TELUS likely to launch its TV serviceover Internet this year: Janet Yale

TELUS Communications Inc. hopes to launch its TV service sometime this year, according to TELUS’ executive VP of government and regulatory affairs. It’s been a long time in the making as TELUS received its broadcast distribution licence back in August 2003 (CCR, Aug. 22/03), and at that time pledged to be up-and-running within a year. "We are doing employee trials as we speak to make sure that it works well. We have the opportunity to get feedback from our employees about what they like, and whether or not we need to make adjustments to various aspects of the service. It gives us an opportunity to train our installation and repair force, and so on," Janet Yale told Canadian Communications Reports. "You never get a second chance at a first impression. So getting it right before going to market is extremely important, especially when you are trying to convince people to switch to your service from the incumbents. We are taking our time to get it right, and we’ll be launching sometime this year." For competitive reasons, Yale wouldn’t be any more precise. No one involved with the Telus TV initiative is prepared at this point to speak about the project. Yale said that delay in launching the TV service is simply a question of priority. "We have to decide an order on which to launch a variety of different services to enhance our DSL offering, and there are a number of DSL enhancements that we are bringing to market. There’s a bit of an issue around that," she noted, adding that Telus is looking at home networking. "At the end of the day, what we want to do is enhance the offerings of our DSL services, and respond to customer demand in terms of the priority you attach to the various things (that will be introduced) and in what timeframe you bring (them) to the market," she said. Yale pointed out that packaging and carriage is not a key challenge to getting the TV service going. "When you are an all-digital undertaking, from a packaging perspective you have a bit more flexibility than when you are a cable TV company with the analog and the digital," she said. "Subject to the concerns that everyone has for pent up demand for more channels, I would say that from a launch perspective packaging and carriage is not a key challenge." Being able to differentiate its TV service from the incumbent will be a challenge, according to Yale. In order to more quickly respond to customer demands, TELUS has filed an application with the CRTC asking to be allowed to make minor changes to its channel lineup without having to go through the existing lengthy regulatory process. "I would say that we’re always thinking about ways to differentiate ourselves in the marketplace," she told CCR. "One of the things from a regulatory burden perspective that we’ve done is file an application to the CRTC saying that if what we want to do is small changes in our channel lineup that are within the bounds of the existing regulatory regime, we should be able to do that on a fairly automatic basis so that we can respond effectively in the marketplace to customer demand as we move along. So if packages don’t work, we want the flexibility (to change them)…and right now it can take a year to make a small change in a channel lineup. You have to file (an application with the CRTC), you have to wait for a hearing, even if it’s not a public hearing, and that’s a year." The latest approvals to changes to TELUS’ broadcasting distribution licence were issued by the CRTC this January. It gave TELUS permission to insert certain promotional material as a substitute for the "local availabilities" in British Columbia, to distribute CIVT-TV (CTV) Vancouver as part of its basic service in Kelowna BC and KOVS-TV (IND) Bellingham and KSTW (IND) Tacoma/Seattle, Washington as part of its basic service in Vancouver and Victoria (Broadcasting Decision 2005-2). It also allowed TELUS to substitute promotional material in place of "local availabilities" in the territories it is licensed for in Alberta, and to distribute CKEM-TV (IND) Edmonton, and CICT-TV (Global) Calgary as part of its discretionary TV service in Medicine Hat (Broadcasting Decision 2005-3). Yale says there are no regulatory hurdles to moving ahead with the launch of Telus’ TV service.

TELUS likely to launch its TV serviceover Internet this year: Janet Yale

Broadcast | February 14, 2005

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