To those who have long complained about the lack of English high-definition channels on Videotron, finally some good news: The TV distributor is going a long way in playing catchup to its rivals, upgrading 36 of its English-language channels to high definition, including all of its Sportsnet channels and all of its Movie Network channels.
There’s a catch, though. For Montrealers, these channels will only be available to those with next-generation Illico set-top boxes, which have been used for the past couple of years. The older Scientific Atlanta or PACE boxes (what Videotron calls “Illico 1” internally) can’t decode the MPEG-4-encoded signals that carry the new channels, so they won’t be able to access them in HD.
The exception is Sportsnet 360 (formerly The Score). That channel, whose viewers have long demanded an HD version, will be available to all receivers throughout Videotron’s service area.
Some of the channels (the Movie Network channels, Sportsnet World, U.S. superstations and Disney Jr.) will also be available in the Gatineau/Rockland region, for all HD subscribers regardless of box type.
Outside of Gatineau and Montreal, it’s just Sportsnet 360 and the French version of Disney Jr.
If it sounds complicated, it is. Even Videotron’s vice-president got it wrong a couple of times trying to explain it to me.
The problem is that Videotron’s cable network is nearing saturation, with a combination of analog channels, digital channels, video-on-demand channels and channels used for Internet data. HD channels use up a lot of space (though not as much as an analog channel) and there isn’t much of it left.
So the company is switching to a new compression system. In Montreal, all the new channels (except Sportsnet 360) will be encoded using MPEG-4 instead of MPEG-2, which dramatically lowers the bitrate for each channel. This is why the next-generation boxes are needed. Existing channels are not changing, so if you have an older box you’ll still get the same channels you do now.
This move combines with a very expensive network modernization project that has brought head-ends closer to homes and reduced the size of their cells, both of which are designed to use bandwidth more efficiently to offer more channels and faster Internet speeds.
But still, some HD channels are missing from Videotron’s lineup, and customers who want them will certainly complain that they weren’t added here. They include:
- CTV News Channel
- The Comedy Network
- The Weather Network
- Documentary
- BNN
- MSNBC
- BBC World News
- Al Jazeera English
- Gol TV
- TVO
- Action
- Time-shifting channels
Plus channels that aren’t on Videotron even in standard definition, like:
- TSN Habs
- Disney XD
- Fox News Channel
- Bloomberg TV
- Russia Today
- NASA TV
- Smithsonian Channel
- HIFI
- RadX
- Hollywood Suite
- Big Ten Network
- CBS Sports
- CTV Two (don’t ask me why, but people complain that it’s not there)
Feel free to add suggestions below. I should note that Videotron does keep note of new channel requests, and will base their decision to take a channel based in no small part on consumer demand. So if you want something, ask for it.
Videotron’s vice-president of content operations and public affairs, Isabelle Dessureault, who is also in charge of MAtv and the MYtv community channel project.
The new HD channels prompted me to write a feature story that appears in Saturday’s Gazette about Videotron’s relationship with anglophones. Isabelle Dessureault, Videotron’s vice-president of content operations and public affairs, told me that the company is under-performing among anglos and has made a stronger effort to improve its offering for them and better compete with … well, you know who. It finally came to terms with AMC after a long negotiation, added premium channels like FX Canada and Super Channel, and has asked the CRTC for permission to launch an English-language community channel in Montreal.
Through our discussion, I got Dessureault to explain, in general terms, why it’s difficult for Videotron to get English content. It’s not for lack of wanting, and technical issues aren’t the only limitation.
Dessureault said that for TV channels, the problems start at the negotiating table. Broadcasters, particularly American ones, demand minimum subscription guarantees or variable wholesale rates. But that’s particularly difficult for Videotron because of it’s custom channel packaging strategy. Allowing people to choose their own channels and not pay for ones they don’t want means the people who own those channels get less money. With 80% of new clients choosing custom packages, minimum subscription guarantees don’t make sense. And variable rates means Videotron has even less of an incentive to include less popular services.
The Canadian government has said it wants to move toward freedom of choice in TV packaging. The CRTC has repeatedly indicated it wants to encourage this as well. And some providers, particularly smaller ones, are trying to do just that. But it’s not that easy with the contracts that are signed with various broadcasters.
Dessureault said there’s only so much that can be done about the problem. The CRTC has no jurisdiction in the United States, so it can’t force CNN, AMC, Spike TV or A&E to accept contract conditions they don’t want. But she said that if more Canadian distributors moved toward so-called pick-and-pay systems, the big U.S. players might accept no-guarantee channel carriage as the cost of doing business in this country, and negotiations might go easier in the future.
