Breaking news: Bell buys Chum/City television

[NG]

Just saw it on Newsworld. The business anchor spoke in past tense as if the deal is already done.

Wonder if they'll bring back Harold and Moses....

[Rehan]

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060712/bellglobemedia_chum_060712/20060712?hub=TopStories
TORONTO -- Globeandmail.com, the Globe and Mail's website, quotes sources as saying Bell Globemedia is buying TV and radio broadcaster CHUM Ltd.

Shares in CHUM were halted Wednesday morning on the Toronto stock market, pending news.

CHUM's holdings include Toronto-based Citytv.

Bell Globemedia owns CTV and the Globe and Mail. CHUM owns 33 radio stations, 12 local television stations and 21 specialty television channels.

CHUM founder and controlling shareholder Alan Waters died in December. At that time his son Jim, CHUM's chairman, said the family was not interested in selling the company.

The Waters family controls about 90 per cent of CHUM stock.

[charliebrown]

interesting...i thought bell was reconsidering its strategy in media (CTV/globemedia)


The following issue(s) have been halted today:

Company CHUM Limited TSX Symbol CHM, CHM.b Reason Pending news Halt Time 9:22 EST

SOURCE: Market Regulation Services Inc.

[MrWizard]

Wow, so now only Global is left to compete with for Canadian news?

[atforum]

Wow, so now only Global is left to compete with for Canadian news?

what about cbc

[teknoluv]

Just heard from the news that Bell (which also owns Globe and Mail and CTV) is buying CHUM (incl. City TV).

http://today.reuters.com/stocks/QuoteCompanyNewsArticle.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2006-07-12T151701Z_01_N12281489_RTRIDST_0_MEDIA-CHUM-BCE.XML&rpc=66

[Xon]

3 cheers for media monopoly! Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't CHUM own MuchMusic?

[lain]

Wow. I wonder what channels Bell is going to sell off/dump.

[lain]

3 cheers for media monopoly! Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't CHUM own MuchMusic?

Yes, and Bell owns MTV Canada (Which technically used to be owned by Craig which was bought by CHUM...and then CHUM changed it to Razer)

[7jaii]

Bwahahahahah! Moses pulled the wool over everyone's eyes. For years he's been throwing sH*t against the wall hoping it'd stick. His company over-expanded and kept starting digital channels that no one subscribed. In fact, his cable channels just re-sold advertising to each other: AND consumers flipped the bill paying CRTC mandated increases!

So now Moses looks like a genius...my hope is they fire all the staff responsible for all this crap. I mean, if you're showing "Blue Fridays" how difficult isn't to have more than 3 movies on rotation? Is there any original programming beyond Ed the Sock? And why are Much Music staff still working in Toronto? It's true, a room full of monkeys can do a better job than them.

[Rant] It kills me when Much Music lavishes praise and promotes 1hr special interviews with "flavour of the week" band. This is essentially "a long infomercial" that benefits the record label (driving sales), and Much Music fulfills "Original Content" to fulfill CRTC guidelines --> THEN 6 months later, Much Music highlights the band on "One Hit Wonder" or Le Fromage (or whatever they call it) and basically says their music is crap -- so why promote people like Paris Hilton? Jokes man, there's not integrity from bottom to top and now Moses is a rich bastard.

[NG]

what about cbc

Exactly. This just goes to prove a strong public broadcaster is needed now more than ever.

There will be a bit of a silver lining for those concerned about media monopolies since the CRTC is unlikely to allow CTV to own two TV stations in the same city so City TV Toronto/Vancouver and others will be sold off.

Hopefully Moses will put together a bid for City again like when Toronto 1 went on the block.

[gordholio]

To me, this is bad news.
To have many TV stations owned by only 2 companies - Bell Canada and Rogers - is not good IMHO.

[Hard_Taco]

This reminds me of mergers of Chapters and Indigo and last year's Famous Players and Cineplex, it is mergermania people.

[mlc2000]

Wow, so now only Global is left to compete with for Canadian news?

If it wasn't for the strong Australian arm of Canwest, their debt rating would have been downgraded.

Next time you watch that station, count up how many external advertisers you see. Do not include National Post ads or ads for other shows on Global.

Its scandalous, I can't understand where their revenue is coming from. :confused:

Source : Dominion Bond Rating Service puts CanWest debt under review (http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1152654613608)

[winner2000]

Well first off, it's not official.

