The following is a open letter for Canadian TV viewers.
Bell Canada already owns CTV, TSN, Discovery Channel and MuchMusic. Now, it wants to buy yet another competitor, Astral Media Inc., the company that provides HBO Canada, The Movie Network, Family, Viewers Choice, and many other popular TV channels.
If approved by Ottawa, this giant new company would own a staggering 79 TV channels, 107 radio stations, and more than 100 websites. Its TV viewing audience would be twice as large as its nearest competitor.
The federal government will soon decide whether to allow this deal to go ahead. We believe the deal should be stopped, because it will be bad for consumers and bad for Canada. Here’s why you should be concerned:
1. Few of the world’s major economies permit a single private broadcaster to acquire such a dominant share of T V viewing. Bell Canada’s TV audience share would be 50% greater than the audience share of the largest private firms in the USA, Japan, UK, Australia, France or even Russia. Allowing one company to attain such a dominant position would move Canada in the direction of countries like Italy, Brazil and Mexico.
2. If Bell Canada controls all the most popular content, they could charge you whatever they want to watch it.
3. To get popular channels, you could face pressure to pay for other Bell Canada channels that you are not interested in watching.
4. To watch popular programs, you may be pressured to buy other Bell Canada phone, wireless, internet and TV services.
5. We believe this deal would result in the creation of fewer original Canadian programs, and therefore fewer jobs in Canadian T V production.
6. Advertising rates could also go up – costs that eventually get passed on to consumers. We are speaking out against this deal because we believe it would be harmful to Canadian broadcasting and communications – to our companies, to our employees, to our investors. But it is your voices that matter most, not ours.
If you don’t like what this deal will mean for you, and if you agree that healthy competition keeps prices in check, creates more jobs, and leads to better service, tell Ottawa to say no to Bell Canada’s acquisition of Astral Media Inc., and yes to healthy competition.
To make your voice heard, go to saynotobell.ca
Louis Audet
President and CEO
Cogeco Cable Inc.
Lee Bragg
CEO
Eastlink
Pierre Karl Péladeau
President and CEO
Quebecor Inc.
I invite you to participate in the ongoing discussion in this thread on viewers.ca, Channel Canada’s discussion forums.
