Bell Media (BCE) has asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for permission to cutback local news and Canadian programming at its television stations.
In an application, Bell Media has asked Canada’s broadcast regulator to cancel requirements for spending on local news content, as well as the number of hours each week that its stations must broadcast local news in both large and small markets.
The application was filed as Bell announced the elimination of 1,300 media-related jobs, and that it is closing nine radio stations and two foreign news bureaus.
Bell claims that the 35 local television stations it owns across Canada are under serious financial strain, including its CTV, CP24, and BNN Bloomberg outlets.
The filing notes that Bell Media's news division lost $40 million last year.
The company requested permission to eliminate a requirement for its English-language television stations to broadcast at least 14 hours of local programming a week.
In Quebec, Bell is seeking to cut its obligations to broadcast at least five hours of local programming a week at its Montreal TV outlet.
The company now wants permission to broadcast less than three hours of local news each week in the major markets in which it operates.
Lastly, Bell has asked the CRTC to remove a requirement that it invest 11% of the previous year's revenues in local news content across Canada.
It is not clear when the CRTC will formally respond to Bell’s various requests related to local news content.
Bell Media’s parent company, BCE, has seen its stock price decline 7% over the past 12 months to $58.82 per share.
