Canadian media company
Bell Media Inc.
Logo since 2011
|
|
Formerly
| |
---|
Company type
| Subsidiary
|
---|
Industry
| Mass media
|
---|
Founded
| - 1960
; 64 years ago
(
1960
)
(Telegram Corporation)
- 2001
; 23 years ago
(
2001
)
(Bell Globemedia Inc.)
- January 1, 2007
; 17 years ago
(
2007-01-01
)
(CTV globemedia)
- April 1, 2011
; 13 years ago
(
2011-04-01
)
(Bell Media Inc.)
|
---|
Headquarters
| 299 Queen Street West
,
,
Canada
|
---|
Area served
| Canada
|
---|
Key people
|
- Wade Oosterman (
president
)
- Stewart Johnston
(
SVP
, Sales and Sports)
- Karine Moses (SVP, Content Development and News)
- Nauby Jacob (SVP, Product Platforms)
|
---|
Number of employees
| 5,000+
|
---|
Parent
| BCE Inc.
|
---|
Divisions
| |
---|
Website
| www
.bellmedia
.ca
|
---|
Footnotes / references
[1]
[2]
|
Bell Media Inc.
(
French
:
Bell Media inc.
)
[1]
is a Canadian
media conglomerate
that is the
mass media
subsidiary of
BCE Inc.
(also known as Bell Canada Enterprises, the owner of telecommunications company
Bell Canada
). Its operations include national
television broadcasting
and production (including the
CTV
and
CTV 2
television networks),
radio broadcasting
(through
iHeartRadio Canada
),
digital media
(including
Crave
) and
Internet
properties (including the now-defunct
Sympatico
portal).
Bell Media is the successor-in-interest to
Baton Broadcasting
(later
CTV Inc.
), one of Canada's first private-sector television broadcasters. Although the company was founded in 1960 as
Telegram Corporation
, the current enterprise traces its origins to the establishment of
Bell Globemedia Inc.
in 2001 by BCE and the
Thomson family
, combining CTV Inc. (which BCE had acquired in 2000) and the operations of the Thomson family's newspaper,
The Globe and Mail
. BCE sold the majority of its interest in 2006 (after which the company was renamed
CTVglobemedia Inc.
in 2007), but in 2011, BCE acquired the entire company (excluding
The Globe and Mail
) and changed the name to Bell Media Inc.
Origins
[
edit
]
Baton Broadcasting
[
edit
]
"Baton Broadcasting" redirects here. For the defunct television system owned by Baton, see
Baton Broadcast System
.
For all practical purposes, Bell Media is the successor to
Baton Broadcasting Incorporated
(
BAY
-ton
), which by the late 1990s had become one of Canada's largest broadcasters.
Formed in 1960 as
Baton Aldred Rogers Broadcasting Ltd.
, the company was originally created to establish Toronto's first private television station,
CFTO-TV
. The name of this company derived from its initial investors, including the
Ba
ssett
and
Ea
ton
families (
Baton
), and Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting (owned by broadcaster Joel Aldred
[3]
and
Ted Rogers
);
Foster Hewitt
was also an initial investor, but in a much smaller role.
[4]
Aldred sold his shares in 1961, followed by Rogers by 1970, thereby relieving their names from the company title. With the Bassett and Eaton families firmly in control, the company went public in the early 1970s.
CFTO was one of the charter affiliates of CTV when that network formed in 1961, becoming the network's flagship. In 1966, Baton became a part-owner in the network when it was reorganized as a station-owned
cooperative
. The
Board of Broadcast Governors
was initially skeptical about the proposal to turn CTV into a cooperative. Since CFTO was by far the largest and richest station in the network, the BBG feared Baton would take advantage of this to dominate the network. However, it approved the deal after Baton and the other owners included a provision in the cooperative's bylaws stipulating that the eight station owners would each have a single vote regardless of audience share. Additionally, if one owner ever bought another station, the acquired station's shares would be redistributed among the remaining owners so that each owner would still have one vote out of eight.
In 1972, Baton began purchasing other CTV affiliates, starting with
CFQC-TV
in
Saskatoon
. This did not, however, give Baton a substantially higher investment in CTV, since its shares were redistributed among the other owners. As a result, Baton still had only one vote out of eight.
In 1987, Baton began a concerted effort to take over CTV. It started this drive with a further expansion into
Saskatchewan
, purchasing
CKCK-TV
in
Regina
,
Yorkton
twinstick
CKOS-TV
/
CICC-TV
, and CBC affiliate
CKBI-TV
Prince Albert
. A twinstick CTV affiliate was soon launched in Prince Albert,
CIPA-TV
.
In the late 1980s, Baton applied for a high-power station in
Ottawa
on channel 60. The licence was approved by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC), appealed to
federal cabinet
by rival broadcasters, and ultimately sent back to the CRTC for review.
[5]
However the license was surrendered when Baton was instead able to acquire the local CTV affiliate,
CJOH-TV
, from
Allan Slaight
's
Standard Broadcasting
.
In 1990, Baton purchased the
MCTV
system of
twinstick
operations in
Pembroke
,
North Bay
,
Sudbury
,
Timmins
, and the
Huron Broadcasting
twinstick in
Sault Ste. Marie
. In 1993, Baton purchased
CFPL-TV
in
London
,
CKNX-TV
in
Wingham
and received a license for a new independent station,
CHWI-TV
, in
Windsor
.
In 1991, the company launched Ontario Network Television, a secondary affiliation carried by Baton's CTV and
independent stations
in Ontario. This was expanded in 1994 into the
Baton Broadcast System
(BBS), which included Baton's Saskatchewan stations. BBS was meant as a backup in case Baton's ongoing acquisitions did not translate into control of CTV itself. A year earlier, CTV had been recently restructured into a corporation, with each owner holding a 14.3% stake in the network. However, any
future
acquisitions by Baton would come with all of that affiliate's CTV shares. It was around this time that former CBC executive
Ivan Fecan
joined the company.
