[FairHamilton]

Well, based on the assumption that it will be Hamilton coverage with an Oakville/Toronto taste. I suspect the format will be more the reverse, generic National news and limited local coverage.

Woke up this morning and tried tuning into CH Morning Live at the usual time and got muzak and the big red E! staring at me. Not good at all.

I'm assuming they eventually went on air. Was it a technical glitch, a later start because of the short week, or a permanent move to a later start?

What time was that this morning? I had it on at 6am and it was as expected.

Toronto proper has pretty much been owned by City Breakfast Television and national is owned by CTV Canada AM, so I'm guessing the new Global/CH programming to be western suburban/commuter centric, with Hamilton as a focal point.

If I'm right we could potentially see less coverage on local Hamilton news once the transition is completed, and more on Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga and even Milton.

I guess we'll know for sure in the next few weeks, and months.

[markbarbera]

What time was that this morning? I had it on at 6am and it was as expected.


5:30, and it was not on air as per usual. Listings still show a 5:30 start so that's why I was unsure if it was a holiday blip, abbreviated for the week, or permanently cut to a 6am start.

The affect on Hamilton coverage will likely be minimal, seeing as current coverage on the AM news show is minimal as is. I expect les of the roving reporter coverage, as this is what usually gets the knife first in cost-cutting exercises.

CRTC made a huge mistake allowing Global to run this station as a specialty entertainment station rather than as a local broadcaster. Now that cancon has been reduced to minimum required, CRTC should revisit its license - GLobal is basically doing exactly what they promised not to do when the station format was approved.

[SteelTown]

CH Morning Live is the most watched show on CH. I believe they actually beat Breakfast television ratings.

[LikeHamilton]

Last week as Morning Live was ending their show, they said that they would not be on the air until Monday January 5 for the back to school/work crowd. They where taking a Christmas holiday and “getting some sleep” (their quote).
I suspect that they maybe getting a new or updated set.

[SteelTown]

Probably change the background computer image of the Hamilton Harbour and the Skyway Bridge to something else non local that includes a CN Tower.

[FairHamilton]

OK, the news came on at 6:00am and it was a repeat of the 11pm news. It was probably the same yesterday, but I only had it on for about a minute and wasn't really paying attention.

My question is what does that do to meeting their 37 hours of local programming per week? Doesn't starting late (I guess they finish early as well), and showing a repeat lower their hours to below the requirement?

[markbarbera]

In today's Spec:

CHCH News programs on holiday break
December 30, 2008
The Hamilton Spectator

CHCH News has dropped three of its programs for the holidays, but the move does not herald the beginning of the end.

"It means nothing," says Nick Garbutt, president of Local 1100 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers, about the station's move to shelve the three programs.

"It was just a way to give everyone their holidays."

CHCH News put its Morning Live show, its noon news and its popular Live at 5:30 on hiatus for seven days during the holidays. It began Christmas Day and is to end Friday. Garbutt says the shows will return Jan. 5.

The station, owned by Winnipeg-based Canwest Global, has recently seen layoffs and program cuts as its parent company deals with a sagging bottom line.

The hiatus comes after comments by Canwest head Leonard Asper that the amount of local programming hours cannot be sustained in Hamilton. CHCH News produces 37 hours a week, 30 minutes more than its CRTC licence calls for. The licence is up for renewal in the spring.

CHCH News management did not return a call seeking comment.

In prior years, the morning show continued with substitute anchors. The 'hiatus' is more of a cost-cutting endeavor than 'a way to give everyone their holidays'.

As a side note, has anyone else noticed how often a topic of discussion one day here appears as a news article in the Spec the next day? Is the Spec's news staff trolling this SSP for news leads and ideas for content?

[FairHamilton]

As a side note, has anyone else noticed how often a topic of discussion one day here appears as a news article in the Spec the next day? Is the Spec's news staff trolling this SSP for news leads and ideas for content?

Especially, when this started on Christmas day. It could have easily been in the Boxing Day, Saturday, or Monday paper.......

[omro]

As a side note, has anyone else noticed how often a topic of discussion one day here appears as a news article in the Spec the next day? Is the Spec's news staff trolling this SSP for news leads and ideas for content?

Any examples?

[markbarbera]

Any examples?

Well, this item for example. It was discussed here, then appeared in the Spec the following day. On December 18 the Upper James cinema closing was discussed in the rumour mill thread, and there was a news article on it the following day in the Spec. A discussion about the Hamilton Grand started up here on the 10, and Andrew Dreshel writes about it in his Spec column shortly thereafter. Just a few recent examples that could be simple coincidence, but I get the feeling that visiting this SSP has become part of the Spec's daily newshounding techniques.

[omro]

Well, this item for example. It was discussed here, then appeared in the Spec the following day. On December 18 the Upper James cinema closing was discussed in the rumour mill thread, and there was a news article on it the following day in the Spec. A discussion about the Hamilton Grand started up here on the 10, and Andrew Dreshel writes about it in his Spec column shortly thereafter. Just a few recent examples that could be simple coincidence, but I get the feeling that visiting this SSP has become part of the Spec's daily newshounding techniques.

Isn't it nice that they're writing about local stuff - no matter the inspiration?

[SteelTown]

We do get a high level of guest viewing this section, I believe we have more guest viewing that actual members.

[markbarbera]

Isn't it nice that they're writing about local stuff - no matter the inspiration?

Don't get me wrong - I wasn't making the comment to be deragatory against the paper. I was just making an observation on how what is said here is echoed in the paper a few days later. Having said that, there is plenty of room for improvement on local coverage in the Spec, as with all other local media.

[thistleclub]

Well, this item for example. It was discussed here, then appeared in the Spec the following day. On December 18 the Upper James cinema closing was discussed in the rumour mill thread, and there was a news article on it the following day in the Spec. A discussion about the Hamilton Grand started up here on the 10, and Andrew Dreshel writes about it in his Spec column shortly thereafter. Just a few recent examples that could be simple coincidence, but I get the feeling that visiting this SSP has become part of the Spec's daily newshounding techniques.

Both are cases where the parties involved were seeking publicity for their big-budget projects and reached out to local media (in the first case, Cineplex Odeon and Cinemaclock telegraphed the closure as well as SSP Hamilton, and Famous Players has been hyping their East Mountain opening for ages... in the second the developer e-mailed a share-if-you-care update which identified his project collaborators, one of whom is a former mayor). CH is the only other major media peer the paper has, so they'll naturally be privy to as much inside baseball stuff about the station as anyone. So -- and this is not to invalidate the theory -- maybe not the most compelling examples of thought transfer. Even without SSP Hamilton, it wouldn't take much scratching for the paper to have uncovered these stories. At worst it's a happy coincidence.

[thistleclub]

Just realized I'm showing my years here -- Cineplex Odeon and Famous Players are part of the same company, Cineplex Galaxy LP.

[markbarbera]

...in the first case, Cineplex Odeon and Cinemaclock telegraphed the closure ...

While it was true that Cineplex had several media releases promoting the opening of the new SilverCity Hamilton Mountain, no media releases ever referenced the closure of the Upper James location. Likewise, there was no advance notice that the theatre was closing on their website - they simply stopped posting showtimes for the theatre.

[thistleclub]

My point was that the absence was a sign that something was amiss, hence the "telegraph" analogy. A non-denial denial kind of thing. I haven't picked up a paper in a while, but if they still publish showtimes, they would have been alerted by the blank spot -- or when Silvercity East was first announced months ago, they might've done some math and started sniffing around. It's not as if there's no historical precendent: Upper James' opening roughly coincided with Limeridge's closing, and Silvercity Ancaster's opening with the closure of Centre Mall's cineplex. Anyway, just an alternate theory.

[SteelTown]

Ethnic radio pitch gets good reception, but there's no room

January 06, 2009
Carmela Fragomeni
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/491315

A Toronto man is trying to start an ethnic radio station in Hamilton but is having trouble finding an available FM radio frequency on which to broadcast.

Kumar Nadarajah, who owns two ethnic radio stations, one in Toronto and one in Montreal, said Hamilton ethnic leaders have been positive about his proposal.

Industry Canada, which regulates radio frequencies, says there are no available FM frequencies left in the Hamilton area because of all the radio stations broadcasting to the area.

Nadarajah said, "That's what they say, but some intelligent engineers, if they are good, can come up with some frequencies." He has hired consultants who are confident of finding a low frequency not in use, he said.

A lower frequency broadcast means not all of Hamilton will be able to pick up the station.

Industry Canada spokesperson Christiane Fox said it is possible broadcast consultants could find an FM frequency that would work in Hamilton and won't interfere with other stations.

However, she said, given the airwaves congestion here it is highly unlikely. In Hamilton a multitude of both AM and FM signals are received from across southern Ontario and upper New York state.

Nadarajah wants to create a 24-hour radio station employing 10 to 15 people to primarily serve the local South Asian community, but also with programming in Polish, Romanian and other languages.

If Nadarajah finds a suitable frequency, he will apply to Industry Canada for it and then apply for a broadcast licence from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

The process could take two to three years.

In 2007, CBC Radio also eyed Hamilton for a new station if it could secure a $50-million expansion plan that would have created 15 new stations across Canada.

Although facing the same frequency problem, CBC Radio held informal talks with McMaster University's student radio station CFMU to share its frequency, according to Sandeep Bhandari, CFMU administrative director.

"It was vague at the time. They weren't asking for (our) frequency, but a partnership where they could broadcast some CBC programming."

However, the corporation indicated last January it was not pursuing the idea for now, Bhandari said.

CBC spokesperson Jeff Keay said the broadcasting corporation is still interested in Hamilton but doesn't currently have the funding.

Although McMaster's station carries ethnic programming, Bhandari would welcome a full- time ethnic station in Hamilton.

Nadarajah plans to continue meeting with Hamilton's ethnic communities and local politicians to garner support for his proposal.

[FairHamilton]

What do you think?

The CH's license is up for review this coming spring, and The Spec is mentioning the CH quite a bit in articles lately. Especially in regards to their minimum programming requirements, 36.5 hours per week.

Currently CH only produces 37 hours per week, and I'd personally argue it's less then that because they recycle items like sports through a couple of newscasts.

Some recent Spec mentions of CH (and there are more).