There are also non-linear content distribution methods, like Videotron’s new Illico Club Unlimited, its answer to Netflix. The company admitted when it launched that it had very little to offer to anglophones. The focus was on French-language content, where Netflix is weak. Dessureault said she wants to see more English content on the service, but explained why the business case for it is bad.
Simply put, English content in a subscription video-on-demand service is six times more expensive to acquire than French-language content. And Videotron has far fewer anglophone clients than francophone. Added to the fact that Videotron just doesn’t have the same financial resources as Netflix to acquire content, and it just doesn’t make sense in the short term to buy English content for this platform.
Of course Videotron made a 15% profit margin, or $15 million in profit last year in TV service, so don’t cry for them too much.
UPDATE (Dec. 4): The channels are all live now, along with two holiday fireplace channels that are part of the Galaxie service. They’re on channel 552 (with francophone holiday music) and 553 (with crackling sounds). Videotron hasn’t created a map or anything to show which people have access to which channels where. Instead, it’s asking people to contact customer service and is telling them individually.
New HD channels
For all digital HD subscribers
- 711: Rogers Sportsnet 360
For all digital HD subscribers in Gatineau and Rockland, Ont., and subscribers in Montreal with next-generation Illico boxes
- 685: Rogers Sportsnet World
- 813: MExcess
- 815: MFest
- 814: MFun
- 831: WGN
- 833: WPIX
- 832: WSBK
- 834: KTLA
- 759: Disney Jr. (English)
Only for digital HD subscribers in Montreal with next-generation Illico boxes
- 715: ABC Spark
- 755: Animal Planet
- 756: Discovery Science
- 760: Family Channel
- 757: H2
- 741: HLN
- 735: Investigation Discovery
- 731: Lifetime
- 736: Movietime
- 667: MuchMusic
- 718: Nat Geo Wild
- 714: OLN
- 818: Peachtree
- 673: Slice
- 682: Sportsnet Ontario
- 683: Sportsnet Pacific
- 684: Sportsnet West
- 817: TMN Encore 2
- 671: Teletoon (English)
- 716: The Fight Network
- 745: Travel + Escape
- 819: Turner Classic Movies
- 709: W Movies
- 721: W Network
- 656: Wild TV
- 672: YTV
For all digital HD subscribers outside Montreal, and those in Montreal with next-generation Illico boxes
- 646: Disney Jr. (French)
Netflix is just fine thanks. I don’t want Videotron to try and compete against it. That would be a waste of time and money.
The one thing I don’t get is why they cannot offer the TSN Habs regional feed. Yes I can watch the game on RDS, but you know what. I don’t want to. I speak english and want the feed in english. It’s available and should be on Videotron. Of course I would be happy to get NHL Centre Ice, but the Molson won’t allow me to see the Habs on that.
Not if you speak French.
Since we can assume that there is a demand for it, the answer is probably money. TSN Habs is a Bell service, and Bell was probably demanding more money (or other requirements that translate into money) than Videotron was willing to offer. That’s almost always the reason any popular channel doesn’t get carriage.
ref: Netflix… if you go to the Audio selection, subtitles option when selecting a movie or TV show, you’ll see if the material is available with a french audio track, or french subtitles.
The smithsonian channel should be added. Merci
Smithsonian channel can be accessed trough Apple tv (change apple store to US) or Roku and perhaps some smart tvs .
Does this apply to Vaudreuil-Dorion as well?
I believe so, but I don’t have a map of what Videotron’s greater Montreal service area looks like, so I can’t say for sure. I guess you’ll find out.
The good news about the 36 HD channels does not apply to everyone: after waiting impatiently for the December 4th launch date, I saw no changes on my TV grid. After reading your update about all channels now being live, I called Videotron to find out why I was not accessing the new HD channels: I was told that Videotron has not yet “modernised” my sector in Montreal (East End), and the technician had no clue on how long it will take to “modernise” my neighborhood… What a disappointment! Percentage wise, I wonder how much of the island was “modernised” for reception of the 36 channels on December 4th? My guess is Videotron started updating the areas where they hoped to increase their English speaking clientele and not as a “Christmas bonus” for the already existing customers!
Absolutely not. There are a lot of catches here. And it seems Videotron hasn’t been that great at explaining all of them.
I have no reason to believe the modernization process is based on any demographic concerns. Montreal is being modernized first because it’s the largest and most dense region.
