GATINEAU – Bell Canada and Astral Media say the list of new regulatory safeguards it has agreed to should allay any fears the CRTC has of a combined company – and that the deal should be approved.
In its final written submission to the CRTC filed late Tuesday, the companies say they have agreed to “an unprecedented package of regulatory safeguards relating to terms of trade with all independent producers, the negotiation of affiliation agreements (including tied selling, packaging flexibility, and other terms), the no head start rule, the availability of non-linear content, the timing of the Commission’s dispute resolution…
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VANCOUVER – Telus announced Thursday that, pending some government and debtholder approvals, it will acquire Mobilicity for $380 million.
If the deal receives the required approvals, it would ensure continued service to Mobilicity’s 250,000 customers without the risk of disruption, says the press release the companies issued.
Without this deal, Mobilicity would likely end up seeking bankruptcy protection in short order. Of course, it remains to be seen what government thinks of this and whether or not it will grant the request to shift Mobilicity’s spectrum to Telus immediately. DAVE, Mobilicity’s parent company, purchased the spectrum for $240 million in 2008…
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GATINEAU – Much was made last week during the hearing into Bell Canada buying Astral Media about the combined company needing an exemption from the CRTC’s radio station ownership policy in order to keep TSN690 (CKGM) open – and an English language all-sports radio station.
Bell Media executives said it had not yet tried to find any buyers for it and that it doubted any that came forward would be able or interested in keeping it as a sports station, since it owns the rights to important Montreal sports content. It said the station might have…
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MONTREAL – IDNR-TV (Natural Resources TV) is hoping a new survey that shows six in ten Canadians would support free access to the channel devoted to the nation’s natural resources industry will provide sufficient proof to the CRTC that it deserves to be given mandatory carriage status.
According to the Harris Decima survey commissioned by IDNR-TV, 60% of respondents said they are in favour of having free access to the natural resources channel. Broken down by province, respondents in British Columbia (64%), Ontario (63%), Quebec (51%), and the Maritime Provinces (67%) showed interest in IDNR-TV’s programming,…
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KAMLOOPS, B.C. – The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group announced today it has acquired three FM radio stations owned by Bell Media and Astral located in Calgary and Winnipeg.
Pattison will purchase Bell Media’s Kool FM 101.5 (CKCE-FM) in Calgary, FAB 94.3 (CHIQ-FM) in Winnipeg, as well as Astral’s QX 104 (CFQX-FM) in Winnipeg, pending CRTC approvals.
“With the pending launch of our newest station CHPK-FM (95.3 The Peak) in Calgary, combining forces with KooL FM (Today & Back in the Day) and its great team will allow our group to have a very strong competitive…
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GATINEAU – In their final written submissions to the CRTC on the proposed purchase of Astral Media by Bell Canada, various interveners say there are no words, no new rules the Commission can write which will sufficiently protect the Canadian TV system from the market power of a combined Bell/Astral.
That, tied to the fact Bell has told the Commission in no uncertain terms it will not proceed with the merger should it be required to divest any other assets, means the whole deal should be denied, just like the first one was rejected last fall. ( Continue Reading
WHILE DROPPING IN ON the CRTC’s two-week hearing into new and renewed mandatory carriage requests (on cpac.ca) – and poring over some of the transcripts since its conclusion, two thoughts bubbled up above all the facts, self-serving opinion and pure BS that is a Commission hearing: The CRTC should impose some sort of mandatory penetration based rate card, a-la Bell Media’s, upon the entire regulated TV industry – or just deregulate the whole damn thing (which is not actually an option).
Independent broadcasters (those not owned by a vertically integrated entity) have little, if any, leverage when it comes to…
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MONTREAL – It's the darling of the Canadian telecom field these days among Bay Streeters, and Telus again had a strong quarter, posting a 13% increase in quarterly profit in its Q1 results released Thursday as it added tens of thousands of new wireless and IPTV customers.
It’s wireless ARPU has grown to over $60 a month and the price of its newly split shares is on the rise. Churn is down, customer satisfaction is up, wireline revenues are increasing, and dividend payouts are growing for investors. According to EVP and chief…
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MONTREAL – It became clear through the line of questions from the panel of CRTC commissioners this week, especially from chairman Jean-Pierre Blais, that the Regulator is trying to see a way where it can approve the purchase of Astral Media by Bell Canada with conditions that will appease those who stand strongly opposed to the deal.
We’re mindful, of course, of the chair’s consistent admonition to the parties appearing before him not to attempt to read anything into his questions, however, the hearing really focused on two issues: If the Commission were to approve the deal, should there be…
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MONTREAL – Spend long enough in a hearing room and you’ll zone out for a bit. Yes, we admit, it’s happened to us. “I wonder if we’ll be done in time for the hockey game… I really have to cut the grass when I get home…”
Then, one or more of the parties says something that makes you say: Did he/she just say that? Sometimes those moments make it into a story. Other times, not. Here are a few of those other times: ************************* DURING ITS INTERVENTION on Tuesday, Rogers SVP of video content David Purdy told commissioners he sees…
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