Astral Media, Best Buy, Rogers, Cogeco begin joint promotion
By Adnews Staff
Astral Media of Toronto has begun a cross-promotion initiative in support of its The Movie Network service. The effort is being conducted in association with retail chains Best Buy and Future Shop, along with Rogers Digital Cable and Cogeco Digital Cable. The month-long program will promote both the service and the high definition television sets sold by the retailers. Consumers who buy an HDTV or a digital cable set-top box will receive a second month for free when they subscribe to a bundle called The Movies Package through one of the participating cable companies. The package includes eight Movie Network channels, plus an on-demand service and a high-definition channel. "Lack of content and consumer awareness are the biggest barriers to increased consumer adoption of HD services in Canada," said Domenic Vivolo, senior vice-president of marketing and sales at Astral Television Networks. "This promotion provides us with an opportunity to further increase HD awareness and adoption by targeting consumers directly at the retail level. By packaging The Movie Network's HD channel together with the necessary hardware that can be acquired at Best Buy and Future Shop, consumers receive the full benefits and features of HD, all in one step." The promotion will run from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31 at 61 Best Buy and Future Shop locations in Ontario.