Baton-Electrohome alliance (1996?2000)
[
edit
]
In 1996, the CRTC approved two major deals involving Baton. First was the acquisition of
CFCN-TV
in
Calgary
from
Rogers Communications
, which had recently purchased
Maclean Hunter
. Second, Baton and
Electrohome
?owner of
CKCO-TV
in
Kitchener
and
CFRN-TV
in
Edmonton
?formed an alliance, under which the companies would share ownership of CFCN; Baton's stations in Saskatchewan and its independent stations in southwestern Ontario; and Electrohome's CKCO. The deals doubled Baton's own interest in CTV to 28.6%. However, as part of the deal, Baton took control of Electrohome's CTV vote, allowing it to command 42.9% of CTV's shares.
[6]
In January 1997, Baton-Electrohome's "Vancouver Television" proposal emerged as the CRTC's choice for the new independent station in
Vancouver
, beating out four other competitors. The new station,
CIVT-TV
, would compete directly with
Western International Communications
's two CTV affiliates in the market when it was launched that fall.
[7]
On February 25, 1997, the Baton-Electrohome alliance and
CHUM Limited
announced that several stations would be swapped between them. Baton-Electrohome would acquire CHUM's
Atlantic Television System
(ATV), consisting of four CTV affiliates in the
Maritimes
, the
Atlantic Satellite Network
(ASN), and a further 14.3% in CTV. CHUM would receive Baton's independent stations in southwestern Ontario, as well as
CHRO-TV
in Pembroke, which had recently disaffiliated from CTV. The Baton-Electrohome alliance now held 57.2% of CTV.
Shortly thereafter, Electrohome announced it would sell its broadcasting assets?including CFRN, its interest in the alliance, and its CTV shares?to Baton in exchange for cash and shares in Baton. These two deals were approved by the CRTC in August.
[8]
Baton now held controlling interest in CTV, triggering a
put option
that allowed the other owners to sell their stakes in the network while still keeping their stations. Accordingly, Baton acquired the remaining CTV shares from WIC and
Moffat Communications
(Newfoundland Broadcasting, owner of
CJON-TV
, had effectively relinquished its vote when CTV became a corporation) that fall.
The BBS television system was merged into CTV, with the company itself being renamed
CTV Inc
. the following year. The
Eatons
' remaining shares, representing 41% of Baton (estimated at
CA$
450 million),
[9]
were sold off to the general public in early 1998. By the end of 2001, nearly all CTV stations were consolidated under network ownership (including one replacement).
NetStar Communications (1999?2000)
[
edit
]
NetStar Communications Inc.
(previously
Labatt Communications Inc.
, and currently
CTV Specialty Television Inc.
) was formed by
Labatt Brewing Company
to hold that firm's broadcasting assets, which included
TSN
,
RDS
,
Viewers Choice
, and
Discovery Channel
. In 1995, when the parent company was sold to the foreign brewing conglomerate
Interbrew
, a consortium of four Canadian investors?
Stephen Bronfman
(22.5%),
the Caisse
(22.5%),
Reitmans
(16.5%), and senior management (6.5%)?along with
ESPN
(32%), took over the company.
[10]
After a takeover attempt by
CanWest Global
that was vetoed by ESPN, CTV announced a friendly bid to take over NetStar Communications in early 1999, with CRTC approval on March 24, 2000. After acquiring Netstar, the CRTC required CTV to divest itself of either Netstar's TSN or their own
Sportsnet
; they chose to sell the latter to
Rogers
.
[11]
Bell Globemedia (2000?06)
[
edit
]
At the beginning of the 2000s,
Bell Canada Enterprises
(BCE)
acquired
CTV Inc.
(including the
NetStar
assets) and bought
The Globe and Mail
, folding the two into a new media venture,
Bell Globemedia Inc
(
BGM
).
[12]
[13]
[14]
This venture was masterminded by former
Bell Canada
chief executive
Jean Monty
, largely as a response to
Canwest
's purchase of the
Southam
newspaper chain as well as the trend of
media convergence
, particularly the
AOL-Time Warner
merger. Monty believed that to survive in a changing technological landscape, and in particular to drive subscriptions to
satellite television
provider
Bell ExpressVu
and
internet service provider
Bell Sympatico
, BCE had to have control over content.
The transaction was structured as follows. In 2000, BCE acquired CTV Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at
CA$
2.3 billion.
[15]
Soon after, Monty arranged to have
Thomson Corporation
transfer control of
The Globe and Mail
, the
Toronto
-based national newspaper, to BCE in exchange for a significant interest (20%) in the merged CTV/
Globe
entity. The Thomson family's
holding company
(
The Woodbridge Company Limited
) invested in the company directly to obtain an additional 9.9% interest, and it later bought Thomson Corporation's interest.
The resulting company (Bell Globemedia) consisted of CTV,
The Globe and Mail
, and the
Internet
portal then known as
Sympatico
-
Lycos
(Lycos was later replaced by
MSN
). Fecan was named the combined firm's president and CEO (a role he remained in for the duration of the BGM/CTVglobemedia era). After Monty resigned and was replaced by
Michael Sabia
in 2002, it became clear that Monty's vision was not producing anything near the desired results, notwithstanding the good results for the individual units, particularly the CTV network.
The following years provided a few cosmetic changes in BGM's assets. In 2001, CTV acquired
CKY-TV
in
Winnipeg
and
CFCF-TV
in Montreal, and moved the CTV affiliation in British Columbia to CIVT, replacing two affiliates that had been purchased by Canwest. That fall also brought the launch of the first digital
specialty channels
, including several owned by CTV.
The company acquired partial ownership in TQS in 2002, the Sympatico portal was sold back to Bell Canada, while a further investment from the Thomsons (whose ownership increased to 31.5%) funded the acquisition of 15% of
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
. However, beginning in 2003, BCE management began to refer to BGM as a non-core asset; as a result, much attention was given to the likely sale of the company, and potentially a breakup into several different pieces.