Good on them for finally adding Teletoon (and Muchmusic too, I suppose). They only one they seem to have forgotten was CTV News channel.
The Comedy Network is another that some will be disappointed wasn’t added.
For me, a French Canadian who watches mostly English TV, they are adding a lot of the channels I want. But OUTtv, Comedy, E!, time shifting station and maybe Sundance (and BBC Canada when they have an HD feed) are the most important one missing. Hopefully Rogers is not planning a 43rd Sportsnet station about bowling or cricket to take another space ;)
Did they tell you that is it for a while or are they planning to add those other missing channel in the near future?
But let’s celebrate for this big effort they are making now.
Others missing from their (and your) list are:
Already on Videotron in SD, missing HD:
Assemblee Natrionale (yeah nobody wants that but it’s still has na HD feed)
AMI TV
BET
CMT Canada
Cosmopolitan
Cottage Life
DTour
E! Canada
GSN
M3
MTV
Military
Nickelodeon Canada
Omni
OUTtv
Playboy
Rewind
Sundance
The Shopping Channel
Telelatino
Treehouse
World Fishing Network
Not on Videotron at all :
AUX
AXS TV
Cartoon Network Canada
The Cult Movie Network (not in HD)
The Pet Network
The Rural Channel
I purchased my HD PVR several years ago when renting wasn’t an option. Now, as an existing customer, it would be nice if they would simply provide me, free of rental fees, a new PVR so I can take advantage of channels that I am already paying their HD access fee for, but can’t currently get. Any idea of if they’re going to make good with their long time customers in this way?
I couldn’t get them to say if they’ll offer discounts or incentives in this way, because that’s a business strategy. But if you ask for one, and threaten to leave if you don’t get it, they might give you a free rental.
As I understand, us single service customers are no longer important customers. Those that subscribe to 3 or more services (phone, cell, internet, and TV) ate the ones that they accommodate the most…
I don’t know what you mean by “important” here. They certainly want to encourage you to buy more of their services. But that doesn’t mean they don’t want to provide you proper service if you buy fewer of them.
It’s a little unfair to say Videotron is missing HD channels Al Jazeera English and Action, when no provider in Canada, to my knowledge anyway, has them in HD.
Sometimes CTV2 has sports on, especially when TSN and TSN2 are taken up with other events.
I would also like the American networks ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and PBS to be part of the standard offering like Bell Fibe to free up more a-la-carte channel selections.
However, since these are considered “anglophone channels” I am not holding my breath.
Videotron’s policy is really only to include in its basic service channels that it’s required by the CRTC to include. Beyond that, it’s up to people’s choices. If you’re worried about your custom channel spots, you can take the U.S. stations as a package and not have to worry about it.
It would be more economical for the clients for VIdeotron to include these very popular channels in the basic service.
Videotron’s web site is not very user friendly to find out how the major US Networks can be ordered and paid separately. The only info I found was a package called “Time Shifting USA” for $3 per month but does not appear to be the right one. Not sure if anyone has subscribed to the US channels as a stand alone option.
They redesigned their packages, so the U.S. Networks options isn’t listed anymore. I’m not sure if it’s been eliminated, if those with it have been grandfathered, or if it’s just not publicized. But it was about $5 or $6 a month for ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX and the two PBS stations. In my case, I found it was more economical to include them in my custom channel package individually, despite the slots they take up.
Do people really complain about not having The Weather Network in HD? Anyway, I called Videotron and got a new PVR free for 2 years at which point I can return it or buy it for 50% off. Seems fair to me. Every time I think of leaving Videotron I have to remember how badly Bell treated me for so many years.
I wouldn’t complain but I find it odd every time I see it or any other SD channel in crappy sub-SD quality, and by that I mean they must compress it so much that it is blurry low contrast mess of video.
Videotron compresses The Weather Network to 5Mbps, which is actually among the least compressed SD channels. It should be pretty clear at that rate.
Considering there isn’t a ton of brand new HD channels that suddenly opened, the jump for Videotron does nothing except prove just how incredibly far behind they were. Celebrating tardiness, what a concept!
I don’t consider it hard to believe that they are behind their competitors in terms of English HD channels. Their competitors are behind them in terms of French HD channels. It’s the reality of being a television provider operating almost entirely in Quebec.
