Bell Media

• 1. Origins And Baton Broadcasting

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  In 1960, a group of investors including the Bassett and Eaton families formed Baton Aldred Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. to build Toronto's first private television station, CFTO-TV. Joel Walkden Aldred and Ted Rogers owned Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting, which provided initial capital alongside the Bassett family. Foster Hewitt joined as an investor with a much smaller role. The company name reflected these early partners until Aldred sold his shares in 1961 and Rogers followed by 1970. With those names removed, the organization became known simply as Baton Broadcasting.

  CFTO became one of the charter affiliates when the CTV network launched in 1961. By 1966, Baton had become part-owner of the network after it reorganized into a station-owned cooperative. The Board of Broadcast Governors initially doubted the proposal because CFTO was the largest and richest station in the group. They feared Baton would dominate the network if given too much power. Regulators approved the deal only after Baton agreed to a provision giving each of the eight station owners exactly one vote regardless of audience share.

  Baton began purchasing other CTV affiliates in 1972, starting with CFQC-TV in Saskatoon. These acquisitions did not increase its voting power within the network because shares were redistributed among remaining owners. Each owner still held just one vote out of eight. In 1987, Baton started a concerted effort to take over CTV entirely. It expanded further into Saskatchewan by buying CKCK-TV in Regina and launching twinstick operations like CKOS-TV/CICC-TV. A CBC affiliate called CKBI-TV in Prince Albert also came under Baton control that year.

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• 2. Mergers And Bell Globemedia Era

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  Bell Canada Enterprises acquired CTV Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at CA$2.3 billion in 2000. Former Bell Canada chief executive Jean Monty masterminded this venture as part of a strategy to survive changing technological landscapes. He believed BCE needed content control to drive subscriptions for satellite television provider Bell ExpressVu and internet service provider Bell Sympatico. The company folded CTV Inc. together with The Globe and Mail newspaper into a new media venture called Bell Globemedia Inc.

  Thomson Corporation transferred control of The Globe and Mail to BCE in exchange for a significant interest in the merged entity. The Woodbridge Company Limited invested directly to obtain an additional 9.9% stake before later buying Thomson Corporation's interest. Ivan Fecan became president and CEO of the combined firm, holding that role throughout the BGM era. After Monty resigned in 2002 and was replaced by Michael Sabia, it became clear his vision was not producing desired results despite good performance from individual units like the CTV network.

  BCE management began referring to Bell Globemedia as a non-core asset starting in 2003. This shift led to attention being given to likely sale or breakup plans. On the 2nd of December 2005, BCE announced it would sell interests to multiple parties including The Woodbridge Company Limited, Torstar, and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan. The transaction closed on the 30th of August 2006, putting to rest rumors about breaking up the company.

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• 3. CTVglobemedia Restructuring

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  Bell Globemedia was renamed CTVglobemedia Inc. on the 1st of January 2007 following BCE's reduced ownership position. In April of that year, Rogers Communications announced a tentative deal to purchase several channels from CTVglobemedia if its own CHUM acquisition was approved. Astral Media made similar arrangements for CHUM's stake in MusiMax and MusiquePlus. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the CHUM takeover in June with conditions requiring CTV to sell off Citytv stations due to market overlap concerns.

  CTV ultimately chose to keep A-Channel stations along with other previously planned divestitures except for MusiquePlus/MusiMax. Rogers Communications became buyer of Citytv stations on the 11th of June 2007 while the main CHUM acquisition finalized on June 22. Subsequently, CTVglobemedia sold non-core channel interests to various buyers. Rogers purchased OLN in late 2007 plus radio stations CHST-FM and CHBN-FM in 2010. Corus Entertainment acquired Canadian Learning Television, Cooking Channel, and Drive-In Classics for $113 million combined.

  Two operations closed down entirely: CBC affiliate CKX-TV in Brandon left the air in October 2009 after a sale to Bluepoint Investment Corporation failed. The A station in Wingham called CKNX-TV also ceased broadcasting one month prior to CKX. It now serves as a rebroadcaster of CFPL-TV in London. CTVglobemedia acquired Toronto station CFXJ-FM from Milestone Radio in 2010.

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• 4. Astral Media Acquisition Battle

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  On the 16th of March 2012, BCE announced an agreement to acquire Montreal-based broadcaster Astral Media for approximately $3.38 billion. Assets were intended to be incorporated into Bell Media with primary focus on premium services like The Movie Network and French-language radio and television stations. Bell planned to use these offerings to compete against Netflix domestically while better challenging Québecor Média through its French media outlets. A coalition including Cogeco, EastLink, and Vidéotron opposed the merger fearing consumer choice harm and increased carriage fees that could cripple smaller cable companies.

