On consolidation

Antonia Zerbisias and Charlie Angus are once again right on top of the latest from the CRTC. But while there's some silver lining in that there should some real public consultation on media consolidation later this year, it looks like several mergers will be rubber-stamped before the CRTC actually deals with that issue:

Yesterday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) either caved to public pressure or saw reason – or both – and decided to postpone its hearings on media concentration until next fall.

That gives the public more time to participate than the 35 calendar days the federal broadcast regulator had originally allowed when it announced hearings for April 29 just two weeks ago. What's more, the CRTC had originally set its hearings on "diversity of voices" to occur concomitant with its proceedings on the $1.365 billion mega takeover by CTVglobemedia of CHUM.

Which, for all intents and purposes, suggested that the merger was a mere rubber stamp away from regulatory approval.

So, the good news is, the CRTC has seen the error of its ways and recognized that the alarming rate of media concentration in Canada – arguably the most vigorous in the democratic world – merits full, fair and open public debate.

"The current wave of consolidation in the Canadian broadcasting industry, and the possibility of more major transactions in the future, raises important questions relating to the diversity of voices in Canada," Konrad von Finckenstein, the CRTC's newly appointed chair, said in a statement. "Holding a public hearing in the fall will allow us to give these issues the thorough and in-depth study they deserve. This exercise will result in clearly articulated policy guidelines that will further the evolution of the Canadian broadcasting system from that point forward."

All very noble but, deeper in the news release, comes this paragraph:

"Regarding the major ownership transactions that have been filed or publicly announced as of this date, the commission is of the view that procedural fairness demands that such applications be heard in a timely manner and pursuant to the rules in force when the transactions were announced."

Which means that, not only does the CTVglobemedia-CHUM deal slip in under the wire, so do the recently announced takeover of Alliance Atlantis by CanWest Global and New York investment bank Goldman Sachs, and Astral Media's acquisition of Standard Broadcasting.

"That's very convenient," said NDP heritage critic Charlie Angus yesterday in an interview, noting that these are among the largest media deals in Canadian history.

As Zerbisias points out, there's no apparent reason why any mergers should be allowed to proceed on the basis that there's no real problem with the current lack of media diversity - particularly when that position seems unlikely to survive the broader review. And while it's a plus that Canadians will rightfully receive at least some chance to be heard, it's all too clear that until that happens, the interests of corporate broadcasters will continue to be given precedence over the public interest.

Update: See also Angus' take here.