Articles with a negative bent;
http://thespec.com/article/490137
http://thespec.com/article/473740


Letters to the Editor with a negative bent;
http://thespec.com/Opinions/LettertotheEditor/article/491276
http://thespec.com/article/490207
http://thespec.com/article/482685

[SteelTown]

I would like to see Torstar own a channel. Wish they won in the past instead of Toronto One crap.

[FairHamilton]

Wow, CH has cut back. I'm watching the 11pm News and they even took Nick Dixon's chair away......... ;)

[flar]

A new issue of the Bay Observer was at my door today.

[realcity]

The name "Bay Observer" to me means it will try to penetrate Burlington as much as Hamilton. Burlington loves calling it Burlington Bay and looks like an attempt to reach out across the Bay. I think this position is doomed, here's why.

This has been the problem with The Spec and CHCH, they try to be all things to everyone and end up being nothing to no one. Either choose to be a Hamilton news medium and nail it or don't do it. The wishy-washy geographic positioning of CHCH/The Spec with their token news real footage from "Downtown Oakville" or the The Spec's usually irrelevant column from Joan Little -- who's time has come and gone and lives in the glory days of suburban dreams -- doesn't serve to give any ownership from the readers/viewers. Neither Oakville or Burlington consider the token mentions enough to consider it a valid news source for them, and for Hamilton readers/viewers it becomes fluff to be glazed over as Hamiltonians become further estranged from what is supposed to be our 'local media'.

[highwater]

I totally agree with this. While there's alot to like about the BO, their forced marriage of Burlington and Hamilton has been awkward, and smacks of desperation.

The editor attempted a weak defense of this stance in one of the first issues. He admitted that he was a former Hamiltonian who had long ago decamped to the greener, more manicured pastures of Burlington, but had noticed Hamilton making a bit of a comeback. It makes the BO seem like a bit of a vanity project by a couple of old Burlington boys who want to get in on some of Hamilton's renewed mojo.

At least their office is downtown, but like David Estok over at the Spec, they're daytrippers. The BO needs to commit to one or the other to be taken seriously by this reader.

[flar]

I'd like to see closer integration of Burlington and Hamilton. When I moved here I just assumed Burlington was Hamilton. It really is, Burlington was always the most logical place for Greater Hamilton to grow. Businesses located along the major route in the area, the QEW. It's a shame that Burlington wasn't annexed by Hamilton long ago, that's where all the commercial and industrial tax base went as the region evolved. There is so much duplication of services as Burlington tries to go it alone on many things. For example, they want a performing arts centre. The situation where Burlington residents feel the need to duplicate things already existing in Hamilton should never have been allowed to happen.

[realcity]

i agree Flar. If you live in Hamilton (central or west) a 20 minute drive in opposite directions puts you in Oakville or Stoney Creek depending on the direction. SC is still Hamilton, but Oakville is two cities over. At very least Aldershot should've been merged into Hamilton. Then the entire harbour would be encompassed by one city. LaSalle Park is owned by Hamilton but leased to Burlington for $1/year, a remnant of the 70s region carving.

Half of Burlington's population was born and grew up in Hamilton. As soon as they move across the Harbour, something happens to these people. It's weird. Great point about Hamilton's mojo. When it comes back, the suburbs will be changing their attitudes too. But for now, Burlington residents like to pretend they live in Toronto.

[FairHamilton]

$33M Q1 Loss, and concerns regarding the ability to service debt.

http://www.thestar.com/business/article/570698

[SteelTown]

CanWest said they are looking at selling their asset.

[FairHamilton]

^ Not surprising they are going to have to liquidate some assets to keep the lights on at the Asper household.

5 or 6 months ago I would have said Torstar. As we sink further I don't know about that, or any other buyer.

[adam]

awwwwww poor media moguls... hey I know, lets bail them all out!

[SteelTown]

Surprised there has been no mention of this today so far.....

TV networks float idea of shutting smaller stations

GRANT ROBERTSON
From Thursday's Globe and Mail
January 22, 2009 at 3:39 AM EST
http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090122.wrtelevision22/BNStory/Business/home?cid=al_gam_mostemail

Canada's major television networks are considering the drastic step of shutting smaller stations across the country, fearing that some local markets may never again be profitable in a TV industry where dollars are increasingly migrating to cable.

Such a move would have been unthinkable only five years ago, but the possibility is being discussed behind the scenes at CTV Television Network and CanWest Global Communications Corp. as a way to stem losses in small-market conventional television.

Faced with a federal requirement to spend millions updating transmitters as the industry moves to digital broadcasts, the networks are now weighing whether it makes sense to invest in their weakest markets, knowing they may never recoup the money.

It is too early to tell whether the networks are serious about walking away from money-losing markets, or if the position is a negotiating tactic with regulators.

But the prospect of closing small-market stations is expected to be raised at licence renewal hearings in April.

The networks will ask the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to relax the rules governing how much local programming must be produced, and will also suggest that some small TV markets cannot be salvaged without major changes.

Though stations in larger cities are profitable for CTV and Global, the broadcasters have acknowledged that smaller cities in their secondary networks, A channel and E! respectively, are losing money.

CanWest Global chief executive officer Leonard Asper would not divulge what the company plans to say at Global's licence renewal hearings, but said he hoped the CRTC would be responsive to the networks' predicament.

"They do understand the business has changed, and that regulation has to change too," Mr. Asper said. "The only dispute we have is how far they are willing to go [to accommodate the networks.]... We'll find out if they are serious about it in April."

The networks have argued the financial model for network TV has forever changed, with cable networks now responsible for nearly all of the financial growth in the sector.

Fed by monthly fees on consumer cable bills and less reliant on advertising dollars than the main networks, cable channels now make up 44 per cent of the industry's revenue, compared with 21 per cent only a decade ago. Those numbers are expected to rise again this year, and may surpass conventional TV for the first time.

CTV and Global have acquired dozens of cable channels in the past two years as a way to offset eroding margins at their conventional networks. That has lessened the impact, but has not stopped the bleeding in small markets, they say.

CanWest's E! network has stations in smaller cities like Red Deer, Alta., and Kelowna, B.C., while CTV owns A channels in Barrie and London, Ont., and other small cities.

Last week, CanWest's interim broadcasting president, Peter Viner, told analysts that the company's E! network isn't making money. He added the company would consider shutting some stations if the situation got bad enough. "Maybe. That's an option we have to think about," he said.

CTV executives have reserved comment, but sources indicate the picture is similar at the network's A channels.

Licence renewals are usually the time when broadcasters seek changes from the CRTC to their program-spending requirements. Another option includes asking the CRTC to issue shorter licence terms, instead of the standard seven years.

The CRTC and others have suggested the forces hitting the conventional television sector are temporary, while the networks argue the business model is now imperilled.

Agreeing to a shorter licence term "gives both sides an opportunity to see who is right," one TV executive said.

If the economic situation worsens in the meantime, the networks will then seek additional concessions. But if the economic climate has improved, none will be needed.

The idea gained traction last year after Quebec TV network TQS emerged from bankruptcy protection. The CRTC gave the new owners a licence that carried only minimal requirements to produce local programming, but stipulated that the operation be reviewed after two years to gauge its financial position.

The regulator believed this was the only way to stop TQS from folding. Now the networks may see it as the new way to licence small market TV stations.

[MsMe]

This doesn't surprise me. With the internet heading the way it is too isn't helping this either. People can go online now for the news/tv/radio sites and play the up to date news.

[SteelTown]

E! station in Hamilton is probably the last E! station they would consider shutting down.

[SteelTown]

Canwest considers possible sale of 5 TV stations across Canada
1 hour ago

WINNIPEG — Canwest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) says it is exploring the sale of five conventional television stations in Montreal, Hamilton, Red Deer, Alta., Kelowna, B.C. and Victoria, calling them non-core assets.

Canwest president and chief executive Leonard Asper said late Thursday that, given the current recession, the company wants to focus instead on its faster growing specialty channels and Global television brand.

"Canwest has come to the determination that operating a second conventional TV network in Canada is no longer key to the long-term success of our broadcasting business," Asper said in a statement after stock markets closed.

"Going forward, this allows us to invest in the areas that provide the greatest return."

The outlets being shopped are part of the company's E! network; including CJNT-TV in Montreal, CHCH-TV in Hamilton, CHCA-TV in Red Deer, CHBC-TV in Kelowna and CHEK-TV in Victoria.

Asper said that, "as they are currently configured, these stations are not core to our television operations going forward."

Canwest said a sale is one of "several options" being considered by the company following an internal review, and that the media company has hired RBC Capital Markets to help with the process.

"We believe this process will lead to significantly enhanced shareholder value," Asper said.

Analysts say the stations, which the company picked up nearly a decade ago, have been losing money for years.

The question now is who will want to buy them in the current economic environment, where shrinking advertising revenues are already taking a chunk out of broadcaster revenues.

Earlier this week, Canwest said it was looking at divesting non-core assets as it reviews strategic alternatives.

The announcement came as Canwest also said its bankers have limited borrowing under the Canwest Media division's $300-million senior credit facility.

The company said its bankers will limit additional borrowing under Canwest Media's credit line to $20 million until Feb. 27. There is already $92 million drawn on the facility.

Canwest acquired many specialty TV stations as part of its $2.3 billion acquisition of the former Alliance Atlantis broadcaster two years ago. That deal, mostly financed by Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs, was the biggest deal since Canwest bought the former Southam newspaper chain and other businesses from the Hollinger group for $3.1 billion in 2000.

The Hollinger deal saddled Canwest with a huge debt of about $3.7 billion, a liability that has dragged down the company's finances for years.

[matt602]

It should be a shame... but... well, CH sucks these days.

[SteelTown]

It should be an interesting few weeks. It's either live or die for the station.

[FairHamilton]

It should be an interesting few weeks. It's either live or die for the station.

What about re-birth?

[SteelTown]

CHCH's future up in the air
Sale of station 'worst-case scenario'

February 06, 2009
Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator

Canwest Global has announced it is exploring the idea of selling CHCH News and that it is abandoning operating a second commercial TV network in Canada.

The announcements came yesterday afternoon, just days after bankers pulled back the debt-laden company's borrowing power. It also comes after Canwest head Leonard Asper has stated the amount of local programming produced by CHCH News cannot be sustained.

Staff at CHCH News, which has been rocked by layoffs and program cuts, were called to a meeting at 4:30 p.m. to hear the news from general manager Patrick O'Hara.