On December 2, 2005,
Bell Canada Enterprises
(BCE) announced that it would sell an 8.5% interest to
The Woodbridge Company Limited
(increasing their total ownership to 40%), a 20% interest to
Torstar
, and a 20% interest to the
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
.
[16]
BCE retained 20% of the group?a condition that ensured that
Bell Satellite TV
,
Sympatico
, and other Bell units continued to have access to Bell Globemedia (BGM) content. The transaction closed on August 30, 2006.
[17]
This deal put to rest any rumors about a possible breakup of the company. However, Torstar's involvement led to additional
media concentration
concerns, mainly from media
unions
. Torstar insisted it was committed to maintaining the
editorial independence
of the
Globe
and its own
Toronto Star
, and ultimately there were no major regulatory hurdles due to this.
Wikinews has related news:
On July 12, 2006, BGM announced a friendly bid to take over
CHUM Limited
for an estimated $1.7 billion. The acquisition would bring the secondary broadcast system (
Citytv
), other stations including
CablePulse24
,
MuchMusic
,
Star!
,
Bravo!
, and
Space
, and all of CHUM's radio stations, into the BGM fold. BGM originally announced that CHUM's
A-Channel
stations,
Access
,
CKX-TV
,
MusiquePlus
,
MusiMax
,
Canadian Learning Television
,
Cooking Channel
and BGM's own
OLN
would not be retained.
On September 7, 2006, in order to pay for the CHUM acquisition, BGM sold additional shares to its existing shareholders. BCE did not participate in the refinancing; the net effect was an increase in Teachers' ownership to 25%, while BCE's interest was reduced to 15%.
[18]
CTVglobemedia (2007?11)
[
edit
]
As a result of BCE's reduced ownership in the company,
Bell Globemedia
was renamed
CTVglobemedia Inc.
on January 1, 2007.
[12]
In April of that year,
Rogers Communications
announced a tentative deal to purchase
A-Channel
,
CKX-TV
,
Access Alberta
,
Canadian Learning Television
, and
Cooking Channel
from CTVglobemedia, if its purchase of CHUM was approved.
Astral Media
made a similar deal for CHUM's 50% interest in
MusiMax
and
MusiquePlus
.
That June, the CRTC approved the CHUM takeover, on condition that CTV sell off the Citytv stations, because of the CTV network's
owned-and-operated station
stations serving the very same cities. CTV ultimately chose to keep the A-Channel stations along with the rest of CHUM Ltd. assets it had previously said it would sell, except for MusiquePlus/MusiMax.
Rogers Communications
was announced as the buyer of the Citytv stations on June 11, 2007, and the CHUM acquisition was finalized on June 22.
Subsequently, CTVglobemedia, Inc. sold off its interests in various non-core channels. Rogers purchased several of these assets, including CTV's 33% interest in OLN in late 2007, as well as radio stations
CHST-FM
in
London, Ontario
and
CHBN-FM
in
Edmonton
,
Alberta
in 2010.
[19]
[20]
Corus Entertainment
would acquire
Canadian Learning Television
,
Cooking Channel
, and
Drive-In Classics
for a combined $113 million. TQS entered bankruptcy protection and was ultimately acquired by
Remstar
(which renamed the network "V"). Meanwhile,
Glassbox Television
acquired
Travel + Escape
in late 2010. In two cases, the operations were closed down, specifically CBC affiliate
CKX-TV
in
Brandon, Manitoba
(which left the air in October 2009 after a deal to sell that station to Bluepoint Investment Corporation fell through) and the A station in Wingham,
CKNX-TV
(which left the air one month prior to CKX and is now a rebroadcaster of the A station in London,
CFPL-TV
).
CTVglobemedia acquired Toronto station
CFXJ-FM
from
Milestone Radio
in 2010.
[21]
[22]
On September 10, 2010, BCE announced plans to re-acquire 100% of the company's broadcasting arm, including CTV Inc. Under the deal,
Woodbridge
,
Torstar
, and Teachers' would together receive $1.3 billion in either cash or equity in BCE, while BCE would also assume $1.7 billion in debt (BCE's existing equity interest was $200 million, for a total transaction value of $3.2 billion). Woodbridge would also regain majority control of The Globe and Mail Inc., with BCE retaining a 15% interest. The overall deal was expected to close by April 2011.
[23]
However, the sale of
The
Globe
, which did not require CRTC approval, was completed in late December 2010.
[24]
The deal was approved by the CRTC on March 7, 2011,
[25]
[26]
and the company was officially closed on April 1, 2011. It was renamed as
Bell Media Inc
.
[27]
Post-2011 developments
[
edit
]
Expansion (2011?13)
[
edit
]
On December 9, 2011, the
Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan
announced the sale of its majority stake in
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment
to BCE and its rival,
Rogers Communications
, in a deal valued at around
$
1.32 billion. Additionally,
Larry Tanenbaum
increased his stake in the company to 25%.
[28]
The deal closed in August 2012.
[29]
On March 16, 2012, BCE announced that it had entered in an agreement to
acquire
Montreal
-based broadcaster
Astral Media
for an estimated value of $3.38 billion; the assets of which were to be incorporated into Bell Media. The acquisition was primarily centered on Astral's premium services (such as
The Movie Network
and its stake in
HBO Canada
) and its French-language radio and television stations. Bell planned to use Astral's premium offerings to enhance its own multi-platform services to compete against the likes of services such as
Netflix
, and its French media outlets to better compete against the dominant
Quebecor Media
.
[30]
The merger was notably opposed by a coalition of competing cable providers (which included
Cogeco
,
EastLink
, and
Videotron
?the last of which is also owned by Quebecor Media, who felt that Bell's control of a majority of Canadian media would harm consumer choice, and lead to increased carriage fees which could cripple smaller cable companies.
