Post Tagged with: "convergence"

How To Address Canadian Media Convergence if Bell – Astral is Approved

Summer is rarely a time of heated broadcast policy battles, but the proposed Bell – Astral merger has generated considerable public attention and fostered a growing war of words between Bell and groups that have banded together under the “Say No to Bell” banner.

The anti-merger campaign, supported by consumer groups as well as several leading cable and telecom companies, has garnered tens of thousands of signatures on an online petition and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has received more than 1,700 submissions on the deal.

Despite the mounting public opposition, my weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) argues that stopping the $3 billion merger remains a longshot as none of the big three – government, the CRTC, or the Competition Bureau – seems ready to call it off.

How To Address Canadian Media Convergence if Bell – Astral is Approved

Appeared in the Toronto Star on August 26, 2012 as Remedies if Bell – Astral Merger Goes Through Summer is rarely a time of heated broadcast policy battles, but the proposed Bell – Astral merger has generated considerable public attention and fostered a growing war of words between Bell and […]

Is the Competition Bureau Ready to Take on Media Convergence?

Canadian broadcasters and broadcast distributors have pursued a convergence strategy for the past decade that has created one of the world’s most concentrated media markets. Four powerhouses – Bell Media, Rogers, Shaw, and Videotron – have been left standing with those companies now dominating broadcast television, radio, and broadcast distribution from coast to coast.

While it may already be too late, the proposed $3 billion Bell Media – Astral merger may represent the final opportunity to address mounting concerns over the competitive impact of a converged market. My weekly technology law column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) notes the new Bell Media – Astral entity will control approximately 45 per cent of the commercial radio market in Canada along with a dizzying array of television stations, specialty television channels, as well as wireless, satellite, and Internet services.