MONTREAL – The Quebecor Fund Board of Directors announced today the production companies that will receive a financial investment in the 39th round of the fund's main television production assistance program following October 1 and 15, 2019 submissions.
In this round, the fund will disburse a total of nearly $1.3 million.
Click here for the list of projects being funded.
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GATINEAU – As we’ve reported, one of the outcomes of the Let’s Talk TV process was the creation of a national ratings service to include set top box viewership data from all major TV carriers – which was enshrined in the conditions of licence for large BDUs.
However, with Videotron’s status still unclear since it abandoned the process earlier this year despite its condititions of licence requiring it to take part (the Commission has since turned down its request to pull out and the Federal Court has refused to hear…
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GATINEAU – A number of companies are worried about Bell getting bigger.
In July 2019, Groupe V Media announced it was selling for $20 million its five conventional stations to Bell Media. V, previously known as TQS, has had a long story of financial and regulatory problems and its acquisition by Bell had been rumoured for quite some time. (Photo at right are the stars of the V show Ne Jamais Faire à la Maison, or Never do this at Home, Marie-Soleil Dion and Jonathan Roberge.)
On October 29th, the CRTC issued it Notice of Hearing with a short intervention period ending…
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MONTREAL – Former TVA show Les Beaux Malaises (2013-16) has been sold for adaptation by Encore International and Quebecor Content to Serbian producers Fresh Production and Blekbuk.
“Commissioned by Telekom Serbia for broadcast in the Balkans, Fresh Production and Blekbuk just completed the adaptation of all three seasons (33 half-hour episodes) of the original series Les Beaux Malaises, known in the region as Slatke Muke,” says the press release.
“The entire Encore team is excited to see Les Beaux Malaises being adapted in the Balkans,” says Chrystine Girard, Encore’s head of international distribution. “With Telekom, Blekbuk, Fresh Production, and the…
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MONTREAL – Saying it is looking to increase in the volume of original content for all of Quebecor's broadcast platforms, including Club illico, TVA Network and its specialty channels and their digital platforms, Québecor Content today announced changes to its structure and created two new executive director positions.
Johanne Ménard (pictured, left) has been promoted to executive director, variety and lifestyle and Nadège Pouyez (right), has been hired as executive director, drama and documentary
Ménard had been director of lifestyle and documentary brands and content at Quebecor and her appointment will take effect on December 2nd. Prior to that, she vice-president…
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GATINEAU – When Corus Entertainment asked the CRTC to amend its conditions of licence so the big broadcaster could delay some Canadian programming expenditures (CPEs) due to unforeseen increases in its revenues, few expected the company to receive much sympathy within the broadcasting industry.
After reviewing most of the interventions it has become clear that they have no sympathy from industry players.
For example, The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) challenges Corus’ arguments, saying the company “argues that this ‘dramatic’ spike in its CPE requirements will leave it in a more vulnerable financial position for two reasons. Firstly,…
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TORONTO – The fact that ARPU is trending downwards and churn is rising among the big three wireless providers shows that facilities-based competition brought by the likes of Videotron, Freedom and Eastlink is working – and mandated MVNOs would be a bad move for Canada.
So says a report published this week by Scotiabank’s telecom analyst Jeff Fan.
“Quebecor has been a wireless facilities-based competitor in Quebec for a decade. Is that not sustainable enough? We estimate the company has now captured approximately 19% market share in the province, and, with its new Fizz brand, the momentum has actually accelerated. We…
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MONTREAL — Having resigned as programming director at Quebec’s public TV channel, Télé-Québec, a month ago, Denis Dubois has now been appointed as the new vice-president of original content at Quebecor Content, effective November 25.
Dubois will be responsible for the selection and development of all original programs for all of Quebecor’s platforms, including TVA Network, specialty channels and Club illico, as well as for their digital platforms.
In a news release issued Tuesday, France Lauzière, president and CEO of TVA Group and head of content at Quebecor Content, announced Dubois’ appointment, saying (translated from French): “Denis Dubois’ impressive track record…
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MONTREAL – During Quebecor’s third quarter conference call with financial analysts last week Videotron president and CEO Jean-François Pruneau shed some light on the company’s motivation behind its decision to stop offering its highest broadband speeds at retail and wholesale.
Last month, as we reported, Videotron wrote the CRTC to remove its offered wholesale tariffs on its 1 Gig service, indicating it would stop offering it to wholesalers and therefore also had to stop offering it to their retail customers, too.
At the time, Videotron refused to comment on its motivation although many speculated it was directly…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor disclosed its 2019 third quarter results on Thursday, where its wireless service remains the company’s knight in shining armour.
Overall, Quebecor reported revenues of $1.07 billion for the period ended September 30, 2019, a 1.9% increase over Q3 2018 results. Revenue in the telecom segment was strong, growing 3% to $877 million. The company’s adjusted EBITDA was $509.3 million, a 7.4% year-over-year increase.
The company’s net income attributable to shareholders was $178.5 million, a decrease from the $187.1 million for the same period the year prior. However, the company’s adjusted income from continuing operating activities saw a significant…
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