[31]
BCE's first proposal was denied by the CRTC in October 2012; the commission believed that the combined company would have had too much market power. Soon afterward, Bell and Astral began to negotiate a second proposal that would involve selling most of Astral's English-language television channels in order to quell fears by the CRTC.
[32]
[33]
[34]
On March 18, 2013, the Competition Bureau cleared the revised proposal.
[35]
Unlike the previous deal, which would have given Bell a 42% share of the English-language television market, the new deal would only give Bell a total market share of 35.7%, but still increase its French-language market share to 23% (in comparison to 8% before).
[36]
Following hearings by the CRTC in May 2013,
[37]
the CRTC approved Bell's acquisition of Astral Media on June 27, 2013. The deal is subject to conditions, including the requirement to provide fair treatment to its competitors, to not impose "restrictive bundling practices" on Astral's premium movie channels, invest $246.9 million over the next seven years on Canadian-produced programming, and to maintain the operation and local programming levels of all of its television stations through 2017. The CRTC also approved Bell's proposed exemptions for maintaining ownership of Montreal's
CKGM
.
[38]
[39]
Bell put
Family
,
Disney XD
, the two
Disney Junior
services,
MusiMax
,
MusiquePlus
, and five radio stations up for sale, while
Corus Entertainment
acquired
Historia
,
Series+
, and
Teletoon
from Astral and competitor
Shaw Media
.
On June 6, 2013, Bell announced that Bravo would be its first network to implement a
TV Everywhere
service, which would allow subscribers to Bravo on participating television service providers to stream video on demand content and the Bravo channel live via the Bravo Go
app
. Apps for some of its other networks were also released over the following months.
[40]
Layoffs, new partnerships (2014?17)
[
edit
]
In December 2014, Bell Media launched
CraveTV
, a subscription video on-demand service.
[41]
Initially, the service was available only through television providers; Bell Media president Kevin Crull argued that Bell did not want the service to cannibalize its linear television business, because its content "[would not] exist if you didn't have the traditional TV system. So you really can't sustainably have one without the other."
[42]
On April 9, 2015, Crull stepped down as president of Bell Media, and was replaced by
Mary Ann Turcke
, the subsidiary's former head of media sales. The move came following allegations reported by
The Globe and Mail
that, after the CRTC's March 2015 decision to mandate that pay television providers offer
a la carte
packages, Crull ordered all Bell-owned news properties, including
CTV News
, not to air any remarks by CRTC chairman
Jean-Pierre Blais
during reports regarding the decision. Although the CTV News Channel program
Power Play
and a report aired on the local evening newscasts complied with Crull's order, the
CTV National News
that night defied Crull's demand by airing a story on the changes that included remarks by Blais. CTV News president Wendy Freeman, Ottawa bureau chief
Robert Fife
, and the program's anchor
Lisa LaFlamme
felt that the inclusion of remarks by Blais was necessary due to the nature of the story. In response to the dismissal, BCE CEO
George A. Cope
explained that the journalistic independence of its news operations was "paramount importance to our company and to all Canadians".
[43]
[44]
Shortly after taking the position, Turcke was criticized for remarks that considered the use of
virtual private network
services to evade
geo-blocking
and access the U.S. version of subscription video on demand service
Netflix
to be "stealing".
[45]
[46]
[47]
In late August 2015, Bell Media began a series of layoffs, which included directors and vice presidents. On November 6, 2015, additional layoffs of 380 jobs from production, editorial, sales, and administrative roles in Toronto and Montreal were revealed.
[48]
On November 17, 2015, further cuts were made, which included high-profile on-air talent from radio and television properties in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.
[49]
On November 20, 2015, Corus announced that it would wind down the operation of
Movie Central
, a premium television service that had been granted exclusivity in Western Canada, and cede its regional monopoly to Bell Media's
The Movie Network
, which was similarly restricted to Eastern Canada, allowing it to become available nationwide in 2016. Bell Media subsequently announced that it had acquired exclusive Canadian rights to all current
HBO
programming in Canada (rights previously shared with Corus due to its joint venture
HBO Canada
).
[50]
On January 6, 2016,
iHeartMedia
announced that it had partnered with Bell Media to launch a localized version of its online radio service
iHeartRadio Canada
.
[51]
On January 14, 2016, CraveTV became available as a standalone service without requiring an existing television subscription.
[52]
On May 4, 2016, Bell acquired rights to the programming and branding of Canadian specialty channel
Gusto TV
. The channel was shut down, and re-launched on September 1, 2016, replacing
M3
under its existing
Category A license
.
[53]
[54]
[55]
On January 31, 2017, Bell Media announced that it planned to perform another round of layoffs in 24 locations, citing various developments across Canada's broadcasting industry, as well as the impact of recent regulatory decisions (such as one that prevents the federal
simsub
rules from being used on the
Super Bowl
, whose Canadian broadcast rights are currently owned by Bell Media).
[56]
Randy Lennox era (2017?20)
[
edit
]
On February 27, 2017, Turcke left Bell to join the
National Football League
as president of NFL Media. She was succeeded as president by
Randy Lennox
.
[57]
That month, Bell also announced that it had partnered with record executive
Scott Borchetta
to develop a new, international
television format
that would "uncover, develop, and promote pop culture's next musical superstars", and "leverage Bell Media's massive reach and extensive platforms to showcase musicians on the national and international stage."
[58]
CTV officially announced the new series,
The Launch
, in April 2017.
[59]
On June 7, 2017,
Wow Unlimited Media
announced that it would acquire a specialty channel from the company (later revealed to be
Comedy Gold
; however, the sale would later be aborted, leading to the channel's shutdown in 2019)
[60]
to form a new network targeting children and young adults, and provide
children's television
content for Bell's over-the-top ventures. As part of the purchase, BCE will take 3.4 million common voting shares in the company.
