Montréal, April 29, 2008 – Videotron is pleased to be the presenter and main sponsor of the Just For Laughs Festival for the second year in a row, and to be part of today's launch of the indoor program for the 26th edition of the comedy festival, to be held from July 10 to 20, 2008.
"We are very excited about being in the thick of things again at one of Québec's premier cultural events," said Manon Brouillette, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Content & Product Development, Videotron. "This year, Videotron will again bring its customers the full Just for Laughs experience, serving up original comedy from the festival to subscribers across Québec."
Videotron Juste pour rire galas on illico on Demand
As presenter and main sponsor of the Juste pour rire / Just For Laughs Festival, Videotron will bring comedy fans the eagerly anticipated Videotron Just For Laughs and Videotron Juste pour rire galas. Videotron will repeat last year's enormously successful broadcasts of the French-language galas on its illico on Demand service and make the television premieres of the performances available to subscribers, unabridged, starting the day after the show. illico on Demand will also carry repeats of the "Juste pour rire en direct" shows, the Videotron Juste pour rire gala highlights collections, "comicographies" and other series developed by Just for Laughs, as well as the "Just for Variety" series.
Up close and personal
Videotron will again present last year's hit "Tout Show" comedy series, which will be broadcast from the Studio Juste pour rire on St-Laurent St. in Montréal. Audiences will be close to the stage in the intimate atmosphere of the 300-seat hall. Tickets will be available at the door on a first-come first-served basis.
"This partnership is a perfect fit with Videotron's mission of providing the best possible customer experience at all times in all its product categories," said Manon Brouillette. "It is an opportunity to deliver exclusive content on multiple technological platforms and to highlight the benefits, in terms of both entertainment content and technology, of being a Videotron customer."
Comedy talent show on VOX
Videotron recently launched, in collaboration with VOX, the En route vers mon premier Gala Juste pour rire program, a talent contest in which 48 young comics are given a chance to show their stuff on television, the Internet and mobiles. The winner chosen by the audience will perform at the Juste pour rire gala night on July 5, hosted by Mike Ward and Patrick Groulx.
The one-hour En route vers mon premier Gala Juste pour rire shows are taped before a live audience at Studio Juste pour rire and broadcast on VOX, Videotron's exclusive community television channel, on Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. for 13 weeks, April 5 to June 28. During each episode, six contestants perform their comedy routines. The panel of judges (Jacques Chevalier, Pascale Lévesque and Bruno Landry) grants immunity to one and tab two others for elimination, one of whom is saved by the studio audience. The television audience decides the fate of the remaining three contestants: viewers can cast a free vote via illico or on the Internet at videotron.com/divertissement from end of the show at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday until midnight on the following Wednesday. The contestant who receives the most votes from the audience also advances to the next round.
Contest provides grant for aspiring comics
As part of the En route vers mon premier Gala Juste pour rire contest, the Fondation du maire de Montréal pour la jeunesse (fmmj) has partnered with Just for Laughs to create the "Coup de Coeur fmmj" contest. Participants who meet the fmmj's eligibility criteria have a chance to win a $3,000 prize, to be used to produce and broadcast their comedy routine as part of the Festival Juste pour rire 2008, presented by Videotron. The fmmj is a non-profit organization that helps young Montrealers start up their own business or produce their artistic project by offering them grants and services. Since 1996, the fmmj has awarded more than $4 million in grants to 737 projects, which resulted in the creation of over 1,520 jobs on the Island of Montréal.
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, 2008, Videotron was serving 1,652,200 cable television customers in Québec, including 802,800 illico Digital TV subscribers. Videotron is the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 965,300 subscribers to its cable modem service. As of March 31, 2008, Videotron had activated 49,900 lines on its wireless telephone service and was providing cable telephone service to nearly 691,600 Québec households and organizations.
