MONTREAL – We have a real soft spot in our hearts for those regular citizens, the ones with no industry background, with nothing to gain financially, who are concerned enough about a broadcasting or telecom, issue before the CRTC that they choose to appear publicly to make their case officially.
A few years ago, it was Ottawa’s Marjorie Lemieux at the fee-for-carriage kerfuffle. Thursday in Montreal it was Rahul Majumdar, just a regular Montrealer who doesn’t want to see TSN Radio 690 (formerly 990) turn into RDS Radio. The Montreal sports fan bears the French sports fan no ill will, he just wants his radio station to stay how it is.
Because of its deal to purchase Astral Media, Bell Media will find itself off-side of the CRTC regulations on radio station ownership in Montreal and either has to sell TSN Radio (or another station) – or switch 690AM’s language to French. As we’ve reported, they chose the latter and have suffered in the court of public opinion (and with commissioners) in Montreal because of that plan.
In what was a well-written, thoughtful presentation, Majumdar said he was “stunned, disheartened and upset” by Bell Media’s plan for the station. He deconstructed the English radio scene in Montreal, noting CBC has cut its sports content, CJAD is primarily news (although Bell has said Montreal Canadiens games will shift there), and the rest are music stations. “Eliminating TSN 690 may help Bell-Astral satisfy CRTC ownership rules but the price will be further erosion of Montreal’s sports broadcasting scene,” added Majumdar (pictured with his entourage…)
“I am dismayed at the manner in which Bell neglects, downplays and outright dismisses its English clientele and English Montreal sports radio,” he continued.
However, as pointed out by commissioner Peter Menzies during Majumdar’s presentation, the only way the sports fans who want to keep TSN690 will succeed is if the whole Bell-Astral deal is killed. If the Commission decides to deny the station switch part as a condition of allowing the larger deal, TSN690 will still go away as Bell will be forced to sell – and will take its brand and sports rights with it.
********************
CACTUS hates the Bell-Astral deal, but wants some benefits monies if it is approved. The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations does not believe in vertical integration but accepts that it is happening. It does not want the Bell-Astral deal to go through. “It is not our experience that the CRTC can adequately limit the potential abuse of power that this intensified level of cross-ownership enables,” said the group’s leader, Catherine Edwards. “We note that the experience of our members is that in the last dozen years, Canada’s large cable BDUs have systematically abused their obligations with respect to community channels, and the CRTC has lacked the will or resources to restrain these abuses.”
But, if the deal is approved, CACTUS has asked that 3% of the benefits fund ($7 million) be diverted to a new community access media fund so that independent community TV channels can act as a counterbalance to the points of view emanating from the big vertically integrated media companies, said Edwards.
********************
Michael Hennessy, the former head of regulatory and government affairs at Telus made his first appearance in front of the CRTC in his new job as head of the Canadian Media Production Association. It was his first public pitch to commissioners in any capacity since the vertical integration policy hearing 18 months ago. And despite what some might thing, Hennessy holds the same views now leading the TV and film producers as he did working for the big western telco.
“I have not changed the position I took then on the need for vertical integration safeguards. My argument today, however, is that this proceeding is not about carriage, but about content,” he said.
Hennessy acknowledged that even if the deal is denied, Astral’s controlling shareholder, Ian Greenberg, has decided to sell and if not Bell, it will be one of the other big Canadian companies. “So, for us, the number one question here is whether Bell would do a better job than the next potential purchaser in serving Astral’s audiences with more and better Canadian programming,” he said. “Given what we have heard so far from Bell, the answer to that question, unfortunately, is ‘no’.”
For example, noted Hennessy, when it comes to “young English-speaking Canadians and their families, Astral is one of only two large broadcasters in this country that offers programming services specifically for and about them – in Family Channel and Teletoon and its other kids’ and youth services,” he said.
“How does Bell propose to provide incremental benefits to these communities? Frankly, it doesn’t. Under its previous licence, TMN contributed at least $1.3 million annually to the Harold Greenberg Fund for script and concept development. Bell’s proposal represents less than half of that. That’s not an incremental benefit. It’s a net loss to the system, and it will only further erode the English-language Canadian feature film industry.”
********************
The skeptics are prowling the hallways of the Palais des Congrès, too. Many say they have inside information or know this or that about the “real” strategies behind the various performances in front of the Commission panel. Those skeptics are convinced the true hope of those objecting to the combination of Bell and Astral is the Commission will decide the combined company is be too big and attach conditions to its approval – like the divestiture of some assets (that’s the sound of rubbing palms and smacking lips you hear).
And who would be interested? When asked by commissioners, Rogers EVP Ken Engelhart gave a quick (obvious) list during Rogers’ appearance on Wednesday: “Us, Michael MacMillan (Blue Ant Media), Cogeco, Corus…” Of course, anyone would be interested in looking at something Bell-Astral had to sell. “They would hire an investment banker and I’m sure there would be bidders for those assets,” Engelhart assured the commissioners.
********************
The Regulator is about to be left without an commissioner from Ontario. Former Ontario commissioner Rita Cugini was not renewed when her term ran out in April and the term of vice-chair telecom Len Katz (of Toronto) comes to an end on October 11 – and he is not staying on. The federal government has not posted the vice-chair position as a vacancy nor is there any move towards appointing an Ontario commissioner, yet. Stay tuned. Vice-chair telecom is a plum posting.
The hearing ends Friday with a few other interveners such as the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance and Blue Ant Media before Bell gets to reply (and we’re betting it’s a very forceful reply) to wrap up the week.