[61]
On August 9, 2017, Bell announced that it would acquire
Larche Communications
' four Ontario radio stations, pending CRTC approval.
[62]
On October 17, 2017, Bell Media announced its intent to acquire
Historia
and
Series+
?two French-language networks whose Astral-owned stakes were divested during its acquisition by Bell?from Corus Entertainment for $200 million.
[63]
On May 28, 2018, both transactions were blocked by the
Competition Bureau
, citing a condition on the Bell/Astral deal which forbade Bell from re-acquiring properties divested in the sale for 10 years after its completion.
[64]
On January 23, 2018, Bell Media announced that it had reached licensing agreements with
Starz Inc.
and
Lionsgate
, and that
TMN Encore
would be rebranded under the
Starz
brand in 2019, featuring its programming.
[65]
[66]
The following month, Bell launched SnackableTV, a streaming video
app
with short-form content from Bell Media properties and other sources.
[67]
In April 2018, Bell Media acquired a controlling stake in the
Pinewood Toronto Studios
complex.
[68]
In May 2018, Bell Media announced that it, along with several other parties, would contribute French-language content to
Radio-Canada
's subscription streaming service
Ici Tou.tv Extra
.
[69]
In May 2018, Bell Media laid off 17 employees, resulting in the cancellation of Discovery's
Daily Planet
and Space's
Innerspace
.
[70]
On June 7, 2018, during the CTV upfronts, it was announced that four Bell Media specialty channels would re-brand in September 2019, with Bravo, Comedy Network, Gusto, and Space respectively becoming CTV Drama Channel, CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Life Channel, and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. Two new ad-supported video-on-demand platforms were also announced: CTV Movies and CTV Vault (renamed CTV Throwback on launch). These rebrandings and launches will be incorporated into a larger, unified digital platform containing content from all six services.
[71]
[72]
[73]
Later that day, it was also announced that Bell Media was one of two Canadian companies that had acquired a stake in the Montreal-based comedy festival
Just for Laughs
.
[74]
On August 16, 2018,
Vice Media
announced a long-term output deal with Bell Media, which would see its networks and properties hold rights to
Viceland
programming in Canada.
[75]
On July 24, 2019, Bell announced its intent to acquire the French-language broadcast television network
V
from
V Media Group
pending CRTC approval, as well as its streaming outlet Noovo. CTVglobemedia previously owned a 40% stake in the network prior to its sale to
Remstar
.
[76]
On April 3, 2020, the sale was approved; as a condition of the purchase, the CRTC stated that all five V stations must air five hours of local programming per-week through the 2020-2021 broadcast year, and expanding to eight-and-a-half hours per-week in Montreal and Quebec City by 2021?2022. At least half of all local programming must be locally-reflective.
[77]
The sale was closed on May 15, 2020.
[78]
V would later be renamed to Noovo on August 31, 2020.
[79]
Wade Oosterman era (2021?present)
[
edit
]
On October 19, 2020, BCE announced that Lennox would be leaving the organization on January 4, 2021, and that Bell group president Wade Oosterman, to whom Lennox had reported, would take over operational leadership of Bell Media directly, while maintaining oversight of Bell's wireless, residential, and small-business telecom operations.
[80]
BCE subsequently clarified that Oosterman had taken the title of president of Bell Media while remaining vice-chair of BCE and Bell Canada.
[81]
Immediately following Lennox's departure, Oosterman announced a new, simplified executive structure. As a result, several senior executives of Bell Media, some having served with the company's predecessors since the late 1990s, left the company; two of the three senior vice presidents reporting to Oosterman under the new structure also have roles overseeing parts of Bell's telecom business.
[82]
[83]
Several other lower-level managers were laid off about two weeks later.
[84]
This in turn was followed in early February by the elimination of hundreds of rank-and-file positions, including at least 210 in the company's Toronto offices alone, the removal of dedicated newsrooms for news-talk radio stations
CJAD
Montreal and
CFRB
Toronto, and the reformatting of three
TSN Radio
outlets as automated business news or comedy stations with little locally produced content.
[85]
[86]
[87]
In a memo announcing the end of the restructuring, Oosterman described the moves as necessary to "reflect the reality of sweeping change facing [Bell Media]" including impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic
, changing media consumption patterns and "aggressive" competition from global players.
[87]
They were also widely seen as indicating a corporate shift in focus away from traditional media outlets and towards Bell's streaming services like Crave and iHeartRadio.
[82]
[83]
However, observers including
Unifor
, the main
labour union
representing Bell employees, questioned the need for the layoffs, given that parent company BCE had accepted $122 million in assistance through the
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
in 2020, while being able to increase its
dividend
payments to shareholders.
[88]
In June 2023, BCE announced that it was cutting 1,300 positions across its telecom and media operations (around three per cent of its workforce, and of which approximately 30% were unfilled vacancies), including six per cent of positions at Bell Media (which had 5,645 employees at the end of 2022).
[89]
[90]
The company also announced it would be closing or selling nine AM radio stations, some of which had changed to automated formats during previous rounds of cuts:
CFRW
,
CKMX
,
CFRN
,
CKST
,
CFTE
, and
CJBK
all closed immediately, while
CKWW
,
CKOC
, and
CHAM
were slated for sale to one or more third-party buyers to be named later.
[89]
BCE blamed a number of industry changes and increasing losses in its news divisions for the cuts, while questioning the regulatory priorities of the federal government and the CRTC; one BCE executive mentioned having waited for reforms on some items for years, while also citing “relentless regulatory intervention” by the CRTC to cut wireless and Internet service pricing.
[89]
This rationale was questioned by union officials and other experts who felt Bell should have better prepared for industry changes, or could have waited for the full implementation of the
Online Streaming Act
(Bill C-11) and the
Online News Act
(Bill C-18).
