Bell Fibe TV to be available as a standalone TV service in early 2017

Ontario and Québec customers will no longer need to sign up for Fibe Internet to take advantage of Canada's fastest-growing TV service
Ongoing alignment of Bell Canada and Bell Aliant IPTV services across eastern Canada to further enhance the Fibe TV experience

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 6, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Bell today announced that by the end of Q1 2017, Fibe TV customers will no longer be required to sign up for Fibe Internet service to access Canada's fastest-growing television service.

"As we align our next-generation IPTV technologies, we're bringing exclusive Fibe features to Atlantic Canada and new options for Fibe TV customers in Ontario and Québec," said Wade Oosterman, Bell Group President and Chief Brand Officer. "Fibe has become the country's most popular television service because of the constant stream of new content and feature innovations we're bringing to Canadian TV viewers. With these latest enhancements, we're making it even easier for consumers to experience all that Fibe can do."

Bell announced on July 19 that Bell Aliant's FibreOP TV in Atlantic Canada would be integrated with the Bell Fibe TV service available in Ontario and Québec. With Fibe, Bell Aliant customers will get more 4K, HD and On Demand content and exclusive Fibe TV features such as Trending, which gives a snapshot of the 5 most popular shows being watched at any given time. Bell Fibe in turn will now be enhanced to operate without the need for a Fibe Internet connection for new customers by the end of Q1 2017.

Delivering a superior television experience simply not available from traditional cable TV providers, Fibe TV has proven hugely popular with consumers, posting strong growth since its original introduction in late 2010 and ultimately transforming Bell into Canada's #1 TV provider by the end of 2015. Nielsen Consumer Insights asked 1,017 adult Canadians in June their opinion of TV providers and almost half (47%) said Bell Fibe TV is the most advanced television service in Canada.

Fibe TV offers stunning picture quality and a range of exclusive features, such as wireless TV; Restart, which lets you restart and watch TV shows up to 30 hours after they started; Trending, listing the most-watched shows in Canada at any given time; and the Fibe TV app, which brings the Fibe experience to smartphones and tablets with access to more than 450 live and on-demand channels and full control of your TV through mobile devices including the Apple Watch.

Bell plans to invest a further $1 billion in 2016 to bring Fibe capability to a total of approximately 3 million homes and businesses in Atlantic Canada, Ontario and Québec, up from approximately 2.2 million at the end of 2015.

About Bell
Canada's largest communications company, Bell provides consumer, business and government customers with a comprehensive suite of broadband wireless, TV, Internet and business communication services from Bell Canada and Bell Aliant. Bell Media is Canada's premier multimedia company with leading assets in television, radio, out of home and digital media. Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). To learn more, please visit BCE.ca or Bell.ca.

The Bell Let's Talk initiative promotes Canadian mental health with national awareness and anti-stigma campaigns like Bell Let's Talk Day and significant Bell funding of community care and access, research, and workplace initiatives. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.

Media inquiries:

Jacqueline Michelis
613 785-1427
jacqueline.michelis@bell.ca

SOURCE Bell Canada