Archive for Videotron

Hayu Teams Up With Vidéotron To Bring Unlimited Reality TV On Demand To Québec

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 12, 2023 by itnerd

Today, NBCUniversal International Networks & Direct-to-Consumer and Videotron are thrilled to announce that Hayu – the all-reality subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service – will be available to Videotron customers.

Reality fans across Québec, who are looking to turn up the heat with the latest season of Love Island or sail away with the crew of Below Deck, can now do so with ease. Videotron customers will have access to over 300 series of top reality content directly through their Hayu subscription. The service offers extensive choice, including complete seasons of iconic shows, like Vanderpump Rules, in addition to fan-favourite franchises like The Real Housewives, Below Deck and Million Dollar Listing, as well as exclusive content like Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.

The announcement of the platform’s latest partnership is another significant milestone for Hayu during its fifth year in-market. It also expands the extensive reach and accessibility of Hayu from coast to coast. Canadians can stream Hayu wherever they watch entertainment, across a full array of devices: mobile, tablet, laptop, connected TVs and selected consoles.

Hayu will be available to Videotron customers directly through their existing account, with the streaming service being accessible via Helix voice command on their Videotron remote. Those who are currently subscribed to Hayu can sync their subscriptions to enjoy a lean-back viewing experience of their favourite reality TV moments.

In multiple countries around the world, Hayu has distinguished itself as the must-have, all-reality streaming service. Fans of reality in Canada can subscribe for $6.99 (+applicable taxes) per month and try for free for seven days.

For further information, please visit: www.hayu.ca

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The Canadian Government Put Strings On The Rogers/Shaw Merger….. Not That It Makes A Difference….

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on April 1, 2023 by itnerd

Yesterday the Rogers/Shaw merger got approved by the Canadian government. That means less competition and higher prices for Canadians. But if you believe the Canadian government (Spoiler alert: I don’t) there are guardrails in place to make sure that this is a good deal for Canadians. Here’s the TL:DR for your perusal:

“As part of these agreements and conditions, Videotron:

  • Will offer plans that are comparable to those currently available in Quebec, and offer options at least 20% cheaper than those made available by the major players;
  • Cannot transfer the Freedom Mobile licences for a period of ten years;
  • Will have to expand its 5G wireless network in Freedom Mobile’s pre-existing operating territory within two years;
  • Will expand mobile service into Manitoba via the use of a signed Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement or other means and offer plans comparable to what it offers in Quebec; and,
  • Will increase data allotments of existing Freedom Mobile customers by 10% as a near-term bonus while it invests to bring down prices overall.

“Separately, Rogers will also be subject to strict and legally binding commitments requiring them to make major investments to improve connectivity within the next 5 years, including:

  • Creating 3,000 new jobs in Western Canada and maintaining them for a minimum of 10 years after the closing date;
  • Establishing a Western headquarters in Calgary and maintaining it for a minimum of 10 years after the closing date;
  • Investing $1 billion to expand broadband Internet access, at speeds of at least 50/10 megabits per second, and 5G mobile service in areas where it is not currently available;
  • Investing at least $2.5 billion to enhance its 5G network in Western Canada, and $3 billion in additional network service expansion projects; and,
  • Expanding access to low-cost broadband Internet plans and launching a new low-cost mobile offering for low-income Canadians.

“These agreements are subject to significant financial damages for non-compliance: up to $200 million in the case of Videotron and up to $1 billion in the case of Rogers. These agreements will be released publicly and are subject to annual reporting requirements.

“Should the parties fail to live up to any of their commitments, our government will use every means in our power to enforce the terms on behalf of Canadians.

Now that all sounds good and the potential fines sound big. Not to mention the potential fines are meant to encourage Videotron and Rogers to do everything on this list. But call me a skeptic, I really don’t see any of this bringing about more competition and lower prices. The problem with the Canadian telco space is that it’s an oligopoly. And this deal does nothing to address that. Until the folks in Ottawa figure out that there has to be a big foreign player that is allowed to enter the Canadian market, Canadians will continue to pay among the highest prices for their telco services.

