MONTREAL, July 17, 2000 /CNW/ - The Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has unveiled BCE's application to become
the new owner of CTV supported by a $230 million benefits package, the largest
in Canadian broadcast history.
    ``The acquisition of CTV is a key element of BCE's strategy of providing
our customers with integrated information, communications and entertainment
services,'' said Jean C. Monty, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BCE.
``The strength of the CTV brand, its strong programming line-up, and its
award-winning expertise in the areas of news and sports will squarely place
BCE as a leading player in the converging broadcasting and new media
industries.
    ``It is BCE's intention to foster the development of new Canadian
content. To that end, the benefits package we are proposing will deliver a
significant and lasting contribution to Canada's production community and the
Canadian broadcasting system.''
    The vast majority of the benefits envisioned in the BCE application -
representing more than 92 per cent of the money to be allocated - will be
either directly visible ``on the screen'' or will indirectly assist the
development of talent and content that ends up on the screen.
    ``The benefits will create an important and incremental body of priority
programming - a minimum of 175 hours - without requiring any financing from
existing funds,'' said Alain Gourd, President and CEO of BCE Media.
    The $230 million benefits package provides a range of major investments
in Canadian priority programming, from $45.5 million for movies of the week,
$18 million for production of documentaries, $25 million for dramatic series
and $3 million for the fledgling Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, to $23
million for a new interactive entertainment series that will marry
conventional television with enhanced interactive features. In the area of
news, it will open unprecedented Canadian windows on the world, and provide a
never-before-seen level of professional development to journalists in the
field, to the benefit of Canadian viewers. The benefits also include
significant measures to support Canadian talent development and the
broadcasting industry as a whole. (See backgrounder for additional information
on the BCE Benefits Package.)
    ``We expect that the benefits package to have a profound impact on the
broadcasting system, bringing to Canadian television the ideas, talent,
creativity and a wealth of Canadian storytelling for years to come,'' said Mr.
Gourd.
    While BCE acquired all of the outstanding common shares of CTV earlier
this year, these shares are being held in trust until the CRTC renders its
decision. A public hearing on the BCE application for change of ownership will
be held beginning September 18 in Hull, Québec.
    BCE has established a special web site www.bce-ctv.com for those wishing
to view the BCE application and other related materials. The site will serve
as a vehicle through which interested parties can voice their opinion or
participate in the public process regarding the application.
    CTV Inc. is a leader in conventional and specialty broadcasting with 25
television stations across Canada, interests in 11 specialty and pay channels,
production houses, music publishing, and new media holdings. Through its
network operations, CTV reaches 99% of English-speaking households, offering a
wide range of quality news, sports, information and entertainment programming.
CTV Inc. is Canada's pre-eminent communications company. BCE Inc. owns CTV
Inc., in trust, subject to regulatory approval.  More information about CTV
Inc. and its properties are on the company Web site at www.ctv.ca.
    BCE is Canada's largest communications company. Through its operations in
communications services, BCE provides residence and business customers in
Canada with wireline and wireless communications products and applications,
satellite communications and direct-to-home television services, systems
integration expertise, electronic commerce solutions, Internet access and
high-speed data services, and directories. Abroad, through Bell Canada
International, BCE provides communications services to millions of customers
mostly from Latin America. BCE also has an extensive international presence
through Teleglobe, an international telecommunications carrier. BCE shares are
listed in Canada, the United States and Europe.

                         	    BACKGROUND INFORMATION
                	    ________________________________________

                  	    BCE's $230 MILLION BENEFITS PACKAGE


    In accordance with CRTC regulations, BCE must develop and fund a
``benefits package'' equal to 10 per cent of the value of the purchase of CTV,
i.e. $230 million. Full details of this benefits package, the largest in
Canadian broadcast history, can be found at our special web site:
www.bce-ctv.com. A summary of the package follows.
    Funding under the benefits package is divided into two broad
categories: a) ``On-Screen'' benefits -- meaning funds devoted to programming
development - that total $212.6 million (92.4 per cent of the total); and b)
``Talent Development, Culture and Innovations'' at $17.4 million (7.6 per cent
of the total).

