News release

December 7, 2001

OTTAWA-HULL — The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has approved the transfer of TQS from Quebecor Inc. to Cogeco and Bell Globemedia. The total value of the transaction is approximately $73.9 million. Under the terms of the transfer, Cogeco will own 60% and Bell Globemedia 40% of TQS.

Affected by the transfer are the TQS network licence, television stations in Montréal and Quebec City, as well as a transmitter in Rimouski. The transaction also affects TQS’ 20% ownership interest in Canal Indigo, a French language pay-per view channel.

As part of the transaction, TQS is also acquiring all the television assets currently owned by Cogeco and will obtain their television licences under the same terms and conditions. These stations include CFKM-TV and CKTM-TV Trois Rivières, CFKS-TV and CKSH-TV Sherbrooke, and CFRS-TV and CKTV-TV Jonquière. CFKM-TV, CJKS-TV and CFRS-TV are affiliated to TQS, while CKTM-TV, CKSH-TV and CKTV-TV are affiliated to Société Radio Canada (SRC).

For stations affiliated to SRC, Cogeco and SRC came to an agreement on local news and programming and will operate separate newsrooms for SRC and TQS as of September 1st, 2002. This will ensure the diversity of news and voices meeting local needs and requirements.

Consistent with the Commission regulatory policies, the tangible benefits derived from this transaction will equal 10% of the total value of the transaction, or $7.39 million. The Commission’s approval is conditional on the licensee applying to amend its licence so that 92% of the tangible benefits will be

directed to independent production and the rest to support the growth of the Quebec broadcasting industry in areas such as training and professional development. The applicant must also submit an annual report detailing how the tangible benefits were allocated.

The Commission will remove TQS’s current conditions of licence pertaining to the structure of their board of directors, the code of conduct and the monitoring committee. The condition had been imposed when Quebecor had obtained control of TQS. The Commission will, however, expect the licensees to continue to respect all other applicable conditions.

The Commission reiterated TQS ‘s commitments described in the network licence renewal decision of 27 October 2000 and expects TQS to continue to provide programming that enriches the multicultural reality of francophones and to work with the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to develop a plan of action to bolster cultural diversity in the broadcasting system.

The Commission is confident that the synergies created by this transaction will benefit the Canadian broadcasting system in general.

Reference document: Decision CRTC 2001-746

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Media Inquiries:
   Denis Carmel, Tel: (819) 997-9403, eMail: denis.carmel@crtc.gc.ca

General Inquiries:
   Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2
   Tel: (819) 997-0313, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
   Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), eMail: info@crtc.gc.ca
   TDD - Toll-free # 1-877-909-2782

Copies of today’s documents are available through our Internet site (http://www.crtc.gc.ca) or by contacting the public examination room of any CRTC office. These documents are available in alternative format upon request.

Date Modified: 2001-12-07

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