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Bell, Rogers & Vidéotron Targeting Android TV Box Sellers…. Why This Is A #Fail

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on December 20, 2016 by itnerd

The CBC reported yesterday that Bell, Rogers and Vidéotron are using the court system to go after those in Canada who sell Android TV boxes which give you “free TV”. All you need to do is to supply high speed Internet and you’re good to go. Now you can completely understand why those three companies want to take out people who sell boxes like these. They see it as copyright infringement and they feel that they have to go after them. There’s a second reason though. They’re also afraid that people who have these boxes will cut the cord which will cut off some lucrative revenue from those customers. The cynic in me says that it’s more the second reason than the first. Regardless, there’s a problem with what they’re doing. It’s not going to work.

The fact that Canadians are gravitating towards these boxes is a sign as obvious as the Bat Signal that Bell, Rogers & Vidéotron are not meeting the needs of Canadians with what they offer for TV services. I’ve always said that if you offer consumers a decent product for a fair price, they will have zero incentive to pirate anything. Unfortunately none of these companies do that. As a result you have this situation. If Bell, Rogers & Vidéotron really wanted to address this, they could simply provide more choice at lower prices. If they did, the Android box market would be dead tomorrow.

But clearly these three companies don’t see things that way and it’s going to cost them in the end because as fast as they try to take one of these sellers out, two more will pop in their place. Plus there’s also the option of customers building their own Android TV boxes which frankly isn’t that hard. So what are they going to do then? Hunt down every subscriber and sue them? That wouldn’t be really productive or cost effective. Not to mention that the optics of that would really suck.

The cable TV companies have to simply admit that this horse has already left the barn. Thus they should address the real issue which is their pricing and the lack of choice. If they did that, I believe that they would find it to be more effective in encouraging consumers not to cut the cord.

So how about it Bell, Rogers and Vidéotron?

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Rogers Now Supports Net Neutrality…… After Doing The Opposite For So Long

Posted in Commentary with tags , , on October 15, 2015 by itnerd

Here’s the deal. Rogers hasn’t exactly been the best ISP in Canada from a net neutrality standpoint. They have been nailed numerous times for doing things that they shouldn’t be on that front. Now it seems they’ve become the champion of net neutrality.

Seriously.

Rogers filed a complaint with Canadian regulators because competitor Videotron has unveiled the Unlimited Music program. This program exempts the biggest and most popular music services from Videotron’s usage caps. And to nobody’s surprise, Rogers who owns a ton of radio stations that have streaming options are not part of Videotron’s program. Thus Videotron is appearing to favor one service over another. Something that’s kind of a no-no in this part of the world. Rogers had this to say:

“The Unlimited Music service offered by Videotron is fundamentally at odds with the objective of ensuring that there is an open and non-discriminatory marketplace for mobile audio services,” the company’s CRTC filing says.“Videotron is, in effect, picking winners and losers by adopting a business model that would require an online audio service provider (including Canadian radio stations that stream content online) to accept Videotron’s contractual requirements in order to receive the benefit of having its content zero-rated.”

So, what does Videotron think of Rogers complaint” Not much based on this statement:

Videotron said in its filing that a range of “ulterior motives” have been ascribed to what it insists is simply an effort to “make its services more attractive to customers.”

“In the present case, Videotron is being accused of everything from blocking competition in the music streaming business, to trying to control access to music content, to creating a two-tiered Internet, to trying to marginalize a part of its own customer base,” the company said, adding, “The truth is much less conspiratorial.

“Videotron has observed that the appeal of its wireless services to the key 14-to-34-year-old demographic could be better than it is and the company has found an attractive and innovative way to broaden that appeal.”

Other groups are joining Rogers party on both sides of the argument. So this will get sorted by the CRTC at some point. But you have to note the irony. A Canadian ISP known for not exactly playing nice with the concept of net neutrality has radically changed its tune when they are suddenly the victim.

Wow. I should check the temperature of hell as it might have frozen over.

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CRTC Actually Does Something Right By Slapping Bell & Videotron Over Their “Unlawful” Practices

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on January 29, 2015 by itnerd

Frequent readers of this blog will know that I an no fan of the CRTC. But today, I will actually say that they’ve done something right. In the last couple of hours, they’ve come out with a ruling that Bell and Videotron cannot exempt their own apps from data charges:

The Commission finds that Bell Mobility Inc. (Bell Mobility) and Quebecor Media Inc., Videotron Ltd. and Videotron G.P. (collectively, Videotron), violated subsection 27(2) of the Telecommunications Act by exempting their mobile TV services Bell Mobile TV and illico.tv from data charges. Subsection 27(2) prohibits Canadian carriers from conferring an undue disadvantage to others, or an undue preference to itself or others. Bell Mobility and Videotron have given an undue preference in favour of subscribers of their respective mobile TV services, as well as in favour of their own services, and have subjected consumers of other audiovisual content services, and other services, to a corresponding undue disadvantage.

