TORONTO,Dec. 21 2004 --CTV Newsnet announced today that its application
to the CRTC for license changes that would give it greater flexibility in its
headline news format for the benefit of its viewers, has received more than
1,200 positive interventions.

    A total of 1,219 Canadians filed letters of support with the CRTC. The
letters came from Canadians in every province and a large and impressive
cross-section of Canada's multicultural communities. Among the positive
interveners were some of Canada's most prominent citizens, including current
and past national and provincial parliamentarians, the mayors of a number of
Canada's largest cities, academics, and business and community leaders.

    In contrast, not a single individual Canadian filed an intervention
opposing the CTV Newsnet application. Only two negative interventions were
received by the CRTC -- both from other broadcasters, the CBC and Global
Television. The CRTC deadline for interventions was Monday, Dec. 20.

    "We're truly overwhelmed by the support Canadians from coast-to-coast
have shown for the CTV Newsnet application," said Robert Hurst, President, CTV
News. "This volume of interventions is unheard of for a television news
service. It's an indication of the appetite and support for more headline
news, from a Canadian point-of-view."

    "There are now eight foreign English-language news services available to
Canadians -- Fox News just being the latest addition -- all operating without
any CRTC restrictions," said Hurst. "That means more news choices than ever
for Canadians. But Canadian news services like CTV Newsnet must be able to
compete and -- even more important -- to provide a distinctly Canadian vantage
point on the day's headlines, without unreasonable restrictions. That's what
our application is all about."

    CTV Newsnet applied in October to the CRTC for changes in its restrictive
"newswheel" format which, with very few exceptions, requires it to broadcast
formatted news summaries every 15 minutes. CTV Newsnet is seeking to remain a
headline news service, but with greater flexibility over its format and the
ability, for example, to broadcast important breaking news stories, without
having to break away every 15 minutes.

    CTV Newsnet offers a perspective that is distinctly Canadian, bringing
viewers both quality and immediacy with reports from around the world. A part
of the CTV News family, CTV Newsnet draws on the resources of CTV's national,
international and local news operations, including 21 stations across the
country, as well as nine foreign and seven domestic network news bureaus. In
addition to bringing viewers news, weather, sports, business and science
reports, these extensive resources provide CTV Newsnet with the ability to
report regional stories to a national audience. CTV Newsnet is wholly owned by
CTV Inc., a division of Bell Globemedia, which also owns The Globe and Mail.

    The list of interventions can be found on the CRTC Web site at:
www.crtc.gc.ca.



For further information: contact: Emily Young Lee, CTV Inc.,
(416) 332-7367, eyounglee@ctv.ca; Mike Cosentino, CTV Inc.,
(416) 332-5048,
mcosentino@ctv.ca