Quebecor walks the talk, pulls TVA Sports signal from Bell

Quebecor Inc. has stopped broadcasting its TVA Sports signal following the 7 p.m. deadline the company set in a tense stand-off with BCE Inc. Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau said earlier this week that he would pull the signal for TVA Sports from Bell’s TV service if the two companies don’t reach an agreement on carriage fees for the channel. The company said in a press release Wednesday evening it had no choice but to pull the signal. The company later said it would do so by Wednesday at 7 p.m. -- the exact time this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs begin. The move leaves out of luck Bell subscribers hoping to watch, in French, the Columbus Blue Jackets take on Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins play the New York Islanders. Bell said in a press release Wednesday the move could potentially affect “hundreds of thousands of Bell TV customers.” But just minutes after 7 p.m., Bell said on Twitter, in French, that it would offer those customers Rogers Communications Inc.'s Sportsnet channels temporarily at no extra charge to fill the void. https://twitter.com/Bell/status/1116118584810295296 Quebecor framed the issue by placing the blame on Bell, broadcasting messages on TVA and TVA Sports over the weekend stating that Bell would “punish” subscribers by suspending the TVA Sports signal over the coming days. But it was actually Quebecor who threatened to pull the signal if it didn’t get what it wanted in negotiations over the wholesale fee for TVA Sports. The two companies were still negotiating until the Friday before the messages were broadcast, company representatives confirmed. Bell then turned to the CRTC, which sided with Bell’s assertion that pulling the signal would be in violation of broadcast regulations, specifically the standstill rule, which states that during carriage disputes, the licensee has to continue to distribute the channel at the same rates and under the same terms and conditions as before the dispute. In a letter Monday, the CRTC said its “staff is of the view that the parties are engaged in such a dispute and therefore the standstill rule applies. Accordingly, Groupe TVA is required to provide the services and Bell is required to distribute these services, at the same rates and on the same terms and conditions as it did before the dispute, until the parties resolve their dispute or the Commission issues a decision concerning this unresolved matter.” But Quebecor continued to threaten to pull the signal, setting the 7 p.m. deadline the day after the CRTC letter was sent to both companies. In its press release, Bell said that on Wednesday morning it “filed a request with the CRTC to resolve the dispute by way of final offer arbitration.” The CRTC sent another letter Wednesday, reiterating that the standstill rule applies, and warning that “it is prepared to use the means at its disposal to enforce its regulations, including holding a hearing on an expedited basis to issue a mandatory order under section 12 of the Broadcasting Act.” The public nature of this dispute is unusual. “Unfortunately, it’s something that should have happened behind closed doors,” Karine Moses, president of Bell Media Quebec, said in a phone interview, accusing Quebecor of taking sports fans “hostage.” She said the negotiations should have remained private, instead of Quebecor taking them public. “This is something that is completely offside and not appropriate for a business negotiation.” Moses said the CRTC’s letter Wednesday is legally binding and the company is exploring all potential avenues for recourse, including legal options. When he was asked about the issue by reporters Wednesday, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said it wasn’t appropriate for politicians to intervene in the issue, and that it was a CRTC matter. He also said, according to a transcript in French, that he hoped the two sides could come to an agreement. — With reporting by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca and editing by Ahmad Hathout at ahathout@thewirereport.ca

Quebecor walks the talk, pulls TVA Sports signal from Bell

News | April 10, 2019

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Quebecor walks the talk, pulls TVA Sports signal from Bell

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