Bell Media Asks CRTC To Waive News Commitments

BCE Inc.'s media arm is asking the federal telecommunications regulator to waive local news and Canadian programming requirements for its television stations, saying its obligations are based on outdated market realities, according to Canadian Press.

In an application to the CRTC filed June 14, Bell Media requested the regulator drop requirements for spending on local news and on the number of hours per week that stations are required to broadcast locally reflective news in major and smaller markets.

The application was filed the same day Bell announced it is cutting 1,300 positions, shutting or selling nine radio stations and closing two foreign bureaus amid plans to "significantly adapt" how it delivers the news in the face of rising financial pressure.

In its filing, Bell noted its 35 local television stations branded as CTV, CTV Two, and Noovo plus three discretionary television news services — CP24, CTV News Channel and BNN Bloomberg — are under financial strain.

It requested the elimination of a requirement for English-language television stations in metropolitan markets to broadcast at least 14 hours of local programming per week. In Quebec, Bell also asked the regulator to do away with its obligations to broadcast at least five hours of local programming per week at its Montreal station.

Among the other asks, Bell urged the CRTC to allow for its stations in major markets to no longer have to broadcast at least six hours of weekly locally reflective news. For its non-metropolitan stations, Bell wants to be able to broadcast less than three hours of locally reflective news each week.

It also asked the regulator to waive the requirement for the company to devote 11 per cent of the previous year's gross revenues to the acquisition of or investment in locally reflective news.

The filing noted Bell Media's average annual news operating loss totalled $28.4 million between 2016 and 2019, a figure which jumped to $40 million last year as web giants scooped up the Canadian advertising market.

Bell said the CRTC's implementation of the Online Streaming Act has the potential to provide relief to media companies through compensation from online streaming giants, but it cannot afford to wait for the outcome of the regulator's consultations on the legislation.