Business
CRTC decision on TVA Sports - Quebecor seeks leave to appeal to Federal Court of Appeal
CRTC decision on TVA Sports - Quebecor seeks leave to appeal to Federal Court of Appeal ...
About this update from Quebecor Inc. Class A
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nCRTC decision on TVA Sports - Quebecor seeks leave to appeal to Federal Court of Appeal\n\n/* Style Definitions */\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCanada NewsWire\nMONTRÉAL, Feb. 16, 2018\n\n\n\nMONTRÉAL, Feb. 16, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Quebecor today filed an application for leave to appeal the CRTC decision on TVA Sports to the Federal Court of Appeal. Quebecor is seeking a review of the decision issued by the CRTC on January 17, 2017 with respect to the rate paid by Bell TV for distribution of TVA Sports.\n\nQuebecor fails to understand the CRTC's position in this case. TVA Group's offer was fully consistent with CRTC precedents, but the Commission made a decision based on principles and interpretations that depart from those applied in its previous decisions. The process has therefore become arbitrary and there are no longer any reference points or clear rules to follow. \n\nQuebecor finds the decision particularly baffling in view of the fact that TVA Sports, a relatively recent market entrant, has carved out a strong position with nearly 1.9 million subscribers and a market share close to that of RDS. For more than 20 years, RDS enjoyed a monopoly position. The arrival of TVA Sports in 2011 entailed average annual investments in the order of $100 million and created close to a hundred jobs. The channel carries high-quality content from top sports properties such as the National Hockey League, including the playoffs, Major League Baseball with Toronto Blue Jays games, Major League Soccer with Montréal Impact games, the Rogers Cup, WWE and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. TVA Sports also produces more than 60 live broadcasts per year from many of regions of Québec. TVA Sports has thereby opened up the market to healthy competition and expanded the available supply of sports content, for the benefit of Québec television audiences. \n\nAn independent study produced in the fall of 2017 by DeepBlue found that increasing numbers of viewers attach equal importance to TVA Sports and RDS. A majority say it is important to have access to both channels i...