CTV/CHUM deal “would destroy” common ownership policy: Morrison

Those concerned that regulatory approval of the recent spate of acquisitions in Canada's broadcasting industry will lead to homogeneity in broadcasting have been given an opportunity by the CRTC to speak out.However, the fact that Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2007-5 - also known as the Diversity of Voices Proceeding - comes on the heels of multiple consolidation announcements certainly begs the question: has this reactionary measure come too late?"I see it just the opposite," says Ian Morrison, spokesman for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. "I suppose at anytime in life one could always say of anything that it should have been done earlier....From the CRTC's point of view, they never can tell when a transaction is going to come. Transactions just come; they're like weeds."Of course, the broadcasting transactions that necessitated such a proceeding are CTVglobemedia's proposed acquisition of CHUM Ltd.'s broadcasting properties and CanWest MediaWorks Inc.'s planed purchase of Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc.'s specialty channels, and the CRTC made no attempt to hide this fact.Morrison immediately turns to the CTVglobemedia case as a concrete example of the hazards of excessive consolidation. "We're saying if they approve the CTVglobemedia as filed it would destroy, or render invalid, common ownership policy," he says.Morrison believes the commission should let CTV take over CHUM's radio assets, specialty channels and the A-Channel stations throughout Ontario and in Victoria BC, but should not allow it to acquire the CHUM CityTV stations in Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.The benefit of this, says Morrison, is it would keep the common ownership policy intact while giving the A-Channel stations a boost by attaching them to "a powerful engine like CTV." Additionally, allowing the high-profile CityTV to be operated by another broadcaster would ensure a third private television network for English Canada, instead of a CanWest/CTV duopoly.In outlining the diversity proceeding, the commission "announced that, in light of the current wave of consolidation in the Canadian broadcasting industry, the commission would hold a public hearing to review its approach to ownership consolidation and other issues related to the diversity of voices in Canada."In addition, the commission notes that reasons for reviewing issues relating to ownership of Canadian broadcasting companies include the following:the existing approach to common ownership was developed for analog, over-the-air undertakings;there is no common ownership policy in place for specialty pay, pay-per-view and video-on-demand undertakings;licensed Canadian broadcasters and distributors face increased competition from other licensees as well as unregulated digital platforms;policies regarding the integration of distribution, programming and production undertakings may need to be reviewed; the CRTC has never considered implementing policies with respect to ownership of new media undertakings, and;Canada's constantly changing demographics necessitate a review to ensure the voices of Aboriginal Canadians, ethnic Canadians and the disabled have appropriate access to the system."The goal of this proceeding...is to develop a clear and predictable policy that will ensure a diversity of voices, including editorial voices," said CRTC chairman Konrad von Finkenstein in a news release. "The commission intends to adopt a holistic approach that will include all components of the broadcasting industry." The review has a broad scope to be sure, but Morrison says underlines the CRTC's wisdom in initiating a separate public notice instead of taking comments on the common ownership policy as part of the CTVglobemedia/CHUM transaction review, as was originally announced."I think it would have been a mistake to ," says Morrison. "It would be like hauling you into court for a speeding ticket and saying, at the same time, ‘While we're at it we'll discuss whether the speed limits should be changed.'"Of course, had the diversity of voices proceeding happened before these proposed broadcast acquisitions, then the hearings on those issues likely would have been markedly different. Says Morrison: "Should they have done this two years ago? Who can say. But now the CRTC's saying ‘The environment is more concentrated than it was before, and therefore a whole lot of issues around democracy and points of view come to the fore.' Whether they'll do a good job of it I don't know, but I think the process is correct."

CTV/CHUM deal “would destroy” common ownership policy: Morrison

News | 04/19/2007 2:05 pm EDT

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