After asking the federal telecommunications regulator to waive local news and Canadian programming requirements for its television stations, BCE’s media division is seeking to appeal a decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) which renewed its broadcasting licenses for three additional years.
In a motion filed last month with the Federal Court of Appeal, Bell Media says the renewal occurred without a public hearing and could cause the regulator to prejudge issues raised in its applications to the CRTC last June.
On August 8, the CRTC made public its decision announcing the administrative renewal of the broadcasting licenses of large companies, including Bell, until August 2026.
But the company alleged the CRTC violated a requirement of the Canadian Broadcasting Act by not holding a public hearing before making that decision. Bell claims the regulator “acted without competence” and did not inform Bell of its intention to make the decision or the opportunity to comment in advance.
“The renewal decision is likely to have serious negative consequences for Bell Media,” the company argued in its court documents.
“This will harm Bell Media’s ability to evolve in the competitive landscape of the Canadian broadcasting industry, faced with the growing presence of digital media broadcasting companies. »
The CRTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In June, Bell submitted two requests to the CRTC, on which the regulator has not yet ruled.
In a submission, the company asked the CRTC to drop requirements for spending on local news and the number of hours per week that stations are required to broadcast local news in markets large and small. the smallest.
It also asked the Commission to reduce its Canadian content spending obligations for certain of its television channels.
Cutbacks and financial difficulties
The requests were filed the same day Bell announced it was cutting 1,300 jobs, closing or selling nine radio stations and closing two overseas offices, as part of plans to “significantly adapt” the way it broadcasts. information in the face of growing financial pressure.
The layoffs included a 6% reduction in Bell Media’s workforce.
At the time, Bell noted that its 35 local television stations under the CTV, CTV Two and Noovo brands as well as three optional television news services – CP24, CTV News Channel and BNN Bloomberg – were facing financial difficulties, a situation that required regulatory action.
Bell Media’s average annual news operating loss was $28.4 million between 2016 and 2019, a figure that soared to $40 million last year as web giants have conquered the Canadian advertising market.
Bell’s legal and regulatory director, Robert Malcolmson, said Monday that these requests, if granted, “would have provided much-needed financial assistance and flexibility,” but that “rather than processing our requests, the CRTC instead chose to renew our licenses, without offering any timetable to respond to our urgent request.”
The application filed before the Federal Court of Appeal argued that because of the renewal decision, there is a risk that the CRTC could delay and defer its decision on Bell’s programming applications “and it could very well prejudge of the issues at stake in these requests to the detriment of Bell Media.”
“The Canadian broadcast industry is in crisis and we need urgent action now,” Malcolmson said in a statement.
“The CRTC’s decision to extend our broadcasting licenses for three years without first processing our requests for financial relief is arbitrary and unfair. The CRTC approved these license conditions in 2017; they were established in an economic and competitive environment very different from that which broadcasters face today. »