Telus will distribute Bell satellite TV in Alberta and BC

I don't understand how this will work? Will Telus take over distribution and sales for Bell TV in Western Canada? This will still remain a satellite service correct or will it be migrated over to IPTV?
 
It's really confusing. Since it says under the Telus brand, they clearly aren't selling BellTV. Why go over IPTV when they have Telus TV.

Very weird. Hopefully, we will hear more today.
 
I wonder if the will brand the boxes and guides with their logo?

I suppose they could make a custom channel lineup that matches their Telus TV or maybe just follow the standard BTV one.

I can't get Telus TV in my neighborhood and the audio dropouts from the cableco are miserable.

So would BTV via Telus be any better?

I know Telus TV gets most of the signals from BTV, so this is a good synergy.

Doesn't it al come done to where the errors are, the source broadcast network or affiliate, the distributor and the equipment used in the home?

With Starchoice having rebranded twice, Starchoice, a Shaw Company and now to Shaw direct, the old rumours of a few years ago about Telus buying Starcgoice seem pretty remote now.

With the failed BCE privatization bombed, could BTV be a takeover target for Telus.

Lets face it, they are both wireline telcos at their core and it's the Rogers and Shaws that are the common enemy that have taken market share away with their bundles.

M.
 
Interesting. Is this maybe a way for Bell to capitalize on the Telus brand recognition out here in the west? Then again, isn't Bell a competitor for Telus TV? Maybe its a way to battle a common enemy (Shaw??)

Very weird indeed.
 
Bell stated today they'd continue to compete directly in western Canada selling Bell satellite TV but Telus would also sell the service -- under the Telus TV brand. Telus would not be a mere "reseller" as such: customers will receive a bill (and, presumably, technical support?) directly from Telus. I'd expect the boxes would be branded Telus as well.

It sounds like a logistical nightmare to me and very confusing for the customer. But I do see the advantage to Telus from a bundling perspective.

It might make a whole lot more sense if Bell TV was spun off as a separate company and 50% jointly owned by Telus and Bell. There would likely be no regulatory issues as long as Shaw Direct (aka Star Choice) continued to thrive. Plus, both Bell and Telus could share "head ends" -- one in the east, one in the west and connect them with fibre for redundancy.

It may shed some light on what they plan to do with Nimiq 5 and its 72
 
With 2 of the 3 provinces they will play in, Alberta is probably OK for the current orbital slots, but I think much of B.C. enjoys better coverage with Shaw Direct due to orbital slots, tress, mountains and moisture.

I certainly hope they do very well with it.
Competition is often a very good things for consumers.

The Telus Headend in Edmonton WOULD be a nice backup uplink for the Toronto storms and associated nation outages.

I think Shaw direct uplinks in multiple locations across the continent and so about all you loose is a dozen channels at a time.

I think they best option would be to share capacity or model something like Dish's Eastern and Western Arc plans.
Use 1/2 of each sats capacity on a 3 bird arc and have the US boys use the other half.

Maybe with the overlap in a few areas, there could be added capacity.

M.
 
I have inside information, so I have to really be careful how I post.
Telus has branded receivers. They are labeled telus, as is the remote and the guide shows telus. not bell. Telus and Bell have entered into an infrastructure sharing arangement. Why reinvent the wheel. It goes both ways. Bell mobility customers already use some of Telus's wireless infrastructure, and the new HSPA network also known as 4G Bell will use all TELUS infrastructure in the west,and TELUS will use Bells in the east. Telus will sell satellite service under their own name. Bell will also sell service under their own name. At present, Telus only intends to offer satellite service in BC and Alberta, as that is where the wireline is based, and the techs work.
IPTV will be marketed to those that qualify. For people outside the IPTV footprint, they will be offered Satellite TV. From what I understand, if a customer wants say 3 HD boxes, they they will be offered satellite TV directly. I do not know anythjing at this point about channel packages or prices. This was just announced, but I did read something about up to 500 channels, and over 70HD, so it sounds like the full load of channels will be available. Pricing has not been announced, but it will probably be a totally free install just like the current IPTV, and customers will likely not have to buy any equipment. It will likely be free rental with a term commitment. As I said I don't have any more details, but I have known of this project for several months.
This type of arrangment already exists in teh US. Verizon has been selling (bundeling) dishnet programming under their name for several years. This just gives Telus a way to bundle TV and Phone and Internet, and offer discounts. The shaw boys are probably changing their underware about now.
 
