By Ahmad Hathout
OTTAWA – Quebecor announced Tuesday it will abandon its plan to cancel two weekend newscasts but will “carry out further staff reductions” in the alternative to weather deteriorating financial conditions to produce local news.
“We acknowledge the Commission’s request and suspend our decision to withdraw the weekend newscasts from TVA Quebec,” Quebecor said in a French-language letter addressed to the CRTC. “Thus, we will put in place the necessary efforts to continue to meet these requirements” until the CRTC rules on its Part 1 filed June 1.
The letter came in response to a CRTC letter last week expressing concern that Quebecor was planning to end two CFCM-DT weekend newscasts without its consent. The union representing TVA employees filed its own Part 1 asking the CRTC to make an order stopping Quebecor from doing so.
“It is important to mention that this decision is in no way an affront to the jurisdiction of the [CRTC] and its regulations,” Quebecor said.
“Instead of completely abandoning station operations as Bell recently did by closing six radio stations, we are acting in the public interest by making responsible decision to avoid such an unfortunate scenario,” Quebecor added, referring to Bell’s decision last week to slash 1,300 jobs and close six AM radio stations with plans to sell three more.
Bell said in response to Quebecor’s threat of terminating the newscasts that the CRTC should fine the company if it does so without the commission’s consent.
“There would be no such a measure when Bell decides to no longer comply with ANY condition of license by abandoning six radio stations and their employees altogether,” Quebecor said. “The CRTC would therefore sanction TVA for trying to preserve the survival of a station and would give free rein to entities that simply decide to forfeit by abandoning all the applicable license conditions.”
The company said it has actually increased the number of hours of local news content in Quebec City, going above its regulatory obligations. It also said closing the two stations would not diminish its coverage of the provincial capital.
“Remember that the TVA Quebec plan included, despite everything, TVA reporting teams who would continue to cover the ground in the capital, on Saturdays and Sundays, in order to improve the TVA Nouvelles network while supplying LCN and the platforms business digital,” Quebecor said.
Now, the company said it would have to “carry out further staff reductions which constitute, as you know, the largest proportion of our expenditure.”
The telecom and media company said that it has had to compete against online companies that aren’t bound by Canadian content obligations and a public broadcaster that receives money from both the federal government and advertising.
In a separate statement, a Quebecor spokesperson said:
“While other broadcasters are simply closing down stations and walking away from their regulatory obligations, TVA is seeking greater flexibility from the CRTC in order to keep its operations alive and minimize the negative impacts on its activities and its mission of providing quality local news. Far from an affront to the CRTC’s jurisdiction, the step we have taken in Québec City was the most responsible way for TVA to reduce its operating costs under the circumstances.”
The spokesperson added that the company wants to work with the CRTC to find solutions to the “extremely difficult financial situation facing broadcasters across North America.”
Photo of Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau
