Montréal, February 21, 2005 – Vidéotron has announced the addition of two new highdefinition (HD) channels, Radio-Canada (SRC) and CBC, to its channel line-up as of this day. SRC, the first French-language service to be offered in high definition, is available on channel 602 and CBC on channel 606 in Montréal, Gatineau, Rockland, Québec City, Rivière-du-Loup, Saguenay and Saint-Félicien. As of February 28, the two channels will also be added in Sherbrooke, Victoriaville, Cap-de-la-Madeleine and Granby, making them available in all parts of Québec within the illico Digital TV service area.
No extra fees
The two new channels can be accessed at no extra charge by illico subscribers equipped with an HD digital set-top box and an HD television set. Vidéotron was already carrying 13 other HD channels in the Montréal and Gatineau areas: ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, Citytv, Rogers SportsNet, CTV, The Movie Network (one channel out of five), FOX, Viewer's Choice (two channels), TSN HD and Discovery HD. The latter two are also available in Chicoutimi and Rivière-du-Loup.
Virtually all HD channels available on Vidéotron
At present, Vidéotron carries almost all available HD channels in HD format. Unlike other television distribution services, it does so without service duplication.
The latest channel additions, combined with flexible illico digital packages, demonstrate Vidéotron's continued leadership in home entertainment.
Vidéotron ltée (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 and residential telephone service. Vidéotron 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. Vidéotron serves 1,453,000 cable television customers in Québec; including over 334,000 illico subscribers. Vidéotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 527,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services.
