BELL/ASTRAL II: Bell softens, yet sharpens, pitch for Astral in face of tough Commission questions

MONTREAL – Bell Canada and Astral Media executives attempted a bit more of a conciliatory approach in presenting its new, sharper, different, application to the CRTC which seeks permission to bring the two companies together under changed conditions compared to last time; but the questions from the panel of commissioners were equally as tough as the first go-around in September 2012. (The details of the deal – already approved by the Competition Bureau, can be found here – and the company’s opening presentation unveiled nothing new, as demanded by the CRTC. So, the real story was in the day-long Q&A.)...