MONTREAL — When the IGA supermarket chain saw website traffic spike due to the explosion of online grocery shopping at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it turned to Quebecor’s Hublo branded-content solution to help it communicate quickly and effectively with Quebec families, the company said in a release today.
Not wanting to add to the burden on its website, IGA used Hublo’s sponsored content showcase to continue offering peripheral content and food advice to its customers. Eight IGA-branded features were produced for the campaign and displayed over a one-month period during the first Covid-19 lockdown. (Here’s an example…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – In a letter sent on Monday, December 7, CRTC staff has indicated that in its dispute against Cablevision, a Bell subsidiary, Quebecor has convinced them that the issue warrants an expedite process.
This process, the fourth in 16 months, features Quebecor’s Vidéotron, which is trying to launch high-speed Internet service in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region on northwestern Quebec region as third party internet service provider riding on Cablevision du Nord’s network.
Previous requests related to Bell’s attempting to end its tariffs, then its reluctance to sign service agreements, in July 2019. Then Québecor argued Bell claimed…
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MONTREAL — In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Zeste brand, the Quebecor specialty service is partnering with meal kit delivery service Cook It on a new promotion that will run across Quebecor’s platforms, including television, newspapers, magazines, the web and social media.
“We are very pleased to give Quebec-based Cook It visibility in our cooking environment,” said Patrick Jutras, senior vice-president and chief advertising officer of Quebecor and TVA Group, in a press release. “Zeste’s new 360° culinary ecosystem offers a multitude of touch points and a constellation of opportunities for advertisers to push content that reaches…
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MONTREAL — Today, Quebecor’s TVA unveiled its revamped brand along with a new brand strategy and the launch of its new TVA+ digital platform.
With the new TVA+ website and app, being launched this afternoon, viewers have free access to live and on-demand TVA content, including several shows and complete series, as well as a selection of content from several specialty channels, says the press release announcing TVA’s refreshed branding. The company says the new website and app are just the first step towards what the full TVA+ digital platform will become, adding that the offering will be enhanced in…
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MONTREAL — Quebecor today announced the appointment of two new executives at its Colab Studio collaborative marketing agency.
Sébastien Viau (pictured, left) has been hired as general manager and Hugues Choquette (right) is promoted to senior director of branding strategy and head of creative of Colab Studio.
Viau will oversee the development of Colab Studio’s strategic plan and will be in charge of rolling out the agency’s activities. His appointment will be effective on November 23, and follows the announcement of current general manager Robert Renaud’s retirement.
Before joining Quebecor, Viau was vice-president of sales and marketing for the Alliance de l’industrie…
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“Just marketing for now,” says Pruneau
By Ahmad Hathout
MONTREAL – The monetization of next-generation mobile wireless technology will depend on what it’s used for and, currently, it’s about bringing customer defections under control, Quebecor executives said Thursday.
“I think because it’s just marketing for now, it’s just a question of reducing or stabilizing churn,” Jean François Pruneau, president of Videotron, said on the company’s third-quarter conference call last week. “But we’re going to have to see more user cases on the residential front or on the business front to be able to see real, true monetization plans from us and from…
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And why we must address the real challenges facing Canadian broadcasting
By Kevin Goldstein
IN A RECENT CARTT.CA opinion piece, OUTtv CEO Brad Danks claims Canadian broadcasting policy is biased in favour of vertically integrated (VI) companies and has failed because it has not resulted in the exportable Canadian services that he suggests the CRTC intended with its 2015 Let’s Talk TV policy. Both these claims are at odds with reality.
First, it’s clear the international success intended by the CRTC was for Canadian programming, not Canadian programming services. And a large measure of that success has been achieved. Bell Media,…
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By Ahmad Hathout
TORONTO – Some of the country’s largest carriers have lost an appeal challenging the process by which the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) set higher pole attachment rates they say could hamper the delivery of broadband services.
Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Cogeco, Quebecor and Bragg (Eastlink), among others, didn’t like the consultation process that saw the rate to attach their cables on structures jump from an annual rate of $22.35 per attachment set in 2005 to $43.63 across the province. They argued in the province’s divisional court in late September that the OEB had not provided them with the appropriate…
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Briefing call shows urgency, sticking points, for large players on broadcast changes
By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – As major Canadian broadcasters fired off rote responses to media requests saying they are still reviewing proposed changes to the Broadcasting Act announced Tuesday, Cartt.ca has obtained early reactions to potential landmark amendments that could see the CRTC enforce foreign online contributions to the benefit of Canadian content.
On Tuesday, Heritage held separate technical briefings with reporters and industry about the proposed amendments under Bill C-10, with Cartt.ca obtaining audio of the latter. The comments and questions in that call suggest an industry in relief,…
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Videotron, others, are skeptical of Bell’s commitments
By Denis Carmel
MONTREAL – On Friday, Bell Canada issued a news release announcing new measures to simplify the process for access to poles by recipients of the Québec Branché and Régions Branchées grant programs and other service providers.
This follows a process announced by the Government of Québec back in May 2020, along with the members of a working group that was tasked to accelerate the deployment of high-speed Internet in rural regions through a program financed by the Government of Québec.
“To address the many technical challenges associated with the deployment of fibre…
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