(Gatineau) Rogers Communications took advantage of the final day of the CRTC hearings, which are examining its proposed takeover of Shaw Communications, to reject criticism from its main rivals while offering certain concessions to independent producers and distributors.
Rogers senior vice president of regulatory affairs Ted Woodhead said comments from BCE and Telus, which argued the merger would make Rogers too dominant, ringed hollow as the two companies have long argued for the need to ” increase their scope.
The two competitors, along with other players, presented their arguments throughout the week, as part of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearings that focused on broadcasting issues related to the transaction. . In particular, they were concerned that Rogers would exert too much influence in the market by controlling around 47% of the English-language subscriber base through the agreement with Shaw.
Mr. Woodhead said the size of the company would translate into stronger competition in Western Canada, and noted that more regulatory safeguards were in place than there were when the CRTC forced Bell to make concessions as part of its acquisition of Astral Media in 2012.
Rogers Cable vice president of regulation Pam Dinsmore said some of the suggestions made by independent producers during the week were unreasonable, but she pledged to increase the minimum number of independent channels to 45 to 45. will be maintained by Rogers, compared to the 40 offered at the start of the week.
It added that Rogers would subject the satellite relay service company it obtains through Shaw to the same dispute resolution options available for conventional broadcasting. Some distributors raised concerns about this during the hearing, fearing that they would be deprived of the service.