Did ousted leader take fall for Bell Media?
Crull’s departure raises questions
TORONTO — Pity Kevin Crull, the now former president of Bell Media as of the announcement of his departure Thursday.
The writing of his imminent exit was splashed across the front pages of his firm’s minority partner — possibly with BCE Inc.’s implicit blessing — just a couple of weeks ago.
Recall that Crull was vilified for meddling in CTV’s news coverage of a regulatory decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) involving the so-called pick-and-pay ruling that would provide consumers greater freedom to choose individual television channels as part of cable and satellite subscriptions. Bell, which owns CTV and a stable of cable channels, wasn’t thrilled with that decision last month.
Crull, ever the loyal foot soldier eager to appease his president and chief executive, George Cope, flexed the telco’s power. He directed news staff at the country’s largest private broadcaster to exclude Jean-Pierre Blais, CRTC chairman, from any coverage of the ruling on Bellowned networks. Almost a week later, a lengthy article appeared in the Globe and Mail detailing Crull’s actions, how senior staff at the broadcaster feared for their jobs. What’s interesting is BCE Inc. owns 15 per cent of the Globe and Crull sat on the newspaper’s board of directors for BCE. Corporate partners don’t embarrass one another in public unless there’s implicit or explicit approval from the other side. In other words, it’s worth asking whether the Globe would have published such an unflattering portrait of a business partner without a nod from BCE.
Did Bell stage the incident? “It was a complete setup reported as a straight news story,” said a BCE insider. “It looks like the whole thing may have been staged to get rid of Kevin.”
Perhaps Crull became the fall guy for an increasingly toxic company attitude toward the federal regulator that may have raised concerns in BCE’s boardroom. Those familiar with the company say Cope is the lead corporate spear-carrier in BCE’s clash with the CRTC and there is some concern in the boardroom over the tense relations between the company and its major regulator. “BCE is an entertainment company now, not a telco, and there is some uneasiness that the chief executive has (lost) respect for the CRTC,” said the insider who asked not to be named.
Blais and the CRTC criticized Crull’s actions as “disturbing. On the heels of the CRTC’s rebuke, Crull issued a remorseful fourparagraph apology. And 15 days later, Crull was shown the door.
In a statement Thursday, Cope reiterated that “the independence of Bell Media’s news operations is of paramount importance to our company and to all Canadians.” Interpret that as you like: A parting shot or a forced olive branch to the CRTC.
Possibly both.