OTTAWA – Bell’s proposed takeover of Astral Media will undergo regulatory scrutiny at a hearing set for September 10 at the Palais de congrès de Montréal in Montreal, the CRTC announced Tuesday.
The $3.38 billion deal, announced in March, would see Bell acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Montreal-based Astral in addition to its specialty and pay television channels, radio stations, digital media properties and out-of-home advertising platforms. That would mean that Bell, already the country’s largest telecommunications company, would add 22 specialty television channels (13 of which are French-language) and 84 commercial radio stations, including 29…
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MONTREAL – The Montreal radio market could see the addition of a new talk radio station if an application by RNC Media receives CRTC approval.
The Quebec-based private broadcaster has proposed switching the jazz/blues format of its CKLX-FM Montreal (Planète Jazz 91,9) to 50% spoken-word citing “important financial losses related to the non-viability of the jazz and blues music format in the Montréal region”.
RNC Media currently owns 16 radio stations and 5 TV stations in the province. The CRTC will consider the application at a hearing in Montreal scheduled for September 10, and comments are due by August…
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OTTAWA – Various Canadian broadcasters spent a combined $51 million in so-called tangible public benefits during the 2010-2011 broadcast year ended August 31, 2011 associated with their acquisition of English-language television assets in recent years.
Of the cash spent in the last completed broadcast year (which was about on par with the 2009-10 year), 84%, or $43 million, went to on-screen/programming-related initiatives, primarily the creation of new Canadian programming, and the remaining 16% or $8 million went to social initiatives such as funding for television/film festivals.
The latest research is contained in the second installment (2012 report) of the annual syndicated…
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MONTREAL – Bell Media has asked the CRTC for permission to flip one of its Montreal radio stations from one official language to the other.
The company said Tuesday that it has filed an application with the Commission asking to convert TSN Radio 990 to RDS Radio 990 as a result of its pending acquisition of Astral Media. The CRTC’s commercial radio policy limits the ownership of multiple radio stations in a given market.
An extension of Bell Media’s French-language sports channel RDS, RDS Radio 990 will air “comprehensive coverage of the Montreal sports scene, along with best-in-class analysis from RDS sports…
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OTTAWA – Following applications from Bell Media and Rogers to end the 5% cap on Canadian programming expenditure (CPE) over-spending, the CRTC is calling for comments on its policy regarding CPE over-expenditures for conventional television and specialty services from large broadcast groups. It is also seeking input on the impact that approval of those applications would have on the commission’s CPE policy. The deadline for the filing of comments is August 7, 2012.
In its submission, Bell Media contends that the current 5% cap on CPE over-expenditures and the obligation to use that over-expenditure in the subsequent broadcast year limits…
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WHITEHORSE – Bell Canada and Northwestel said last week the companies would upgrade all 96 communities served by Northwestel in northern Canada with high-speed Internet and next-generation wireless over a five-year period. Northwestel, a direct subsidiary of Bell, maintains the plan will not result in increased service prices, and is partially contingent on the CRTC approving the Astral public benefits package that is part of Bell’s $3.38 billion takeover of Astral Media.
According to sources, the CRTC will make public the Bell application to purchase Astral Media this week, along with timelines for comment and a hearing date.
“We have a…
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OTTAWA – In order to better process the large amount of applications it receives, the CRTC is seeking comments on a proposal to exempt from licensing pay television and specialty Category B services with a limited subscriber base. It’s also seeking input on proposed amendments to the exemption order respecting third-language television programming undertakings. These would permit services that offer 40% or more of their programming in any one of the Cantonese, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Mandarin or Spanish languages to be eligible for exemption. The deadline for filing comments is August 7, 2012.
The commission contends that the current…
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OTTAWA – As first reported by Cartt.ca this past April, the worst fears of small rural telephone companies operating in Ontario and Quebec have come to pass with today’s announcement that the Harper Government is upholding a CRTC ruling to eliminate monopoly phone services in Canada.
The Ontario Telecommunications Association (OTA) and the Association des Compagnies de Téléphone du Québec Inc. (ACTQ) have maintained that if their markets are fully opened to competition, they would suffer severe financial impacts that could put them out of business (as they noted on Cartt.ca).
Small Incumbent Local Exchange…
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CHATHAM – Small and medium-sized businesses (SMB) in four provinces will now have more options for high-speed DSL as the result of a recent CRTC decision that frees up independent Internet service providers (IISPs) to compete says TekSavvy Solutions Inc.
Until now, IISPs weren’t able to compete on an equal footing with the large players explains TekSavvy CEO Marc Gaudrault.
“We saw the unfairness of the system and spent a lot of time and effort making our point. The CRTC agreed and now we’re moving at full speed to provide this sector with the value and choice it deserves.”
TekSavvy has announced…
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OTTAWA – The CRTC announced today that it has approved the mandatory quality standards for closed captioning set out in the appendix of the regulatory policy. The new standards will come into effect on September 1, 2012.
The commission has informed the English-language Closed Captioning Working Group to submit an updated version of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Closed Captioning Standards Manual by August 4, 2012 that reflects the changes identified in the new regulation.
The CRTC says the first reports from broadcasters subject to the quality standards regarding efforts to improve the accuracy of captioning will be due on August…
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