Bell Wants the Federal Government to Overturn CRTC's Astral Decision

Bell Media sent out a release Thursday evening saying it was shocked by the CRTC's decision to deny the company's purchase of Astral Media, and is asking the Federal Cabinet to intervene.

Bell says the decision was a breach of the CRTC's Diversity of Voices policy and denies Canadians "hundreds of millions in new content funding," and "enhanced programming choice and competition."

It's in response to the CRTC earlier in the day that gave an unequivocal thumbs down to BCE Inc.'s takeover of Astral Media on Thursday, declaring in no uncertain terms the $3.4-billion deal was not good for Canadians.

The surprise announcement by the CRTC was announced after stock markets closed and marked the first major decision for newly installed commissioner Jean-Pierre Blais.