The CRTC has changed its tune on media concentration somewhat, and on Tuesday announced it will not, as previously suggested, look at the issue when it reviews the upcoming mega deals for CHUM, Alliance Atlantis and Standard Broadcasting.

Earlier this month, the commission indicated it would examine its rules governing media mergers as part of its hearing into the buyout of CHUM by CTVglobemedia, set to begin April 30. But its new chairman, Konrad von Finckenstein, now says media concentration is too important an issue to lump in with CHUM, and has pushed its review about ‘diversity of voices’ in the Canadian media to the fall.

‘I want to separate the two and do a proper review. It just doesn’t make sense to do both [at the same time]. It will do injustice to both,’ he says.

Von Finckenstein tells Playback Daily that the buyouts — including CanWest Global’s $2.3-billion purchase of Alliance Atlantis Communications and the proposed takeover of Standard Broadcasting by Astral Media for $1.2 billion — will be reviewed under existing regulations.

‘It’s quite a different situation when we have lots of large players becoming larger. It’s only fair that we re-examine our role,’ he says, adding that the weeks since his appointment in February have been challenging, and that he’s concerned about the future of Canadian broadcasting.

Some observers, concerned about the recent rash of buyouts and its possible ill effects on the market and news coverage, had hoped the CRTC would then establish new rules regarding takeovers before the big three reviews were complete.

Asked if the commission is letting the horse out of the barn and shutting the door afterward, von Finckenstein replied: ‘There are lots more horses in the barn that will come out. I cannot change the past. I can’t provide rules retroactively. But what I am saying is please don’t come in with any more new mega deals. We want to have a review and then establish the proper rules to examine them.’

Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, also notes that under its current rules the CRTC has considerable powers over buyouts.

‘They still have all the authority they need to deal with it,’ he says, noting that under von Finckenstein, the CRTC might tighten its policies on takeovers. ‘Nothing prevents them from saying something as extreme as even ‘Okay, you can take over CHUM but you have to divest Citytv in Toronto.”’

The CRTC says it expects to issue its revised policy guidelines toward the end of 2007.

With files from Sean Davidson