CRTC cans Bell-Astral merger
I usually leave meta-media stories to Fagstein, but it’s pretty big news for Montreal that the CRTC turned thumbs down on the merger of Bell and Astral. (TVA link, plays video.) Bell’s going above the CRTC’s head to try to get the government to cancel this decision.
Jack 07:38 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
What odd logic out of the CRTC, convergence and market domination is bad for English Canada but its all right for French Canada. This is a huge win for Quebecor and a major loss for Quebecers. I don’t like BELL but any competition in Quebec s news market would have been welcome . I often wonder if Sun News is simply a pay off to keep Harper and his minions happy. Who is Jean Pierre Blais?
Tux 08:08 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
I’m frankly surprised that the CRTC made this decision but I think it’s the right call. There’s far too much overlap between content creators and infrastructure owners already.
walkerp 09:29 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
This is a huge victory for consumers in Canada. I can see how if you look at it from a Quebec-only perspective, you would see a loss of what could have been a potential rival to PKP’s media empire, but in the bigger, Canadian perspective, giving Bell this decision would have severely limited the competitive marketplace. This is a huge move by the CRTC and in line with several recent decisions that show they are living up to their mandate to be representing the Canadian consumer.
Marc 10:02 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
The CRTC can’t be Quebec-centric. They must look at the whole country and as such, they made the right call.
Jack 12:38 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
I agree with everybody but its just seeing a smiling PKP saying ,” I won again !”. What drives me nuts is that I have already bought that dude Videotron, an Arena, potentially a hockey team, and political compliance at every level. What have I got in return, Occupation Double,Richard Martineau and three busted unions.
Marc 13:24 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
I heard not long ago that the Feds won’t intervene; the CRTC ruling will stand.
walkerp 13:43 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
PKP and his empire needs to be quashed as well, for sure. I’ve heard rumours that there will be changes to some last-mile policy on cable in Quebec that should allow more ISPs to offer competitive internet services via cable (which is more limited than the phone lines right now), so that should be a start.
Still, I am just revelling in Bell losing this decision. It’s so sweet! It’s so weird, these last few weeks I think I may have slipped through a wormhole and into some alternate reality where society actually makes some good decisions: closing Gentilly-2, this decision, all the shit finally being revealed at the Charbonneau commission. Don’t pinch me because I don’t want to wake up!
Jack 13:54 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
@Marc of course they won’t intervene PKP provides a free platform for Harper et al and calls it News…..Sun News 24-7.
Marc 15:11 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
@ Jack: Sorry, not dealing with conspiracy therories.
SN86 15:53 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
@walkerp The CRTC already changed the policy on cable last mile use by independents last year in Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2011-703. Since then many independent ISP’s have been offering very good cable internet plans with much higher usage caps compared to Videotron. (2011-703 is currently being looked at to fix costs in a Review and Vary procedure. But consumers shouldn’t worry about this.)
Robert J 18:01 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
I wish they would let other companies offer cable tv using existing infrastructure. I wish I could choose something other than Bell Fibe or Videotron.
SN86 20:22 on 2012/10/19 Permalink
@Robert J
To sell TV here companies have to be approved as a BDU’s or Broadcasting Distribution Undertaking from the CRTC. And currently, the only way to send TV to consumers is over the internet which is expensive since it’s constantly downloading video. The only local company that does this is ColbaNet, and since they’re small not too many channels.
Jack 10:53 on 2012/10/20 Permalink
@Marc who appointed Blais? I truly don’t think its a conspiracy its about compliance. What did Orwell say,”"To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle”