Bell joins others in requesting reductions in CanCon obligations

By Ahmad Hathout OTTAWA – Bell has joined other broadcasters in requesting amendments to its Canadian content spending obligations at least until the next licence renewal period. In a Part 1 filed this month, the broadcaster said it is seeking a reduction to its Canadian programming expenditures (CPE) from 30 per cent of previous year’s revenues to 20 per cent, a reduction from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent of revenues for programs of national interest (PNI), and an expansion of the PNI categories to reality television, music and general entertainment in exchange for increasing their obligation from 75...