MONTREAL – “If we had realized last year how Bell would behave once it acquired CTV, we would have opposed that application and proposed even stronger safeguards in the Vertical Integration proceeding,” said Rogers vice-president of regulatory affairs Pam Dinsmore in kicking off Rogers Communications’ opposition to the Bell-Astral merger on Wednesday morning.
“However, we know the Commission cannot turn back the clock back on the CTV transaction now. That ship has sailed.”
The RCI presentation told a tale of how CTV has changed since being acquired by Bell Canada, a story where multiplatform rights are routinely held back and that among Canadian broadcasters, only Bell keeps its content from the various on demand video platforms Rogers has built.
In fact, Rogers built those growing new media options with the co-operation of Astral, which “has always been an enthusiastic partner” in the company’s initiatives like its mobile TV platform and Rogers Anyplace TV, added Rogers SVP of video content, David Purdy.
If Bell Media were to be allowed to own Astral, that co-operation would disappear, Rogers executives believe. Rogers’ official position is to allow Bell to purchase Astral, but with the proviso the combined company be forced to sell off the Astral English-language TV services such as TMN and Family Channel.
“On the linear platform, Bell has demanded massive increases in wholesale fees and revenue guarantees as a quid pro quo for packaging flexibility,” said Purdy. “The terms are so unreasonable that in almost all cases, we have refused to accept them. In contrast, all of our other program suppliers, both Canadian and foreign, have given us some degree of packaging flexibility.
“If we were to surrender to Bell’s demands, Rogers would have to increase retail prices for our customers to such a degree that it would severely hamper our ability to compete with Bell TV. Our refusal to give in to Bell has meant that we have almost no flexibility in how we offer Bell’s affiliated services on our linear platform. We are not able to offer smaller packages that match Bell TV’s offering,” he added.
In fact, Bell Media’s complaints caused an early end to Rogers’ trial of more personal packing options for digital cable customers in London, Ont. “We launched the market trial and included Bell services as part of it,” noted Purdy. “The negative reaction we received from Bell forced us to terminate the trial prematurely. Obviously, this hurt our customers.”
This now-prickly relationship with CTV is 180-degrees different than how Astral has negotiated with Rogers, added Purdy.
The hearing continues Thursday with Telus at 8:30 a.m.