Canwest said it is exploring strategic options for five of its "conventional stations" including CHCH News. The other stations are CJNT-TV in Montreal, CHCA-TV in Red Deer, CHBC-TV in Kelowna and CHEK-TV in Victoria. The stations are part of the E! network.

RBC Capital Markets has been retained to assist in the process and Canwest said the sale of the stations is one of several options.

O'Hara reportedly told staff the review will take six to eight weeks. He also said closing the station was "a worst-case scenario."

While Canwest said a possible sale of the stations could help boost its sunken stock price, analysts say it's unlikely the company will find a buyer, especially in the current recessionary environment.

Canwest has a debt of about $3.6 billion.

Torstar Corp., which owns The Hamilton Spectator and The Toronto Star, once coveted a TV station. It, however, announced yesterday its Transit Television Network in the United States had voluntarily filed for bankruptcy protection. Transit TV operates digital ad technology on television screens in transit systems in such places as Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta.

Canwest CEO Leonard Asper said such stations as CHCH are "not core to our television operations going forward."

He said the firm will focus on its specialty channels and digital media and said a second TV network "is no longer key to the long-term success of our broadcasting business."

dnolan@thespec.com

905-526-3351

Changing times at CHCH

* Canwest Global announced in November 2008 it was cutting 560 jobs across the country, including 14 jobs at CHCH in an effort to save $61 million.

* Four local shows were cancelled, local content was reduced and the Halton news bureau in Oakville was closed. Local content fell to 36.5 hours, 30 minutes above the station's CRTC licence.

* The noon newscast was chopped from 60 minutes to 30.

* Long-time anchor Connie Smith wrapped up her career at the end of November after 32 years at the station. She had been a news anchor since 1988.

* Colleague and co-anchor Dan McLean signed off one last time roughly two weeks later after being at the station since 1971. He had been a news anchor for 28 years.

* CH Morning Live, the noon news and Live at 5:30 were all put on hiatus for a week during the December holiday season.

* Canwest cancelled its morning show on its Toronto station and is now broadcasting CH Morning Live in its place. Jobs were chopped in Toronto with the loss of its morning show.

[SteelTown]

CHCH likely to survive: analyst
More than just a small player

February 07, 2009
Lisa Grace Marr
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/509117

While Hamilton may consider CHCH as its own TV station, it is not just a little player, says the spokesperson of a Canadian media watchdog group.

"It's not the smallest and weakest TV station in Canada," said Ian Morrison of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. "Hamilton has the extra advantage of having about seven million people in its line of sight."

In addition, he said, CHCH is broadcast through cable and satellite stations throughout the province, bolstering its value.

He spoke following the announcement this week by parent company Canwest Global that it would explore the idea of selling CHCH, and four sister stations.

Canwest made the announcement as bankers moved to limit the company's borrowing power due to its massive $3.6-billion debt.

Shares in Canwest Global Communications went up eight cents yesterday to 50 cents on the news. Analysts say it's unlikely the company will find a buyer in the current recession and a money-saving closure is more likely.

But Morrison suggested there are several plausible outcomes for the station aside from closure:

* Astral Media, a major media player in Quebec with some presence in the rest of the country, may jump at the chance to pick up an English TV network.

* Torstar Corporation, which owns The Hamilton Spectator and The Toronto Star, made a bid for a licence to open television stations in southern Ontario in 2002 but was denied by the CRTC. This week, it announced its Transit Television Network in the United States was filing for bankruptcy. Morrison said there's no comparison between the transit network and CHCH. "The Spectator and a television station under one roof has some synergies."

* Corus Entertainment, based in Calgary, is a specialty TV and radio company that may seize an opportunity to expand.

* Rogers Media branched into TV last year with its purchase of CHUM and may have an appetite for more.

* CTV would likely be very interested, said Morrison, but it would also be very unlikely to be approved by the CRTC, given the conglomeration in the industry.

Mario Frankovich, president and CEO of Burgeonvest Securities, said the station has been under the eye of Bay Street investors for the last few weeks while Canwest's troubles were brewing. "It's hard to say what will happen ... it has value. (Closing the station) would be like putting a torch to money. A licence has value."

The challenge for the station is that its highest expense is its most valuable asset: local coverage.

Morrison said it's too early to throw in the towel on CH.

"I think a lot of people are kicking the tires, checking out profitability, what the obligations are under regulations. It's a fire sale ... but it's a very complicated situation."

[hamtransithistory]

* Torstar Corporation, which owns The Hamilton Spectator and The Toronto Star, made a bid for a licence to open television stations in southern Ontario in 2002 but was denied by the CRTC. This week, it announced its Transit Television Network in the United States was filing for bankruptcy. Morrison said there's no comparison between the transit network and CHCH. "The Spectator and a television station under one roof has some synergies."


I for one would not want Hamilton's only newspaper and only TV station owned by the same company. Nobody should have that much control over a city's media, no matter if they're left-wing or right-wing.:2cents:

[SteelTown]

I believe Torstar is the only major newspaper chain that doesn't own a tv station.

[SteelTown]

Save CHCH NEWS, nearly 6,000 member so far.....

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=122995560692&ref=nf

[manny_santos]

I for one would not want Hamilton's only newspaper and only TV station owned by the same company. Nobody should have that much control over a city's media, no matter if they're left-wing or right-wing.:2cents:

Ahh yes, one of those corporate buzzwords, "synergy"...

There needs to be more diversity in the Hamilton media, not less.

I for one think the guy who wanted to start TV Niagara should buy it, and run it as an independent. It can be done - there's an indepdendent station on Long Island known as WLNY which is seen in New York City but targets Long Island viewers with local news. They also have a lot of movies, not unlike the classic CHCH.

[FairHamilton]

Back in the day, movies were also a staple of CityTV. Seems to be a pattern.

What would be refreshing, and I think would work, is a low tech solution, a la CityTV of old. Because CH is carried in so many markets (I was watching the 11pm CH news in a hotel in Brockville last week) there could segments from various parts of the province/country. I'd love to know what's going on in other cities with music, art, high level civic topics. Reports and episodes filmed on a low budget (videographer), and edited to a professional level would be excellent.

Perhaps, increased local commentary, on-going issue coverage, and local visibility into other jurisdictions might rehabilitate and re-invigorate a local station.

[flar]

When I was a kid, Detroit's two independent stations were great. Cartoons, then syndicated shows, then afternoon movie, then cartoons, then syndicated shows, then the 8 o'clock movie, syndicated shows, midnight movie. If I had a station, that's what I'd do. They showed a lot of good movies too. Some days had themes, like the "creature feature" that showed horror movies on Saturday afternoon.

[bornagainbiking]

I too watched some of the independent from Detroit with Saturday night horror films with the Ghoul. Old cheezy flicks. How do you thinks Elvira got started.
E television is NOT in touch with Hamilton. Who cares about Hollywood. And I am sick of Ryan Seacrest, is he even Canadian NOT.
We are a working class city.
We need a station that runs movies all night for the night owls or shift workers. Can the informercials.
Get back to basics maybe run some TV series we missed like ER, the Shield or Third Watch other just off the main stream (Not CSI or Law and order). Movies movies movies,
Anything or channel that is not like all the others. A&E and History are sort of in this venue.
CH as it is now is trash.

[manny_santos]

Because CH is carried in so many markets (I was watching the 11pm CH news in a hotel in Brockville last week) there could segments from various parts of the province/country. I'd love to know what's going on in other cities with music, art, high level civic topics. Reports and episodes filmed on a low budget (videographer), and edited to a professional level would be excellent.

Perhaps, increased local commentary, on-going issue coverage, and local visibility into other jurisdictions might rehabilitate and re-invigorate a local station.

They tried that in the late 90s, that's what OnTV was about. And that's why they expanded into most of Ontario with new transmitters. They tried to take on Global, which back then was a more provincial service that had a good following in many markets.

It wasn't until CanWest took over WIC that they actually returned the focus of CHCH to Hamilton.

[SteelTown]

I remember the ONtv days, it wasn't good. Hardly any local content it was all provincial news. The only good thing about ONtv was that it expanded the station province wide, main reason CanWest bought the station after WIC.

ONtv was the beginning of that fake studio. I remember the fake elevator ride Matt Hayes would take to go up to do the weather forecast.

[thistleclub]

Many observers expect Asper to ask the CRTC to lift CanCon requirements from the station license, which would pave the way for CHCH to become a clearing house for syndicated and low-cost American content. This would likely preserve the station's financial viability but probably not improve its quality much, if at all. The late night pulp-and-cult film stuff would be awesome but Canwest is probably going to be looking for things that can make the most money from the broadest base. CH's province-wide signal reach is one of its strong suits, a factor that could mean that you have a better chance of making a niche audience profitable, but the recessionary thinking is likely to favour the safe bet, the lowest common denominator. Despite the Aspers' early talk of strengthening local coverage, they've shown little eagerness to assume the costs of operating a real local news unit. And so you get maybe a quarter of a news hour devoted to local stories, and those 10-15 minutes are repeated four or five times in a 24-hour cycle. (Even the CRTC's inducement of a $60m Local Programming Improvement Fund (a lifeline for public and private broadcasters serving markets of fewer than one million people) hasn't helped -- three weeks after the fund was unveiled, CHCH shed 14 jobs, cancelled four programs, halved its noontime news, shuttered its Halton bureau and began talks to jettison its senior news anchors.) The Globe & Mail's Michael Posner has suggested another long-shot solution for Canwest -- if the CRTC decommercializes the CBC it would raise the tides for Global and CTV holdings. It'll be an interesting spring.

[SteelTown]

CanWest has 8 weeks to find a buyer for CHCH or all of E! channels. By that time it's April which CanWest meets with the CRTC. If they find a buyer it's likely they'll request the CRTC to approve the sale. If no buyer it's likely they'll request the CRTC to bend the rules for less local content.

[SteelTown]

Picture looks fuzzy for CHCH
Chance of sale slim: observer

February 13, 2009
Mark McNeil
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/512942

The president of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting says he doubts there will be a "happy outcome" for local viewers from the strategic review of CHCH television by its parent company Canwest.

Ian Morrison says he believes there will be little interest in buying the stations as a package and he says he thinks it will be extremely doubtful that an organization would want CHCH by itself.

"The number of entities that could add CH to their stable is limited by regulation or the fact they already have the Toronto area market covered."

Morrison believes CHCH will continue in Hamilton. But sagging financial fortunes and an inability to sell the station will be used as an excuse to further reduce local programming.

