Television
October 20, 2005
Cogeco Cable Adds Warner Bros. International Television Distribution To Its List Of Video-On-Demand Partners
(October 20, 2005 - Montréal) – Cogeco Cable announced today that it has signed an agreement with Warner Bros International Television Distribution (WBITD) to bolster Cogeco Cable’s video-on-demand (VOD) offering by adding new titles and old classics from this major distributor.
WBITD distributes Warner Bros Pictures' feature films, many of which will now be available to Cogeco Cable customers on a VOD basis. WBITD will provide Cogeco Cable with box office hits such as "Million Dollar Baby," "Alexander," and soon "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," "Batman Begins" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" as well as many other titles from its extensive library.
Cogeco Cable customers can access the VOD library on channel 1, from which they can choose from 800 programming hours including new movies, classics and children’s programs.
“Our VOD service is growing in popularity and we are thrilled to be associated with Warner Bros, which produces each year many blockbusters. This agreement will enable us to enhance our VOD selection as well as our customers’ VOD experience,” said Ron Perrotta, Vice President of Marketing & Sales at Cogeco Cable.
"We are pleased to support this exciting new service by offering a wide range of programs from our extensive library to Cogeco Cable's VOD offering,” said Jeffrey R. Schlesinger, President, Warner Bros. International Television. "Viewers globally are extremely receptive to VOD and we at Warner Bros International Television Distribution are proud to be a part of Cogeco's vibrant and growing VOD service."
VOD services are available to 86% of Cogeco Cable’s digital cable subscribers. Subscribers enjoy access to the movie libraries of WB, Sony Pictures Television International, MGM Home Entertainment, Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (which also represents certain U.S. studios), Lions Gate, representing 60% of domestic box office receipts, as well as Corus Entertainment and several other VOD programming providers.
The Cogeco Cable network uses effective technology that makes interactivity possible. Through the digital platform, customers benefit from a two-way connection with the network, enabling them to take advantage of an array of interactive services such as high-definition television, VOD, Subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), the fastest and most secure high-speed Internet (HSI) in Canada as well as the brand new digital phone service.
ABOUT COGECO CABLE
Cogeco Cable is the second largest cable operator in both Ontario and Québec, and ranks fourth in Canada in terms of the number of basic service customers it serves. Cogeco Cable provides about 1,346,000 revenue-generating units to about 1,440,000 households passed within its service territory. Through its two-way broadband cable infrastructure, Cogeco Cable provides its residential and commercial customers with analog and digital video and audio services, as well as high-speed Internet access. Cogeco Cable’s subordinate voting shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (CCA.SV).
Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITV) is one of the world's largest distributors of feature films, television programs and animation to the international television marketplace (broadcast, pay cable, basic cable, satellite, pay-per-view, video-on-demand, digital platforms, etc.). It licenses some 48,000 hours of programming (including more than 6,000 features and 74 current series), dubbed or subtitled in more than 40 languages, to telecasters and cablecasters in more than 175 countries.
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