Bell’s rivals are urging ordinary Canadians to oppose a proposed $3.38 billion takeover of Astral Media, warning the sale would reduce competition leading to higher bills and less original programming.

“Competition will be severely reduced. Power will shift out of the hands of consumers and into the Bell conglomerate,” said Louis Audet, president and CEO of Cogeco, at a joint Ottawa news conference with Quebecor’s Pierre Karl Péladeau and Lee Bragg of Eastlink, a Nova Scotia-based cable company.

In launching the “say no to bell” campaign Tuesday, which included full-page newspaper ads and a new website, they are targeting Ma Bell and her growing vertically integrated empire, from programming to stations including CTV, which it already owns, down to mobile viewing through its wireless network.

“The important thing is for Canadians to stand up, be counted and say how they feel about the risk of their invoices getting high and someone bullying them,” Audet said, arguing Bell’s English TV market share would grow from 29 per cent to 38 per cent, nearing rates seen in Italy, Brazil and Mexico.

“Bell Canada would become so dominant no other company could compete with it to buy series, shows and sports,” Bragg said.

Bell disputes their numbers, saying its television market share in English Canada would grow to 33.5 per cent, well within permitted regulatory rules.

Péladeau said if the deal goes through it would be like competing against an elephant with deep financial resources that can dictate charges for popular programming, advertising rates and even force consumers to purchase channels or phones or services they don’t want.

In March, BCE Inc., Bell’s parent company, announced it would buy Astral Media, which operates specialty channels such as Teletoon, The Movie Network and HBO Canada, as well as a host of local radio and television stations.

The deal still awaits sign-offs from the Competition Bureau and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

In a statement, competition commissioner Melanie Aitken acknowledged the concerns of other market participants, adding if the proposed transaction “is likely to substantially lessen or prevent competition, we would not hesitate to take appropriate action.”

The CRTC is accepting public comments on the proposal, and it has scheduled hearings in Montreal to begin on Sept. 10. A decision is usually rendered within 35 days, although it can be delayed.

The anti-Bell group is urging Canadians to contact the Competition Bureau, CRTC and their local MPs to voice their concerns, saying the deal will mean higher prices for consumers and advertisers, and less choice for viewers and listeners.

Notably absent at the news conference were other competitors like Shaw and Rogers, which has teamed up with Bell to buy Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, giving them both more access to sports content.

If the Astral sale is approved without any changes, Bell, which also owns TSN, would own 79 television channels, 107 radio stations and more than a hundred websites.

Bell has already promised to sell off 10 radio stations in five markets, including Toronto, because it would violate CRTC concentration rules. It has also earmarked $200 million for programming as part of the so-called “benefits” package, required by the CRTC in the event of sale.

Mirko Bibic, Bell’s chief legal and regulatory officer, argued that the three companies in this campaign simply don’t want to lose their dominant position.

Quebecor has been the biggest television, cable, Internet and player in Quebec through its Vidéotron franchise and TVA network, he said.

“Even after the transaction, the Bell-Astral combined viewership share will be 24 per cent to Videotron’s 30 per cent,” Bibic said. “I think Videotron-Quebecor sees this and clearly would rather be in a world they have the landscape to themselves.”

He argued that Quebecor is trying to get the regulatory authorities to intervene rather than focusing on competing in the marketplace.

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Both Eastlink and Cogeco, which has just announced a bid for Atlantic Broadband in the U.S., are the main players in their respective regions, he added.

Mandeep Malik, a marketing professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business, said these companies clearly feel threatened.

“It is interesting the way they are trying to drum up public support,” Malik said. “Their approach to battle this giant is to bring consumers on their side.”

Carmi Levy, an independent tech analyst, argued media concentration does include the risk of reduced competition, increased prices for advertisers, and reduced choice for consumers.

“Unfortunately, where it is coming from suggests there is a little more self-interest at play here,” he said. “Their intentions are not purely altruistic.”

Levy remains skeptical the campaign will bring any groundswell of opposition.

“Sure, we will gripe about the state of media in Canada, but when push comes to shove, and it comes time to act on those gripes, we generally have other things to do with our time,” he said.

“We’re just not impassioned enough. We’ll probably see a small wave of opposition, but Canadians won’t be taking to the streets.”

Kelly Lynne Ashton, director of policy at the Writers Guild of Canada, called the “say no to bell” campaign highly unusual.

She speculated that the companies want the government to intervene if there is enough public uproar.

“The cynical in me says they are trying to reduce Bell’s competitive edge,” said Ashton, whose group represents 2,000 screenwriters for film, television and digital media.

“I believe the CRTC, the system that’s set up for approval of acquisitions, serves the public interest.”

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