Speech
Opening remarks by Françoise Bertrand, Chairperson
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
at a public hearing to consider applications by
Baton Broadcasting Incorporated, Electrohome Limited,
CHUM Limited and the CTV Television Network
for transfers of effective control of stations and
assets transfers, and others
Hull, Quebec
July 15, 1997
(CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY)
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It's a great pleasure for me to welcome
everyone to this public hearing of the CRTC.
I would first like to introduce the panel members who are joining me today.
They are: Mr. Charles Bélanger, our new Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting. I'm sure
many of you in the broadcasting community already know Charles, and share our
enthusiasm to have Charles join our team. Also filling out our team today are
Commissioners Gail Scott, Andrée Wylie and Claude Sylvestre. Staff members in
attendance are Peter Cussons, Hearing Manager; Barbara Ursel and Karen Moore,
Legal Counsels; and Diane Santerre who will act as Hearing Secretary.
We will begin this morning with a series of applications filed by Baton
Broadcasting Incorporated and Electrohome Limited presented in two phases. In
Phase 1, Baton and Electrohome are requesting authority to complete a series of
transactions that would result in the merging of their respective broadcasting
operations in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Southwestern Ontario. As part of this
phase, Electrohome would transfer its interest in the CTV Television Network to
Baton. Phase 2 relates to Baton's proposed inter-corporate reorganization.
We will then examine a "non-severable" set of applications from BBS Ontario
Incorporated, CHUM Limited and CTV Television Network Ltd. in which the
applicants are requesting authority to complete an assets swap and to transfer
the effective control of CTV. The first part involves BBS Ontario's acquisition
of the Atlantic Satellite Network and various television undertakings located in
New Brunswick and Nova Scotia from CHUM. The second part relates to CHUM's
acquisition of various television undertakings in Ontario from BBS Ontario and
South West Ontario Television Inc. The third part deals with Baton's acquisition
of CHUM's interest in CTV, a transaction which will give Baton a controlling
interest in CTV.
These proposed transactions portend a significant reshaping and consolidation
of broadcasting operations locally, regionally and nationally in the face of an
increasingly competitive and dynamic television and communications marketplace.
At another level, these transactions, if approved, would represent a substantive
change to the English-language television landscape, structurally and
competitively. The Commission will wish to explore with the applicants the nature
and impact of their proposed transactions on the larger Canadian television
landscape. We will also wish to explore and understand the strategies of the
applicants that underlie these transactions, so that we may all gain a full
appreciation of their intended direction, impacts and opportunities for the
Canadian broadcasting system, including contribution to high quality Canadian
programming. To do this, we may appear to be overly demanding in our questioning,
but we wish to make sure that we have the information needed to make an informed
and balanced decision in the public interest.
It is my intention to complete our initial review of all of these applications
today. Tomorrow morning we will begin at 8:30 with the appearing interventions,
and conclude with the rebuttal of the applicants, probably by early afternoon.
I believe we are now ready to proceed. Madame Secretary, I would ask you to
remind participants of the procedures, and to introduce the first applicant.
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Contact: CRTC Public Affairs, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2
Tel.: (819) 997-5427, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
This document is available in alternative format upon request.
Date Modified: 1997-07-15 |
