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Cry me a River

April 18, 2019, 3:15 PM ET [140 Comments]
Karine Hains
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Money. That's what it's all about. Back in 2011, Québecor was proud to launch its official sports channel which was meant to compete with RDS. TVA Sports couldn't broadcast Montreal Canadiens' games right away and had to make do with some Ottawa Senators action. In 2013, TVA Sports became the NHL official broadcaster, meaning they would show at least 22 of the Canadiens' games as well as being the exclusive broadcaster of playoff action. If you're like me, at first, you probably though that the new broadcaster would improve...Surely it couldn't just carry on being amateur hour on there...



Unfortunately, they didn't improve. To this day, watching a game on TVA Sports is still, for me at least, torture. Of course, it can make you laugh but the fact is most hockey fans take the Stanley Cup Playoffs seriously. Not only does TVA Sport offer some sub-par coverage but right now, Québecor and Bell are arguing over royalties. Apparently, Bell only gives Québecor 3.50$ for each subscriber who puts TVA Sports in their package. Unable to get the amount he wanted from his competitor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, Québecor's "emperor", elected that he would cut the TVA Sports signal to all Bell subscriber at the start of the playoffs. Now that, was a right joke. All he accomplished by doing that was to make the subscribers angry but not all Bell, at Québecor. Furthermore, Bell gave the subscribers access to Sportsnet so that they could still watch the playoffs even if it wasn't in French.



The next day, Bell and Québecor faced-up in court and the Quebec Superior Court issued an interim injunction which ordered Québecor to unblock the signal. This temporarily relief is only in force until April 23 however, meaning that the Bell subscribers could suffer the same fate again.Thankfully, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) decided to hold a public hearing to hear both sides of the story and establish whether or not Québecor should be sanctioned for the course of action it chose. The Chairman of the CRTC expressed himself in these words in his opening remarks:

Moreover, the Commission has put in place a rule to ensure that Canadians do not lose access to the services they pay for in the event of a dispute between parties. This is known as the standstill rule, which is part of both the Discretionary Services Regulations and Broadcasting Distribution Regulations.

On April 10, the Commission informed Québecor and Bell that the standstill rule applied during their negotiations regarding the distribution of TVA Sports. We further instructed the parties that they were required to provide their respective television channels to one another, and to distribute them to their subscribers, at the same rates, terms and conditions as before the dispute.


Once a decision is reached, the CRTC could issue a mandatory order requiring the TVA Group to comply with the Discretionary Services Regulations at all times or even suspend its licence. Should the latter option be retained, Québecor stands to be fined 200 000$ per day of broadcasting without a valid licence. Péladeau will try and argue that he had no other choice but to block the signal because TVA Sports is operating with tens of millions of dollars in loses but should such a course of action be tolerated? Essentially, PKP decided he could lay the law of the land himself and do as he pleased...surely there should be some consequences?

Last night, the Montreal Canadiens , who play their home games at the Bell Centre, announced that for the first time since 2008, they would not be playing a preseason game in Québec City. While the attendance had been steadily declining at the annual preseason game in Nordiques Nation's backyard and the Habs are already going to New Brunswick as part of the Kraft Hockeyville contest, there is no doubt that the war between Québecor (operator of the Videotron Centre which is owned by Québec City) and Bell is the real reason behind this decision.

Peladeau has now said that should the CRTC decide to suspend its licence, it could very well mean the end of TVA Sports. Does he expect the people to side with him and cry bloody murder? Somehow, I think he went around this whole situation the wrong way... If that's what he wanted... Sorry Peladeau but we will not be taken hostage and fall victim to the Stockholm syndrome.




Update:

The CRTC decided to...Do nothing. Unless Québecor blocks the signal again then its licence will be suspended...
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