Montréal, August 8, 2006 - Videotron registered the highest customer growth rate of any Canadian cable provider over the past 12 months. The excellent subscriber numbers are among the highlights of Videotron's financial results for the second quarter of 2006, ended June 30, 2006, which were released today.
For the first time in 10 years, Videotron grew the customer base for its cable television service in the second quarter, a period during which many customers move. The figures confirm that Videotron's products enjoy strong consumer acceptance and its advantageous multi-product packages are responsive to market demand.
Popularity of Videotron's trio
"Today, only 18 months after the launch of our third product, residential telephone service, more than 45% of our customers are subscribers to two or three of our products," said Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Videotron. "Since the fall, approximately 25% of our weekly sales of telephone service have been to people who did not previously subscribe to any of our products. Even more significantly, 65% of these customers took our "trio" – that is to say, our three products. During moving season, this general trend strengthened and the figures were higher still: 48% of our sales of residential telephone service were to new customers and 70% of them took all three of our products. Our value proposition is a winning proposition for our customers and of course for the Company as well."
An important factor in the popularity of Videotron's products is the simplicity and time savings delivered by its bundled service packages: one-stop shopping at Videotron means one number to call for customer service, one number for technical support, one bill for all services. The advantages of one-stop shopping combined with superior product quality largely accounts for Videotron's 94% customer satisfaction rate with regard to products and services.
During the second quarter, Videotron's people continued to make a concerted effort to keep abreast of new developments and keep the Company ahead of the competition.
Videotron's customer base stood at 1,521,000 at the end of the second quarter of 2006. The number of subscribers to all Videotron Internet access services combined rose to 726,000, compared with 568 000 at the same point last year.
Digital TV on the rise
Customer migration from analog service to illico Digital TV continued apace: 545,000 Québec households now enjoy the best that television has to offer, a quarter-over-quarter increase of 33,000.
Videotron logged another Canadian first, in collaboration with Archambault Group, during the quarter by bringing the 2006 Star Académie concert tour to Video on Demand (VoD), thanks to an exclusive partnership with Productions J. It was the first time that high-definition (HD) content was offered on VoD in Canada. The popularity of HD packages and equipment has reached new heights this year: the number of Videotron customers equipped with HD set-top boxes and subscribing to HD packages has tripled over the past 12 months.
Videotron remains the leader among Canadian telecommunications firms offering telephone service using the Internet Protocol (IP). As of June 30, 2006, less than 18 months after the service launch, the number of subscribers stood at 283,000, an increase of 120,000 in six months. Videotron announced during the second quarter that it is rolling out its cable telephone service to more Québec communities. With this expansion, the service will be available in 74% of Videotron's service area.
Proud partner of the FrancoFolies
Videotron was proud to be an official sponsor of the 18th FrancoFolies de Montréal festival, held in June. Videotron's cable television services, illico on Demand, Internet access services, High-Speed Zone, telephone service and Canal Vox were all mustered to support the festival and promote the events and featured performers. Videotron's first sponsorship of the FrancoFolies was an opportunity for the Company to show its young, dynamic face and demonstrate that it is an organization that is close to its audiences and committed to quality entertainment.
Videotron announced yesterday that it will unveil details of its plans to enter the wireless telephone market later this week.
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 and residential 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 June 30, 2006, Videotron was serving 1,521,000 cable television customers in Québec; including 545,000 illico subscribers. Videotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 726,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services. In addition, Videotron provides residential and business telephone services to more than 283,000 customers in Québec.
For the first time in 10 years, Videotron grew the customer base for its cable television service in the second quarter, a period during which many customers move. The figures confirm that Videotron's products enjoy strong consumer acceptance and its advantageous multi-product packages are responsive to market demand.
Popularity of Videotron's trio
"Today, only 18 months after the launch of our third product, residential telephone service, more than 45% of our customers are subscribers to two or three of our products," said Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Videotron. "Since the fall, approximately 25% of our weekly sales of telephone service have been to people who did not previously subscribe to any of our products. Even more significantly, 65% of these customers took our "trio" – that is to say, our three products. During moving season, this general trend strengthened and the figures were higher still: 48% of our sales of residential telephone service were to new customers and 70% of them took all three of our products. Our value proposition is a winning proposition for our customers and of course for the Company as well."
An important factor in the popularity of Videotron's products is the simplicity and time savings delivered by its bundled service packages: one-stop shopping at Videotron means one number to call for customer service, one number for technical support, one bill for all services. The advantages of one-stop shopping combined with superior product quality largely accounts for Videotron's 94% customer satisfaction rate with regard to products and services.
During the second quarter, Videotron's people continued to make a concerted effort to keep abreast of new developments and keep the Company ahead of the competition.
Videotron's customer base stood at 1,521,000 at the end of the second quarter of 2006. The number of subscribers to all Videotron Internet access services combined rose to 726,000, compared with 568 000 at the same point last year.
Digital TV on the rise
Customer migration from analog service to illico Digital TV continued apace: 545,000 Québec households now enjoy the best that television has to offer, a quarter-over-quarter increase of 33,000.
Videotron logged another Canadian first, in collaboration with Archambault Group, during the quarter by bringing the 2006 Star Académie concert tour to Video on Demand (VoD), thanks to an exclusive partnership with Productions J. It was the first time that high-definition (HD) content was offered on VoD in Canada. The popularity of HD packages and equipment has reached new heights this year: the number of Videotron customers equipped with HD set-top boxes and subscribing to HD packages has tripled over the past 12 months.
Videotron remains the leader among Canadian telecommunications firms offering telephone service using the Internet Protocol (IP). As of June 30, 2006, less than 18 months after the service launch, the number of subscribers stood at 283,000, an increase of 120,000 in six months. Videotron announced during the second quarter that it is rolling out its cable telephone service to more Québec communities. With this expansion, the service will be available in 74% of Videotron's service area.
Proud partner of the FrancoFolies
Videotron was proud to be an official sponsor of the 18th FrancoFolies de Montréal festival, held in June. Videotron's cable television services, illico on Demand, Internet access services, High-Speed Zone, telephone service and Canal Vox were all mustered to support the festival and promote the events and featured performers. Videotron's first sponsorship of the FrancoFolies was an opportunity for the Company to show its young, dynamic face and demonstrate that it is an organization that is close to its audiences and committed to quality entertainment.
Videotron announced yesterday that it will unveil details of its plans to enter the wireless telephone market later this week.
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 and residential 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 June 30, 2006, Videotron was serving 1,521,000 cable television customers in Québec; including 545,000 illico subscribers. Videotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 726,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services. In addition, Videotron provides residential and business telephone services to more than 283,000 customers in Québec.
