TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's Shaw Communications Inc (TO:SJRb) announced a voice-controlled television product on Wednesday that it hopes will help it stem years of market share losses to western Canadian telecom rival Telus Corp (TO:T).
The product, named BlueSky TV, is available in Calgary and will expand to other markets in coming months, Shaw said in a statement.
The product is powered by Comcast Corp's (O:CMCSA) X1 technology, which is making its first foray outside of the United States.
Fellow cable company Rogers Communications Inc (TO:RCIb), a major television provider in eastern Canada, said in December that it had scrapped development of its own internet-based television platform in favor of X1, which it does not expect to introduce until 2018.
Cable companies have struggled to respond to telecom rivals' internet-based TV services, which have eroded their market dominance.
Shaw began offering aggressively priced high-speed internet in mid-July and recently added wireless to its product mix through its purchase of Wind Mobile, which it has renamed Freedom Mobile.
The Calgary-based company said BlueSky would be available for as low as C$99.90 ($75.85) a month for 12 months when coupled with its high-end internet on a two-year plan.
Shaw is due to report quarterly earnings on Thursday.