Is private monopoly;
Bell/GlobeMedia/CTV.
Yep, be still my beating heart.
The right and private broadcasters like to attack CBC and claim that the private sector should provide news, sports etc. The usual blah blah blah about competition. Right-o like this; CTV buys out rival CHUM.
CHUM announces layoffs in morning, while a friendly take over by CTV halts share trading yesterday on the TSX in the afternoon. Can you spell monopoly? Yep I can its three little letters; CTV. And you gotta love this bit;
Bell Globemedia president and chief executive, Ivan Fecan, said in an interview that news operations at CTV and CHUM will remain independent. “We’ll have two separate news organizations, one at CTV and one in Citytv, and they won’t report to each other in any way,” Fecan said. “I don’t think there’s any upside in having them being the same. You actually want them to be different because they have different approaches.
Sure no sooner did this come out of his mouth than across the country CITY TV has laid off its front of house staff, including its news anchors. Layoffs come as deal is unveiled
Yesterday's takeover of its parent company CHUM Ltd. by CTV parent company, Bell Globemedia, for $1.7 billion wipes most local Citytv content off the air.
Breakfast Television survives -- and may be expanded -- but the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts are gone.
But at least Frank and Gordon kept their jobs. But they only do commercials. And they aren't part of the union, like real folks who are getting laid off. Stop the CHUM deal and the layoffs says CEP
Thus in becoming a bigger fish in the media marketplace, CHUM got swallowed by an even Bigger Fish.
Bay Street calls it mergers and acquisitions, I call it monopoly. And it will impact the non-pay/non-cable portion of your TV. Which includes of course local news.
The reason for the merger, was that CHUM dominates the specialty/cable channels. Which make money.
TV sector growth slows: Statscan
A day after one of the biggest mergers in Canadian television history was announced, Statistics Canada reported growth in that sector slowed significantly last year. While the overall television industry slowed because of sluggish results from conventional television, the pay-television and specialty channel segment showed strong increases in revenue and profit.
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