BCE Inc, the parent of Bell Canada has defended its bid to take over broadcaster CTV on Tuesday, stating that regulators have already allowed its competitors to buy programming assets.
The proposed purchase highlights a broader move by telecom and cable carriers to snap up content providers as consumers spend more time watching video on tablet computers and smartphones.
Pending approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), BCE will pay $1.3 billion for CTV, the country’s biggest private broadcaster. Including debt, the deal comes in at $3.2 billion.
According to the company, it would pay as much as $221 million to support independent content, in line with CRTC policy. The pledge reverses BCE’s earlier position that it should not have to make an additional payment because it paid $230 million when it first bought CTV in 2000. BCE later reduced its stake in the broadcaster.
In opening statements at the hearing in Gatineau, Quebec, BCE Chief Executive George Cope stated that the deal deserves to be approved in part because BCE’s main competitors already own both content and the ability to transmit it.
He cited Bell’s largest competitor, Rogers Communications, which owns Sportsnet and acquired City TV almost four years ago. He added that Quebecor’s Videotron cable arm has had unique access to TVA assets for a decade, while Shaw Communications owns Canwest and Corus media assets.
Indicative of the convergence trend, Quebecor’s Videotron launched a wireless service in Quebec in September, while Shaw has delayed the launch of its own mobile network until early 2012.
The CRTC approved Shaw’s $2 billion purchase of the broadcast assets of CanWest, which were in creditor protection, in October. In that deal, the regulator stated that it expects Shaw to give competitors access to the TV programming it owns, including on mobile and on the Web, on commercial terms.
The very day, the regulator also stated that it would review its safeguards against anti-competitive behavior. Submissions for that review are due in March.
BCE has been more circumspect about whether it would retain some exclusive content, such as sports or financial news, for its own customers.
CTV owns the CP24 news channel, financial news outlet BNN and sports broadcasting rights via TSN.