BCE open to supplying content: Cope

BCE Inc. said Tuesday it is willing to share content with competitors if its $1.3-billion purchase of the CTV network is approved.

Chief executive George Cope told a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hearing that BCE would be open to supplying content and expects its competitors to make their content available to BCE.

BCE, parent company of Bell Canada, wants to put content across traditional TV sets, personal computers, tablets and smartphones.

Cope told the hearing in Gatineau, Que., that BCE could offer exclusive content to its wireless customers, but will respect the CRTC's rules for so-called "undue preference."

Cope also told the commission that BCE is now willing to pay a premium — or what it's calling a benefits package — of between $142.7 million and $220.8 million to acquire the CTV assets.

"Bell and CTV are proposing a compelling benefits package … that offers significant commitments to new Canadian programming, local news expansion and accelerated HD news production," said Cope.

"We are pleased by the significant support each of these benefit proposals has received from Canadians from coast to coast, who believe our plan offers significant, tangible and positive improvements for our nation's broadcasting system."

This new benefits package is in addition to an earlier $230 million that Bell paid to acquire CTV in the first place in 2000.

BCE said the benefits package, which would be used to contribute to Canadian programming, includes:

• Support for new Canadian independently produced programs of national interest, such as dramas, documentaries and new media content
• Enhanced local news content and HD news production, especially in the underserved Western Canada market. That includes 100 hours of incremental news programming a week and 80 new jobs in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver
• Increased satellite carriage of small local TV stations, with a commitment from Bell Satellite TV to carry every over-the-air TV station eligible for the CRTC's Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF)
• Enhanced support for CTV's A channels, including enhanced support for their digital transition, HD infrastructure and new local programming.

Under CRTC policy, any transaction involving a change in control of a broadcast entity must include a package of benefits to be paid into the Canadian broadcast industry at the CRTC's direction.

BCE Inc. said in September it planned to spend $1.3 billion to take full ownership of the CTV television network, making it one of North America's biggest communications conglomerates. BCE currently owns 15 per cent of Canada's largest private-sector broadcaster.

Montreal-based BCE planned to purchase the stakes in CTV held by Woodbridge Co., a holding company owned by the billionaire Thomson family; Torstar Corp., the owner of the Toronto Star; and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, including from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and the Competition Bureau. The takeover is expected to close by mid-2011.