[89]
In June 2023,
The Globe and Mail
reported that after the controversial dismissal of long-time
CTV National News
anchor
Lisa LaFlamme
in 2022, Oosterman was recorded urging news managers from its CTV, BNN, CP24 properties to get their journalists to "help" by providing favourable coverage when reporting on Bell as long as it did not "distort reality". Oosterman also criticized CTV for not forcing conflict between opposing viewpoints to get more viewers. Oosterman's remarks seemingly violated the company's 2015 journalistic independence policy.
[91]
On August 16, 2023,
Vrak
and
Z
were removed from
Videotron
. As a consequence, Vrak closed down on October 1, 2023.
[92]
[93]
On October 3, 2023, BCE announced that Oosterman would be retiring from the conglomerate by early January 2024, and would be replaced as president of Bell Media by Sean Cohan, a former executive for the American media companies
A&E Networks
and
Nielsen
.
[94]
On October 23, 2023, Bell Media acquired Outfront Media's Canadian business for $410 million.
[95]
On February 8, 2024, BCE announced that it would cut 4,800 positions (10% of which coming from Bell Media), citing declining revenues, and new CRTC requirements mandating that the company offer wholesale access to its fibreoptic telecom networks to competitors. Due to the restructuring, Bell Media announced that it would cut most noon and weekend newscasts across all CTV stations, cut programming at CTV News Channel and BNN Bloomberg, and sell 45 of its 103 radio stations to Arsenal Media,
Durham Radio
,
Maritime Broadcasting System
,
My Broadcasting Corporation
,
Vista Radio
,
Whiteoaks Communications
, and
ZoomerMedia
.
[96]
[97]
[98]
Bell executive Robert Malcolmson told the
Canadian Press
that radio was "not a viable business anymore".
[99]
MTV2
was closed on March 29, 2024. This left the
main MTV network
to be the last remaining licensed
Paramount Global
channel under Bell Media.
On June 10, 2024,
Rogers Sports & Media
announced that it had acquired the rights to all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s factual and lifestyle brands starting in January 2025. This will mark the end of Bell Media and CTV's long-running relationship with Discovery and its sibling networks.
[100]
Operations
[
edit
]
Bell Media's largest division is
CTV Inc.
, which owns the following broadcast television assets:
- CTV
, Canada's oldest, largest, and most-watched private
broadcast television network
, including 22
owned-and-operated stations
, two affiliates, and one news-only affiliate.
- CTV 2
, a secondary television system that presently consists of four
terrestrial
television stations in
Ontario
and three in
British Columbia
, as well as two cable/satellite-only channels: one in
Alberta
; and the other in
Atlantic Canada
.
- Noovo
, a private broadcast television network in Quebec, including five owned-and-operated stations.
Bell Media also owns 29
specialty
television channels, frequently in partnership with U.S. companies which operate similar channels, and primarily concentrated in the following genres:
Genre
|
Key channels
[101]
|
American partner
|
Sports
|
TSN
(
TSN2
)
RDS
(
RDS2
,
RDS Info
), and others
|
ESPN
(part-owner/licensor)
|
Music and comedy
|
CTV Comedy Channel
,
Much
, and
MTV
|
Paramount Global
(licensor – MTV channels only),
Comedy Central
,
truTV
,
TBS
(program suppliers for both Much and CTV Comedy Channel only)
|
Factual and science fiction
|
Discovery
(
Discovery Science
,
Discovery Velocity
, and other various spinoff channels),
Animal Planet
,
Investigation Discovery
|
Warner Bros. Discovery
(part-owner/licensor)
|
News (
CTV News
)
|
BNN Bloomberg
,
CP24
, and
CTV News Channel
|
Bloomberg L.P.
(licensor – BNN Bloomberg only)
1
,
ABC News
,
CNN
(program suppliers)
|
Speculative fiction/technology
|
CTV Sci-Fi Channel
and
Z
|
Syfy
(program supplier)
|
Entertainment
|
CTV Drama Channel
and
E!
|
NBCUniversal
(licensor – E! only),
TNT
,
USA Network
(program suppliers for CTV Drama Channel)
|
Pay-per-view
|
Vu!
and
Venus
|
n/a
|
Premium
|
HBO Canada
,
Crave
,
Starz
,
Super Ecran
, and
Cinepop
|
HBO
,
Max
,
Showtime
,
Starz
and Paramount Global (program suppliers)
|
Other
|
Canal D
,
CTV Life Channel
, and
Canal Vie
|
n/a
|
Radio
|
iHeartRadio Canada
|
iHeartMedia
(licensor),
Premiere Networks
(supplier of American programming for Orbyt Media)
|
1
Until the rebranding of Business News Network as BNN Bloomberg as part of a licensing and content agreement with
Bloomberg L.P.
on April 30, 2018, no foreign co-owners or brand partners were involved with these channels. However, like most news organizations, CTV does rely on foreign news sources, such as
ABC News
and
CNN
, for some international coverage.
Through its
Bell Media Radio
division, the company is also Canada's largest private-sector radio broadcaster and operates a localized version of
iHeartMedia
's
iHeartRadio
platform in Canada, even owning the radio syndication company Orbyt Media, which supplies its American programming from iHeartMedia's
Premiere Networks
division.
In addition, Bell Media also owns television & radio production studios and
websites
associated with all of the above properties, as well as the TheLoop.ca (formerly Sympatico.ca) Internet portal previously operated through
Bell Canada
.
Bell Media has five locations:
Corporate logos
[
edit
]
-
CTVglobemedia
(January 1, 2007?March 31, 2011)
-
Bell Media
(April 1, 2011?present)
-
French logo
(April 1, 2011-present)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Federal Corporation Information"
.
Corporations Canada
. Retrieved
May 28,
2020
.
- ^
"Bell Media President Kevin Crull ? Canada's Media System and Vertical Integration"
.
