IPTV coming by December, Cogeco says

Cogeco Inc. will launch its new IPTV service in its entire Canadian footprint by the end of the calendar year, CEO Philippe Jetté said on a call with analysts Thursday. “We are currently testing our IPTV platform and we are very enthusiastic about the advanced features we will provide to our customers,” he said following the release of the company’s third-quarter results. Cogeco announced last year it would be going with the MediaFirst platform for the new offering. Cogeco reported $617.6 million in revenue in the three months ending May 31, up 3.1 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier, or 1.3 per cent in constant currency (the company earns both Canadian and U.S. dollars). Cogeco said that increase was driven by its communications segment, due to “organic growth” and the acquisition of a Florida fibre network from FiberLight LLC. Profit for the period was $185 million, up significantly from $70.75 million in the same quarter last year. That was mainly due to a gain of $82.4 million from the sale of its Peer 1 data centre business, combined with higher adjusted earnings in the communications segment. Cogeco’s telecom division reported $587.3 million in revenue, up 3.6 per cent or 1.7 in constant currency. The Canadian division continued to feel the effects of a switch to a new customer management system, with a six-per-cent dip in revenue, compared to a 10.8 per cent increase, or 6.2 per cent in constant currency, in the U.S. The company gained 14,833 internet customers, more than in the same quarter a year earlier, when it added 8,061. The vast majority of those new adds were in the U.S., with only 699 coming from Canada. It lost 11,369 TV customers, slightly more than the 10,049 it shed last year. Again, the bulk of those losses were from Canada, given that the company only lost 346 U.S. TV customers. It ended the quarter with a consolidated 1.23 million internet customers, and 965,008 TV subscribers. Company executives also said they weren’t concerned about competition from wholesale-based internet service providers or BCE Inc.’s fibre rollout. “On the reseller side… they’re very niche and they’re very localized,” Jetté said, adding, “they are gaining some shares but in some very specific areas in some cities.” Cogeco’s footprint is more rural than that of Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron, which launched internet service under its Fizz flanker brand last year in order to fight wholesale-based competitors. Jetté added that “on the Bell side, we are not seeing major changes in the market there, and we feel very well equipped with out internet ... all in all, we feel good.”

IPTV coming by December, Cogeco says

Brief | July 11, 2019

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IPTV coming by December, Cogeco says

Brief | July 11, 2019

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