GATINEAU – The CRTC said Tuesday it will publicly disclose the aggregate financial data of large broadcast distribution undertakings (cable and satellite companies) and large conventional television and radio broadcasters.
“Although it was set out in Broadcasting Public Notice 2008-6 as its preliminary view, the Commission is now convinced, based on the comments received at the proceedings on the Diversity of Voices and the BDU regulatory frameworks, that the public disclosure of the aggregate financial data of both large BDUs and/or MSOs and large OTA television and radio broadcasters by ownership group would serve the public interest and would be valuable for parties interested in submitting comments to the various Commission hearings and proceedings,” says the CRTC decision.
While large BDUs with regulated basic rates already have had their financial returns made public, others could always rely on confidentiality. OTA broadcasters have always had that confidentiality, too.
No more. Astral Media Inc., BCE Inc., Bragg Communications Inc. (EastLink), Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Societé Radio-Canada, Canwest Media Inc., Cogeco Inc., Corus Entertainment Inc., CTVglobemedia Inc., Newcap Inc., Quebecor Media Inc., Remstar Diffusion Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., Shaw Communications Inc. and their successors, will all have their aggregate financial data made public going forward.
So, For the reasons then that:
* increased consolidation has resulted in fewer but larger ownership groups controlling an increasing number of services across the Canadian broadcasting system,
* advantages have accrued to these large ownership groups in terms of the increased vertical and horizontal integration that has resulted from this consolidation, and
* the disclosure of the financial information of the large broadcasters will benefit the Canadian broadcasting system, as it will allow for better submissions from the public to the Commission’s proceedings and ultimately better and more informed decisions,
“the Commission has decided that the public interest will best be served by disclosing the annual returns of large BDUs and MSOs in aggregate form by ownership group, as described below:
i) the aggregated annual return, including all of the financial data down to and including profit before interest and taxes (PBIT), will be disclosed on the public file;
ii) any portion of the annual return that would lead to the disclosure of a licensee’s aggregated net income or loss, such as information below PBIT or detailed information on shareholders’ equity, will be treated on a confidential basis; and
iii) for those groups with interests in both cable and direct-to-home (DTH) satellite distribution, separate group-level aggregates for each will be made public.”
