Gore eyes CBC-launched cable company Newsworld International
Barbara Shecter and Isabel Vincent
National Post
Oct 3 2003
In his quest to set up a new liberal-leaning broadcaster in the United
States, former U.S. vice-president Al Gore and a group of investors
could end up buying Newsworld International, a cable company originally
started by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in 1994.
According to a source close to the negotiations, Mr. Gore and his
financial partners hope to re-focus the channel -- which was sold to USA
Networks in 2000, and then to Vivendi Universal -- as a left-leaning
rival to Rupert Murdoch's Fox News. Mr. Gore would become the company's
fifth owner if the deal goes through.
Yes, there were talks, said the source, adding they were put on hold
in May or June because most of Vivendi Universal's television and
entertainment assets were put up for auction to reduce the company's
debt.
Talks maybe have warmed up again now that General Electric Co.'s
New-York based NBC has a deal to buy Vivendi Universal's U.S.
entertainment division for US$3.8-billion in cash and a 20% stake in a
new entertainment company valued at more than US$40-billion, said the
source. It's going to be considered but not until that deal is
consummated.
The Vivendi-NBC deal could be concluded within the next week, but it is
expected to take a further four to six months to get the blessing of
regulators, including the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the
European Commission in Brussels.
Newsworld International, a 24-hour news channel which airs the CBC's
flagship newscast The National alongside programs such as ITV's Evening
News -- billed as the most popular dinner hour newscast in Britain -- is
programmed in Canada by a staff of 58 CBC employees, said Ruth-Ellen
Soles, a spokeswoman for the public broadcaster.
Newscasts come from Japan, Germany and the European Community, with some
broadcast in their original language as well as in English. The
channel's Web site also boasts business and sports news, weather and
entertainment.
The channel cannot be seen in Canada, Ms. Soles said.
The CBC has a supply contract with Vivendi Universal's television group
to program Newsworld International. Any changes to the schedule or
countries of origin that would be requested by a new owner would have to
be negotiated, she said. She declined to say how much the CBC is paid,
or when the contract expires. We don't discuss the terms of our
contracts publicly.
Changes to CBC programs would be one area that would not be open to
negotiation, she said.
If they say 'I don't want that item in The National, that's not on,
she said. We won't tailor The National to an American sensibility.
Mr. Gore's investor group -- which, according to a report in the New
York Daily News,, includes investment banker Steve Rattner and Joel
Hyatt, a former Democratic fundraiser -- is contemplating paying
US$70-million for Newsworld International.
CBC and Montreal-based Power Corp., the original partners in Newsworld
International, received US$155-million for Newsworld and eclectic
specialty channel Trio when they were sold to Barry Diller's USA
Networks in May, 2000. Mr. Diller sold out to Vivendi Universal in late
2001.
Mr. Gore ran for U.S. president in 2000 and lost a very close and hotly
contested race to George W. Bush.
In recent months, broadcast industry sources say, he has had his eye on
Newsworld International as a platform to present a rival agenda to the
right-wing views aired on Mr. Murdoch's Fox News.
He feels CNN is not doing it -- CNN is more in the middle [of the
political road], one media source said.
Others expressed skepticism about Mr. Gore's ability to compete in the
U.S. market.
My big question is how much of a market is there for a liberal
broadcaster in the United States? asked Vince Carlin, chairman of the
School of Journalism at Ryerson University in Toronto. One wonders how
much of a dent this could make in a market dominated by CNN and Fox
News.
If Mr. Gore buys Newsworld International, he will face a tough
competitive landscape. With 20 million subscribers, the channel is
dwarfed by the more than 80 million U.S. households that receive CNN and
Fox. Even CNBC and MSNBC, two specialty news services backed and heavily
promoted by NBC, have more than 60 million viewers apiece.
My guess is that they are probably planning to turn it mainstream,
said Derek Baine, a senior analyst at Kagan World Media, a media
research firm in California.
If that's the case, it is going to be very difficult because Newsworld
International is not very well known in the United States and is
primarily carried on satellite.
In Canada, some media critics were surprised by the talks.
I guess [Al Gore] considers himself a journalist, said a Toronto-based
media analyst, who did not want to be identified. This is the funniest
thing I've heard in a long time.
Before launching his political career, Mr. Gore worked as a reporter
