MONTREAL – Other conventional TV networks such as Canwest Global or TVA could cry poor in the future to garner regulatory flexibility around their newscasts, according to media and communications analyst Carl Bayard at Genuity Capital Markets
“You can bet they are sharpening their pencils right now as a result of this decision,” Bayard stated in a Morning Insight briefing from Genuity Capital to clients.
He added, “The Commission seems to want to avoid, at any price, the bankruptcy of an over-the-air broadcaster in Quebec. But the price to pay in order to save a chronic loss-making station comes in the form of creating a future loophole for other market participants.”
Bayard made note of CRTC Commissioner Michel Morin’s dissent, which claims the decision “risks prejudicing the entire Canadian broadcasting system.”
“We agree,” wrote Bayard. “In a few years, should the profit picture darken further, what prevents other licencees of conventional television such as Canwest Global or TVA Network to portray themselves as poor saps that require regulatory flexibility regarding newscasts to make a buck?”