Bell Buys CTV

Here is some good news; the Toronto Star is selling its ownership stake in CTV which is being bought by Bell Canada. The Financial post is reporting that the Globe and Mail newspaper is also being sold off to the holding company of the Thomson family. The Toronto Star has divested itself of its stake in both CTV and the Globe and Mail, which are not being split into two separate entities from CTV Globemedia. Will Jane Taber still be able to set the agenda at the Globe and CTV News channel? I don't know, but I hope that her television tenure will soon be at an end. She is always laughing even when discussing serious subjects. This week she had a guest who was alleging that NATO troops were hunting innocent civilians for sport, and she really seemed to be enjoying herself.

The Toronto Star owns fewer media outlets today than they did yesterday (though the deal must first be approved by the CRTC), and that makes today a good day. What's interesting is that CTV is worth roughly $1.5 billion dollars in equity with $1.7 billion dollars in debt. So if the number one television network in the country with 30 specialty channels and the CHUM radio network is worth $1.5 billion dollars, then how much could we get if we put the CBC up for auction? Guaranteed it would be less than the worth of CTV, where the CBC receives a billion dollars annually from parliamentary appropriations and CTV does not. The CBC does not generate enough revenue to cover its expenses, not by a long shot.