Judge orders Quebecor to reconnect TVA Sports signal for Bell TV subscribers

CP reports that a Quebec judge has ordered Quebecor to reconnect the signal for three TVA Sports channels to Bell TV customers.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Claude Champagne refused, however, to prohibit the media company from making negative publicity about Bell, as its rival had requested, citing freedom of expression.

Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Peladeau told reporters that the company was going to obey the injunction.

The ruling came after lawyers for Bell Canada and rival Quebecor Inc. were in court Friday, battling over three French-language sports channels that Bell TV subscribers haven’t received since the NHL playoffs began this week.

Bell lawyer Francis Rouleau said cutting the signal “is a conduct that deserves to be highly sanctioned ... to reinstate those who are in the penalty box, who are the consumers and the subscribers of Bell.”