Montréal, July 19, 2007 – As a result of an agreement between the French-language network of the CBC and FIFA, soccer buffs will be able to watch the semi-finals and finals of the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup (the championship match and the consolation game) on Videotron's illico on demand service free of charge, 24 hours after the game. Soccer fans will therefore be able to see all of yesterday's game starting today, in the comfort of their living rooms. Today's game will be available tomorrow and the two Sunday games, including the final, will be available as of Monday.
At the heart of the action with illico
With illico on demand, sports fans have the significant advantage of being able to pause, rewind to watch highlights again, fast forward, or stop the program and resume play at any time within a 24-hour period. Videotron customers can order the games by going to channel 900 and following the on-screen instructions.
Soccer popular in Canada
More Canadians play soccer than any other sport: over 900,000. In Québec, where soccer is a well-established sport, the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup is one of the premiere sporting events of the summer. Many Quebecers have roots in one or another of the 32 countries competing in the event.
Videotron Ltd. (www.videotron.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access services, cable telephony and wireless telephone service. Videotron is a leader in new technologies with its illico interactive television system and its broadband network, which supports high-speed cable Internet access, analog and digital cable television, and other services. As of March 31, 2007, Videotron was serving 1,583,000 cable television customers in Québec, including 653,000 illico subscribers. Videotron is the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 828,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services. On that date, Videotron had activated 20,000 lines on its wireless telephone service and, as on July 5, the company was providing cable telephone service to more than 500,000 Québec households and organizations.
