Montréal, May 4, 2010 – Videotron is expanding its television service once again to give its approximately 1.1 million digital customers access to Al Jazeera English (AJE), the first English-language news channel based in the Middle East. To give international news junkies a taste of the new service, Videotron will offer a free preview of AJE for the next three months, until August 4, 2010.
Al Jazeera is an all-news channel that aims to cover international news from every angle and build bridges between cultures. It will be available on Videotron Digital TV channel 173 as part of the Custom, Mega or News packages, or à la carte.
We are constantly striving to bring our customers programming that reflects today's Québec and meets their needs, said Myrianne Collin, Vice President, Marketing, Consumer Division, of Videotron. The addition of AJE to our digital channel line-up supports this objective and enriches the diversity of voices and points of view on Québec television.
As of today, Videotron customers will also be able to watch TFO HD on Digital TV channel 694. TFO (channel 94 in standard format) is a showcase for all facets of Franco-Ontarian culture. It carries documentaries on the environment, science, history, archaeology and society, as well as quality programming for children and repertory films from around the world.
With the addition of AJE and TFO HD, Videotron now offers its customers a selection of more than 360 channels, including 47 HD services, 25 of which are in French, the largest selection of French-language HD channels available in Québec.
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 December 31, 2009, Videotron was serving 1,777,000 cable television customers in Québec, including 1,084,100 subscribers to illico Digital TV. Videotron is the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 1,170,600 subscribers to its cable modem service as of December 31, 2009. As of the same date, Videotron had activated 82,800 handsets on its wireless telephone service and was providing cable telephone service to 1,014,000 Québec households and organizations. For the fifth consecutive year, Videotron was named Québec's most respected telecommunications company by Les Affaires magazine, based on a Léger Marketing survey.
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