Montréal, May 10, 2007 - Videotron reported strong numbers for the first quarter of 2007, growing both its financial results and the customer base for its four products: cable television, Internet access, cable telephone and wireless telephone service. The figures as of March 31, 2007, released today, confirm Videotron's position as a leading player in the Canadian telecommunications market.
"To achieve another successful year, we will need to continue managing growth without impacting our customers and to do still more to offer our customers continuously improved services, from the beginning of the process to the end," said Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Videotron.
Quebecers flock to illico
As of March 31, 2007, Videotron had a total customer base of 1,583,000 across its service area. In the first three months of 2007, Videotron posted a net increase of 29,000 subscribers to its illico Digital TV service, bringing the total to 653,000. Videotron offers subscribers to illico Digital TV the largest selection of French-language HD channels in its service area.
During the quarter, Videotron expanded its Hispano package by adding Nuevo Mundo TV, Canada's first 24/7 90% Spanish-language television channel. Videotron is the first cable provider in the world to carry the service. The addition brings the number of Spanish-language channels available on illico Digital TV to 11. After doubling its volume in 2006, Videotron's illico on Demand service continued to prove popular in the first quarter of 2007 with nearly 434,000 paid and free orders per week, for a quarterly total of 5,642,500 orders.
Even more content
Videotron's strategy is to generate, incorporate and develop wide-ranging content that meets current and future customer needs, and to distribute it on an array of platforms, including illico on Demand. This is one of the major challenges Videotron's people will face in 2007 in order to deliver expanding choice to customers wherever they are. During the year, Videotron will provide customers with exclusive content under agreements with the FrancoFolies de Montréal, the Just for Laughs Festival, and Concert Productions International, in association with Donald K. Donald Events, for the Genesis Turn It On Again concert at the Olympic Stadium in September 2007. In the coming months, Videotron will also work to incorporate content from other platforms operated by its parent company, Quebecor Media Inc.
Videotron Internet service will be world's fastest
Videotron grew the customer base for its cable Internet service by more than 36,000 in the first quarter of 2007, bringing the total to 828,000, a 4.5% quarter-over-quarter increase. The customer satisfaction rate with the service is 96.7%.
During the quarter, Videotron announced the first North American test of a technology that will substantially increase the speed of its Internet service. A partnership with Cisco®, combined with Videotron's technology and powerful, robust network, will soon give Videotron customers access to one of the world's fastest Internet services, with speeds of up to 100 mbps.
Cable telephone service continues to post strong results
Since gradual region-by-region roll-out began in early 2005, Videotron cable telephone service has registered steady growth: in the first quarter of 2007, the number of subscribers increased by 51,000, bringing the total to 449,000 as of March 31, 2007. Videotron maintains its position as the largest provider of cable telephone service in Canada, in terms of subscriber base.
"Videotron's reliable alternative to conventional telephone service is creating real competition and delivering substantial benefits for consumers: they have seen significant price cuts and can now freely choose their telephone provider," said Mr. Dépatie. "We are particularly proud of the fact that customer satisfaction with our cable telephone service is 94%, according to a recent Léger Marketing survey."
Wireless telephone service a good fit into Videotron's multi-product offering
During 2006, Videotron completed its telecommunications offering with the launch of wireless telephone service. As of March 31, 2007, there were 20,000 activated lines on the service, nearly double the 12,000 lines at December 31, 2006.
With the addition of wireless telephone service, Videotron can now provide each customer with four telecom products: Internet access, cable television, cable telephone and wireless telephone service. Videotron's multi-product bundles continued to prove attractive in 2007, with over 50% of Videotron customers now subscribed to two or more services.
"During the 12-month period ended March 31, 2007, we recorded the highest overall growth rate of all cable companies in Canada, with increases of 63,000 customers for our cable television service, 141,000 customers for illico Digital TV, 146,000 customers for our cable Internet access services, 222,000 customers for cable telephone service, and 20,000 lines for our new wireless telephone service, launched nine months ago," said Mr. Dépatie. "We are very pleased to see that our efforts are paying off. At the end of the day, our approach in the competitive telecommunications environment is yielding healthy benefits for both the Company and its customers."
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. As of March 31, 2007, Videotron had activated 20,000 lines on its wireless telephone service and was providing cable telephone service to 449,000 Québec households and organizations.
