CBC accused of using pandemic for gain

One of the largest private media companies in Quebec has written a scathing letter to the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission claiming the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is trying to put its competitors out of business in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The letter from Quebecor, dated April 14, alleges, among other things, predatory behaviour on the part of the CBC in the advertising market and comes as the CBC seeks the renewal of its television and radio licences from the CRTC.

The letter claims CBC is behaving “disgracefully and unscrupulously” during the COVID-19 pandemic, competing in an “entirely unfair and unprecedented manner” while remaining “shielded from the costs and impacts of the current crisis.” Meanwhile, private broadcasters and media have been “hit hard” while advertising revenue dries up.

“This is precisely why public organizations such as Crown Corporations are not eligible for government grants during this crisis, and that should remain the case,” the letter says.

The federal government funds CBC with approximately $1.5 billion a year, and the CBC is permitted to compete with private broadcasters for advertising, which it places on its television networks, website and other digital properties.

Next month, a CRTC hearing in Gatineau will hear CBC’s application for the renewal of its television and radio broadcast licences. Quebecor sent the letter, signed by Peggy Tabet, Quebecor’s vice-president of broadcasting and regulatory affairs, saying it should be “considered on an urgent basis” and placed in the public record in advance of the regulatory hearings. It asks the CRTC and the government — Steven Guilbeault, the federal heritage minister, is copied on the letter — to “promptly address these critical issues,” though it does not specify how.

In a brief response to a request for comment on the letter, a spokesman for the CBC said “We are addressing these latest claims by Quebecor with the Commission and have no further comment at this time.” A brief note from a heritage ministry spokesman said: “The Government respects the independence of the CRTC and would direct questions to the agency itself.”

National Post was unable to reach the CRTC for comment by press time.