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Montreal: Videotron, Quebec’s largest cable company, will introduce four new channels, including Bravo! and a&e, as part of its extended tier programming this fall.

Videotron director of communications Jean-Paul Galarneau says the two other Canadian channels have not been identified, but Showcase is under serious consideration because of its good ratings performance and its subtitled French-language programming. 92% of Videotron’s subscribers are francophones.

Currently, Videoway subscribers can buy a package that includes Discovery, Life Network, Fox and cnn for $9.94, including the cost of the Videoway box. By fall, Galarneau says consumers are likely to have a choice from among the eight tiered services.

English-language specialty services not available to Videotron subscribers include tvontario, tfo (tvo’s French-track service), Showcase and wtn.

Galarneau says Videotron is willing to place tfo on a revenue-earning tier, but so far the French-track education service’s entry into this market has been bogged down in negotiations with Union des artistes.

In other news from Videotron, the company recently introduced Moviepix, an English-language premium classic movie pay channel, and reassigned lower channel positions for cjoh-tv, the CTV Television Network affiliate in Ottawa, and ytv. The lower channel position generally facilitates penetration, especially in homes with older tv sets. LRB