CRTC numbers point to careful examination of Bell-Astral deal, competitors say

Annual broadcast industry data released by the CRTC “confirms” that BCE Inc.’s bid to acquire Astral Media Inc. would put the company’s English-language TV audience share “well over the CRTC’s threshold for concern,” a coalition of Bell’s competitors who oppose the deal said Tuesday. In a release, the “Say No To Bell” campaign said statistics from the 2011 broadcast year in the CRTC’s annual Communications Monitoring Report indicate that Bell would control 39.7 per cent of the English-language, TV audience share if it is allowed to acquire Astral’s broadcasting assets. The campaign, which consists of Bell competitors Quebecor Media Inc., Cogeco Cable Inc. and Eastlink, said that number would climb to 42.8 per cent if Astral’s seven jointly owned channels were included in audience share calculations. As a part of the CRTC’s 2008 "diversity of voices" framework for approving transfers of broadcasting licences, the commission generally expedites approval of deals that do not result in any one person or company gaining more than 35 per cent of the “total television audience share” of the national English- or French-language television markets. Those rules say the commission will “carefully examine” any acquisition that results in a party acquiring between 35 and 45 per cent of the audience share, and generally will not approve a deal that results in a party acquiring a 45 per cent share, or higher, in French or English television. In the Communications Monitoring Report released Tuesday, the CRTC said Bell-owned stations controlled a 33.7 per cent viewing share of English-language TV services in the year ending Aug. 31, 2011. It said Astral’s stations held a 6 per cent English-language TV viewing share over the same period, and that Astral’s jointly owned stations controlled another 3.06 per cent of the national English-language viewing share. The data also says Bell-owned stations controlled an 8.3 per cent share of the French-language TV audience in 2011, while Astral’s controlled a 16.6 per cent share. Bell has said the deal would bring its French-language TV audience share to 24.4 per cent and its English-language audience share to 33.5 per cent if share numbers are calculated to include viewership of foreign channels that are distributed in Canada, which the commission has historically excluded from its calculations. In documents filed with the commission in May, Bell said BBM data showed that foreign services received a viewing share of “at least 10.5%” in the 2010-2011 broadcast year. If foreign channels are not included in the calculation, Bell said its English-language audience share would rise to 38.7 per cent and its French-language share would reach 24.8 per cent. The Say No To Bell campaign said the numbers presented in the Communications Monitoring Report “prove that Bell Canada has understated their audience share numbers in relation to their bid to acquire Astral.” In an emailed statement Tuesday, Bell spokeswoman Jacqueline Michelis said the company’s position is “entirely in line” with the CRTC’s data. “The CRTC in reviewing the BCE-Astral transaction should take into consideration all channels Canadians are watching, including U.S. channels. It only makes sense and on that basis the combined BCE-Astral share of viewing would be 33.5% of the national English-language TV market (28.3 Bell, 5.2 Astral),” she wrote. Michelis added that the commission’s data also “excludes some Canadian channels, such as TVO, which accounts for the 1% difference from the total in the Monitoring Report versus the figures included in Bell's filing with the CRTC.” The CRTC will hear arguments from both sides at a Montreal hearing to consider the acquisition beginning Sept. 10. news@thewirereport.ca

CRTC numbers point to careful examination of Bell-Astral deal, competitors say

News | September 5, 2012

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CRTC numbers point to careful examination of Bell-Astral deal, competitors say

News | September 5, 2012

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