Pierre Karl Péladeau is planning more cuts for TVA Group

New budget cuts could occur at TVA Group, warns Pierre Karl Péladeau. Quebecor’s president and CEO aren’t ready to part ways with the company, which posted significant financial losses earlier in the year.

“We cannot say no [de compressions]. will there be Yeah, maybe as time goes on,” he said in an interview with Gerald Fillion on Thursday evening’s show. Economy zone, in ICI RDI. The businessman was invited on set to talk about the recent acquisition of Freedom Mobile, which allowed Quebecor to become the fourth largest wireless service provider in Canada. The host, however, took the opportunity to question the future of the media group.

Quebecor announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2023 slightly earlier; Its Group TVA subsidiary saw revenue drop by $8.4 million compared to last year. The CEO of the conglomerate explained this decline in profitability, among other things, by competition from web giants, which monopolize 80% of advertising revenue, but also through Radio-Canada, which also benefits from public funding.

“We cannot live with the losses we experienced in the first quarter. There is no company that can live with permanent losses,” Mr. Pelado said in the interview, but assured that he was not willing to part ways with TVA Group.

Recall that Quebecor had already eliminated 240 positions last February, including 140 positions within the TVA Group, due to significant financial losses in the last quarter of 2022 due to declining profitability of TVA and TVA Sports.

When questioned exclusively on the TVA Sports Channel, Mr. Péladeau indicated that its closure was not planned “at the moment”. He said he was awaiting an “arbitration decision” pending at the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Quebecor is embroiled in a dispute with Bell over the amount the distributor paid to gain access to TVA sports. According to the founder, the decision is “decisive for the future of TVA sports”.

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