Speaking of analog cable and how much bandwidth it’s
hoggingconsuming, when does Videotron plan to finally phase it out?As I write in this article, there’s no hard date for removing analog cable in Montreal. It took the first step by dropping the Telemax analog service in the Gatineau region. But with about 17% of its cable TV subscribers still on analog cable, it’ll be a while before they can start shutting it down. They say they’ll do it in stages, so that it’s not an abrupt shutdown that could lead to some subscribers jumping to a competitor or abandoning cable TV all together.
“Stages” could mean a two-step process of removing extended cable and then basic cable, and/or switching one geographic region at a time, maybe even single neighbourhoods at a time.
Videotron has already started on one of those stages, discontinuing the sale of analog cable. They only offer digital Illico service now. Unless you’re already an existing subscriber to analog cable, in which case your service is a legacy service they still allow to you keep–for the moment anyway.
VDN did the same with their analog cable service after Bell bought them out. New customers could only purchase Bell Fibe, but existing legacy customers still got to keep their analog cable. Eventually that disappeared, along with VDN as a whole.
Telemax analog cable still exists as-is at the moment. Have a friend with Illico but uses Telemax analog on her other TV sets. Also seen hotels and apartment buildings in Montreal with it too. I’m assuming it’ll be phased in the next year or so…
Now that Videotron will start broadcasting the new HD channels in Mpeg 4 that requires far less bandwidth than Mpeg 2, I wonder how they selected the 36 channels to add. Why not 46 or 56 for or any other number for that matter. I would have expected all Bell and Shaw owned channels currently shown in SD will be offered in Mpeg 4 HD but that is not the case since Comedy, MTV, BNN and many others have been left out. Is it still a problem with the bandwidth available or Videotron is only negotiating channels piece meal with Bell and Shaw. If Videotron already has the rights for the SD channels is Bell and Shaw gauging them for the equivalent HD feeds?
Mostly based on demand.
Videotron’s Isabelle Dessureault explained to me that the idea is to keep about 95% of the customers happy by offering them all of what they want. The remaining 5% want the hundreds of channels that have very niche audiences, and the system simply can’t contain them all.
Keep in mind they haven’t removed anything from the network. All the channels that were distributed using MPEG2 or analog are still being done that way. It’s mainly because of the modernization – replacing large hubs with smaller ones so that there’s fewer homes using video-on-demand and switched video channels.
I’m not sure if the lack of CTV News Channel, Comedy, MTV and BNN is because Videotron doesn’t think demand is high enough or if it’s some issue negotiating with Bell Media. Videotron had to charge extra for TSN and Sportsnet because of its contract with Bell and Rogers. Contract issues would certainly help explain why most of the popular channels not being added are Bell’s. But many of the channels being upgraded are owned by Bell Media, including the Movie Network channels, the Discovery channels (Animal Planet, ID, Science) and MuchMusic.
Unfortunately, the nature of such contracts is strictly confidential. But such agreements can include different charges or other requirements for HD versions of existing channels.
WHERE IS FOX NEW CHANNEL ? WHERE IS FOX NEW CHANNEL ? WHERE IS FOX NEW CHANNEL ?
I have been requesting Videotron to add FoxNewChannel for over three years and yet they refuse to add that channel. Is it because it is a mostly conservative leaning new channel.
Fox New Channel is the most watch cable news show in American.
Good lord, we can’t get FoxNewChannel and yet they offer •Al Jazeera English~~ Seriously…
Well it won’t be long I will have to switch my tv and internet over to Bell Fibre
Since Quebecor started Sun News Network, a channel Videotron distributed from the beginning, I think a left-wing conspiracy is unlikely. It comes down to demand: Not enough Videotron subscribers want the channel. And if FNC is demanding high prices or onerous terms, demand would have to be even higher before Videotron considers it.
Al Jazeera English has either a very low or non-existent per-subscriber wholesale fee, I suspect, which is in part the reason for this.
Al Jazeera, according to everything I have seen, is pretty much given freely to the distributors in hope that they will carry it. So the distributors get no costs and the ability to use it to pad out packages and make everything else pay, the the news organization gets carriage they otherwise would not get.
They operate under the same conditions worldwide, they have worked very hard to get worldwide distribution to try to catch up the CNN.
I assume MPEG-4 will resulrt in the same or better image quality?
Some channels (WVNY in particular) have a very noticeable decline in image quality. I am guessing this is becuase of how the channel in encoded; perhaps on an overloaded QAM?
Yes. Though the savings in bandwidth will be a bigger factor than image quality.
WVNY HD isn’t severely compressed on Videotron compared to its over-the-air signal. And, of course, the signal Videotron puts out can’t be better than what WVNY puts out.
