Many have speculated on here that CTVgm was only keeping the /A\ stations around to broadcast their prime-time programming during the Olympics. Now that the Vancouver games are over, the question is will they keep them for another 2 1/2 years for the London games. With the analog shutdown scheduled before then, it seems unlikely. The /A\ stations can be grouped into three categories:
/A\ Atlantic is only on cable and satellite, so it isn't affected by the analog shutdown, and may continue as is (it may even become a national station).
This leaves the Broadcast stations, which include:
CKVR - Barrie, ON
CFPL - London, ON
CHRO - Pembroke/Ottawa, ON
CHWI - Wheatley/Windsor, ON
CIVI - Victoria, BC
Some may be sold, some may be merged into the CTV network and some may be shut down. This thread is to discuss what could/should happen to each of these stations.
Barrie, as far as I can tell, is as much integrated economically and sociologically with Toronto as Hamilton is. The biggest difference between the two is that Barrie and area has a much smaller population base than Hamilton/Niagara, although the Barrie area is growing rapidly. A station like CKVR is going to have a tough time surviving in the shadow of Toronto, just as much as CHCH has struggled to find its niche in the Toronto market.
If CKVR can't survive in its present form, I think Channel Zero should step in and make the station a semi-satellite of CHCH with the same movies, and move the transmitter north to get out of Toronto. This would replace the current CHCH transmitter in Muskoka.
And VFS passes. Without VFS passing, there is little economic/market incentive to make a Global Ottawa.
I have to say though, I don't see the point in any entity buying CHRO except to operate it as is. Any other network wishing to have an Ottawa would be more apt to get a new boradcast license and start a station from scratch.
Alot of people arte for getting that the Ottawa Market is 'special' outsid the Montreal area the national Capital Region is more or les 'Bilingual and that you can tap into a markety that not only service the english market but those that are Francophone but speak or understand english.
Now grant you I don't kniow what the Francohone pop is in Southern Ontario or the GTA or out west but out side Quebec Eastern Ontario has the largest Bilingual market sand that more then can be said for those out west or the GTA/Southern Ontario. Not sure about the francophone pop in I think it Nova Scotia? or is it New Brunswick? that hjave the Arcadian Francophones that are Bilingual?
The catch here is not what network it is but who owns it and how much simo0subing can you do with it.
Is it not the current policy of Global to maintain one main station for each province that it is broadcasting in......ie Global Ontario......Global BC and so on. As for Channel Zero it barely has enough funds to keep Hamilton and Montreal stations going picking up most of its revenue from speciality channels on cable/dth.
Is it not the current policy of Global to maintain one main station for each province that it is broadcasting in
Definitely not...
- BC has both Vancouver and Kelowna;
- Alberta has Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge;
- Saskatchewan has Regina and Saskatoon.
The reason for the situation in Ontario is rooted in how Global originally developed in the 1970s, as a regional network with a main studio in Toronto broadcasting the same programming provincewide. For whatever reasons Canwest decided they wanted two separate stations in Saskatchewan when they signed on STV in the late 80s, while maintaining the status quo in Ontario. Alberta and BC are the way they are because Canwest acquired those stations from WIC 10 years ago.
I think CTVgm will keep A for the simple reason if sim-subbing. The CTV network can only buy so many shows from the US nets and sub them on CTV.
But if they buy for both CTV & A this way they can sub on both nets at the same time.
Example If CTV buys a show from ABC and one from CBS and if CBS & ABC show those two shows that CTV bought from them at the same time CTV can only sub one show, even if one show is a half hour and the other is a hour. but by having A they can sub both shows art the same time. If the Shaw/Global deal goes through and "if" Shaw decides to buy A stations, and if 'approved by the CRTC, I can see two things happening.
1) running A as seperate net(and do the same as CTVgm) sim-subbing
2) the A stations you listed along with Corus/CBC ones, if allowed I can see Shaw/Corus dropping CBC and rebranding A & the former Corus/CBC as new network.
Now grant you I'm not sure if they'd be allowed to do this or not that I don't know.
Either way I see either Shaw or CTVgm whom ever ends up owning A stations they'll just us it as sim-subbing network.
In any case if Shaw 'does' buy A Ottawa the station would have to find a new home as A Ottawa is now the new home of CJOH CTV.
