OTTAWA – When Shaw Communications purchased Canwest Global’s TV assets last year, the Competition Bureau gave the transaction its blessing.
The Bureau’s statement on that deal said: “this transaction would not likely give rise to a substantial lessening or prevention of competition,” and rubber-stamped it.
No such simple approval was forthcoming from the Bureau today when it commented on the acquisition of CTV by BCE. Instead, it seems worried about the extent of vertical integration among big media companies and distributors in Canada. While the statement from Commissioner of Competition Melanie Aitken said “at this time”, the Bureau doesn’t have any problem with the deal, she and her office are keeping tabs on BCE/CTV – and the rest of industry.
“At this time, the Commissioner of Competition does not intend to make an application to the Competition Tribunal under section 92 of the Competition Act in respect of the proposed transaction. It is important to note, however, that section 97 of the Act provides a one-year period following completion of the Proposed Transaction during which the Commissioner may bring the matter before the Tribunal… the Bureau will closely monitor the activities of the parties and regulatory developments in the broadcasting industry to determine whether it is appropriate to take such action prior to the expiry of that one-year period.”
The release sounded a worried tone about the Canadian broadcast industry’s vertical integration and the potential for exclusive content deals or where BDUs favour its content over others’.
“The Bureau’s review to date have focused principally on the ability of vertically integrated firms to foreclose competing Broadcast Distribution Undertakings (BDUs) from accessing certain programming for distribution on broadcast television, video-on-demand, internet, and mobile platforms,” reads the release.
“The Bureau is also considered whether vertical integration of broadcasters and BDUs raises concerns with respect to the sharing of third parties’ competitively-sensitive information. These issues are being considered in the context of an industry that is innovating, and, significantly, within a regulatory framework that is also evolving.”
The Commissioner of Competition also noted the CRTC is planning a hearing into these very issues in June, “and expects that many of the concerns that were identified in the course of the Bureau’s review will be raised in the context of the CRTC’s process,” the release continues.
“Given the above, and the more general terms of reference under which the CRTC will consider issues pertaining to vertical integration, the Commissioner will closely monitor the hearings and the regulatory developments that may arise therefrom, and will consider the concerns identified during the Bureau’s review of the Proposed Transaction in light of these developments.
