 El QuintronResident Mouth BreatherPremium
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Etobicoke, ON
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| reply to dillyhammer
Re: Great news! - CRTC blocks Astral buy by Bell said by dillyhammer:You know what else I'm wondering about?
Which heads are going to roll at Bell over this. Has to happen. No way a deal of this size can get killed and no-one takes a fall. Somebody has to take the fall. Willingly or otherwise.
Mike
The tone of their press releases is pretty shrill, so my impression is that they thought this was in the bag.
I'm wondering what possessed them to treat this like a done deal when many have been refused for less.
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 GonePremium
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON
kudos:3
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| said by El Quintron:I'm wondering what possessed them to treat this like a done deal when many have been refused for less. Under Konrad they more or less got everything they asked for without even so much as a second thought. The winds of change started when Clement put the kybosh on it. Since then things have tightened up, and this is especially evident now that a new sheriff is running the show.
As I said, there were some very recent rulings related to simsubs and local content requirements that one would have thought would be a formality and approved under Konrad, yet were outright denied with scathing reasons by the CRTC. To call it an about-face switch would be an understatement. After seeing those, the writing was sort of on the wall for this deal to be denied. Bell are merely so delusional and so full of themselves that they were the only ones who didn't see it.
I'm hoping that the CRTC really starts forcing local news and content requirements on the networks, which in turn will mean that the CKVR transmitter Bell has applied for in Fonthill - to which they openly and completely admit is for no purposes other than simsubs - is either denied, or approved on the condition that it is a full transmitter that provides local coverage to the half a million people who live in the Niagara Region. CTV Two Niagara - I like the sound of that. |
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El QuintronResident Mouth BreatherPremium
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Etobicoke, ON
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| said by Gone:Under Konrad they more or less got everything they asked for without even so much as a second thought. The winds of change started when Clement put the kybosh on it. Since then things have tightened up, and this is especially evident now that a new sheriff is running the show.
I'm going to assume the policy direction is being changed, and the new CRTC chair is probably making sure decisions are in line with it.
Good news over all I'm pretty happy with this "new" CRTC so far.
EQ
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| reply to El Quintron
said by El Quintron:
I'd be betting he'll pick it up for about 85% or what Bell was going to get it for... I don't know how they get away with this crap...
I wonder if Cogeco would have done the Atlantic Broadband deal knowing that Astral might come back in to play.
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GonePremium
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON
kudos:3 Reviews:
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| said by HeadSpinning:I wonder if Cogeco would have done the Atlantic Broadband deal knowing that Astral might come back in to play. They'll probably make a move on it anyway. That, and they're from Quebec, so the whole whining over Quebec losing its voice won't apply and they'll be in a good position to take it whole. |
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| reply to Gone
said by Gone:I'm hoping that the CRTC really starts forcing local news and content requirements on the networks, which in turn will mean that the CKVR transmitter Bell has applied for in Fonthill - to which they openly and completely admit is for no purposes other than simsubs - is either denied, or approved on the condition that it is a full transmitter that provides local coverage to the half a million people who live in the Niagara Region. CTV Two Niagara - I like the sound of that.
CTV Two (CKVP) is already broadcasting out of Fonthill. Not sure if they are broadcasting local content. Probably not ? I agree that they should. Would be cool to have local Niagara news. |
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| said by silvercat:Would be cool to have local Niagara news.
What, like:
Tonight's top story - Vern's truck didn't start again. Film at 11.  |
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| LoL |
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GonePremium
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON
kudos:3 Reviews:
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| reply to silvercat
said by silvercat:CTV Two (CKVP) is already broadcasting out of Fonthill. Not sure if they are broadcasting local content. Probably not ? I agree that they should. Would be cool to have local Niagara news. It has dedicated call letters, that's rather interesting. I didn't even know it was approved, though. I know they ran into all sorts of problems in Hamilton. I'm going to have to run a rescan on my TV to see if anything comes up, but I doubt it will. |
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GonePremium
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON
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| reply to MaynardKrebs
said by MaynardKrebs:Tonight's top story - Vern's truck didn't start again. Film at 11. Probably incessant bitching about the NHS and car accident after car accident on the QEW.