It is true CTVgm has the rights to far more shows than they can show on a single network. However, the have been unable to make the /A\ network profitable (or at lest so they claim). This is likely largely due to the /A\ stations always getting the second best programming, making the audience smaller. It is for this reason that I feel it likely that CTVgm will dispose of the /A\ stations.
But if they buy for both CTV & A this way they can sub on both nets at the same time.
If the Shaw/Global deal goes through and "if" Shaw decides to buy A stations, and if 'approved by the CRTC, I can see two things happening.
1) running A as seperate net(and do the same as CTVgm) sim-subbing
2) the A stations you listed along with Corus/CBC ones, if allowed I can see Shaw/Corus dropping CBC and rebranding A & the former Corus/CBC as new network.
I some how doubt they would do this. First of all, don't forget CanwestGlobal had a secondary network that they were unable to make profitable so they shut it down, so why would they try it again. Secondly, if CTVgm can't make a go of it with their large selection of programming, I don't think Global would expect to be able to do it with their meager selection.
In any case if Shaw 'does' buy A Ottawa the station would have to find a new home as A Ottawa is now the new home of CJOH CTV.
Didn't the CRTC already stop Global from acquiring the A stations? That's how CTV got stuck with them. IIRC, CTV bought all the CITY stations and was going to sell the A stations to Global but was ordered to sell City TV instead. It's clear that CTV has no use for the A stations but doesn't know what to do with most of them.
Incorrect, CTV was going to sell the A stations to Rogers NOT Global. The CRTC nixed that and forced them to sell the Citytv stations instead. Canwest./Global has never tried to acquire these stations as far as I know.
They sort of have a mini-network now with the addition of A programming to the Access channels in Alberta and re-branding of ASN to A Atlantic. The only provinces without an A station are Saskatchewan, Manitoba & Quebec. They might decide to hold on to them now but personally I hope they are sold as most of these stations would be better off run by independent broadcasters.
True, and just to be clear, the CRTC didn't prevent them from sell the A stations, they just said that they were permitted to keep them and only had to sell the CityTv stations. I am sure they would have been allowed to sell both if they had wanted to (and with the money the got from Rogers, they may wish they had now).
I highly doubt Shaw would be interested in most of the 'A' stations. In the end, I think some of those stations will survive and some won't...
London would be the least likely to shut down because of the high ratings for its local newscasts. If the 'A' system shuts down, I would expect CFPL to be either absorbed into the CTV network, or sold. I believe that station is highly valuable.
Windsor, likewise, has alright ratings, although local ad dollars are split between it and CBET. I'm not sure Windsor can continue to support two stations, especially in the shadow of Detroit. If CHWI survives I expect it will stay attached to London.
Ottawa will have to be sold in order to survive, but their morning show has value. I don't think we'll see any operations left in Pembroke in the long term, but I can see Shaw or another company buying CHRO.
I would wager Barrie will be the least likely (at least in Ontario) to survive, simply because it is overshadowed by the Toronto stations. The best chance that station has is for it to be sold, and to have a format similar to CHCH, but targeting York Region, Simcoe County, and Muskoka-Haliburton.
I'd say you all are stirring up a bunch of questions about something that doesn't exist. Last time I checked 'A' was not for sale nor was CTV thinking of selling them.
The best chance that station has is for it to be sold, and to have a format similar to CHCH, but targeting York Region, Simcoe County, and Muskoka-Haliburton.
Uh, correct me if I am wrong but aren't those the areas that CKVR is SUPPOSED to be serving in the first place?! This is not supposed to be a Toronto station, it has only become that because its run by a conglomerate and thanks to them the people who live in the aformentioned communities are without a TRUE local station to serve them.
Hence, my previous post where I mentioned that these A stations are better off being run by an independent who can return them to their roots, serving the local community like Channel Zero has done with CHCH.
The same in Ottawa. If Shaw buys A Ottawa A Ottawa will probally have to move as Bob M,Majic 100,CFRA,Team 1200 and now CTV(CJOH) along with A Ottawa are in the same building,heck A Ottawa & CJOH share the same studios. In all honesting I can't see how A Ottawa could do a 6PM newscast now that CJOH is doing one in their studios?
