MONTREAL and GATINEAU – On the first day of the CRTC hearing into the proposed marriage between BCE and CTV, the companies upped the tangible benefits package associated with the deal as a condition of approval of the transaction.
The new benefits package includes:
– Support for new Canadian independently produced programs of national interest, such as dramas, documentaries and new media content;
– Enhanced local news content and HD news production, especially in the “underserved Western Canada market”, including 100 hours of incremental news programming a week and 80 new jobs in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver;
– Increased satellite carriage of small local TV stations, with a commitment from Bell Satellite TV to carry every over-the-air TV station eligible for the CRTC’s Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF);
– Enhanced support for CTV’s /A\ channels for their digital transition, HD infrastructure and new local programming.
“Bell and CTV are proposing a compelling benefits package valued at $143 million to $221 million that offers significant commitments to new Canadian programming, local news expansion and accelerated HD news production,” said George Cope, president and CEO of BCE and Bell, in a statement. “We are pleased by the significant support each of these benefit proposals has received from Canadians from coast to coast, who believe our plan offers significant, tangible and positive improvements for our nation’s broadcasting system.”
Bell originally argued that it should not be on the hook for any benefits after it paid out $230 in benefits in 2000 when it first acquired CTV. This met with howls of outrage from various industry stakeholders.
Stay tuned for more coverage of day one of the three-day hearing.
