CRTC SCRUBS CTV'S PLAN TO SELL STATIONS Grant Robertson – Globe and Mail Canada's broadcast regulator has denied a proposal by CTV Inc. to sell off as many as three CITY-TV stations, which the network hoped would help it gain regulatory approval for the takeover of CHUM Ltd.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission sent a letter to CTV executives indicating the idea will not be considered because it was raised improperly by the network after hearings into the deal concluded two weeks ago.
In a bid to ease the CRTC's concerns about ownership concentration, CTV said it is willing to sell a CITY-TV station in Winnipeg along with two others in Alberta.
CTV said it would sell CITY-TV stations in Calgary and Edmonton, provided the regulator placed restrictions on the expansion of rival CanWest Global Communications Corp.'s secondary network, CH.
The proposal was included in documents submitted last week by CTVglobemedia Inc., which also owns The Globe and Mail, in response to an argument put forward by CBC executives.
Richard Stursberg, CBC's executive vice-president of English television, said CTV should not be allowed to own more than one station in any given market.
In responding to Mr. Stursberg's argument, CTVglobemedia also proposed the sale of the three CITY-TV stations, which prompted opposition from CanWest.
Winnipeg-based CanWest also took issue with the CTV proposal, saying it came only after public hearings into the CHUM deal concluded May 2, and because it placed conditions on a separate application by CanWest to expand its CH network.
CanWest is seeking to have the CH network in Red Deer carried as a local station in Calgary and Edmonton. Currently, the Red Deer station is transmitted into Alberta's two largest cities as a distant signal, meaning the company can't solicit local advertisers there.
CTV suggested it would sell CHUM's CITY-TV stations in Edmonton and Calgary, if the CanWest application was blocked. It sees the CanWest application as an attempt to also own multiple stations in those two markets.
Canadian rules prevent networks from owning more than one station in any region, although CanWest has been given exemptions in Vancouver-Victoria and Toronto-Hamilton to operate dual networks under the Global and CH names.
CTV wants similar provisions. When CTVglobemedia bought CHUM for $1.4-billion, it acquired a large stable of broadcasting assets, including 33 radio stations, 21 specialty channels and the A Channel and CITY-TV networks.
To address some of the CRTC's concerns in advance of the hearings, CTV arranged to sell A Channel and the specialty network SexTV to Rogers Communications Inc. for $137.5-million. |