Hearings are set to begin today at the federal telecoms regulator on Rogers Communications Inc.’s proposed $26 billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc.
The CRTC will hear from Rogers on behalf of Shaw, while respondents including Telus Communications Inc., BCE Inc., and numerous interested parties are scheduled to speak throughout the week of hearings.
The commission will consider whether Rogers should be allowed to take over Shaw’s broadcast businesses including cable networks in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the satellite-based Shaw Direct tv service, and a satellite relay system.
The regulator will be considering how the acquisition would affect competition in the broadcasting landscape, how it might affect current customers, and how it would affect local programming and the diversity of voices on television.
Along with the CRTC, the deal requires approval from the Competition Bureau and from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
Among other issues, the other regulators will look into how the deal might affect competition in mobile wireless, wireline internet and broadcasting services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2021.