CRTC approves BCE purchase of Astral, applies new safeguards

Media | 06/27/2013 8:07 pm EDT

The CRTC approved BCE Inc.’s reworked application to purchase Astral Media Inc. for $3.38 billion, with conditions that raise the company’s contributions to Canadian broadcasting by $72...

CRTC expected to approve Bell-Astral: Shine

Media | 06/26/2013 8:30 pm EDT

BCE Inc. has “pretty much done all it could do to appease” CRTC concerns about the company’s proposed $3.38-billion purchase of Astral Media Inc. and should receive regulatory approval this week, National Bank Financial analyst Adam Shine said. In a research note released Tuesday, Shine said the CRTC could require further...

CRTC to issue BCE-Astral decision Thursday

Media | 06/25/2013 9:46 pm EDT

The CRTC will release its decision on BCE Inc.’s $3.38-billion deal to buy Astral Media Inc. on Thursday, after rejecting Bell's first application to acquire Astral last year, the commission said in a notice Tuesday. A media lockup will be held at 2:30 p.m., and the decision will be released at 4 p.m., the notice said. BCE's proposed...

TV revenues, profits, rise at Astral

Media | 04/11/2013 8:52 pm EDT

Profits for Astral Media Inc. totalled $41.2 million in the second quarter of 2013, up eight per cent from $38.2 million in the same period a year earlier, the company said Thursday. In a quarterly earnings statement, Astral said consolidated revenues also rose in the second quarter to $237.1 million, from $233.5 million in the same period a year...

TSN’s, Sportsnet’s expenses surge, profits tumble: CRTC data

Media | 04/11/2013 8:21 pm EDT

Canada's most popular sports specialty channels reported millions of dollars in additional expenses as profits dropped during the 2012 broadcast year, according to new specialty channel data released by the CRTC. The regulator released data for the broadcasting year ended Aug. 31, 2012, showing that BCE Inc.'s TSN sports channel and Rogers Communications Inc.'s Sportsnet reported a tumble in profits and surge in expenses, particularly in programming and production costs. “We should expect that [sports] rights fees are going to continue to climb over time,” broadcast analyst Gordon Hendren, president of Charlton Strategic Research Inc., said in a phone interview....

CRTC expedites Astral complaint

Media | 03/05/2013 3:43 pm EST

The CRTC will expedite its consideration of an Astral Media Inc. complaint against Quebecor Media Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. subsidiary and its new on-demand video service, the commission said. In a complaint filed with the commission last week, Astral said Videotron’s new illico Club Unlimited subscription service violates the...