CEO accuses Bell of refusing to negotiate MVNO rates in good faith
MONTREAL – Quebecor announced today its third quarter 2022 financial results, which show the company’s revenues were $1.1 billion – a slight decrease from Q3 2021.
Adjusted EBITDA was also slightly down at $518 million.
In Quebecor’s telecommunications segment specifically, the company reported $942.2 million in revenue, which is an increase from $939.5 million in the same quarter the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA in the segment was $489.5 million, up from $476.8 million.
In the media segment, the company reported revenue of $170.1 million – down from $190.6 million in the…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The CRTC last week sided with Quebecor in a dispute with Bell, Rogers and Telus over what the term “manufacturer’s suggested retail price” (MSRP) means as it pertains to the Wireless Code.
Section G of the Wireless Code deals with early cancellation fees and factors in the MSRP of devices when the device was subsidized as part of the contract.
In April, the CRTC launched a show cause proceeding on the use of the term after Quebecor, on behalf of its subsidiary Videotron submitted a letter claiming it observed Bell, Rogers and Telus inflating the retail price of…
Continue Reading
Acting president and CEO calls for C-18 to be quickly passed
MONTREAL – TVA Group recorded $130.5 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2022, which represents a year-over-year decrease of $20.2 million.
The Quebecor subsidiary, which reported its Q3 2022 financial results yesterday, reported adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was $18.2 million – a $17.3 million unfavourable variance compared to Q3 2021.
The broadcasting segment specifically recorded $104.6 million in revenue in Q3 2022, compared to $111.1 millionin the same quarter the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA in the segment was $14.1 million. This is a $7.6 million unfavourable variance,…
Continue Reading
MONTREAL, TORONTO and CALGARY – A second mediation attempt between Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Quebecor and the Competition Bureau has failed, according to a press release issued by the three companies today.
Rogers and Shaw are currently seeking approvals for their proposed merger. In an attempt to quell concerns about the potential impact of the deal on wireless competition in Canada, the companies agreed to sell Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to Quebecor subsidiary Videotron.
The first attempt at mediation between Rogers, Shaw and the Competition Bureau happened in July.
The second mediation attempt took place earlier today.
“We are disappointed with…
Continue Reading
“I think they’d better listen,” minister says
OTTAWA – Industry minister François-Philippe Champagne today announced the terms he wants to see in place as he considers whether to approve a deal between Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Quebecor, which would see Shaw’s Freedom Mobile sold to Quebecor subsidiary Videotron in an attempt to alleviate concerns about the impact of the merger of Rogers and Shaw on wireless competition in Canada.
The minister, stating he is officially denying the request by Rogers to acquire Shaw’s spectrum licences, announced “the lens” through which he is considering the proposal for Videotron to…
Continue Reading
THE BIG INTERNATIONAL web platforms carry Canadian news content they didn’t create. They take it for free and use it to stock their sites, hold on to their users, attract new ones, and generate substantial revenues. The federal government’s Bill C-18 is a step in the right direction: it recognizes at last that the use and dissemination of local news content without compensation is unfair and, in the long term, threatens the very survival of Canadian news outlets.
Behemoths like Google and Facebook, which have a combined market cap in excess of US$1.6 trillion, are grabbing our content and intellectual…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – While attendees of the Competitive Network Operators of Canada’s (CNOC) 2022 ISP Summit heard yesterday about the “unfriendly regulatory environment for competitors”, CNOC executive director and general counsel Geoff White highlighted today the reasons they have to still be optimistic about the future.
During his keynote speech titled “Where Do We Go From Here?”, White did not deny the last year has been difficult. He spoke about the recent wave of acquisitions in the industry (CNOC members VMedia and Distributel included), Rogers’ nationwide outage and the CRTC’s lack of movement on key files including one…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications and Videotron are headed to mediation with the Competition Bureau at the end of the month, the Competition Tribunal confirmed today.
Earlier this year, the Commissioner of Competition applied to the tribunal to have the proposed merger of Rogers and Shaw blocked. Since then, Rogers and Shaw have come to an agreement with Quebecor subsidiary Videotron for the sale of Shaw’s Freedom Mobile to try to assuage concerns about the potential impact of the merger on wireless competition.
“Given the public interest in this proceeding, the Competition Tribunal confirms that a mediation is scheduled to…
Continue Reading
Globalive (and Wind Mobile) founder adamant national wireless only player the solution
TORONTO – Canadians are more fed up with the nation’s telecommunications industry than they are with airline delays and real estate prices, according to the 2022 Canadian Telecom Sentiment Report, released late last month.
The survey, conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights and commissioned by Globalive, shows 59% of Canadians “are angry or annoyed when they think of telecom companies, the highest of all major Canadian industries surveyed,” a press release announcing the report says.
Furthermore, 71% of Canadians “are angry about telecom bills specifically, the third highest of 13 cost-of-living…
Continue Reading
By Connie Thiessen
MONTREAL – André Chagnon (above), the founder of Videotron, has passed away at the age of 94. Chagnon’s family says the telecom pioneer and philanthropist died peacefully early Saturday morning.
Chagnon was born in Montréal in 1928. The son of an electrician, he took up the family trade, training as an electrician technician at the École technique de Montréal, before establishing his own electrical contracting company, E.R. Chagnon et Fils Ltée. He sold the business to his employees in 1964 when he founded Videotron.
The company went on to become a cable television market leader in less than three decades, instituting innovations…
Continue Reading
