The big just keep getting bigger. Hot on the heals of the Bell GlobeMedia/CTV deal comes another one. This time is it CanWest Global swallowing up Alliance Atlantis in a CDN $2.3 billion bonanza.
For the money, CanWest gets its hands on many of Canada’s most-watched specialty television channels, such as History TV and the Food Channel. The financial details are complicated, involving investment bank Goldman Sachs.
The upshot is the emergence of two mega-players in Canadian broadcasting. It is likely to spark concerns about too much power in too few hands, with CTVglobemedia on one side and CanWest on the other. But perhaps in a transnational media landscape dominated by big American conglomerates, this is one way for Canadian media groups to be able to compete
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But should we be aiming to compete? I’m not sure about that. If we can be competitive without losing the diversity and critical abilities that smaller, more independent outlets excel in then ok. If our stations are just going to become USA North, then competition with the giants might not be in our favour.