  The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission denied BCE's first proposal in October 2012 believing the combined company would hold too much market power. Bell and Astral then negotiated a revised deal involving sales of most English-language channels to address regulatory concerns. On the 18th of March 2013, the Competition Bureau cleared this second proposal giving Bell only 35.7% total market share instead of the original 42%. This still increased French-language market share to 23% compared to just 8% before.

  Following hearings in May 2013, the CRTC approved Bell's acquisition of Astral Media on the 27th of June 2013. Conditions included fair treatment requirements for competitors, restrictions on bundling practices, and an investment commitment of $246.9 million over seven years for Canadian-produced programming. Bell put Family, Disney XD, MusiMax, MusiquePlus, and five radio stations up for sale while Corus Entertainment acquired Historia, Séries+, and Teletoon from Astral.

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• 5. Leadership Transitions And Layoffs

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  Kevin Crull stepped down as president of Bell Media on the 9th of April 2015 after allegations reported by The Globe and Mail claimed he ordered news properties not to air remarks by CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais during reports about mandatory pay television packages. Mary Ann Turcke replaced him as subsidiary head of media sales. BCE CEO George A. Cope stated journalistic independence remained paramount importance following the dismissal which also involved CTV National News defying orders by airing Blais' comments through anchor Lisa LaFlamme.

  Turcke faced criticism for calling virtual private network use to access U.S. Netflix versions stealing. In late August 2015, Bell Media began series layoffs including directors and vice presidents. On the 6th of November 2015, additional cuts of 380 jobs across production, editorial, sales, and administrative roles in Toronto and Montreal were revealed. Further reductions occurred on November 17 involving high-profile on-air talent from Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver radio and television properties.

  Mary Ann Turcke left Bell to join the National Football League as president of NFL Media on the 27th of February 2017. Randy Lennox succeeded her that month while announcing partnerships with record executive Scott Borchetta to develop new musical superstars format called The Launch. Later rounds included layoffs totaling hundreds of positions across multiple locations citing industry changes and regulatory impacts.

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• 6. Digital Transformation And Streaming

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  Bell Media launched CraveTV subscription video on-demand service on the 9th of December 2014 initially available only through television providers. President Kevin Crull argued against standalone availability because content would not exist without traditional TV systems. He stated one could not sustainably have streaming without linear television. By the 14th of January 2016, CraveTV became available as a standalone service requiring no existing television subscription.

  On the 7th of June 2013, Bravo implemented TV Everywhere allowing subscribers to stream video on demand and watch live via the Bravo Go app. Apps for other networks followed over subsequent months. On the 6th of January 2016, iHeartMedia partnered with Bell Media to launch localized online radio service iHeartRadio Canada. That same year, Bell acquired rights to Canadian specialty channel Gusto TV which shut down before relaunching the 1st of September 2016 replacing M3 under Category A license.

  In April 2018, Bell announced four specialty channels would rebrand in September 2019 becoming CTV Drama Channel, CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Life Channel, and CTV Sci-Fi Channel. Two new ad-supported platforms named CTV Movies and CTV Vault (later renamed CTV Throwback) launched simultaneously. These changes formed part of unified digital platform containing content from all six services.

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• 7. Current Portfolio And Operations

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  Bell Media's largest division is CTV Inc. owning Canada's oldest private broadcast network including 22 owned-and-operated stations plus two affiliates and one news-only affiliate. Secondary system CTV 2 consists of four terrestrial stations in Ontario and three in British Columbia alongside cable/satellite channels serving Alberta and Atlantic Canada. Noovo operates as private broadcast television network in Quebec with five owned-and-operated stations.

  The company owns 27 English and 12 French specialty channels frequently partnering with U.S. companies operating similar formats. TSN sports networks include five regional versions while Crave premium services offer HBO and Starz programming through partnerships. News operations span BNN Bloomberg, CP24, and CTV News Channel. Radio division makes Bell Media Canada's largest private-sector broadcaster operating iHeartRadio Canada platform plus Orbyt Media syndication company supplying American programming.

  Six locations house Bell Media operations across Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver addresses including 9 Channel Nine Court and Bell Media Tower at 1800 McGill College Avenue. Free ad-supported streaming television channels launched April 2024 co-branded with CTV, TSN, and Noovo distributed via Samsung TV Plus platforms. In October 2025, Bell announced partnership with Tubi to handle Canadian advertising sales while adding FAST channels to live TV catalogue.

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