In other words, identical to what you'd get out of London, Kitchener, Barrie and Windsor. |
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| reply to Gone
said by Gone:It has dedicated call letters, that's rather interesting. I didn't even know it was approved, though. I know they ran into all sorts of problems in Hamilton. I'm going to have to run a rescan on my TV to see if anything comes up, but I doubt it will.
You're probably close enough that you can get it from Fort Erie. I can get it from Niagara Falls, and the antenna isn't even pointing towards Fonthill (but the range in degrees that the front of the antenna can pick up is pretty wide) |
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GonePremium
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON
kudos:3 | Just manually tuned my TV to 42. Nadda. Buffalo comes in great, though. |
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 elwoodbluesElwood BluesPremium
join:2006-08-30
HarperLand | reply to epsilon3
Reading this morning that despite being told that cabinet will not intervene, Lord Cope is going to take a 2nd run at cabinet.
This man will not give up. |
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 sbrookPremium,Mod
join:2001-12-14
Ottawa
kudos:4 | reply to epsilon3
One could say that he can't cope with rejection! |
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 dillyhammerA. Good. Start.Premium,MVM
join:2010-01-09
Hamilton, ON
kudos:9 | Badda bing!
Mike |
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 mazhurgPremium
join:2004-05-02
Portage La Prairie, MB | reply to epsilon3
Flaherty said on the House this morning that if asked, it is the Gov duty to address and review the issue, but he made it clear that intervention is a rare event and not likely. |
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| reply to elwoodblues
said by elwoodblues:Reading this morning that despite being told that cabinet will not intervene, Lord Cope is going to take a 2nd run at cabinet.
He'll get his way, just like he did in previous CRTC rulings for telecom where cabinet made the CRTC do a full review all over again.
It happened then, it will happen again.
»www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2···rtc.html
In an interview airing Saturday on CBC Radio's The House, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told host Evan Solomon that cabinet will review BCE’s request, but that to “intervene would be a big step” and something that is “not traditional."
Wait n see.
Bell will find weasel room in all this, resubmitted tweaked filings, and win.
Same old, just like in telecom. This is just history repeating itself. |
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GonePremium
join:2011-01-24
Fort Erie, ON
kudos:3 | Two cabinet ministers - including one of them that is responsible for the CRTC - have already said on the record that they won't send it back to the CRTC.
The deal is dead. Case closed. |
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elwoodbluesElwood BluesPremium
join:2006-08-30
HarperLand Reviews:
·Cybersurf Intern..
| The case will be closed when Bhell pays the breakup fee to Astral.
Fibic is already out there saying he's going to appeal under section 7 of he broadcasting act.
7. (1) Subject to subsection (2) and section 8, the Governor in Council may, by order, issue to the Commission directions of general application on broad policy matters with respect to
(a) any of the objectives of the broadcasting policy set out in subsection 3(1); or
(b) any of the objectives of the regulatory policy set out in subsection 5(2).
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No, I didn't. Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake....... |
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| reply to Gone
It may be case closed, but, the Minister of Heritage doesn't really have a say if it goes to privy counsel. He will act on their orders, or they by-pass him (as was previous cases):
Example:
»Re: Fourth Meeting: Media Coverage
So while this minister speaking out may be taken as an indication of things to come, it's not the end of the story until Bell's petition is rejected as is by the governor in council, or rejected by the privy council. This is what we have to wait and see.
After they exercise their right to this, then we can say it case closed. At least per this avenue to by-pass a CRTC ruling (as has been the cases in the past, and as documented here on more than one occasion over the years).
Then they will/can go the more expensive and long-drawn out route to the courts. Filing the petition to council is faster and cheaper. Meanwhile this buys time to prepare a court case regardless of ruling.
It's a wait and see game. But yeah, the way some ministers spoke out seems to be a good indication that avenue is closed. But, "never say never".
Meanwhile.... wait and see what happens.
For all we know it could go back to the CRTC with Bell now bringing in a partner in order to lower those "percentages of stations owned" going against them.
Game isn't over. Game is not case closed, yet. |
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