Canadian Business Journal
. September 17, 2014
. Retrieved
March 8,
2015
.
- ^
Joel Walkden Aldred
- ^
Michael Nolan (2001).
CTV, the Network that Means Business
. University of Alberta. p.
20
.
ISBN
978-0-88864-384-1
.
- ^
Order Referring back to the CRTC a Decision Respecting Nation's Capital Television Incorporated
Archived
2011-07-06 at the
Wayback Machine
, 28 April 1987
- ^
Decision CRTC 96-251
, June 21, 1996
- ^
Decision CRTC 97-39
, January 31, 1997
- ^
Decision CRTC 97-527
, August 28, 1997
- ^
Anderson, Peter S. 2011 November 28. "
Baton Broadcasting Incorporated
."
The Canadian Encyclopedia
(last edited 2015 July 17).
- ^
Broadcast Dialogue newsletter, January 21, 1999
Archived
March 4, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Rogers Media | History of Canadian Broadcasting"
.
broadcasting-history.ca
. Retrieved
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.
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a
b
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.
www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca
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2024
.
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"BCE-CTV deal remakes media landscape"
.
The Globe and Mail
. September 10, 2010
. Retrieved
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.
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"BCE's takeover of CTV approved"
.
CBC
. March 7, 2011
. Retrieved
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.
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, CBC.ca, February 25, 2000 (modified November 11, 2000); accessed August 9, 2006
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.
broadcasting-history.ca
. Retrieved
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.
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"
BGM Ownership Deal Closes
Archived
December 2, 2007, at the
Wayback Machine
", BGM press release, August 30, 2006
- ^
Bell Globemedia Completes Financing to Pay for CHUM Limited Shares
Archived
2007-09-30 at the
Wayback Machine
, BGM press release, September 7, 2006
- ^
Canada's Rogers Radio acquires Edmonton top 40 station 91.7 The Bounce
Archived
2010-06-27 at the
Wayback Machine
? Retrieved 2010-06-22
- ^
Canada's Rogers Radio acquires 102.3 Bob FM in London, Ontario
Archived
2011-08-04 at the
Wayback Machine
? Retrieved 2010-06-22
- ^
Toronto's rhythmic station Flow 93.5 is sold to CTVglobemedia, Inc.
Archived
2010-06-30 at the
Wayback Machine
? Retrieved 2010-06-24
- ^
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"ARCHIVED ? Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-964"
. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
. Retrieved
March 21,
2016
.
- ^
Bell Canada (September 10, 2010).
"Bell to acquire 100% of Canada's No.1 media company CTV"
. CNW Group
. Retrieved
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2010
.
- ^
"Torstar completes first stage of CTVglobemedia sale"
.
Toronto Star
. January 4, 2011
. Retrieved
January 9,
2011
.
- ^
CRTC approves BCE's purchase of CTVglobemedia
Archived
2015-03-05 at the
Wayback Machine
,
CRTC
, March 7, 2011
- ^
Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2011-163
, Change in effective control of CTVglobemedia Inc.'s licensed broadcasting subsidiaries,
CRTC
, March 7, 2011
- ^
CRTC approves BCE's purchase of CTVglobemedia, Inc.
Archived
June 29, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Hamilton, Kevin (December 9, 2011).
"Rogers and Bell buy MLSE (and now own every Canadian sports team, stadium and channel ever)"
.
Toronto Life
. Retrieved
October 23,
2019
.
- ^
"Rogers, Bell finalize MLSE purchase | The Star"
.
thestar.com
. August 22, 2012
. Retrieved
October 23,
2019
.
- ^
Sturgeon, Jamie.
"Bell snaps up Astral Media for $3.38-billion"
. Financial Post
. Retrieved
April 29,
2012
.
- ^
Johnson, Julia.
"Cable company opposition to Bell's Astral purchase heats up"
. Financial Post
. Retrieved
September 19,
2012
.
- ^
"Astral confirms talks with BCE to resurrect takeover deal"
. Toronto: The Globe and Mail. November 16, 2012
. Retrieved
November 17,
2012
.
- ^
"Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2012-574"
. CRTC. October 18, 2012
. Retrieved
October 18,
2012
.
- ^
"CRTC kills BCE-Astral merger deal"
. Toronto: The Globe and Mail. October 18, 2012
. Retrieved
October 18,
2012
.
- ^
"Competition Bureau clears Corus acquisition of Astral assets"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Toronto: Canadian Press. March 18, 2013
. Retrieved
March 20,
2013
.
- ^
"Competition Bureau OK's BCE-Astral deal, with conditions"
. CBC News
. Retrieved
March 5,
2013
.
- ^
"Bell resistant to CRTC's TSN 690 proposal"
. Montreal Gazette. Archived from
the original
on May 8, 2013
. Retrieved
May 8,
2013
.
- ^
"CRTC approves Bell/Astral deal with conditions"
.
Toronto Star
. June 27, 2013
. Retrieved
July 5,
2013
.
- ^
"CRTC approves Bell-Astral merger"
.
CBC
. Retrieved
July 5,
2013
.
- ^
"Bell Media to give subscribers full online access to Bravo"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Toronto. June 6, 2013
. Retrieved
June 6,
2013
.
- ^
"Bell Media's Cravetv launches with low-cost subscription"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
March 14,
2018
.
- ^
"CraveTV 'not cannibalizing' resources away from traditional TV, says Bell Media president"
.
Financial Post
. Retrieved
December 12,
2014
.
- ^
"Bell media head Kevin Crull departs over journalistic meddling"
.
The Globe and Mail
. April 9, 2015
. Retrieved
April 9,
2015
.
- ^
Bradshaw, James (March 25, 2015).
"Bell head meddled in news coverage"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
April 9,
2015
.
- ^
"Accessing U.S. Netflix is 'stealing,' new Bell Media president says"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
July 11,
2015
.
- ^
"Netflix 'stealing' comment nets backlash for Bell Media chief"
.