Habs tv
Tln HD
Mediaset italia
Euro sports
Disney XD
I have also been asking Videotron for Fox News Channel, as have two neighbors that I know of. I have been requesting for over two years now and it makes no sense that they would not carry the most watched cable news channel in North America. I feel I will probably plan on dropping Videotron in the coming year as they are also missing ESPN, TNT and USA.
It does if the potential audience is relatively small and the cost to carry it is too high.
Those three channels are not authorized for distribution in Canada. Videotron can’t carry them, neither can any other Canadian distributor. But much of their programming is carried by Canadian broadcasters.
If the potential audience is small, then how come they carry MSNBC or even Sun News (who’s audience I know is in the thousands to tens of thousands at most). They even carry Al-Jazeera (perhaps for Montreal’s Arabic population?) Cost could be a factor, but every other relevent cable outlet in Canada carries Fox News. I tweeted @videotron yesterday about this very subject and Shaw tweeted back and asked if I was interested. I hadn’t even included them, yet they showed initiative.
Thank you for your answer on the other channels, disappointing, but true. I still feel I will be checking the prices of other cable providers in the new year.
I wonder if Mpeg4 makes any difference when recording a show on PVR.
Will it take up less space on the hard disc compared to a show recorded in Mpeg2?
The new PVRs have 500GB disc drives but illico 2 software does not allow the addition of an external drive to increase capacity like Rogers Nextbox 3.0 even tough the hardware (eSATA and USB connectors) is more than capable.
Yes.
The mpeg 4 HD channels are now available in my area and had no problems accessing them. However, a couple of my friends had issues and when they called Videotron they were told that another change was going to be pushed overnight or the next day to fix these problems since many people complained about not being able to view them even thought they were in the appropriate areas of Montreal.
Had a look at the fireplace channels. I was expecting one to have French and the other to have English holiday music like Bell Fibe but we got the crackling sound instead. No problem, I can always play my own music and enjoy the crackling sound at the same time.
Here in Vaudreuil, new channels are not yet available. I call videotron and they said that the new channels will be rolled out in phases with no exact date promised. So, I wait…..
Is there any info on this?
No. If you don’t have them now, it’s because you’re not in an area that has access to the new channels yet. You’ll have to wait until they modernize your sector, and there’s no date set for that.
“UPDATE (Dec. 4): The channels are all live now, along with two holiday fireplace channels that are part of the Galaxie service. They’re on channel 552 (with francophone holiday music) and 553 (with crackling sounds).”
Except if you are SD only, then you don’t get the fireplace channel. My 75 year old mother in law was (not) very impressed. She started wondering why she didn’t take up Bell Fibe’s offer this last summer.
Seriously can Videotron be more lame?
This is correct. It’s distributed only in HD.
BTW Steve, neither you NOR Videotron ever mentioned that the roll out in Metro Montreal was going to be staged.
A HUGE VIDEOTRON FAIL!!!!!!!
And a Montreal Gazette fail as well.
The rollout isn’t exactly “staged”, but rather it’s being done only in modernized areas of the city. I was told this was all of Montreal, but apparently that’s not true.
I live in the Ahunstic dont have the New Channels , I called and they told me only in the modernized montreal
not in slums of montreal … funny still pay the same price .. apple tv and netflix and US ip address .. looking good
Pingback: Videotron customers upset about not getting new HD channels | Fagstein
I would like to know if videotron will get the Italian channel.
Could you please add the Smithsonian and HIFI channel to the Videotron channel list. We have been trying it get it for the past two years.
Thank you for your attention to this request.
Sincerely,
Joanne
Well it took almost over a year, but those English HD channels have finally made it’s way to Quebec City.
Days where we were being ripped off by paying 16$/month for TMN and getting one HD channel out of four are now over. It was about time!
I live in Montreal East and don’t have the new HD channels. repentigny and laval West do.
Pourquoi Vidéotron essais pas de concurence Bell avec des canaux comme il l on fait avec France24 et Euronews en ajoutant Paris Premiere(il l ont deja offert il y’a 5 ans), CCTV français de Chine, Tempo, Luxenbourg(crtc dit oui depuis peu),
RT Russie etc.
I want fox news channel the most watched news in north America.
Fox News is missing, what a disappointment, may have to go back to bell:(
In Gatineau, we still don’t have the same HD channels that Montreal, what a ripoff from videotron. Could someone ask to have the same HD channels.
Why don’t we have FOX News channel on videotron? Please provide.