CRTC to review 'diversity of voices' in broadcasting

In the wake of two major amalgamations of Canadian media companies in the past year, the federal broadcasting regulator plansto look at ways to preserve a"diversity of voices" in the broadcasting system.

Konrad von Finckenstein, chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission(CRTC), announced the review in a statement on Tuesday.

At the same time,the CRTC cancelled a special hearing into ownership rules that was to take place as part of a review of the purchase of CHUM Ltd. by CTVglobemedia.

The CTV-CHUM deal is to be consideredby the CRTC beginning April 30. It will be reviewed under the old ownership rules, von Finckenstein said.

Under the old rules, the CTRC could ask CTV to sell off some of its CHUM stations because it has too much cross-ownership in some markets.

The federal competition bureau has already approved the deal.

The CRTC has yet to consider the purchase of Alliance Atlantis by CanWest and Goldman Sachs, which could fall afoul of its foreign ownership rules.

Current Canadian law bars foreign companies from owning more than20 per cent of a domestic broadcaster or more than 33 per cent of the holding company for a Canadian broadcaster.

Both deals are likely to loom large in the hearings on what the CRTC is calling diversity of voices, avoiding the term media concentration or concentration of ownership.

TheCRTC plans that reviewbeginning infall 2007, with the idea that it would be completed by the end of theyear.

At issue is the concentration of news and public affairs programming in the hands of two private broadcasters, CTV and CanWest Global.

CHUM cut $12.2 million from its newsroom operations the same day the deal with CTVglobemedia was announced.

The CanWest-Goldman Sachs purchase of Alliance Atlantis, a creator of Canadian drama and entertainment, also raises questions about how much U.S. influence there will be over mainstream programming.

"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," von Finckenstein said in a statement.

The CRTC hopes to establish a set of guidelines for future media deals involving broadcasters, he said.