Corus defends restructuring plan in CRTC documents

Corus Entertainment Inc. is lashing out at critics of its proposed restructuring plan, some of whom are calling for tangible benefits to be paid and demanding a public hearing into the new fiscal arrangement. The CRTC announced in May it would consider a recapitalization program for the troubled broadcaster. It is deciding the matter through interventions only, with no public proceedings scheduled. On July 6, Matt Thompson, vice-president of the private broadcaster, submitted his response to the voluminous filings the regulator received about the restructuring of Corus’ debtload. He attacked some intervenors for putting their own pecuniary interests over the common good. “These proponents assert that broadcasting licences remain scarce and valuable public assets, and the Tangible Benefits Policy exists to compensate for the absence of competitive bidding for those assets,” he wrote. “They forget that, for the most part, Canadian broadcast licences are no longer scarce and have lost much of their value.” The Canada Media Fund (CMF) disagrees. On June 25, president and CEO Valerie Creighton wrote expressing the Fund’s concerns about the zero valuation accorded the transaction. “Tangible benefits are a direct and important source of funding for Canadian programming,” she stated. “A transaction of this scale–involving Canada’s largest independent broadcaster–would generate a tangible benefits package that would make a material difference to the funding available for Canadian programming and creators.” Also slagging the company was the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). Regulatory affairs director Patrick Smith said his group opposed both Corus’ zero valuation and its request for an exemption from tangible benefits. “On Corus’ own evidence, the recapitalization will reduce its debt by approximately $500 million and generate up to $40 million in annual interest savings, materially improving the financial position of its licensed undertakings,” he argued. Thompson countered that the CMPA has misstated a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) on the value of the deal. “PwC did not identify $328 million as the transaction value the commission should apply for calculating benefits,” he offered. “It was the arithmetic result of assigning values, or alternative values where the ordinary inputs were inapplicable, to three categories requested by the commission in a request for information: equity value, fair market value of gross debt, and leases.” “PwC assigned an equity value of zero, a fair market value of gross debt (net of cash) of $261 million, and the applicants added a lease value of approximately $66.9 million.” The CMF maintained that the application should be denied because, despite years of bleeding red ink, Corus showed a profit in 2021. Thompson dismissed that argument as “misguided.” Monica Auer, executive director of the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications (FRPC), backed the Corus bid but with reservations. That was laid out in the title of its brief to the commission. “The CRTC must obtain and publish more information about Corus’ proposed ownership, control and plans: ‘Trust us’ is just not good enough,” the organization wrote. FRPC endorsed the company’s request for an exemption of tangible benefits but disagreed that a public hearing was unnecessary. The regulator must impose strict guidelines on the broadcaster which will be governed by fines and threats of non-renewal of licences. The lobby group scoffed at Corus’ assertion that the proposed transaction is in the public interest. “Nothing related to ownership in broadcasting applications can be accepted as ‘self-evident’,” Auer stated. “The applicant’s arguments compel blind trust from Canadians that this transaction will serve their best interests.” Watching all of this is Quebecor Inc. which has made no secret of its desire to take over Corus. Thompson called on the CRTC to reject the Quebec firm’s suggestion that the restructuring be denied. “This is clearly not an organization aiming to perform a public service, it is one striving to achieve through a regulatory approval process what it was unable to achieve in private negotiations: acquisition of Corus at a value of its choosing,” he opined. He called out Quebecor for highlighting layoffs at Global TV when the Quebec conglomerate has itself been reducing the workforce in its broadcast holdings. Corus operates 25 discretionary services, 15 conventional television stations under the Global banner, and 36 radio stations. ppark@thewirereport.ca

Corus defends restructuring plan in CRTC documents

Regulatory |
By Paul Park
|July 9, 2026

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Corus defends restructuring plan in CRTC documents

Regulatory | By Paul Park |July 9, 2026

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Proposed indefinite radio licences wins support from Bell, Rogers, Corus

The CRTC has received 4.1 million complaints about spam since 2014, so why has it only taken action 34 times?

Telus asks CRTC to restore device-locking capabilities for all Canadian providers

Related Stories

CRTC to consider Corus recapitalization proposal

Corus wins court approval of recapitalization transaction

Corus recapitalizes in order to strengthen financial position

Corus dropping multiple kids’ channels come September

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Regulatory |
By Paul Park
|July 9, 2026