Toronto Star
. June 4, 2015
. Retrieved
July 11,
2015
.
- ^
"Netflix 'stealing' comment shows Boomers are out of touch 0"
.
Toronto Sun
. Postmedia Network
. Retrieved
July 11,
2015
.
- ^
"Bell Media to cut 270 jobs in Toronto, 110 in Montreal"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
November 22,
2015
.
- ^
Bateman, David (November 18, 2015).
"Bell Media mass job cut affects TV personalities"
.
Toronto Star
. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
. Retrieved
November 19,
2015
.
- ^
"Bell buys HBO rights across Canada as Corus backs out of pay TV"
. Canadian Press
. Retrieved
November 22,
2015
.
- ^
"iHeartRadio joins Canada's streaming market through partnership with Bell"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
January 7,
2016
.
- ^
"CraveTV now available to all Canadians with Internet"
.
London Free Press
. Postmedia Network. Canadian Press
. Retrieved
January 14,
2016
.
- ^
"Ottawa's Gusto TV to expand after deal with Bell Media"
.
Ottawa Citizen
. Retrieved
May 5,
2016
.
- ^
"Bell Media goes for Gusto, eyes lifestyle channel launch"
.
Realscreen
. Retrieved
May 5,
2016
.
- ^
"UPDATED: Bell Satellite TV dropping several channels, including CNBC, Shopping Channel"
.
Cartt.ca
. Retrieved
August 24,
2016
.
(subscription required)
- ^
Jackson, Emily.
"Bell Media cites CRTC Super Bowl ad policy as a factor in latest round of layoffs"
.
Financial Post
. Retrieved
February 1,
2017
.
- ^
"Bell Media juggling executives as president leaves for job at NFL"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
February 28,
2017
.
- ^
"Scott Borchetta's Big Machine, Canada's Bell Media Ring Up Deal on New TV Talent Property"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
January 23,
2018
.
- ^
"CTV Unveils THE LAUNCH, A New Six-Part Original Music Series and International TV Format ? Casting for the Next Big Breakout Artist Open Now!"
. Bell Media
. Retrieved
November 23,
2017
.
- ^
"The Cartt.ca Interview: Bell Media president Randy Lennox talks rich uncles, teeter-totters and Ty Cobb"
.
Cartt.ca
. Retrieved
October 30,
2017
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Reid, Regan (June 8, 2017).
"Wow Unlimited to acquire channel from Bell Media"
.
Kidscreen
.
Brunico Communications
. Retrieved
June 9,
2017
.
- ^
"Bell Media to Acquire Four Ontario Radio Stations from Larche Communications Inc"
. Bell Media
. Retrieved
August 10,
2017
.
- ^
Faguy, Steve (October 17, 2017).
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. Retrieved
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2017
.
- ^
"Analysts predict steeper Corus dividend cut after watchdog blocks $200-million sale of TV stations to Bell"
.
Financial Post
. May 28, 2018
. Retrieved
May 28,
2018
.
- ^
Littleton, Cynthia (January 23, 2018).
"Starz Expands Into Canada With Bell Media Pact"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
January 23,
2018
.
- ^
Hayes, Dade (January 23, 2018).
"In First Global Foray, Starz Sets Long-Term Deal With Bell To Enter Canada"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
"Bell Media Launches SnackableTV App With 'The Launch,' HBO Clips"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
"Canada's Bell Media Buys Control of Pinewood Toronto Studios (Exclusive)"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
"Are Quebec media slightly ahead of our time?"
.
The Globe and Mail
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
The London Free Press
. Canadian Press. May 24, 2018
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
"Bell Media Reveals CTV-Branded Bouquet of Channels"
.
TVCANADA
. Worldscreen. June 7, 2018
. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
Cartt.ca
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
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.
Toronto Star
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
"Bell Media, Groupe CH among group that has acquired Just For Laughs"
.
Montreal Gazette
. June 8, 2018
. Retrieved
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2018
.
- ^
White, Peter (August 16, 2018).
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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. Retrieved
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2019
.
- ^
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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. May 15, 2020
. Retrieved
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2020
.
- ^
The Canadian Press
(uncredited staff) (August 19, 2020).
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.
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. Retrieved
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.
- ^
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.
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- ^
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.
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.
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b
Faguy, Steve (January 5, 2021).
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.
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b
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.
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.
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.
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b
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.
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a
b
c
d
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.
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.
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2023
.
- ^
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.
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. August 18, 2023
. Retrieved
August 18,
2023
.
- ^
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. Retrieved
September 25,
2023
.
- ^
"Bell Media president Wade Oosterman to retire, to be replaced by Sean Cohan"
.
The Canadian Press
. October 3, 2023
. Retrieved
October 5,
2023
.
- ^
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.
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2023
.
- ^
Thiessen, Connie (February 8, 2024).
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.
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. Retrieved
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2024
.
- ^
Thiessen, Connie (February 8, 2024).
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.
Broadcast Dialogue
. Retrieved
February 8,
2024
.
- ^
"Bell Media planning cuts to CTV, BNN Bloomberg following BCE layoffs, sale of 45 radio stations"
.
CTV News
. February 8, 2024
. Retrieved
February 8,
2024
.
- ^
"
'Not a viable business anymore': Bell Media selling 45 radio stations amid layoffs"
.
CityNews
. February 8, 2024
. Retrieved
February 10,
2024
.
- ^
Thiessen, Connie (June 10, 2024).
"Rogers scoops Warner Bros. Discovery rights from Corus and Bell"
.
Broadcast Dialogue
. Retrieved
June 10,
2024
.
- ^
"The Lede"
.
Bell Media
. Retrieved
May 2,
2021
.
External links
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Bell Media
.
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directors
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telecommunications
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telecommunications
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2
An additional 9.5% interest is held by the BCE Master Trust Fund (Bell's pension plan).
|