OTTAWA – Quebecor Media Inc. surprisingly revealed yesterday that the company was no longer going to seek “must carry” status for its Category 2 English language all news specialty channel Sun TV News.
The revelation marks a stunning reversal from previous statements that the channel required must carry status to be able to compete with the other specialty news stations, CTV Newsnet and CBC Newsworld (the company’s last application to the CRTC said without must-carry, the business case couldn’t work). Now the company says it will work within current CRTC rules, which will require Quebecor to negotiate carriage with distributors such as Rogers Communications, Shaw Communications, Bell TV, Telus and others.
(Ed note: There are other machinations which could happen instead, however. The company’s SUN TV local OTA station in Toronto – which is already a must-carry, albeit with no subscriber fees, across Southern Ontario – could be reformatted to all-news. Plus, despite protestations from both sides that anything at all is going on, independent broadcaster Stornoway Communications has a category one news channel, ichannel, with over a million subscribers. That channel still benefits from a digital “must-offer” regulatory provision and is carried nationally. However, officials from Quebecor and Stornoway founder and CEO Martha Fusca have told Cartt.ca that there is absolutely nothing in the works and that they haven’t even spoken.)
News of the decision to drop the provision came in the wake of a speech Quebecor president and CEO Pierre-Karl Péladeau gave at the October Canadian Club of Ottawa luncheon on October 5th at the Chateau Laurier. He was in the nation’s capital to give a presentation on media convergence and during his 45-minute speech he outlined the company’s multi-platform strategy for both news and entertainment.
Péladeau noted that the time has passed when media companies can ignore technological evolution and that it would be a mistake to underestimate the importance of this. “The future of media belongs to the one that offers content to consumers across print, TV, Internet and wireless platforms through media convergence,” he said.
“Content and technology are so intertwined, that it would be an illusion to think one can talk about media without simultaneously talking about the technology that supports it,” he said. “Media firms can only ignore at their own perils the ways that technology has opened up new means of accessing information and entertainment.”
Videotron cable – and its new wireless operations will play a critical and crucial role in Quebecor’s overall convergence strategy by giving consumers access to exclusive live programming from TVA and the French-language all news network LCN.
“The wireless network adds to convergence by integrating the vast array of content produced by all our subsidiaries, using the latest generation technology, and at a time when consumer devices are becoming increasingly more affordable,” he said.
Péladeau underscored the importance of the company’s multiplatform plan by noting the current conventional broadcasting model is under increasing pressure from the “dicing and slicing of audiences.”
“In order to survive, broadcasting today must be accessible to consumers via every possible channel,” he said. “This is what we implemented over the past 10 years by making our content available through the web, VOD, digital cable, smartphones and, tomorrow, tablets and many of other devices technology will bring to citizens.”
Sun TV News will also be key to Quebecor’s convergence strategy with the daily news available on “every possible platform, including television,” Péladeau said.
The Quebecor chief executive also addressed the issue of whether there is room for another English-language news channel in Canada. Based on research, there is, he said, noting that a third of Canadians who watch all-news television tune into CNN or CNNHN.
“Now, I don’t want to get off into criticism of the two existing all-news networks, but I would say that when Larry King draws more Canadian viewers than Power and Politics, there is something wrong,” he said. “What we see is an opportunity for Canadians to have another choice. In the process, we will sustain one of the largest news teams in the country. Reporters will feed newspapers, all-news channels, web site and the wireless network, all as part of a sustainable new business model for this industry.”
Péladeau also dismissed many of the criticisms leveled at Sun TV News, noting that there is no connection with Fox News and no secret deal with the Prime Minister or any other MP. While he noted that it would be great news if the Nordiques returned to Quebec City, “that has absolutely nothing to do with Sun TV News,” he said.
Will the channel be right of centre on the political spectrum? Péladeau said as much, noting that Sun TV News will be an extension of Sun Media. But he added the Sun papers can be described as “populist, irreverent, sometimes provocative, but always close to their readers.”
Blasting CBC/Radio-Canada may be a favourite passed-time for many Canadians and Péladeau took the opportunity to stick it to the national public broadcaster, noting the significant gains Quebecor’s LCN French-language all news channels has made over Radio-Canada’s RDI.
Since the elimination of LCN’s 15-minute news loop, it has taken over top spot from RDI in the French-language all news segment. In the past two years, LCN has had twice the viewers of RDI. Coverage of La Marche Bleue – a rally to support the return of the Nordiques to the NHL – also showed how much traction among viewers that LCN has over RDI. LCN had 320,000 viewers and RDI had 26,000.
Péladeau also took a swipe at the level of subscriber fees RDI gets compared to those of LCN, noting that the Radio-Canada channel gets more than twice as much than LCN for half the audience.
“Needless to say, they also received $1.1 billion from Canadian taxpayers on top of many other funding sources,” he said.
The CRTC’s hearing on Sun TV News, assuming that still happens, is set to begin on November 19.