"The realistic threat is not that you would tune in and see snow on the screen but rather that you would see a deterioration of quality and quantity of local coverage."

He says broadcast regulator the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission should put pressure on the station to fulfill local obligations.

A CRTC spokesperson says broadcasters can apply to reduce their local programming licence commitments. Stations that break their commitments usually find themselves criticized at their next licence renewal.

CHCH had produced more than 40 hours of local programs and recently reduced that to 37 hours. Its licence requires 36.5 hours.

Canwest says it is awaiting the outcome of its review before it determines its next steps.

CHCH's future

CHCH TV is one of five television stations being "strategically reviewed" by parent company Canwest Global Communications.

Canwest is looking at four options:

* Selling: A move that would require approval of the broadcast regulator Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

* Rebranding: Changing CHCH from being part of E! Channel into something else.

* Reprogramming: Dramatically changing its program offerings.

* Closing it down: The company says this is an absolute last resort. And experts say this is extremely unlikely because the broadcasting licence would have considerable value in the marketplace.

For Canwest to walk away would leave a great opportunity for another company to apply and be granted a licence to broadcast on CHCH's frequency.

The stations

The stations, as well as CHCH, being reviewed by Canwest are:

CJNT-TV in Montreal,

CHCA-TV in Red Deer,

CHBC-TV in Kelowna

CHEK-TV in Victoria

How long will the strategic review take?

* Late March to early April. RBCP Capital Markets has been retained to assist in the process.

"Once we have gathered all the information we will make a rational business decision based on comprehensive information," said John Douglas, vice-president of public affairs for Canwest

Canwest woes

* The company is $3.6 billion in debt.

* In November, the company said it was cutting 560 jobs across the country, including 14 jobs at CHCH in an effort to save $61 million.

[SteelTown]

'Save CH,' Facebook petition urges

February 13, 2009
Elisabeth Johns
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/512906

Residents are rallying to save CHCH News from the chopping block.

A Facebook group called "Save CHCH News" has attracted more than 9,100 people in just one week.

An online petition posted yesterday gathered more than 40 signatures in one hour alone.

CHCH has been gutted by layoffs and program cuts. It's one of five community stations across Canada that Canwest is considering to either reprogram or sell.

CHCH general manager Patrick O'Hara said closing the station is the "worst-case scenario."

The Facebook group and petition were created by Jodi Hinkson, a 32-year-old Hamilton mom and an avid CHCH watcher.

"I believe that there would be a great disservice to the communities that CH serves if the station goes dark," Hinkson said in an e-mail. "I wanted to make some noise and rally the viewers behind finding a way to ensure Canwest, or any potential buyer, that we care about our station."

She said the group also hopes to send a message to the CHCH staff that viewers "stand behind them."

She plans to send the petition to Canwest Global and the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

People can sign the petition at gopetition.com/online/25272.html. The link is also listed in the Facebook group.

[MsMe]

Picture looks fuzzy for CHCH

Chance of sale slim: observer

February 13, 2009
Mark McNeil
The Hamilton Spectator
(Feb 13, 2009)
The president of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting says he doubts there will be a "happy outcome" for local viewers from the strategic review of CHCH television by its parent company Canwest.

Ian Morrison says he believes there will be little interest in buying the stations as a package and he says he thinks it will be extremely doubtful that an organization would want CHCH by itself.

"The number of entities that could add CH to their stable is limited by regulation or the fact they already have the Toronto area market covered."

Morrison believes CHCH will continue in Hamilton. But sagging financial fortunes and an inability to sell the station will be used as an excuse to further reduce local programming.

"The realistic threat is not that you would tune in and see snow on the screen but rather that you would see a deterioration of quality and quantity of local coverage."

He says broadcast regulator the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission should put pressure on the station to fulfill local obligations.

A CRTC spokesperson says broadcasters can apply to reduce their local programming licence commitments. Stations that break their commitments usually find themselves criticized at their next licence renewal.

CHCH had produced more than 40 hours of local programs and recently reduced that to 37 hours. Its licence requires 36.5 hours.

Canwest says it is awaiting the outcome of its review before it determines its next steps.

CHCH's future

CHCH TV is one of five television stations being "strategically reviewed" by parent company Canwest Global Communications.

Canwest is looking at four options:

* Selling: A move that would require approval of the broadcast regulator Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

* Rebranding: Changing CHCH from being part of E! Channel into something else.

* Reprogramming: Dramatically changing its program offerings.

* Closing it down: The company says this is an absolute last resort. And experts say this is extremely unlikely because the broadcasting licence would have considerable value in the marketplace.

For Canwest to walk away would leave a great opportunity for another company to apply and be granted a licence to broadcast on CHCH's frequency.

The stations

The stations, as well as CHCH, being reviewed by Canwest are:

CJNT-TV in Montreal,

CHCA-TV in Red Deer,

CHBC-TV in Kelowna

CHEK-TV in Victoria

How long will the strategic review take?

* Late March to early April. RBCP Capital Markets has been retained to assist in the process.

"Once we have gathered all the information we will make a rational business decision based on comprehensive information," said John Douglas, vice-president of public affairs for Canwest

Canwest woes

* The company is $3.6 billion in debt.

* In November, the company said it was cutting 560 jobs across the country, including 14 jobs at CHCH in an effort to save $61 million.

mmcneil@thespec.com

905-526-4687


http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/512942

[adam]

If CHCH "goes dark" it will create a great opportunity for a more local company (if not Hamilton then at least Ontario based) to start broadcasting. This would be a step up.

[thistleclub]

Another twist.

CRTC looks to retool Canadian TV (http://business.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090213.wrcrtc14/BNStory/Business/home)

GRANT ROBERTSON AND JAMES BRADSHAW
From Saturday's Globe and Mail
February 13, 2009 at 9:30 PM EST

In a move that would reshape prime time television, the federal broadcast regulator is considering placing a cap on how much the country's biggest TV networks can spend to acquire hit U.S. shows, such as Grey's Anatomy, The Office and House.

The proposal, which came as a shock to network executives Friday, would require CTV, Global, CITY-TV and others to spend the same amount on Canadian programming as they do on U.S. shows. For every $1 spent on programs from outside the country, a dollar would have to be spent at home creating a domestic show.

The announcement by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission comes just days after new federal data showed the networks spent a record $775-million on foreign programming last year, with most of that content coming from major Hollywood studios.

There are concerns in Ottawa that runaway spending to lock up U.S. shows that do well in the race for ratings is now contributing to network television's financial woes in Canada.

“The commission, at first blush, finds a lot of merit in the idea,” the CRTC said in Friday's announcement, suggesting the proposal could be tested on a trial basis for one year.

However, the networks argue the advertising dollars derived from popular foreign shows, which dominate the ratings each week, help pay for their Canadian productions.

The proposal was welcomed by members of the Canadian television production community, who have raised alarms about declines in spending by the Canadian networks to make domestic shows.

“That is certainly the issue that we have been raising – the disparity between what the [main networks] are spending on foreign dramatic programming and Canadian drama,” said Maureen Parker, executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada.

Since 2003, CTV and Global have escalated the amount they spend on foreign shows in an effort to steal audiences from each other. Though numbers are not broken out by network, back then the commercial networks spent $541-million on foreign programs, and $536-million on Canadian ones.

Last year, spending on foreign shows hit a record $775-million, compared with $619-million to make domestic programs. The numbers include several commercial networks; CTV, Global, CITY-TV, and French networks such as TVA. Public broadcaster CBC is not included.

The networks refused comment on the CRTC announcement Friday, saying they need more time to study it.

It is also possible that such a move could spark a trade war with the U.S, one executive said, if American networks complained about government intervention in the TV market.

The changes affect licence renewal hearings being held in April. The major broadcasters have argued that the state of conventional network television is in decline, as audiences migrate to cable and the Internet. Most industry revenue growth now comes from specialty channels, which collect small fees on monthly cable bills. CanWest Global Communications Corp. and CTVglobemedia Inc., parent company of The Globe and Mail, have bought up dozens of specialty channels between them to take advantage of the steady revenue they offer.

The CRTC said Friday that it will hold licence renewal hearings that combine the big networks with their cable channels starting in 2010, rather than treating them as two separate businesses. The CRTC said it wants to view the broadcasting operations as a whole to determine their profitability, and whether major concessions are needed.

The regulator also decided to issue one-year licence terms for the broadcasters, citing the financial pressure on the big networks, after a steep drop in profits. Licences are usually issued for a seven-year period for the broadcasters, but the one-year term would allow the networks to come back and seek further changes if their situation worsens.

Annual figures showed profits at Canada's major commercial TV networks had fallen more than 90 per cent last year. The industry saw its pretax profits fall to $8.04-million from $112.94-million in 2007.

[flar]

If CHCH "goes dark" it will create a great opportunity for a more local company (if not Hamilton then at least Ontario based) to start broadcasting. This would be a step up.

I don't think that will happen...TV is dead.

[MsMe]

People only want the big screen tv now for DVD movies and to watch sports. I myself go online to read the news now. So I can see tv getting very downsized if it doesn't die altogether.

[omro]

TV itself isn't dead, the linear format is dead.

In today's technological era, people don't want to be forced to watch news at a specific hour and shows at other hours. They want the flexibility of "what I want, when I want it".

I'm not entirely sure about canada, but in the UK DVR/PVRs have taken over. Our sattelite and cable operators offer them built into their packages and you can buy simpler ones for the free to air channels. I have friends who have a Virgin+ Media box and I don't think they've watched a single piece of scheduled programming since they got it. I will have tears in my eyes when I say goodbye to my Sky+ box of over 3 years.

Content delivery is changing. Everything will end up becoming "on demand", so I doubt TV will change, but certain shows will stop being the "9am such and such show" and rather the "9th Novemember such and such show"

Live TV is dying, not television itself.

[flar]

^^I think we have a different Idea of what TV is.

For me, TV==the live stuff, like newscasts and event coverage but really when it comes down to it, the television model is simply a means to deliver audiences to advertisers. It is no longer effective in that respect except for major events like the superbowl. I think ultimately TV is dead because these too will be more effectively delivered over the "tubes" than the "airwaves". The rest of it--shows--can be downloaded, and I think PVRs are an interim solution because they are still based on fixed broadcasts. Eventually everyone will just get their content via fast downloads and watch it on their television set, BUT with no commercials (but note that very young people seem content to watch shows on their laptop screens with earbuds).

