Bell Media deal will add TV content

Article Excerpt

BCE INC. $55 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 900.4 million; Market cap: $49.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 5.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider, with 6.3 million customers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces. It also has 3.8 million high-speed Internet users and 2.8 million TV subscribers. In addition, the company sells wireless services to 9.2 million users across Canada. BCE also owns TV and radio stations through its Bell Media business. In 2017, that operation accounted for 12% of the company’s total revenue, and 8% of its earnings. In March 2018, Bell Media acquired a majority interest in Pinewood Toronto Studios, which owns and operates a film and TV production facility in downtown Toronto. Bell Media has yet to reveal how much it paid for that stake. Bell Media now plans to expand the Pinewood facility by just over 50%. That should increase content for Bell Media’s…