CRTC considers cross-media ownership issues on case-by-case basis: Dalfen

On September 25, CRTC chair Charles Dalfen outlined for the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation and Communications how the CRTC deals with issues of ownership concentration and cross-media ownership. An excerpt from his speech appears below. ...Unless an applicant is ineligible to hold a broadcasting licence by virtue of a direction of the Governor-in-Council issued under our Act (for example, a non-Canadian entity; or, between 1982 and 1985, an owner of a newspaper in the same market), we must consider each application on its own merits. While cross-ownership and concentration issues are always of concern, in some cases these concerns may be counter-balanced by off-setting advantages. In other cases such concerns are not outweighed and result in denials. In July of this year, for example, the CRTC refused approval for TVA, a subsidiary of Quebecor, to purchase seven AM and one FM radio stations from Astral Media Inc. On balance, the commission was not convinced that the recovery strategy for AM radio in Quebec proposed by the applicant and its eventual benefits would significantly outweigh the concerns about concentration of ownership and media cross-ownership raised by the application. On the other hand, in April 2002, the CRTC approved a transaction that transferred control of these stations to Astral Radio Inc. In this case, in view of the decline in the financial situation of French-language AM radio in recent years, the commission was convinced that the synergies that Astral Media identified between its AM and FM operations would revitalize the whole of French-language radio and would ensure greater long-term stability for AM radio in particular. The commission also considered that the applicant’s plan to give the local AM station in each market a central role in the collection and processing of news, would better serve both AM listeners and listeners of local FM stations Radio Énergie and Radio Rock Détente. The commission therefore concluded, that all things considered, the benefits to be derived from the transaction, particularly for French-language radio, outweighed concerns related to the increased ownership in the hands of Astral. And in the summer of 2001, the CRTC issued a decision that transferred effective control of TVA to Quebecor Media Inc. On this occasion, despite concerns over cross-media ownership, the commission was convinced that this proposal would ensure the ongoing growth and improvement of TVA’s national French-language television network and its other regulated activities. However, in cases where we deem cross-ownership issues to be offset by other advantages, we nevertheless establish safeguards to ensure that ownership concentration does not reduce the number of news and information sources available to the public. For instance, to protect the independence of the various news outlets and information sources that would be affected by the Quebecor transaction, the commission also accepted safeguards that were proposed by the applicant, that included adherence to a code of professional conduct applicable to TVA, LCN and LCN Affaires, and the establishment of a monitoring committee to deal with possible complaints. Also in 2001, the commission addressed cross-media ownership issues in regard to the two largest media ownership groups in English Canada, when it renewed the licences of CTV Inc. and CanWest Global Communications. In all of these cases, the commission imposed a number of safeguards as conditions of licence. ...In addition to trying to prevent a reduction in the number of sources of news and information available to Canadians, we have also been quite active in trying to increase the diversity of voices in the Canadian broadcasting system. Over the past five years the commission has licensed seven new television stations and 35 radio services across Canada. The number of specialty channels is above 100 today. Last October, in an effort to add to the sources of local programming, the commission released a new policy framework for community-based media. The policy sets new requirements for the cable community channel, with particular emphasis on local programming and access for community groups.

CRTC considers cross-media ownership issues on case-by-case basis: Dalfen

News | 10/03/2003 4:00 am EDT

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