Does this mean CTVgm is exiting the London market?! Bob FM was the only radio station they owned in London, now the only property left is CFPL-TV- I wonder if its next to be sold?! Corus would be a good fit since they own CFPL-AM & CFPL-FM, adding the TV station into the mix would give them good opportunities for cross promotion.
Does this mean CTVgm is exiting the London market?! Bob FM was the only radio station they owned in London, now the only property left is CFPL-TV- I wonder if its next to be sold?! Corus would be a good fit since they own CFPL-AM & CFPL-FM, adding the TV station into the mix would give them good opportunities for cross promotion.
So, they are trying to get rid of the A stations, interesting!
Rogers sucks and everthing they touch turns to crap. Who knows what the heck they will do with BOB FM, it is the only half decent station in this city (although it plays far too much 'whatever' music instead of focusing on 80s and 90s). If they do change the format, hopefully they go with Classic rock as there is no station covering this genre here or anywhere near London. Great to hear they didn't want CFPL, CTVgm has pretty much destroyed this station, if Rogers got a hold of it they would probably finish it off.
I wonder what Rogers will do now, they can't operate this station out of the CFPL facilities and they don't own any other radio properties in London so are they going to build new studios from scratch?! Maybe they will just move Bob FM into the Rogers Television studios- ha ha!
Who says any of the staff need to be in London?
Many other stations have studios in other cities...
For Example Mountain FM in Canmore uses the Rogers' studios in North East Calgary.
Mike Cranston of CHNS/ CHFX reads the local news for MBS Radio stations in New Brunswick from the Halifax Studios.
CTV Halifax runs CJCB & CKCW (CTV Sydney & CTV Moncton) all from the Halifax Studios.
Global Calgary remotely produces (including robotic camera operators) Global Maritimes.
A good DJ can voice track their 4 hour shift in 20 to 30 minutes.
You know their shift is voice tracked when they don't mention the current time or weather. They may say "coming up to the top of the hour" instead of 4:51 pm.
It would completely wreck the current "Local" feel of BOB-FM. Bob is one of the only stations in London with live weekend mornings and doesn't run syndicated or VT'd programing like crazy.
I can understand VT'ing for a station Canmore or an Overnight slot but in a City the size London there is no good excuse why there shouldn't be live bodies for all Dayparts including Evenings.
Nobody has said CTVgm is trying to get rid of the 'A' stations at this time. Now, it's possible it could happen, but there's nothing concrete to indicate this. It's all speculation right now.
BOB FM already voicetracked certain slots on weekends. I remember driving on a Sunday evening two years ago in the middle of a huge thunderstorm, and a weather report came on BOB. All it mentioned was that there was a slight risk of thunderstorms that evening, nothing about the storm and tornado watches/warnings that were out. And I wasn't too far from the studio so it's not like they wouldn't have known there was a storm.
CTV is seeking "regulatory flexibility" in priority programming and described video requirements for its A stations to ensure that they "are in a position to continue to operate in the short term."
CTV is seeking "regulatory flexibility" in priority programming and described video requirements for its A stations to ensure that they "are in a position to continue to operate in the short term."
Priority programming - the only priority programming they have left is news. Is it not? Based on the one year renewal they are actually producing more news in London then they have to, the 6:00 pm and 11:00 pm newscasts. I believe the 6pm newcasts would be enough by themselves to meet the requirements in their 1 yr renewal.
So if they are asking for flexibility in the requirements, which I believe they are already exceeding, would that not mean they probably want to eliminate all the newscasts. If that is the case then turn off the transmitter because they will be just a rebroadcaster of American programming.
They already have a application to spin the A's into a separate operating entity. This all looks like the prelude to a sale or shut down.
Maybe Channel zero would be interested in the end.
I agree. This is ridiculous. Here in Ottawa, CTVgm owns 2/3 of the local broadcasters. If they can't make the /A\ network profitable, sell them to someone who can. I will certainly be filing an intervention on this one and recommend everyone else do the same.
This CRTC filing appears to have nothing to do with local news. Priority programming, according to the CRTC website, "are Canadian programs in the categories of drama, long-form documentary, music/variety, entertainment magazines and regionally-produced programs other than news and sports."
I would have to dig deep through the A channels schedule because besides news I would be hard pressed to think on any other Canadian programming especially in those categories that they broadcast now.
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