Streaming video is, without question, a major new technology. But like all new technologies, it comes with a certain amount of growing pains as everyone figures out how it factors into the life we currently know. BCE Inc. (TSE:BCE) (NYSE:BCE), the parent company of Bell Media, turned to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to talk about streaming. Investors, meanwhile, figured their attention should have been elsewhere and pulled a fractional chunk from BCE’s market cap in response.
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BCE took CRTC to task immediately, declaring that its “…priorities were backward,” pushing the regulator to create a fund for standard broadcasters, with the cash for said fund to be supplied by foreign-import streamers. Further, domestic streamers—like the Crave service—should be exempt from new obligations until the standard broadcasters start getting relief. BCE’s comments were connected to a comment period about a relevant bill, the Online Streaming Act, which would update the Broadcasting Act. Among other things, the Broadcasting Act would require foreign streamers, like YouTube and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), to “…contribute and promote Canadian content.”
An Old Familiar Problem
It’s worth noting here that BCE is the owner of Bell Media, which is a traditional broadcaster itself in Canada. It also suffers from many of the issues that traditional broadcasters face therein, like declining advertising revenue and significantly more regulatory burdens. Thus, it’s little surprise to see BCE calling for government aid at its competitors’ expense. However, Bell Media makes a good point about revenue losses; certainly, in the United States, linear television is facing the same matter. Just ask Disney (NYSE:DIS). Meanwhile, BCE is also trying to turn the CRTC around on a matter of telecommunications, calling it an “error of law” when it forced BCE to share access to its fiber network with competing firms.
Is Bell Canada Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on BCE stock based on three Buys and nine Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 9.3% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BCE price target of C$57.44 per share implies 6.54% upside potential.