Secondly, the CRTC is going to give them one hell of a time if they want to get this merger done...they'll probably have to sell or shutter off 1/2 of the A-Channels, spin-off the rest to someone like Rogers (maybe "Omni" coast to coast?) and even sell off City to someone like the Toronto Star (who's been dying to get into the local TV biz)...either way should be interesting.

[winner2000]

Actually Canwest makes plenty of money off of their radio division, the local papers (which tend to be cash cows), and their CH stations are very profitable as well...

[NG]

Secondly, the CRTC is going to give them one hell of a time if they want to get this merger done...they'll probably have to sell or shutter off 1/2 of the A-Channels, spin-off the rest to someone like Rogers (maybe "Omni" coast to coast?) and even sell off City to someone like the Toronto Star (who's been dying to get into the local TV biz)...either way should be interesting.

Agreed. I'm still hoping Moses Znaimer makes another bid.

Damn I didn't like it when City forced that guy out.

[eelfliw]

Wow! Does that mean CP24 & CTV NewsNet will be merging?

I'm trying to picture Lloyd Robertson subbing in for Leah Miller on Much.

[Nyte]

interesting...i thought bell was reconsidering its strategy in media (CTV/globemedia)

My understanding was that Bell would be selling off Globemedia. So if it happens, its still going to be the same in the end whether or not this merger happens.

[nano]

rogers will own everything soon enough

[charliebrown]

The companies announced Wednesday that Bell Globemedia is offering $47.25 per non-voting share for CHUM’s widely held non-voting stock and $52.50 per share for the voting stock owned 88.6 per cent by the founding Waters family, which also controls 13.2 per cent of the non-voting stock.

pretty hefty premium considering chum last traded at around $31

oops...forgot the link
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1152703446926&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154

[Desibabu3k]

CityTV has shut down its news division in Vancouver. Link (http://www.news1130.com/news/topstory/article.jsp?content=20060712_171844_5792)

[joshmxpx]

Actually Canwest makes plenty of money off of their radio division, the local papers (which tend to be cash cows), and their CH stations are very profitable as well...

that's because they buy radio stations, make them play only certain songs, or just shut them down if they're unprofitable.

with newspapers, all the stories for all the countrywide papers are written in one central location, and if an independent journalist or writer doesn't agree with them, they are fired instantly.

not hard to make money when you play dirty like that.

http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/51/CanWest_and_the_Death_of_Journalism.html

http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/57/Mind****ers_of_the_Year.html

[winner2000]

^^ Well fair enough, but at least they make money I guess.

And from the CityTV Vancouver article:

"Others in the crowd drowning their sorrows are not quite so accepting, telling stories of only being allowed to grab their keys and purses before being ushered out of the building."

Sounds like CHUM to me!

And apparently they shut down ALL of their news divisions (in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver...Toronto was saved -- for now I guess).

[othy]

This totally sucks, I feel for the people who are getting laid off.. Well, those bigwigs really need a couple extra mil, I suppose. I'm sure the people being let go will understand :P

[riskit]

It easier to sale one large company in the future to the americans then 20 small companies

[NG]

that's because they buy radio stations, make them play only certain songs, or just shut them down if they're unprofitable.

with newspapers, all the stories for all the countrywide papers are written in one central location, and if an independent journalist or writer doesn't agree with them, they are fired instantly.

not hard to make money when you play dirty like that.

http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/51/CanWest_and_the_Death_of_Journalism.html

http://adbusters.org/the_magazine/57/Mind****ers_of_the_Year.html

Awesome post. Agreed completely!

[NG]

It easier to sale one large company in the future to the americans then 20 small companies

One of the media pundits said he expected one of the major US media players to challenge rules forbidding foreign ownership under NAFTA.

[joshmxpx]

^^ Well fair enough, but at least they make money I guess.

And from the CityTV Vancouver article:

"Others in the crowd drowning their sorrows are not quite so accepting, telling stories of only being allowed to grab their keys and purses before being ushered out of the building."

Sounds like CHUM to me!

And apparently they shut down ALL of their news divisions (in Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver...Toronto was saved -- for now I guess).

i read online today that something like 150 full timers and 90 part timers would be axed, in most markets, except toronto. i hope they keep their good programs, like bt, bravo, and the likes. i could care less if they axe much music and much more, as those channels already blow.

does anyone know if there are any rules under crtc about concentration in the media? the way things are going now there are going to be 2 or 3 companies that own all the news stations and news papers, and we will only recieve plotically correct and corporate friendly versions of the news.

very frustrating that things like this happen and we have no control of news, which should be a free press for journalists. anyone planning on being a journalist better remember that opinions will soon count for nothing.