Community Television: One of the Great Success Stories of Canadian Broadcasting

Community Television: One of the Great Success Stories of Canadian Broadcasting

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - April 28, 2010) - TVCOGECO, the community television service provided by Cogeco Cable (TSX:CCA), is doing an exceptional job in providing relevant and engaging local content created with, by and for their communities, independent surveys by Environics Research Group and Cible Recherche reveal. Local partnerships and access is a key ingredient to their success and is reflected in TVCOGECO's programming which exceeds the requirements within the CRTC regulations. This is why Cogeco Cable stated today at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (the "CRTC") hearings on community television that the current regulations concerning community television are working well.

"Our partners and volunteers from the community have helped produce 54% of our programming, while regulations impose a minimum of 30% of access programming," stated Louis Audet, President and CEO of Cogeco Cable. This may partially explain why our surveys indicate that our customers are very satisfied with TVCOGECO. Approximately 41% of the households we serve in Ontario tune in to TVCOGECO on a weekly basis, and 90% of the people served believe that TVCOGECO provides a valuable service to the community.(1) In Quebec,(2) 57% of our customers watch TVCOGECO every week, a rate that is higher than the 65% observed in communities not served by conventional broadcasters. 89% of the people surveyed who watch TVCOGECO believe that it makes a contribution to their community. These impressive figures, as well as the hundreds of letters of support that we have received from organizations, volunteers and TV viewers, demonstrate that TVCOGECO is fulfilling its mission and meets the needs and interests of the communities it serves." (Read more)

Soource : Marketwire