TELUS also announced today that it expects to enhance its TELUS TV service by launching TELUS Satellite TV later this year. The new satellite TV service will complement TELUS' current IP-based TV service by enabling the company to more quickly expand the TV home bundle addressable market with wireline, wireless, Internet and entertainment services for more than 90 per cent of households across British Columbia and Alberta. TELUS Satellite TV will likely feature more than 500 digital channels, more than 70 HD channels, pay per view, an interactive programming guide, and time shifting. This new satellite service is made possible by an agreement with Bell Canada.

It sounds like the intent is to use Telus for marketing Bell TV in the west. I wonder if Bell will stop selling BELL TV in Alberta and BC. I don't think all the details are worked out yet. Presumably you will be able to to bundle Satellite TV with the other Telus services.
 
Well, Telus did build a "satellite" center in Mission. This is the backup for the headend in Edmonton for the IPTV, and I would imagine it could also be an uplink for satellite. I am betting that Telus will uplink their own PPV channels, and not offer the "Vu" channels.
Bell did just swap out all the old HD receivers to newer receivers that support 8psk and MPG4. This will give plenty f space for Telus to uplink some of their own exclusive channels.

Incidentally I have seen 2 receiver models, they are the 6131 and 9242, same model as Bell, but they are branded Telus.
 
I can tell you one thing, the install will be first rate, by people that take pride in their work, unlike bell, who uses contractors, and pays peanuts.
Many of the bell contractors are in suck a hurry they don't take the time to do a quality install. That won't be the case with the Telus techs.
 
I talked to a Telus installer on the weekend and he says that Telus will be using this so that they can compete with the cable companies in bundling. Telus will be able to bundle Internet, phone and TV. While Telus has IPTV rolled out it is not available to all of its customers.
 
Wonder if we will see Telus branded sat receivers out here. Will current Bell customers be migrated over to Telus?

Unfortunately both companies have terrible customer service so that likely won't change for the better.
 
Shortsighted move by Telus - This opens the door for Shaw to petition the CRTC to allow them to bundle Shaw Direct with Shaw Cable offerings
 
I'd be curious to know if Bell equipment would be transferrable to the Telus Satellite service in order to take advantage of the bundling discounts.
 
I gotta agree with scrooloose I see this as the beginning of a merge or eventual take over of bell.
 
It would have been great if you had recorded this call.

Customers can get companies to improve by holding a mirror up to their poor business practices and then publicly commenting on it (usually with biting humour, not hostility) -- especially when done on twitter and popular blogs.

Bad PR usually hurts, but most of us just grumble about it on a forum that no one seems to pay attention to. Real proof (recordings of calls) and a place to organize and hilight all the compaints/problems (so people don't have to wade through tons of forums) could be a useful effort.
 
Bell and Telus go hand in hand. Two companies that know nothing about customer service, its all about the almighty dollar and how poorly you can treat the people that pay their wages.
 
So I am assuming Bell TV will no longer be marketed in Western Canada... which seems like a crazy strategy to me. If Bell had any hopes of becoming a larger player in Western Canada, by offering bundles etc this doesn't seem like the way to do it. For Telus, it seems like an interesting startegy because now they can offer customers, pretty much regardless where they live in the two provinces, tv service and they can offer bundles. My question is who will handle the customer service? And will Bell be getting royalties?
 
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