CRTC raises flag over ties between Corus, Shaw

Canada’s broadcast regulator is raising some tough questions about the relationship between Shaw Communications Inc. and Corus Entertainment Inc. as it prepares to review Corus’s $494-million acquisition of several television channels from BCE Inc., the Globe and Mail reports.
Corus is attempting to buy a group of cable networks, including Teletoon and Cartoon Network (Canada), that would build on its position as Canada’s largest provider of children’s programming.
The CRTC will hold a hearing into the deal in November. But before it can decide whether to approve it, the regulator is looking for proof that Corus is indeed independent from Shaw Communications. Both companies are controlled by the Shaw family of Alberta through special voting shares. Shaw Communications spun off Corus in 1999, and both have maintained separate listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange since then.