The average TV viewer is now around 55; the most sought after demographic for advertisers is younger than this. From a business standpoint, TV stations are no longer profitable. PVRs are a part of this too because the good ones cut out the commercials.

[adam]

I completely agree. I get the feeling they put more effort into making commercials than they do the actual shows!

[omro]

^^I think we have a different Idea of what TV is.

For me, TV==the live stuff, like newscasts and event coverage but really when it comes down to it, the television model is simply a means to deliver audiences to advertisers. It is no longer effective in that respect except for major events like the superbowl. I think ultimately TV is dead because these too will be more effectively delivered over the "tubes" than the "airwaves". The rest of it--shows--can be downloaded, and I think PVRs are an interim solution because they are still based on fixed broadcasts. Eventually everyone will just get their content via fast downloads and watch it on their television set, BUT with no commercials (but note that very young people seem content to watch shows on their laptop screens with earbuds).

The average TV viewer is now around 55; the most sought after demographic for advertisers is younger than this. From a business standpoint, TV stations are no longer profitable. PVRs are a part of this too because the good ones cut out the commercials.

I totally agree with you. PVRs are an interim, but they also point the way. People don't want to be constrained by schedules anymore. You're totally correct, all "video" content is going to be downloaded or streamed in the future and I believe that even "live" content will be delivered in a similar manner. Why miss the beginning seconds of "live from the scene", when you can start the video stream after you've had time to make a cup of tea. The only thing that will be "live" will be the appearance of content mark on the display of the user interface that connects to the server saying that this stream is now viewable.

The channel paradigm is going to end for the most part. A few live 24 hour countrywide news services might still exist, which will feed into their own content deliverables. The latest headlines, weather, business news, etc. Soon it'll be a studio and genre paradigm. What do you want to watch made by this production company today?

I just recently gave away a good 200 VHS tapes to charity, from series I used to collect and films and so on. I'd been keeping onto them just in case I wanted to watch them again and to save myself having to buy the DVDs for something I watched infrequently. Pulling those tapes off the shelves, seeing the old price tags, just made me realise how much money I'd spent over the years and in essence, wasted. Each tape varied between £4.99 and £13.99 so if you median that at £9.50 a cassette, multiply by 200 - that's £1,900 and that's with pretty poor maths.

I rarely collect DVDs and refuse to buy into the whole Blu-Ray packaging. Both are equally expensive, dead formats. It's only a matter of time.

Don't underestimate advertisers, they've been around a long long time. They'll come up with something in the future. The most obvious would be some form of fixed advertising built into the User Interface of the system that is used to deliver your video content onto your television screen. A lot of online video streams force you to sit through a short advert before the content begins and there's no way to stop it. Another would be less subtle product placement within the content. In a few years time, I full expect to watch an episode of CSI: Albuquerque and hear to coroner say "the victim had been been drinking a caffeine free, diet cherry coca cola shortly before the fatal stabbing. At least they enjoyed that refreshing zero calorie drink before they died."

[Dundasguy]

I rarely collect DVDs and refuse to buy into the whole Blu-Ray packaging. Both are equally expensive, dead formats. It's only a matter of time.

Dead formats?

Blu-Ray and DVD offer a picture resolution you cannot get anywhere outside of a movie theatre. I don't think they're going anywhere.

[omro]

Dead formats?

Blu-Ray and DVD offer a picture resolution you cannot get anywhere outside of a movie theatre. I don't think they're going anywhere.

I'll say yes on that to Blu-Ray for now, but DVD is an interim and soon to be dead format. The quality of DVD is actually quite poor, many block colours are full of compression artifacts, which you can ignore, but are visible. Soon manufacturers will stop making DVDs and the only thing that'll keep the discs around longer is the ability for them to be played in multiformat players.

In the UK, you can watch HD films on demand via your cable provider for a cost less than the rental of a DVD or Blu-Ray from Blockbuster or equivalent. OK, they don't get the latest films as quickly, but the lag time is getting less and less. Give it a few years and you won't have a library of DVDs or Blu-Rays in your home, you'll have a link to a service which offers you the chance to watch whatever you want, whenever you want for a subscription fee - plus a pay per view fee towards the "new releases" for similar or perhaps even better quality than you can watch it now on your DVD or Blu-Ray player.

When that happens, all DVDs and Blu-Rays will be, are shelves and shelves of packaging taking up space. It happened to VHS. It happened to laser disc. It's happening to CDs in the iTunes era. These are just other formats waiting to die.

[Millstone]

Dead formats?

Blu-Ray and DVD offer a picture resolution you cannot get anywhere outside of a movie theatre. I don't think they're going anywhere.

First of all, no. Secondly, the Internet as a content delivery system will take optical media out of the picture once and for all by about 2015-2020.

[omro]

First of all, no. Secondly, the Internet as a content delivery system will take optical media out of the picture once and for all by about 2015-2020.

What he said!!

[Dundasguy]

First of all, no. Secondly, the Internet as a content delivery system will take optical media out of the picture once and for all by about 2015-2020.

A standard HD signal can display a resolution of 1080p maximum. In order to stream a movie on demand, you would require a reliable guranteed internet connection of about 30 Mb/s if your using heavy compression, 350Mb/s or so uncompressed. Streaming video transmission is clocked and cannot tolerate any delay or jitter and it cannot be buffered. It would be annoying to be watching a movie with errors blotting the screen every few minutes.

I can guarantee you that Bell or the cable companies cannot and will not be offering anything close to those speeds in 2020 or beyond. Most of the twisted pair copper infrastructure in the ground is ancient and is suseptible to everything from EM, radio, to water. Fibre to the home would be the only possibility and even that would be a stretch. It would require you download first and then view.

[flar]

It would require you download first and then view.

I think that's what people will be doing.

[Millstone]

A standard HD signal can display a resolution of 1080p maximum. In order to stream a movie on demand, you would require a reliable guranteed internet connection of about 30 Mb/s if your using heavy compression, 350Mb/s or so uncompressed. Streaming video transmission is clocked and cannot tolerate any delay or jitter and it cannot be buffered. It would be annoying to be watching a movie with errors blotting the screen every few minutes.

I can guarantee you that Bell or the cable companies cannot and will not be offering anything close to those speeds in 2020 or beyond. Most of the twisted pair copper infrastructure in the ground is ancient and is suseptible to everything from EM, radio, to water. Fibre to the home would be the only possibility and even that would be a stretch. It would require you download first and then view.

It's very brave of you to make a statement like "[this will not happen] in 2020 or beyond". That's 11 years away, and "beyond" is infinite.

Cable can already handle on demand. But I was referring to a "keep at home" method, like a USB key.

And cinemas far surpass DVD quality.

[omro]

A standard HD signal can display a resolution of 1080p maximum. In order to stream a movie on demand, you would require a reliable guranteed internet connection of about 30 Mb/s if your using heavy compression, 350Mb/s or so uncompressed. Streaming video transmission is clocked and cannot tolerate any delay or jitter and it cannot be buffered. It would be annoying to be watching a movie with errors blotting the screen every few minutes.

Compression algorithms are improving all the time. Who thought that DivX would enable a planet of downloaders to watch films in near DVD quality that fit onto a conventional CD.

Human beings are very tolerant. We've had VHS and DVD for a long time now, both are inferior A/V media compared to HD and I'm sure something will come along that makes HD look equally bad.

Not to advertise Virgin Media's V+ service yet further, I personally don't have it, but friends of mine do - combined with a nice 42" HD flatscreen. In the UK you can watch on demand HD films via V+. You can stop, start, pause, review, fast forward and watch the film again and again as many times as you want within a certain period of hours. There were no jitters or delays or anything in the films that I have seen on this service. After the film finished, they reverted back to the standard non-HD TV images and you could see the artifacts in the digitalTV that weren't present within the HD. However, stop looking for them and you stop noticing the artifacts again, which is why DVD became so popular.

[Dundasguy]

Compression algorithms are improving all the time. Who thought that DivX would enable a planet of downloaders to watch films in near DVD quality that fit onto a conventional CD.

Human beings are very tolerant. We've had VHS and DVD for a long time now, both are inferior A/V media compared to HD and I'm sure something will come along that makes HD look equally bad.

It's already here, it's called Super Definition, it will have a resolution equal to or better than a 35mm negative. A single stream of video would probably take up most of your cable bandwith, with audio you should be able to get 1 channel. Just think of the money you'll have on remotes.

Human beings aren't tolerant, North Americans are. Japan has had HDTV for over 20 years.

[SteelTown]

CanWest seeks financial saviour amid debt crisis
By SINCLAIR STEWART, ANDREW WILLIS and GRANT ROBERTSON AND TARA PERKINS
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090220.RCANWEST20/TPStory/Business

February 20, 2009

Leonard Asper is scrambling to secure a financial lifeline for CanWest Global Communications Corp. before the end of the month to prevent his family-run media empire from sliding into bankruptcy protection.

Yet even if he is successful, the price of that lifeline could be steep. Some potential investors - including Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd.- want to take control of CanWest away from the Asper family in exchange for any cash infusion.

At least one investor weighing a proposal said it would insist that Mr. Asper step aside as chief executive officer and that he and his siblings eliminate the dual-class share structure that gives them control of the company, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Officials at some of CanWest's main creditors believe that if the company cannot find access to hundreds of millions of dollars in new credit within the next few weeks, it could be forced to seek protection from lenders and restructure under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. CanWest, which owes $3.9-billion, and its primary adviser, RBC Dominion Securities, have approached numerous institutional investors to gauge their interest in a deal.

The response from potential backers has been lukewarm, not merely because of CanWest's economic woes brought on by the recession, but because several creditors are jockeying for protection in any restructuring process.

CanWest's borrowing capacity was put on a tighter leash this month when a senior credit facility was cut back to $112-million from $300-million by Bank of Nova Scotia. The new limit is about $20-million above what CanWest has already drawn.

The limit is in place until next Friday and Mr. Asper is now trying to negotiate a new borrowing agreement by that date, in order to have the full amount of credit reinstated.

"Options on the table include some sort of recapitalization that would see creditors take a haircut, and the Asper family squeezed out," said one banker working on CanWest. "Leonard Asper ... is still focused on trying to find some sort of solution that salvages something for the family."

CanWest spokesman John Douglas said "we have ... a very structured process. It has checkpoints all along it, and one of those checkpoints is reaching an agreement with our senior lenders. That is where all the attention is being devoted right now."

