The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday edition that Bell Media is
setting ad prices for next year's Super Bowl on the assumption
it will once again be able to swap
in the CTV television feed. The Globe's Susan Krashinsky writes that BCE, which owns Bell
Media, has been fighting an
order that prevented that signal
swapping -- known as simultaneous
substitution or "simsub" -- starting with the game last February.
That change was the result
of a 2015 decision from the CRTC,
stating that simsub would no
longer be allowed in broadcasting
the Super Bowl beginning in 2017. Bell, the NFL and representatives
of Canada's advertising industry have argued against the
ruling. The Federal Court of Appeal granted Bell leave to
appeal in November, 2016. The
issue is still before the courts.
Earlier this month, Bell filed an
application asking the CRTC to
overturn its ruling. Broadcasters sell ads based on
estimates of audience size, often
based on previous performance,
as in the case of the Super Bowl.
When the stay did not come through last year, Bell revised its
prices downward by about 35 per
cent. Should its efforts to overturn the
simsub decision this year fail, it
will have to do so again.
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