GATINEAU – With today’s public release of BCE’s new application to acquire Astral Media, the CRTC has set the new hearing date for May 6.
In its second attempt to win CRTC approval, Bell and Astral Media’s renewed proposal includes a $174.64-million tangible benefits package that includes the development and promotion of new Canadian TV and film content in French and English and over $50 million in radio benefits. “This new application to the CRTC clearly demonstrates the tremendous value the combination of these two all-Canadian media brands will mean for the Canadian public and their broadcasting industry” said Bell Canada president and CEO George Cope in a release.
Under both the Consent Agreement with the Competition Bureau (which, announced Monday and explained here, outlines more of the application) and the amended application to the CRTC, Bell must divest itself of Astral Media’s ownership interests in Family Channel, Teletoon, Teletoon Retro, Disney XD, the Cartoon Network, Disney Jr. (English and French), Historia, Séries+, Télétoon, Télétoon Rétro, MusiquePlus and Musimax. Corus Entertainment has agreed to purchase all except Family, the Disney brands, MusiquePlus and Musimax. Additionally, the Consent Agreement contains restrictions on Bell, including a prohibition on imposing restrictive bundling requirements on any other subscription TV provider seeking to carry pay services The Movie Network or Super Écran.
Bell Media said it will retain eight Astral TV services – the French-language SuperÉcran, CinéPop, Canal Vie, Canal D, VRAK TV, and Z Télé – and English-language services The Movie Network, which includes HBO Canada, and TMN Encore. Bell Media will also retain Astral’s two rural over-the-air TV stations in British Columbia, CJDC in Dawson Creek and CFTK in Terrace, and Astral's interest in the Viewer's Choice Canada pay-per-view service.
Consistent with the CRTC's policy on radio ownership, Bell is also divesting 10 English-language radio stations. Following the outpouring of public support by Montréal sports fans to retain TSN Radio 690 as an English-language sports station, Bell Media has filed a separate application with the CRTC requesting permission to continue to operate TSN 690 as an English-language sports radio station.
"Even after the planned divestitures, Bell has retained approximately four-fifths of the original value of the Astral transaction – the retained TV services, retained radio and Astral's out-of-home advertising business represent approximately 77% of Astral's EBITDA," says Bell's Wednesday morning press release.
The companies also re-launched a consumer education campaign to answer questions, which can be asked at www.Canadiansdeservemore.ca.
Readers will note that the benefits package proposed by this new application is substantially less than the original 2012 purchase agreement, but that is because Bell is divesting of a number of assets. It is expected that the new owners of those assets will offer their own benefits package when they submit their own CRTC applications requesting the ownership changes.