CanWest's largest non-family shareholder, Fairfax Financial, is among investors that have expressed interest in a new capital injection to forestall bankruptcy protection. Bankers close to the company suggest Fairfax or other investors would have to inject about $300-million to be effective. A condition of such an investment by Fairfax would be a change in control at CanWest, according to sources.

Some other funds, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, have been approached by CanWest officials, but said they were not interested in investing in the media company, sources say.

Sources familiar with the matter said Fairfax is holding off on a proposal until it gets more information on the state of CanWest's financial health - something it has been unable to obtain thus far. Any proposal would require an investor to hammer out a separate agreement with Goldman Sachs, which is a partner in CanWest's specialty channels, a stable of assets that rank among the company's most prized properties.

CanWest borrowed heavily to acquire a nationwide newspaper chain and specialty television network, Alliance Atlantis Communications, bought in 2007 for $2.3-billion. Mr. Asper anticipated paying down loans with the cash flow that comes from advertising in near-monopoly properties.

But advertising spending has dropped sharply, leaving CanWest in breach of debt covenants.

CanWest's lenders, led by the Bank of Nova Scotia, are reluctant to push the company into CCAA protection, but are pushing Mr. Asper for a plan that will see their loans repaid, banking sources say. Options being discussed by lenders include parachuting in a restructuring expert, who would supervise the sale or closing of operations.

Mr. Douglas said the company is reviewing all strategic alternatives as part of its restructuring. Relinquishing control, either by stepping back from the CEO role or allowing an investor to acquire CanWest voting shares, is not a scenario Mr. Asper has been wiling to pursue so far.

In a CCAA filing, creditors would take the reins at CanWest, and the Asper family's control of the company, based in part on a dual share structure, would disappear.

[ryan_mcgreal]

when it comes down to it, the television model is simply a means to deliver audiences to advertisers. It is no longer effective in that respect except for major events like the superbowl.

I'd say TV is dead in the same sense that Paul Graham argues that Microsoft is dead (http://www.paulgraham.com/microsoft.html): "not that Microsoft is suddenly going to stop making money, but that people at the leading edge of the software business no longer have to think about them."

Similarly, TV will carry on, but it will no longer be at the forefront of entertainment/news programming. Of course, that won't stop the people who make a living from TV from trying to hamstring the disruptive competition (http://raisethehammer.org/blog/1232) emerging in online media.

[hmagazine]

A warm hello to all members and friends of The Hamilton Association,


Our next free public lecture will be this Saturday, February 21,
beginning at 8 pm in the usual place, Room 1A1, Ewart Angus Centre,
McMaster University Medical Centre.

Our speaker this month will be Canadian journalist Ian Brown.

His talk is titled:

Everything But the News: A Journalist's Future

Ian Brown considers the fate of narrative journalism when newspaper
readership is declining, and media struggle to re-invent themselves in
an age of blogs, twitter and infotainment. He asks whether there is
still a place for well-told stories to help us understand human experience.

Ian Brown's accomplishments are as varied as his interests. He has
written for magazines such as Macleans; newspapers, notably the Globe
and Mail; hosted CBC Radio's late lamented literary program Talking
Books and still hosts TVOntario documentary programming. His feature
articles range from an hour-by-hour description of individual stories
played out over three days in a Toronto hospital, to a public
correspondence with L'Arche founder Jean Vanier about discovering
one's humanity. He has three published books, Freewheeling, about the
family dynasty behind Canadian Tire Corporation, Man Overboard: True
Adventures with North American Men, and an edited collection of
essays, What I Meant to Say. His next book, The Boy in the Moon, due
out this year, is about living with his son Walker who has a rare,
profound genetic disorder.

Please help us expand our audience by informing friends and colleagues
who might be interested in this presentation.

Tax receipts for the 2008 tax year will be available from our
treasurer, David Keane.

Hope to see you on Saturday!


Sincerely,

Aurelia Shaw
HAALSA Secretary ( secretary@haalsa.org Tel. 905-527-0080 )

[ryan_mcgreal]

http://thespec.com/News/Business/article/519200

Hamilton Spectator to lay off 35
The Hamilton Spectator
Feb 24, 2009

The Spectator is laying off 35 staff across the newspaper in reaction to the global economic downturn and the resulting slowdown in the media industry.

"We're confident these reductions, while painful for our team, can be accomplished in a manner that will be invisible to our readers and advertisers," publisher Dana Robbins said yesterday.

Layoffs were also announced at the Record of Waterloo Region and the Guelph Mercury. The Spectator and its sister dailies are part of Metroland Media Group Ltd., a division of Torstar Corp.

The Spectator layoffs represent 30 full-time jobs, or 7 per cent of a staff complement of 430. The layoff affects positions in the editorial, circulation, advertising, production and business units.

"This is an extremely sad day for the union at The Hamilton Spectator," said Paul Morse, CEP Local 87-M chair. "These layoffs will cut deeply into a newspaper that has always provided highest-quality journalism."

Robbins said it was hoped the economic downturn would be "sharp and short, but it's ended up not being short, quite the opposite.

"There is not a company in Hamilton that is not facing similar circumstances.

"When our community suffers, The Spectator suffers, and that's what we're seeing."

David Estok, editor-in-chief, told newsroom staff that specific layoff notifications will be made shortly.

"This is, and always has been, a caring newsroom," Estok said. "Our thoughts and support will be with our colleagues who will be leaving."

Layoffs at the Record are equivalent to 20 full-time jobs in a staff complement of 272. At the Mercury, it's 13 of 85 full-time jobs.

[LikeHamilton]

CTV to close two Ontario stations

Reuters

TORONTO — Broadcaster CTV Inc. will shut a pair of its television stations in Ontario, citing “the current global economic crisis” and structural problems facing the conventional TV sector, it said Wednesday.

CTV, owned by privately held CTVglobemedia Inc., said it will not apply to renew the licences for the two stations when they expire at the end of August, 2009.

The stations operate under the A brand, offering network entertainment and local news programming in the Wingham and Windsor regions. CTV did not specify how many jobs will be lost as a result of their closing.
“The traditional economic model for Canadian television is broken,” Paul Sparkes, CTVglobe's executive vice-president of corporate affairs, said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, we may need to consider similar actions in other local markets given the current regulatory framework.”

In November, CTV cut 105 jobs and became yet another media company to reduce staff as the advertising market falters.

CTV rival CanWest Global Communications Corp. also cut broadcasting jobs last year and is now considering selling five conventional TV stations.

Broadcasters like CanWest and CTV have argued they deserve a share of the subscriber fees charged by cable and satellite companies for carrying their signals.

They say such a fee-for-carriage would help offset a drop in advertising revenues they have suffered as a result of the rise of cable and satellite services.

However, last October, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, the federal regulator, turned down their requests.

“The financial pressures facing our conventional television operations are further compounded by the commission's decision to turn down requests to implement a fee-for-carriage regime for local television,” Mr. Sparkes said.

Woodbridge Co. Ltd., the Thomson family's private holding company, owns 40 per cent of CTVglobe, while Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan owns a 25 per cent stake, Torstar Corp. owns 20 per cent and BCE Inc. owns the remaining 15 per cent.

[SteelTown]

CTV says economic model for TV is broken, shuts two Ontario stations
3 hours ago
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iPtX7M2YdDpZ7yFr4VFBsM2iuh1A

TORONTO — Canadian broadcaster CTV Television Inc. says it's shutting down two small Ontario television stations hurt by the struggling economy and a squeeze on advertising.

The broadcaster says it will not seek to renew the licences for stations CKNX-TV in Wingham and CHWI-TV in Wheatley and Windsor when they expire at the end of August.

The stations operate under the A-Channel brand and are in a part of southwestern Ontario hurt by auto layoffs, plant closures and streamlining of the manufacturing sector.

CTV said in a release Wednesday that the decision to close the stations reflects financial pressures at the company's conventional TV operations in the wake of the CRTC's decision last fall to deny fee-for-carriage charges that would have pumped more money into the industry.

'The traditional economic model for Canadian television is broken," Paul Sparkes, a spokesman for parent company CTVglobemedia (TSX:BCE), said in the announcement Wednesday.

'Unfortunately, we may need to consider similar actions in other local markets given the current regulatory framework."

Last week, CTV announced that it was putting CKX-TV Brandon in western Manitoba up for sale after the CBC decided it wasn't going to continue paying the company to carry its news and entertainment content.

CTV is warning that it'll pull the plug on the Manitoba station if another broadcaster doesn't buy it.

'I view (these announcements) as a poker game between CTV and the CRTC," said Ian Morrison, a spokesman for the watchdog group, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.

'It's CTV putting pressure on the commission."

The latest developments involving over-the-air networks mark what some are calling a sea change in the Canadian television industry.

Last month Canwest Global Communications Corp. (TSX:CGS) decided to put its five E! channels up for sale, which sparked outrage in some local communities.

In Hamilton, a grassroots campaign has paired employees at CHCH-TV with other locals to rescue the station from being sold to a community outsider.

Instead the group is trying to keep the channel on the air with a new proposal to the CRTC later this spring.

'We (the group) have met and we have secured support from our local Members of Parliament, provincial legislature, local politicians," said Donna Skelly, a news anchor at CHCH and spokeswoman for the initiative.

'What we are proposing, is an all-news (station) - for the most part. It would be local . . . it wouldn't carry American programing."

Skelly said the group has created a five-year plan that is designed to make the station profitable.

However, turning a profit in this uncertain economy has been a challenge that big companies have failed to meet.

Last fall, broadcasters stormed from negotiations with the CRTC after the commission told Canwest, CTV and other private-sector stations that they wouldn't be allowed to charge cable and satellite distributors for carrying their channels.

Broadcasters called the decision unfair and warned that it could affect their operations.

Then earlier this month, the CRTC released a report which said that annual profits for private-sector conventional TV stations fell to a mere $8 million before interest and taxes, down from $112.9 million.

Revenues dropped 1.5 per cent to $2.1 billion.

The bottom lines at other major Canadian broadcasters have also been shrinking, and some companies have laid off employees to tighten their operating costs.

Canwest is working towards a Friday deadline to renegotiate the terms of bank debt and has put its five E! channels up for sale and is trying to sell other non-core assets, including overseas properties in Australia.

And public broadcaster CBC has been talking with the Heritage Department about concerns the economic downturn will drag the company into a deep deficit during the 2009-2010 financial year.

