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Telecom company Eastlink says Bell-Astral deal would make Bell too dominant
MONTREAL – Telecom company Eastlink remains opposed to Bell’s bid to buy specialty TV and radio company Astral Media despite changes to the deal and is asking the CRTC to turn the merger down for a second time.
Eastlink says the sale of some of Astral’s specialty TV and radio stations wouldn’t change Bell’s market dominance.
Eastlink CEO Lee Bragg says forcing Bell to sell Astral’s pay TV services the Movie Network and Movie Network Encore wouldn’t make enough of a difference to make the deal more palatable.
Halifax-based Eastlink says it’s one 20th the size of Bell and it expects negotiations for shows and movies from Astral’s Movie Network for on-demand and mobile platforms to be even more difficult if Bell is allowed to buy Astral.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is holding hearings into Bell’s $3.4-billion deal to buy Astral.
The CRTC killed the deal last fall, saying it wasn’t in the best interests of Canadians.
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