MONTREAL – Despite stable subscriber growth, first quarter profits at Cogeco Inc. dropped by almost 30%.
The company blamed the result of a one-time favourable income tax adjustment last year for the decrease in profits this year. Cogeco reported net income of $16 million in the first fiscal quarter of 2011, down from $22.7 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue increased by 4.5% to reach $342.8 million.
Cogeco Cable added 70,690 Canadian subscribers and 20,179 customers in Portugal this quarter. The growth in cable, Internet and digital phone subscribers, which the company calls revenue generating units (RGU), was a modest…
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TORONTO – Corus Entertainment said that it will oppose Astral’s applications challenging the CRTC’s approval of the sale of Corus’ Quebec radio stations to Cogeco.
Corus said Thursday that like Cogeco, it “considers that the applications filed by Astral are without merit”. It also confirmed that it will continue with the process to effect the closing of the transaction on February 1, 2011.
As Cartt.ca reported earlier this week, Astral Radio is appealing the CRTC’s decision to allow Cogeco to maintain a third radio station in the Montreal market, an exemption to the Commission’s common ownership policy. It filed a…
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MONTREAL – Astral Radio is appealing the CRTC’s decision to allow Cogeco to maintain a third radio station in the Montreal market, claiming the move “disrupts the competitive equilibrium”.
In a motion filed with the Federal Court of Appeal on Tuesday, Astral called the decision “prejudicial”, and said that it “puts an end to nearly twelve years of consistent application” of the common ownership policy. The common ownership policy limits ownership to two FM stations of the same language in a market. The Commission let Cogeco keep a third FM station in Montreal as part of its overall approval of Cogeco’s plan to purchase of Corus’ Quebec radio assets.
"The sudden lack of predictability…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco has bulked up its roster of on-demand content in Ontario with the addition of NFL Network On Demand and Big Ten Network On Demand.
NFL Network On Demand (channel 657) and Big Ten Network On Demand (channel 658) are available for free to customers who are subscribers of those channels, representing more than 25 hours of new sports content as the playoff and Bowl season approach.
"Enriching Cogeco Cable’s Video On Demand offering is just one of the many initiatives Cogeco constantly deploys to bring its digital cable TV subscribers an entertaining line-up that’s always fresh”, said Ron…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has given Cogeco the green light to move forward with its acquisition of Corus Entertainment’s Quebec radio stations.
Friday’s decision included approval of Cogeco’s request for an exception to allow it to maintain a third FM station featuring a talk-radio format in the Montreal market, in addition to the two permitted by the common ownership policy. However, the CRTC refused Cogeco’s request to transform the CKOY-FM Sherbrooke station into a rebroadcasting transmitter of CKAC-AM Montréal, saying this would result “in the loss of a local voice in the Sherbrooke market”. It has asked Cogeco to divest itself…
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MONTREAL – Following in Rogers’ footsteps, Cogeco has rolled out the Galaxie Music video-on-demand service free of charge to its digital TV subscribers in Ontario and Quebec.
The service allows viewers to select their choice of music videos, or choose from pre-programmed playlists created by a team of music professionals. The lineup currently features 12 playlists and 100 individual songs, and will be updated regularly.
"Beefing up Cogeco Cable’s Video On Demand offering is just one of the many initiatives Cogeco constantly deploys to bring its digital cable TV subscribers an entertaining line-up that’s always fresh”, said Ron Perrotta, VP of marketing…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable’s unionized employees in Quebec have approved in principle two new collective bargaining agreements governing their working conditions.
The new collective bargaining agreements, which will be in force for the next four years, are slated for signature on December 20, 2010 following several months of negotiations. They were presented to employees during general meetings held between November 30 and December 12, 2010.
"I’m pleased with the settlement in the new collective agreements”, said Louise St-Pierre, SVP of residential services, in a statement. “It is very much in line with Cogeco Cable’s vision of labour relations. Knowing that employees…
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TORONTO – The future of cable is “outstanding”. Just ask Louis Audet, the president and CEO of Cogeco Inc. and Cogeco Cable.
Speaking with Cartt.ca prior to presenting the company’s 2010 financial results to shareholders in Toronto last week, Audet shared Cogeco’s plans for wireless, why he’s not worried about Netflix, and his thoughts on vertical integration in Canada.
“There are good reasons to believe that”, Audet said about his unshakeable belief in the cable industry’s rosy future. “It’s not a wanton statement.” A perfect example of cable’s ability to evolve is Cogeco’s plans to trial addressable advertising in Canada next year. “This…
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MONTREAL and HAMILTON – This is something the entire Canadian TV and advertising industry will watch very closely.
Cogeco Cable said Monday it has entered into agreements with Invidi Technologies and Channel Zero to trial the Invidi Advatar addressable targeted advertising system with TV broadcaster CHCH.
Advatar lets television advertisers deliver tailored messaging to individual households during a commercial break. This technology uses public domain demographic information to accurately pinpoint consumer needs and interests, enhancing the relevance of advertising commercials to unique viewers, as Cartt.ca has reported previously.
Addressable advertising simply put, means more efficiency for everyone. Media buyers can market to specific…
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MONTREAL – Cogeco Cable has brought its faster Internet packages to Smiths Falls, ON.
Its ‘Ultimate 30’ high speed Internet packages offers speeds of up to 30 Mbps for downloads and up to 1.5 Mbps for uploads with a monthly download cap of 125 GB. For the ‘Ultimate 50’ package, speeds can reach up to 50 Mbps for downloads and up to 1.5 Mbps for uploads with a monthly download cap of 150 GB.
Customers of Cogeco’s television or home phone service will pay $59.95 per month for ‘Ultimate 30’, while ‘Ultimate 50’ will cost $99.95 per month. Cogeco customers who subscribe only to its…
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