Group Licensing: "You're nickel and diming us" on Cancon, Bell Media told (UPDATED)

By Perry Hoffman

OTTAWA - CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein said Monday that Bell Media is taking a “one step forward and two steps backward” approach to its Canadian content commitments during the first day of the group-based licence renewal hearings.While the chair lauded Bell and the other broadcasters for finalizing a terms of trade agreement with the Canadian Media Production Association (CMPA) after years of badgering from the production community, he criticized the media giant for what he sees as a step back when it comes to the company’s Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) and programs of national interest (PNI) proposals.“When you look at...