CEO Péladeau has already said he is interested in Freedom Mobile
By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau has been making headlines in recent weeks by suggesting he is interested in acquiring Freedom Mobile in the event that condition is forced by regulators as part of a Rogers-Shaw merger. Now, he’s sending lobbyists west to familiarize the brand.
During a conference call related to his company’s first quarter earnings report this month, Péladeau expressed interest in taking Videotron’s brand nationwide. He said regulatory conditions are better now, following the CRTC’s decision to give regional carriers access to the wireless…
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By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – Lawyers for Quebecor’s Groupe TVA and Bell Canada said Tuesday the CRTC shouldn’t be able to force the two companies to come to an agreement on retransmission of discretionary television channels when one or both sides disagree on the terms.
Just over two years ago, the CRTC said TVA must continue to provide its sports channel signal to Bell for retransmission under a provision in the law called the standstill rule, after TVA cut the signal during the NHL playoffs in April 2019 citing unfair economic terms of the agreement. That means, during commercial disputes,…
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By Greg O’Brien
MONTREAL and OXFORD, N.S. – Should the Competition Bureau decide Freedom Mobile must be sold as a condition of Rogers Communications being able to purchase Shaw Communications, count Eastlink founder John Bragg and Quebecor Inc. CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau as interested.
During his company’s first quarter conference call with financial analysts today, Péladeau said the Commission’s new wireless policies, coupled with the potential for Freedom Mobile coming on the market, could mean conditions are right for the company to move beyond its home province.
“We’re pleased with the CRTC decision allowing facilities-based MVNOs, as it confirms the importance…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor Inc. saw first quarter revenues rise 3.4% to $1.09 billion, adjusted EBITDA climb 3.7% to $453 million, a cash flow increase of 4.3% to $307.6 million, and adjusted income jump 16.5% to $130 million, the company reported this morning.
All of this was led by the company’s telecommunications (Videotron) unit which showed strong growth through Q1, ended March 31, 2021. Videotron “significantly increased its revenues from mobile services and equipment ($23 million or 11.1%), Internet access ($19.1 million or 6.9%) and wireline equipment ($18.4 million or 65.0%),” reads the company press release.
There was a net increase of…
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MONTREAL — Despite a slight year-over-year increase in revenues in the first quarter of 2021, Quebecor’s TVA Group experienced a net loss in the three months ended March 31 and saw earnings drop significantly in its broadcasting segment, particularly at TVA Sports.
TVA Group’s consolidated revenues for Q1 2021 were $140.8 million, representing a year-over-year increase of $3.7 million compared to Q1 2020 when it reported revenues of $137.1 million. The company’s net loss for this year’s first quarter was $4.5 million, compared with a net loss of $712,000 in the same quarter of 2020.
The company’s overall adjusted EBITDA was…
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Rural areas need a single, open access, network
By Joe Hickey
IN A WORLD WHERE many causes are highly politicized, rural broadband access is a cause just about everyone can get behind. With it, Canada can improve rural access to education, healthcare, and economic growth. This is especially important in the wake of COVID-19, which put a glaring spotlight on the digital divide, and made it all the rage to support rural broadband access.
Even major urban telcos seem to be getting on board, with Rogers Communications promising a $1 billion rural broadband fund in its recent proposal to…
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By Howard Law
UNTIL LAST WEEK, PARLIAMENT’S Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage was plodding through the clause-by-clause review of Bill C-10 with no tasty headlines. Perhaps the bill’s revamp of the Broadcasting Act, which would sweep in Netflix, isn’t controversial anymore.
Of course, federal political partisanship is inevitable, as Canadian as bad weather.
And so, we now have the Conservatives’ faux controversy over free expression on social media platforms. In an e-mail blast from CPC MPs across the country, they made their case:
“Recently, the Liberal government introduced Bill C-10 – a bill that would regulate social media websites like Facebook, YouTube, and…
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MONTREAL — Since its rebranding at the end of August 2020, Bell Media’s Noovo (formerly the Remstar-owned V network) has seen a 10% increase in audience and 13% increase in average viewing time, compared to a year previous, the French-language channel announced today.
“These gains have occurred mainly during peak viewing hours, with Bell Media having invested heavily in original Quebec productions to enhance the channel’s programming since it was acquired,” reads Bell Media’s press release, which cites Numeris data comparing viewership numbers for the period between September 2020 to April 2021 (for Noovo) versus September 2019 to April…
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MONTREAL — Quebecor announced today Videotron’s president and CEO, Jean-François Pruneau (above), is stepping down from his position effective June 4.
His responsibilities as head of Videotron will be assumed by the president and CEO of Quebecor Media, Pierre Karl Péladeau “to further cement the concerted leadership and dynamic of efficiency between the two organizations,” says Quebecor’s press release this morning.
Pruneau has been with Quebecor and Videotron for more than 20 years, and he is now leaving to devote himself to personal investment projects, says the release.
“I heartily thank Jean-François for his dedication to the company over the years,” said…
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MONTREAL — Calling it a Quebec first, Quebecor’s Videotron announced today the introduction of the Helix Fi 2 smart gateway (above) which uses Wi-Fi 6 technology, marking the first time the latest generation of Wi-Fi has been made available to customers in the province, the company says.
With the new Wi-Fi 6 standard’s support for more concurrent connections and faster connectivity speeds, the Helix Fi 2 gateway can be used as “the new hub of Videotron subscribers’ connected lives”, providing connectivity for TV terminals, wireless devices and compatible smart equipment, says the company’s press release.
“The smart wireless network constantly…
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