Bell’s ongoing attempt to curry public favour for its $3.7 billion purchase of Astral Media has literally turned into a circus sideshow.
The company’s Bell Media unit announced today that it has partnered with iconic Quebec brand Cirque du Soleil to create a content development company linked to its pending acquisition of Astral Media.
In a release, Bell touted the as-yet-unnamed company as an extension of its strategy of investment in the development and distribution of Quebec content. The company said that it has committed $80 million to invest in Quebec content development when – or if – it joins with Astral.
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Bell/BCE president and CEO George Cope said that the partnership represents “two great Montreal companies coming together to further develop Quebec’s world-renowned creative industry.”
“Working closely with Cirque du Soleil aligns perfectly with Bell’s commitment to make Quebec’s best content available to as wide an audience as possible,” he added.
Jacques Méthé, executive producer and general manager of images, events and lifestyle for Cirque du Soleil in Montreal, told Marketing on Tuesday that the joint venture – which is majority owned by Cirque du Soleil – would develop scripted and unscripted content for television, film, digital and gaming platforms. Created products will be developed for sale and licensing to both Canadian and international markets.
Cirque will contribute its library of existing content and current projects, including previous television productions and the upcoming 3D feature film Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away. The first content from the new joint entity could appear within a year, said Méthé.
Méthé said that Cirque had been developing so-called “diversification ideas” for the past two or three years, noting that content creation is a natural extension of its world-famous brand.
“We think our brand has the power and depth that we can use to create other kinds of entertainment,” he said. “A couple of years into the process, we feel that we have explored enough and have the confidence that there is that kind of power within the brand.”
The company sought to align itself with a partner with both sufficient clout and expertise in the entertainment arena, he said. “Our quest came to the ears of our friends at Bell, they contacted us, and the rest is history,” he said.
Bell is providing capital (an estimated $15 million according to a report in The Globe and Mail), power and clout said Méthé. “They are a big media entity, they are well-known in this country and because of the size and combined size of all the TV networks they operate, they have a lot of clout in a lot of places. They are very dynamic and proactive in new media and that was one of the reasons we thought it was exciting to deal with them.”
Cirque had previously dabbled in content creation in what Méthé characterized as a “prudent and cautious manner,” filming its shows for marketing purposes in regions where it was not well known.
“We want to go much further than that and create products that will be as surprising and interesting as our live shows,” he said. “It’s not about putting our shows on screen… The purpose of the partnership is about creating things that are different.” The content will no be about clowns or acrobats, he said, but will produce a similar effect as Cirque’s live shows on audiences.
“We think we have that kind of power with our IP and our brand to venture into this world, with the help of people who do this for a living,” he said.
The Globe and Mail report said that Bell would “revisit” the deal if the Astral media purchase fell through, but Méthé said that it wouldn’t derail the venture. “I’m sure it would inhibit Bell in some manner, but we have an understanding and will adjust to outside factors. They’re in this for a good purpose.”
The executive team and name for the new venture is expected by the end of the year, said Méthé.
The Bell announcement was simultaneous with the launch of a campaign called StopTheTakeover.ca by the grassroots organization OpenMedia.ca. The web campaign is calling for citizens to contact the country’s Industry Minister and Competition Bureau to voice their opposition to the Bell/Astral deal.
The group joined a growing chorus of opposition to the deal that also includes Quebecor Inc. – which enjoys its own media monopoly in Quebec – Cogeco, Eastlink and Telus.
