Bell looks to burnish money-losing network
MONTREAL – Bell Media today announced it will purchase the conventional TV network V and its related digital assets, including the ad-supported VOD service Noovo.ca, from Groupe V Média.
The deal, which would bring Bell its first French-language TV network, is pending CRTC and Competition Bureau approval (We’re expecting vigorous opposition from Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau when the application to the Commission is made public). Those with good memories will recall V used to be TQS and was co-owned by Cogeco and CTVglobemedia. It’s current owner purchased the station in 2008, when it was in bankruptcy protection, for $20 million.
Financial details of today’s sale were not disclosed, but the purchase price will be when Bell files its application to purchase the station with the CRTC.
The deal will surely improve the struggling V’s fortunes. While it is a distant third in the conventional TV ratings behind the two dominant TV forces in the province in Radio-Canada and Quebecor’s TVA, the network’s finances have come under pressure of late.
According to financial returns filed with the CRTC, V recorded a loss of $3 million in the 2018 broadcast year (ended August 31, 2018) on $42.8 million in total revenue. That came after a $3.5 million loss in 2017. The channel’s revenue has tumbled 36% since 2015, which has caused it to cut staff from 127 people in 2015 to 47 in 2018. Spending on programming has been cut by 13% from 2015 to $34 million in 2018, all according to CRTC filings.
It’s hoped Bell’s bigger budgets, connections to national advertisers and promotional capacity will help reverse those trends and strengthen the channel. “The transaction reinforces choice for French-language viewers, strengthens the Québec television ecosystem, and highlights Bell Media’s commitment to providing engaging content in Québec on traditional and innovative platforms,” reads the press release today.
“With today’s announcement Bell Media welcomes French-language conventional TV to its portfolio, creating more opportunities for viewers, advertisers, and content creators in Québec,” said Karine Moses, president, Bell Media Québec,. In the release.
“As it is increasingly difficult to ensure the sustainability of a conventional channel within a non-integrated group, I have made the best decision for the future of V. Bell Media will certainly allow V to continue to evolve and reach out to the Québec public on a massive scale.” – Maxime Rémillard, Group V Média
“We are excited to provide new opportunities for V with the guidance and expertise of our dedicated and experienced Montréal-based management, programming, and production teams. We look forward to continuing to work closely with the local Francophone production community in delivering highly engaging original programming on V.”
“The industry in which we are evolving is constantly, deeply and rapidly changing. This was true when we took over the reins of TQS and allowed the network to survive; it is all the more true today,” said Maxime Rémillard, president and founder, Groupe V Média, in the release.
“As it is increasingly difficult to ensure the sustainability of a conventional channel within a non-integrated group, I have made the best decision for the future of V. Bell Media will certainly allow V to continue to evolve and reach out to the Québec public on a massive scale.”
The V network includes stations owned and operated in Montréal, Québec, Saguenay, Sherbrooke, and Trois-Rivières, and has affiliate stations in Gatineau, Rivière-du-Loup and Val-d’Or, owned by other companies.
Groupe V Média also operates specialty channels ELLE Fictions (formerly MusiquePlus) and MAX (formerly Musimax), which are not subject to the transaction. Those channels had to be sold to Groupe V as a condition of Bell acquiring Astral Media back in 2013.
A Groupe V spokesman told Cartt.ca those two specialties are not for sale.