[SteelTown]

So what do you think of turning CHCH into basically Hamilton's version of CP24?

[bornagainbiking]

The CBC is struggling with a multi-million dollar revenue shortfall and wants Ottawa to provide bridge financing to help balance the books. Should the government say yes?


"The CBC already receives "substantial financing" from federal coffers, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said today as the public broadcaster sought help from Ottawa to stave off cuts to staff and programming.

The public broadcaster says it's in talks with the Heritage Department about the dire effects of a sinking economy, which it says will plunge the corporation into a deep deficit in 2009-2010.

But Flaherty said the CBC already receives a significant amount of public money each year.

"There's substantial financing for CBC in the budget – $1 billion," Flaherty said in a scrum with reporters in Ottawa.

"And traditionally, in recent years, they've received an additional $60 million on top of the $1 billion."

CBC president Hubert Lacroix has said that a $65-million advertising shortfall forced the corporation to draw from reserve funds to balance its books this fiscal year.

But he said the outlook for next year is significantly worse and will require "decisive action in the coming months" that could involve cuts to programs and staff.

A CBC spokesman said Wednesday that those decisions would be made by mid-March.

"We anticipate ... that it's going to be a very difficult year," Jeff Keay said of 2009-2010.

"Like every other media organization in the country, we're facing significant challenges and those challenges do in fact put programming, services and our own people at risk."

Over at CTV, the private broadcaster said today that the economy was forcing it to close two of its television stations. CTV said A channel stations in the southern Ontario communities of Windsor and Wingham would be shuttered when their licences expire at the end of August and that closures in other communities may follow.

Tough times were also in store for the CBC, Lacroix said in an internal memo to staff this week.

"The combination of a severe slump in our commercial revenues, coupled with rising costs of production, is a menacing test that will demand some tough choices on our part," Lacroix writes in the memo, distributed Tuesday.

"Tough choices that will affect, in one way or another, jobs, services and programs in our corporation. We are still working away at finalizing plans. Nothing has yet been determined."

The comments follow several days of conflicting reports regarding the financial state of the CBC.

While some critics suggest the CBC's current fiscal year will end in the red, Keay insists the corporation projects balanced books.

The dire outlook comes after the corporation took the unusual step of buying broadcast rights to U.S. shows including "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" last year, a move heavily criticized by the broadcast industry watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.

Keay said the investments were made to draw more viewers to the CBC and its Canadian programming. And while he says the game shows have delivered viewers, he admitted that an industry-wide advertising slump has mitigated those gains.

"In the context of the falling advertising revenues, it's too soon to say, but the model is perfectly sound and valid," he said of the CBC's decision to invest in U.S. shows."

[matt602]

So what do you think of turning CHCH into basically Hamilton's version of CP24?

As long as it really were exactly that, I would love it. CHCH's local coverage has been slimmed down so much now that it's just useless. It's final transformation into "E!" was really the ultimate kick in the nuts.

Any station with more local Hamilton coverage than we have now would be something I'd enjoy.

[SteelTown]

CHCH staff launch bold bid

February 26, 2009
Emma Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/520615

CHCH staff members are proposing a new plan for their troubled station that would allow it to be owned and controlled by community members.

Donna Skelly, the station's former union chair and co-host of Live at 5:30, is spearheading a group of 100 CHCH staff members who are approaching the CRTC with their community-based business model.

If successful, the TV station would use a governing structure similar to a hospital. Rather than being operated by a large media company, CHCH would be governed by a board of directors made up of community leaders.

Canwest, CHCH's current parent company, has put the station on the market in light of Canwest's dire financial situation. If a buyer does not step forward, the station could be shut down within weeks.

"We can't wait for this. We have to intervene," Skelly said of the group's decision to take action.

Skelly says the station is a perfect candidate for a new annual CRTC funding program designated for local news that would allow the group to go ahead with its plan.

The funding, which amounts to $40 million for English programming, is generated by a 50-cent per subscriber fee from cable providers.

The recipients of the CRTC funding will be determined in April, Skelly said.

"We believe that we are the primary candidates for this fund. We are the only station in this market. We need this funding to survive."

Along with the CRTC funding, the station would also need to raise $500,000 from the community to go ahead with the plan.

The new model would also allow for local businesses to purchase advertising at a greatly reduced rate. Currently, CH's ads are priced out of the market for most local organizations, Skelly said.

The station would provide mostly local news, Skelly said, and no American programming.

For more information, contact savechnews@gmail.com.

[drpgq]

Crap, if they're that desperate to sell for pennies on the dollar, maybe Bob Young could pick it up on the cheap and do something with it.

[SteelTown]

Yea Bob Young could get his own Ti-Cats/USL channel plus local news. That's actually not a bad idea. Perhaps they could partner up with him.

[SteelTown]

Skelly’s CH plan gaining support

February 26, 2009
Emma Reilly
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/article/521242

As CH’s parent company faces a deadline on its $100-million debt, anchor Donna Skelly says her proposed community-based business model is gaining support from area residents.

Skelly, the co-host of Live at 5:30, is proposing a new plan for the station that would put its licence in the control of a local board of directors rather than a large media company.

Skelly said she’s in contact with business people, filmmakers and workers in the media industry who have offered their help.

She’s scheduled to meet with Mayor Fred Eisenberger next week to discuss the city’s involvement in the plan.

“I’m meeting with someone every day about this,” Skelly said.

Canwest, which owns CH as well as a chain of television stations and newspapers, faces a deadline tomorrow for a $100 million debt with some of the company’s bankers. Unless it can renegotiate, Canwest will be in a default.

Skelly’s proposal, which was approved unanimously by the CH union and non-union employees Monday night, would see the station funded by an annual CRTC grant and contributions from the community. If the plan is successful, the station would provide mostly local news programming.

Greg O’Brien, the publisher and editor of Cartt.ca, an online industry publication, said Skelly’s group is facing a tough battle.

“There’s some regulatory challenges there,” O’Brien said. “They have CRTC requirements to air Canadian drama, so they would have to get an exemption. There’s also the issue of whether Canwest would want to sell it.

“The media environment right now is in total upheaval, so I can’t say whether it’s going to work.”

In order for the community-based business model to be financially viable, O’Brien said, the station would need “substantial” support from community advertisers.

If CHCH succeeds in securing its own licence, it would be the first community-owned television station in the country.

The community-based model is gaining popularity among media outlets struggling to stay afloat during an industry-wide downturn.

Two online newspapers in the U.S., Minnpost.com and voiceofsandiego.org, operate on a not-for-profit model and survive with grants and contributions from their readers.

O’Brien thinks it could be a sign of what’s to come in the media.

“We’re just in the beginning stages of a transformation in the media,” he said. “Everyone’s just in search of a business model.”

[thistleclub]

Sometimes corporate synergy gets you a front row seat.


Canwest gains time in debt reworking (http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1338492)
Deadline March 11
Grant Surridge, National Post
Saturday, February 28, 2009

Canwest Global Communications Corp. secured a two-week reprieve late yesterday to continue negotiating the terms governing its debt covenants.

The Winnipeg-based publisher and broadcaster said in a press release it will continue discussions with its senior lenders to extend a $112-million line of credit beyond March 11.

In the meantime, the company said it has enough money to continue financing its daily operations.

"Based upon cash on hand and current cash flow projections, [Canwest] believes it will have sufficient liquidity to enable it to continue operating normally through the period," the company said.

The company also said its syndicate of five banks has permanently capped the line of credit at $112-million.

In February, senior lenders said a subsidiary of Canwest,

Canwest Media Inc., could withdraw no more than $20-million on the credit line until yesterday. Canwest Media includes conventional Canadian television properties, the National Post newspaper and a selection of cable channels.

Canwest Media has already drawn $92-million from what was originally a $300-million credit facility. In exchange for capping the credit line, bankers granted Canwest Media some wiggle room on its debt covenants.

In total, Canwest is carrying about $3.7-billion of debt on its books. Much of that was taken on to purchase a portion of Alliance Atlantis Communications in 2007 in partnership with the U. S. investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Canwest Media warned last month that it would be in danger of breaching its debt covenants in the second quarter of this year.

Canwest has said it would put its five-station network of conventional television stations up for sale, while CTVglobemedia Inc. said this week that it would shutter two money-losing 'A' channel stations in Southern Ontario.

Canwest said it continues to take "proactive steps to reduce its operating and capital costs" and that it "continues to actively pursue opportunities to divest of non-core operations and assets."

"Not a lot has changed. We have a structured process here," Canwest spokesman John Douglas said yesterday. "We're just continuing moving it along."

+

CTV projects loss of $100-million on conventional television (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090227.wctv0227/BNStory/National/)
GRANT ROBERTSON
Globe and Mail update
February 27, 2009 at 10:20 PM EST

Amid a slumping economy, CTV Inc. told federal regulators it expects to lose as much as $100-million on its conventional television operations in 2009, painting a bleak portrait of the year ahead in the TV sector.

That announcement was contained in documents filed to federal broadcast regulators that also revealed CTVglobemedia took a $1.7-billion writedown on its television operations at the end of the last quarter.

The figure is the largest in a recent parade of hefty writedowns on television assets this year. In November, CTV rival CanWest Global Communications Corp. announced it was writing down the value of its television assets by $1-billion. This month, Rogers Communications Inc. said it was writing down the value of its City-tv network by $294-million.

The moves reflect a deterioration in the value of network television assets in recent years, as competition from cable channels and the Internet has shifted audiences and advertising dollars away from the big networks. While the companies don't take a cash hit, accounting rules require them to adjust the value on their books.

“These are tough times for all Canadian businesses, but those of us who work in the broadcasting sector are feeling the effects of both our own unique issues and the recession,” CTVglobemedia Inc. chief executive officer Ivan Fecan told the network's staff in a memo Friday. CTVglobemedia is the parent company of CTV and also owns The Globe and Mail.

A steep drop in advertising revenue brought on by a recession has hit the networks hard at a time when they have also spent heavily to acquire programming from Hollywood in a battle for ratings, and to sell more commercials.

Mr. Fecan told staff the company would resume its call to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to let the conventional TV networks charge fees for their signals. Only specialty channels can charge monthly fees, including those owned by the big broadcasters, such as TSN and Showcase. The proposal has been a controversial one so far, since the cable and satellite companies have said they will pass the fees, of about 50 cents a month, to consumers. The networks have been turned down twice by the CRTC on the proposal.

