Quebecor accuses Bell of refusing to carry its channels

One week following the launch of Quebecor Media Inc.'s new TVA Sports channel, the company says it will thrive without the rights to Canadiens games or carriage agreements with rival BCE Inc. TVA Groupe Inc., owned by Quebecor, launched TVA Sports on Sept. 12. Pierre Dion, president and CEO of TVA, announced that the channel is proposing to broadcast 38 Ottawa Senators games over the next three seasons. But the station will not air any games where the Senators play the Montreal Canadiens because the rights are held by specialty channel RDS, owned by BCE's Bell Media. Last year, Senators' regular season games brought 133,000 viewers to RDS, La Presse reported last week, compared to an average 797,000 viewers for the Habs. Dion said in an interview with The Wire Report that the new channel is not seeking to compete directly with RDS. He said that “until TVA Sports becomes profitable, it will take a few years ... So we cannot try to really compete in sports on specialized channels with a penetration that is starting from almost zero.” Dion said TVA is focused on developing its product and that he expects ongoing adjustments. “But we’re very happy with the launch,” he said. So far, Dion said 25 broadcast distributors in the province of Quebec have signed on to carry TVA Sports. The channel has also been made a “free view” for subscribers of Vidéotron Ltée. (a Quebecor subsidiary) and Shaw Communications Inc. until the end of November, he added. “Two of those are major BDUs . It’s Vidéotron and Shaw Direct,” Dion said. “The other 23 are smaller BDUs across the province.” TVA says it is aiming for the new TVA Sports channel to reach a total of one million subscribers by next year. For now, TVA Sports is only being offered in the province of Quebec, but Dion said he hopes to see the channel offered across Canada. Due to a partnership with Rogers Sportsnet, TVA Sports is also growing its content. Dion said the Sportsnet partnership is about working together on program acquisition and production. “By joining forces and being able to offer coast-to-coast coverage with Sportsnet and TVA Sports, we think that for both channels, we are in a better situation,” he said. “We are able to offer a better distribution for those sports properties that want to join forces with us.” Rogers Communications Inc.'s Sportsnet announced that it had teamed up with TVA Sports in August when Rogers said that it would not pursue its French-language sports channel. Rogers said the French-language market would be well served with the launch of the new TVA Sports channel. In terms of production, Dion said Rogers and TVA might share equipment when covering a Toronto Blue Jays or Ottawa Senators game, minimizing costs for both parties and allowing a more personalized service for English and French-language viewers. “We’re able to use their cameras and they’re able to use ours,” Dion said. “So it becomes for both a complementary and better production. For the TV viewers in Quebec, it’s personalized in French, and for the English viewers, it’s personalized in English.” Dion said TVA Sports has been well received by viewers since it’s launch. But Bell TV and Cogeco Cable Inc. have not made TVA Sports part of their cable packages, he said. “In the case of Bell TV, they simply ignore us right now,” Dion said. “There’s no discussions with them because they completely ignore us.” Dion said he believes Bell is seeking to protect its RDS channel by limiting TVA Sports’ market entry. “You know Bell controls RDS, and RDS has been in a monopolistic situation in sports TV in Quebec since 1989,” he said. “I have come to the conclusion that Bell TV is really trying to protect its RDS monopoly by not letting TVA Sports enter the market with their subscribers.” Dion said TVA Sports is the fourth Quebecor channel that Bell has not carried. Bell does not carry Yoopa (a preschooler channel), Mlle (a women’s channel), or the Sun News Network, he said. “There is a clear message here that Bell doesn’t want to carry TVA’s channels,” Dion said. “People have to know that Bell is putting itself in an advantaged situation.” But Jacqueline Michelis, a spokeswoman for Bell, said the company remains hopeful that it will carry TVA Sports and that it continues to discuss the issue with Quebecor. “We are still in discussions and we are hoping for a successful outcome to our negotiations with Quebecor,” she wrote in an email. Dion said among the 25 broadcast distributors that carry TVA Sports, the channel has been placed in their best cable packages. Last Tuesday, TVA announced it was launching the new sports channel without the support of Bell and Cogeco because the distributors were asking too high a price to carry the channel. Dion said obtaining the rights to Montreal Canadiens games remains an important priority for TVA. “We’ll be there to definitely try to be able to offer some games to our clients, TVA viewers,” he said. “We see a day where we could have the Canadiens, the Quebec Nordiques and Ottawa Senators all on TVA Sports.” dgrenier@thewirereport.ca

Quebecor accuses Bell of refusing to carry its channels

News | 09/20/2011 1:14 am EDT

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