Vidéotron’s Vrai, Club illico to merge into single streamer

Subscribers will be transitioned to illico+ when it launches on Oct. 23.

Vidéotron will merge its French-language SVOD services Vrai and Club illico on Oct. 23.

The new service, titled illico+, will combine Vrai’s unscripted content with Club illico’s translated and French-language films, series and documentaries. Users of either platform, as well as Helix TV, will be automatically transitioned to the new service. According to a spokesperson from Vidéotron, there will be no price increase for customers switching to the new service.

In the release, Vidéotron, a subsidiary of Quebecor Media, said that the company will continue investing in local original productions, highlighting programs that will be released on illico+, including Hot Ones Québec, a French-Canadian version of the popular internet show, previously announced for Vrai in May.

Series such as La collecte (pictured), announced for Club illico, will also be streaming on the new service.

Illico+ will replace Club illico as the destination for translated international and U.S. films and series. This includes films from Paramount, with Transformers One and Smile 2 among the films from the studio that will appear on the service.

In an email to Playback Daily, a Vidéotron spokesperson said that the goal of the merger is to combine content from both platforms to create a single, unique brand, adding that illico+ will have its own identity with enhanced programming.

Photo courtesy of Vidéotron