French Category 1s could delay launch

The owners of five French-language Category 1 channels may delay the launch of their recently-licensed services from anywhere from a month to a year due to low digital penetration levels in Quebec. "There are big discussions right now in the Quebec market as to whether the Category 1s will be launched next fall or if they will ask for a delay of one year because the number of digital boxes is not sufficient to support any business plan," says Pierre Roy, president and CEO of Les Chaînes Télé Astral Inc. There are only about 350,000 digital subscribers, mostly to direct-to-home satellite, in the province and Roy estimates 50 per cent of them might opt to subscribe to the new Category 1 and 2 channels. "It’s a very small number. That’s why people are a bit cautious about launching," he says, adding that a final decision hasn’t been made on the matter. There are disagreements, however, over just how much of a delay there could be. Kevin Dumouchel, director of finance and administration at Le Reseau des sports which was licensed for Le Reseau Info Sport, says, "For our part, we’re interested in launching, and we’re having discussions with Quebecor, TVA and MusiquePlus about the launch, and we’re hoping to go forward with an industry-wide launch for the French-language channels." He says the launch may be delayed but only until November, instead of September, the date endorsed by the CRTC. "I think that we are in a kind of big open discussion to figure out what’s the best way to launch them (in what packages and how should they be marketed) and is there any merit to delaying," he says. "Personally, we would just as soon launch if we can. ...The whole idea of getting subs to move over from analog to digital is that there is something interesting available. It’s a little bit like the chicken or the egg. Can you afford to wait for the egg to hatch? Maybe you need to get the chicken out there first." The companies licensed for Category 1 French-language channels are Groupe TVA Inc (in joint ventures with Publications Transcontinental and BCE Inc for LCN Affaires, with Film Rozon and BCE Inc for Tele Ha! Ha!, and with Global and Rogers for 13ieme rue); RDS, owned by NetStar Communications, a division of CTV Corp (for Le Reseau Info Sport); and Astral Media’s MusiquePlus in conjunction with Chum Ltd (for Perfecto, La Chaîne). Michel Arpin, corporate secretary at MusiquePlus, says, "As of today, Perfecto La Chaîne is still working toward a launch this fall." But he adds, "Obviously, we see that the digital universe (in Quebec) is small, and probably a bit smaller than we had expected when we filed (our applications) with the CRTC. …The decision about launching may not be finalized until further investigation of the market conditions."

French Category 1s could delay launch

News | 02/28/2001 5:00 am EST

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