    A: ON-SCREEN BENEFITS
    The On-Screen benefits are classified into four sub-categories: PRIORITY
PROGRAMMING ($140 million); NEWS AND INFORMATION PROGRAMMING ($53.5 million);
PIPELINE TO THE SCREEN ($9.6 million); and BELL BROADCAST AND NEW MEDIA FUND
($10 million).

    - PRIORITY PROGRAMMING includes drama, long-form documentaries, music,
variety, Canadian entertainment magazine, and non-news programming produced in
the various regions of Canada.

    Samples under this category:
         - $45.5 million to a new Movies of the Week Series entitled:
           ``Heroes Champions and Villains''
         - $10.5 million to the Great Big Canadian Show a once-a-year lavish
           celebration of Canadian stars and an opportunity to showcase new
           talent
         - $2 million to the National Broadcast Reading Service, a non-profit
           organization whose mission it is to allow the 2.8 million vision
           impaired Canadians to enjoy television.

    - NEWS AND INFORMATION Programming is intended to ensure existing news
services to Canadians are enhanced through, among other initiatives, the
addition of specialized journalists.

    Samples under this category:
         - $14 million to Journalism of the Future, to fund 15 journalists in
           the fields of health and safety and science and technology who
           will placed in newsrooms throughout the country to provide local
           and national subject matter information via television,
           interactivity and webcasting
         - $12 million for Eyes on the World which will allow CTV to open
           five new foreign bureaus in New York, Hong Kong, New Dehli,
           Johannesburg and
         - $11 million to 2-Way Hot, a half-hour current affairs program
           produced by and for teenagers and young adults

    - PIPELINE TO THE SCREEN which will seek to shape the agenda and prepare
the talent pool for the next generation of television and Canadian content
creation.

    Samples under this category:
         - $5 million to the BCE Content Innovation Network  which will work
           to enhance the creative talents, business skills and market
           opportunities of Canadian content developers, artists and
           producers.
         - $1 million to the National Screen Institute which will enable it
           to take its program in development, story editing, financing and
           marketing of television series to regional producers
           coast-to-coast
         - $3 million for iTV Specialists in CTV Development Offices which
           will see the hiring and equipping of interactive TV development
           specialists in Halifax, Toronto and Vancouver

    - BELL BROADCAST AND NEW MEDIA FUND which will be funded with an
additional $10 million via the BCE Benefits Package. Since its inception in
1997, the Bell fund has financed more than 40 projects totaling more than $8
million. Originally funding projects only in Quebec and Ontario, the fund has
now been extended to all eligible Canadian independent producers of television
of new media across Canada. The Bell Broadcast Fund receives on-going funding
through an annual contribution from Bell ExpressVu (a subsidiary of BCE) equal
to 1 per cent of its annual revenues.


    B: TALENT DEVELOPMENT, CULTURE AND INNOVATION
    The benefits under this category seek to address the overall needs of the
Canadian broadcasting systems and the tools and capabilities it requires to
serve the interests of Canadians. Through this funding, it is hoped the system
will continue to renew itself and evolve in the future.

    Samples under this category:
         - $3.5 million for the Canadian Media Research Consortium which will
           focus on the development of Canadian data for use in media
           planning
         - $2 million for Community Journalism Initiatives  which will see
           local CTV stations funding relevant scholarship programs at area
           universities and colleges
         - $2.5 million to ``Ryerson Polytechnic University: BCE Chair in
           Convergence and Creative Use of Advanced Technology'' which will
           enhance the capabilities of ``Ryerson's Schools of Radio and
           Television Arts, Journalism and Image Arts''.



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For further information: Don Doucette, Communications, (514) 786-3924,
Web site: www.bce.ca
To request a free copy of this organization's annual report, please go to
www.newswire.ca and click on reports@cnw.