In light of the above, the Commission directs Bell Mobility to eliminate its unlawful practice with respect to data charges for its mobile TV service by no later than 29 April 2015.

Further, the Commission directs Videotron to confirm by 31 March 2015 that it completed its planned withdrawal of its illico.tv app for Blackberry- and Android-based phones by 31 December 2014, thereby removing any undue preference for its mobile TV service, and ensure that any new mobile TV service complies with the determinations set out in this decision.

This decision will favour an open and non-discriminatory marketplace for mobile TV services, enabling innovation and choice for Canadians. The Commission is very supportive of the development of new means by which Canadians can access both Canadian-made and foreign audiovisual content. However, mobile service providers cannot do so in a manner contrary to the Telecommunications Act.

Wow. The CRTC stands up for net neutrality. Imagine that. I’m pretty sure that this decision is going to get a lot of attention from advocates of net neutrality as well as other teclos who might have been thinking about doing the same thing, or are doing the same thing. I’ll be interested in seeing if the CRTC will do the same thing to others who engage in similar behaviors. If they do, I’ll may even start to say I like the CRTC.

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Videotron Signals It’s Ready To Go Toe To Toe With The Big Three Nationwide

Posted in Commentary with tags on June 18, 2014 by itnerd

In a speech that I am sure got the attention of execs at Rogers, Telus, and Bell, Pierre Dion, CEO of Quebecor which is the parent company of Quebec based Videotron had this to say during the Canadian Telecom Summit which was promptly quoted in a press release that the company just put out:

“Our vision is to provide Canadians with a new high quality, low-cost wireless choice and real wireless competition,” said Mr. Dion. “We aim to deliver real low-cost wireless plans for consumers, real wireless competition, and a real new offering in the Canadian marketplace. Under the right conditions, we are ready, willing and able to become Canada’s “fourth wireless competitor.”

Seeing as they bought a ton of spectrum across Canada, you shouldn’t take that as being bravado. Videotron already makes life miserable in Quebec for the big three.  One thing that he did point out is this fact that keeps new entrants at bay:

Critical to the vision is an urgent need for a fair and competitive federally regulated roaming policy. The current regulatory landscape favours the incumbent wireless players in Canada. According the Competition Bureau of Canada, incumbent players have used the roaming policy as a “strategic tool to eliminate or reduce the competitive pressure…in Canadian mobile wireless markets.”

Independent research conducted by the SeaBoard Group suggests that roaming rates charged by the incumbents to new entrants can be many times more than even the lower interim rates established by Industry Canada in the recent Budget Implementation bill.

“With a fair, competitive and level playing field on roaming, the stage will be set for a new era of consumer choice in Canada. It will benefit consumers, small businesses, and the economy at large,” added Mr. Dion. “It will be the dawn of a new sustainable and viable low-cost wireless service.”

True. It’s currently cheaper (via Wind) to roam in the US than in many parts of Canada. That needs to change. But in the here and now, you can bet that this has execs at the big three scrambling to counter this so that customers don’t defect to them when they arrive in the rest of Canada.

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Videotron To Buy Mobilicity?

Posted in Commentary with tags , , , on January 15, 2014 by itnerd

Rumors are circulating that Videotron is interested in buying Mobilicity so that it may expand outside Quebec. Mobilesyrup has the details:

Scotia Capital’s Jeff Fan says there might be a “potential twist” brewing in the Canadian wireless scene. Fan believes that Quebecor/Videotron have signed an NDA with Mobilicity to possibly purchase their assets, which “indicates it has some interest in licenses outside Quebec.”

And:

Fan noted that Quebecor “may leverage the licenses to gain a more favorable network sharing deal with RCI (in Quebec) or become a solution to the government’s 4th operator objective in BC, AB and ON with a network sharing arrangement with Wind/Mobilicity that may also include an incumbent like Rogers.”

I discussed the possibility of Videotron becoming a 4th national carrier to challenge the big three yesterday. So if these rumors are true, this could be part of the salvation that Canadians are looking for. Though I still stand by what I said yesterday. Real relief from high cell phone costs will only come from a big carrier capable of immeidately challenging the big three coming in and setting up shop. Having said that, let’s see where this goes.

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