Shaw Succeeds on WideOpen Internet & BlueSky TV

CALGARY -- Shaw Communications Inc. today announced its unaudited consolidated financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended August 31, 2017. Revenue from continuing operations of $1.24 billion for the quarter and $4.88 billion for the year increased by 2.6% and 8.1%, respectively, over the comparable periods in fiscal 2016. Operating income before restructuring costs and amortization1 of $479 million for the fourth quarter and $2.0 billion for the year decreased 6.8% and increased 1.0%, respectively, over the comparable periods in fiscal 2016.

Chief Executive Officer, Brad Shaw said, "Looking back on fiscal 2017, we set out to change the trajectory of our Consumer subscriber performance and we are delighted with the results. We invested purposefully to enable this performance and all the while I am pleased to report that our full year financial results met our guidance commitments. We are in the early stages of our journey and I am excited with the progress we made in fiscal 2017. We are executing our strategic initiatives and in the year we continued to optimize our mix of core assets with the sale of ViaWest and the acquisition of 700 MHz and 2500 MHz spectrum licences in our core markets, which will enable a richer customer experience over time."

In Wireless, the Company continued to grow postpaid and prepaid wireless subscribers, gaining a combined 103,000 revenue generating units ("RGUs") in the year and 41,000 in the quarter. An expanded handset lineup, simplified packaging and pricing on the new LTE-Advanced network, and targeted seasonal promotional activity helped drive sequential and year-over-year subscriber growth. The LTE-Advanced network deployment is now complete.

Mr. Shaw continued, "We are very pleased with the trajectory and progress of our Wireless division. Revenues for the full year exceeded $600 million highlighted by a 16% year-over-year increase in the second half of fiscal 2017 and by consistent subscriber growth throughout the year. Today we announced another significant step forward as we deploy some of our recently acquired spectrum to give hundreds of thousands of customers access to increased LTE data speeds while making the vast majority of existing LTE devices compatible with Freedom Mobile's LTE-Advanced network."

In its core Wireline business, Shaw successfully shifted to growth delivering a year-over-year turnaround in overall subscriber trends, including five consecutive quarters of robust net gains in Internet subscribers. The Consumer division added a net 25,000 RGUs in the year (21,000 in the quarter) representing a substantial turnaround over the 170,000 RGU loss in fiscal 2016. Net gains in the year included the addition of 73,000 Internet RGUs, partially offset by net losses in phone of 31,000 and 17,000 in satellite Video RGUs. Cable Video RGU performance also contributed heavily to the Consumer division's overall RGU performance. Net positive cable Video adds in fiscal 2017 represented a significant improvement over the 93,000 of losses in fiscal 2016.

"Our successful reversal of subscriber trends has been led by WideOpen Internet 150 and compelling bundle and value plan offerings across our product lines. We have taken a segmented view of the market, and achieved our fair share of cable Video subscribers, supported by the launch of BlueSky TV," said Mr. Shaw.

WideOpen Internet 150 transformed the marketplace by offering significantly faster speeds at affordable prices, and is now available with the added benefit of unlimited data. BlueSky TV is a truly revolutionary viewing experience featuring "TV you can talk to" and most recently, Shaw introduced the integration of Netflix into BlueSky TV's interface, a significant milestone in Shaw's next generation Video roadmap. BlueSky TV customers who subscribe to Netflix can now watch Netflix content as easily as they watch live TV, and with BlueSky TV's voice remote, they can access all of their favourite Netflix or live TV programming in one place.

Shaw Communications Inc.