Transports du Québec on a French-language and an…
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