MONTREAL – On Friday, in a ruling from the Bench, Justice Claude Champagne of the Québec Superior Court issued an injunction requiring Québecor to provide the signals of TVA Sports 1, TVA Sports 2 and TVA Sports 3 to Bell TV before 6 p.m. Québecor complied with the order, restoring French language NHL Playoff action for Bell subscribers.
However, Bell’s request to stop Québecor’s “Fair Value” advertising campaign was not granted, citing freedom of expression.
Pierre Karl Péladeau, in a scrum with reporters, said he was disappointed. He added “This injunction does not resolve the problem, which I have raised with the CRTC and with Bell. If Québecor cannot get Fair value for its signal, it is the sustainability of the channels that is threatened.”
"Bell puts our customers first, and we're committed to doing what it takes to get them the TV service they deserve," countered Martine Turcotte, Bell's vice chair, Québec. "Quebecor denied TVA Sports to our Bell TV customers, directly targeting sports fans just as the playoffs began, while also falsely claiming it was Bell that was shutting off the channel. It is reckless behaviour on Quebecor's part, and we are glad the Superior Court put a stop to it."
"Bell has been invited to the CRTC's hearing and we will explain how Quebecor's illegal actions and false statements negatively impacted hundreds of thousands of Bell customers," said Ms. Turcotte. "A responsible broadcaster cannot take matters into its own hands even if it disagrees with regulatory rules or commercial outcomes."
Pierre Karl Péladeau will appear at the expedited hearing the CRTC called for this Wednesday (where it will ask Quebecor why the TVA Sports licence shouldn’t be revoked) to try to convince the Commission that its regulation is not applicable.
