“OH, PEOPLE CAN COME UP with statistics to prove anything… 14% of people know that.” – Homer J. Simpson
Released this week, the 240-page mound of data known as the CRTC Communications Monitoring Report was reduced to a pair of press releases this week, one which purported that Bell buying Astral was a very bad and scary thing, and the other that Bell buying Astral was a very good and normal thing.
According to the Say No To Bell forces – the public relations effort put together by Quebecor, Cogeco and EastLink and co-ordinated by National Public…
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DESPITE THE OPPOSITION to its planned purchase of Astral Media, Bell Canada remains steadfast that this deal is good for Canada and Quebec – and will foster innovation and competition to the benefit of Canadian media consumers.
In its reply comments submitted to the CRTC last week (the final paper stage before the public hearing in Montreal starting September 10th, Bell takes a hard line especially against those standing utterly opposed to its $3.4 billion purchase of the company which owns such brands as The Movie Network, Super Écran, HBO Canada, Family Channel, Virgin Radio, NRJ Radio, Rouge FM and…
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TORONTO – Canadians object to the purchase of Astral Media by Bell Canada, when told the resulting company would control 38% of the TV market and 29% of the country’s radio market, according to a poll released Friday and posted on the 'Say No To Bell' website.
In a sampling of public opinion taken this week by the Forum Poll, 6-in-10 (60%) of respondents 18 years of age and older said that they disapprove of the deal. That disapproval was highest among Ontario residents (64%), as well as federal Bloc and NDP supporters (78% and 65%, respectively). Males were more likely…
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MONTREAL – It’s back to square one for natural resource channel IDNR-TV after its planned launch this fall on Cogeco Cable in Quebec fell through this week.
In a letter addressed to CEO Ivor Barr, Cogeco’s affiliate relations manager Chantal Cousineau said that the channel’s launch was not technically feasible at this time on its Baie-Comeau and Sept-Iles systems, despite “the interest for IDNR-TV in this region”.
As Cartt.ca has reported, the eight-year old independent channel was banking on a recent groundswell of community support to help it finalize its first major affiliation deal.
www.idnrtv.com
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OTTAWA – Cogeco Diffusion has received CRTC approval to amend the broadcasting licence for radio station CJMF-FM Québec to a specialized format devoted to spoken word programming.
In its decision, the Commission noted that CJMF-FM already broadcasts spoken word programming during peak listening hours, and still intends to broadcast 17 hours of music programming per broadcast week.
“In light of the above, the Commission is of the view that approval of the amendments proposed by CJMF-FM would only have a limited impact on the Québec radio market, and no undue negative financial impact on incumbent radio stations”, the decision…
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TORONTO – Martha Fusca, president and CEO of independent broadcaster Stornoway Communications, has stepped down from the company’s day-to-day operations.
Fusca confirmed to Cartt.ca that she will instead spearhead Stornoway’s latest venture, a new specialty channel entitled Fusion, but declined to elaborate on the nature of that project. It’s also unclear who will replace her, but Fusca suggested that the company’s Board may select an internal candidate.
“Stornoway is synonymous with Martha, and we are delighted that she has agreed to accept this new role with Fusion”, said Jim Macdonald, chairman of the board of directors, in the announcement. “Fusion…
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THESE CRTC HEARINGS INTO big acquisitions have simply become giant public negotiating exercises where a lot of dirty laundry is aired in public by those who feel they’ve been wronged in the past. It becomes payback time, if you will.
The applicant – in this case, Bell Media – puts in an application that is a swing for the fences. It cocks its regulatory bat and takes a mighty swing, looking for that grand slam home run on the first pitch, where all of its proposals are accepted by the Commission – but knowing full well it’s likely to miss…
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MONTREAL – Quebecor's Videotron is making its first step toward eliminating analog cable television service throughout its network.
Last Friday, the company issued a stop-sell order for new analog television subscriptions. The end goal is the transition of its approximately 412,000 remaining analog TV customers (many of which are hotel rooms or other business customers) to the company's illico digital service.
"We need more space in the network," said Videotron vice-president Isabelle Dessureault. In areas like western Montreal, where analog cable is still prevalent, Videotron devotes about 55 of its 135 6-MHz television channels to analog service. Ending analog service completely…
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OTTAWA – The ‘Say No To Bell’ coalition is taking issue with interventions filed by Telefilm Canada and the Terrace, BC detachment of the RCMP in support Bell’s proposed takeover of Astral Media.
In a letter addressed to Heritage Minister James Moore, the heads of Cogeco, Eastlink and Quebecor expressed surprise that the publically funded federal agencies would submit interventions that “go beyond their respective competence and mandate”.
“In our view, these federal public bodies should have known better than to take sides on this public policy debate before the federal regulators in charge of reviewing the proposed merger”, reads the letter…
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OTTAWA-GATINEAU – The CRTC has green-lit the sale of sports channels owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) to a company co-owned by Rogers and BCE, effectively closing the $1.32 billion transaction that will see the two communication companies take a majority stake in the sports and entertainment giant.
While the transaction involved several sports-related properties including the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, the CRTC's review was limited to the five television services owned by MLSE – Leafs TV, Gol TV and NBA TV Canada, as well as un-launched services Mainstream Sports and Live Music Channel.
"When deciding…
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