“In the long term, we believe the only real solution to the crisis in conventional is fee-for-carriage, which American broadcasters have been negotiating and are now beginning to receive,” Mr. Fecan said.

In revealing the significant writedown to the CRTC in regulatory filings, CTV also said it may have to cut back on programming commitments in some TV markets this year, which could affect spending on news shows. The announcement comes in advance of licence renewal hearings set for April.
Television writers and producers are concerned that the networks plan to demand significant reductions to the amount of Canadian shows they must produce, using the economy as the basis for their argument.

In its filing Friday, CTV argued the problems for conventional TV run deeper and asked the regulator to only give it a one year licence renewal for all of its stations. CTV said any short term fixes the regulator could put in place over the next year would have little impact. It would rather discuss the fee issue at broader hearings in 2010.

After announcing this week it will close two small-market TV stations in Windsor and Wingham, Ont., CTV said it may have to take similar steps in other markets. Its conventional TV stations lost $13-million last year, the first time they had recorded a loss.

Though CTV and CanWest have bought dozens of cable stations, which are fed by monthly subscriber fees, as a way to diversify their assets, CTV said that hasn't compensated for the decline in network television revenue.

“Since we now lose significant amounts of money in conventional, it is clear that our company would be in better financial position if we closed our conventional television operations,” the network said. “Our revenues are dropping precipitously. Moreover, when advertisers do make a buy, it is at the very last minute, making forecasting impossible,” the networks said.

Regulatory filings from CanWest and Rogers Communications are expected to be made public next week. It is expected that CanWest will paint a similarly bleak picture of the TV industry in its filings. CanWest has put its five-city E! network up for sale and has indicated it may shut them down if a buyer can't be found.

The writedowns on TV assets in Canada come on the heels of major writedowns in the United States. CBS Corp. took a write down of $14.12-billion (U.S.) on its flagship TV network and radio stations. Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. wrote down several of its media properties, including taking $4.6-billion (U.S.) out of the value of its broadcast assets such as the Fox network.

When CanWest announced its writedown, the company's CEO Leonard Asper said TV networks no longer carry the values they had only a decade ago. “The big network television station, which used to be one of three places you could get information, is not as valuable as it was,” Mr. Asper said at the time. In a memo to staff, he compared the media writedowns to a drop in real estate prices.

“A year ago, for example, a house on the market might have been worth $350,000. ... Now that real estate prices have fallen, that same house is possibly now only worth $200,000,” Mr. Asper said. “But did anything with the house change? No, but the weakening market has forced it, along with all the other houses in the neighbourhood down.”

[realcity]

Let them go. As if a TV market the size of Canada won't develop another one to take its place. It's only too bad that CHUM was bought by CTVGlobemedia or else we would've had a third national network.

All the same, if CanWest goes that means more opportunity for Rogers or Torstar who will fill the void. SunMedia is crap, the A-Channel shows 10 year old reruns of Becker and 5 year old movies. A-Channel was supposed to be Torstar's, with programming for the Niagara-Hamilton-Halton market.

[adam]

^^ Agree, but I'd rather say hello to a locally run station.

[SteelTown]

Canwest set to sell - but likely not CHCH
Hamilton station not a prime target: Analyst

March 03, 2009
David Friend
The Canadian Press
TORONTO
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/523230

Canwest Global Communications Corp. has just more than a week to prove to lenders that it's making inroads in its struggle to repay debt, cut costs and sell off assets to improve its bottom line.

And the tight timeline granted by the media company's creditors suggests the cash-strapped media giant already has some sales lined up, analysts suggested yesterday.

"The banks want to see if (the company) can make some further progress ... over the next few days," said Chris Diceman, senior vice-president at the Dominion Bond Rating Service.

On Friday, Canwest won an extension on the borrowing conditions of its debt until March 11.

Diceman said the extension signals that Canwest's lenders found some optimism in the company's quest to rework its assets, which probably means the company is in discussions with buyers.

It's unlikely, he added, that Hamilton's CHCH TV is on the list of potential sales right now.

"The difficulty right now is that all media businesses are under pressure, including the strongest players," he said. "It would be tough ... to justify that kind of investment."

In the TV world, he said, Canwest's specialty stations might draw more investor interest because they have a base of subscribers instead of relying entirely on advertising.

Even with the debt extension, Canwest will likely have to appeal to its lenders to have the March deadline extended yet again.

"You're going to see a series of deadlines met, extended, adjusted and modified because the banks don't want to own the (Canwest) business," said one media analyst who asked to remain anonymous.

With each deadline that passes "the noose will tighten a little more."

If Canwest's plan fails, and the company defaults on its debt, more dire consequences could be ahead.

"In and of itself, this (deadline) is not final, however this could be the rock that begins the landslide," said Carmi Levy, an analyst at AR Communications Inc. in London, Ont.

"If they default on this one chunk of debt, then it throws into doubt their ability to effectively service the rest of their debt."

Canwest CEO Leonard Asper has been trying to avoid such an outcome by meeting banks and potential investors to shop around its "non-core" assets, which the company has never publicly defined.

Observers have suggested that could mean anything from its highly lucrative specialty cable channels to the struggling National Post newspaper.

[LikeHamilton]

"A" News in London has announced the cancellation of its morning show, effective immediately.

Staff were informed of the decision a short while ago.

It means the loss of approximately 40 positions.

The cancellation impacts a number of employees, including well known on-air personalities such as Cheryl Weedmark, Jeremy John, Houida Kassem, Bevin Palmateer and Bob Smith.

The station will replace the morning show programming from 6am-9am with six back to back repeats of the previous night's 11pm newscast.

The cuts in London are among 118 positions slashed by CTV today at other "A" stations across the country. Morning shows were also cancelled in Victoria, and other markets.

Today's announcement follows word last week that CTV Globemedia planned on shutting down its "A" News stations in Windsor and Wingham by August of this year.

[SteelTown]

Wow, so London can watch the 11pm news over and over 4 times in the morning instead. HAHA

[block43]

they could film an hour of CH morning live and repeat it over and over and it would be the same, no?

[thistleclub]

Grade-A spin: (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090303/business/craft_ctv_a_channel)

"These are extremely difficult and challenging decisions to make given it's not about the quality of our 'A' programming or that we have achieved double-digit audience growth," said CTVglobemedia spokesman Paul Sparkes.

"We simply can't monetize our success. We are doing everything we can to hang on to conventional television but, as we continue to stress, the conventional model is now broken."

[fastcarsfreedom]

The good old days--seeing this now almost chokes me up. Lots of local shots, plus Dan McLean, Connie Smith, the late Tom Cherington, and Matt Hayes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfW3vtTmxjs

[mic67]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090310.RWILLIS10/TPStory/Business

"The worst-case scenario is now factored into CanWest's valuation. Debt trades at prices that mirror what DBRS calculates creditors would receive in a bankruptcy filing. The company's equity is worth just $51-million, compared with a market capitalization of $1.5-billion four short years ago. All signs point to a wrenching restructuring at CanWest before this recession is over."

Humm... Ok..translation please...

4 years ago the market cap was $1.5 billion and now it is $51 million??

Also somewhere I recall that the gross for chch was $110 million with a net of about $8 mill on that? Maybe it was for something else.

Canwest over did it when they went for Alliance-Atlantis for , what was it 2 +billion??

There is no OTA channel that is a news/weather that CHCH could do, chch will not close for along if at all, it does have significant value, mainly because of the prox. to Toronto.

It really could become a community station just like the way that the cable 10 stations use to be, but reception by antenna.

mic67

[SteelTown]

Canwest gets extension on debt deadline
CHCH staff pursue bid to take over local station

March 11, 2009
The Hamilton Spectator and wire services
http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/528375

TORONTO — Canwest Global Communications Corp. secured another reprieve over its financial woes tonight.

Canwest was facing a deadline for renegotiating borrowing conditions on its debt as well as an estimated $38 million in repayments due Friday.

The deadline has now been extended to April 7.

Canwest has been shopping around some assets — including CHCH in Hamilton — and making agreements to sell certain divisions.

This would give lenders confidence that progress is being made, said Chris Diceman, senior vice-president of debt rating service DBRS.

“Should they have additional (deals) that are in the works, I’m thinking the banks might give them some time to fully execute on those.”

Canwest was granted its first extension in late February when it was given 12 extra days to continue talks intended to stave off a potential bankruptcy protection filing.

The extension restricted Canwest to borrowing $112 million, down from $300 million, by its lender, Scotiabank.

The company has already borrowed $92 million.

Friday had been the due date for subsidiary Canwest Media to pay back interest on its senior notes, a payment DBRS estimates is about $38 million.

In Hamilton, where the future of CHCH hangs in the balance, a local group is continuing to develop a plan to take local ownership of the station.

Donna Skelly, a CH anchor, has been heading the push to have the station’s licence transferred to a local board of directors.

A company has been incorporated for the project, and confidentiality agreements will be signed soon with Canwest, giving the local group access to detailed financial information.

The group is drafting a business plan for the station, an effort being aided by Paul Bates, dean of McMaster University’s DeGroote business school.

The group’s biggest need right now, Skelly said, is money and she hopes all three levels of government will meet that need.

“We have to draft a business plan and that costs money,” she said. “We’re moving ahead regardless but we’re hoping all three levels of government will step up for this.

“Local news is important to the identity of this city, especially in a recession. It just doesn’t make sense to pull the plug on a local news outlet,” she said.

[SteelTown]

Supporters rally behind CHCH today

March 17, 2009
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/531459

CHCH supporters will take to the streets today.

Organizers of a rally will meet in the parking lot at City Hall at Bay Street between Main and Hunter streets at 6 p.m. and walk up to the station.

Canwest Global is considering selling the television station. If it cannot find a buyer, the station may be shut down entirely. Some fear a buyer might reduce the amount of local programming.

Nearly $3,000 was raised after a fundraising concert for CHCH was held on Sunday pitching "20 bands for 20 bucks." CHCH personalities Donna Skelly and Nick Dixon were on hand to help introduce bands that included Tomi Swick and Dean Lickyer. Organizers drew around 150 people to the downtown Club Absinthe nightclub.

City resident and rally organizer Jodi Hinkson said, "At the end of the day we want to make sure we still have news on the air" and that the number of hours of local news is not reduced.

[SteelTown]

During the news CH said there's a community bid and another bid from a undisclosed buyer. That's the first time I heard that.

[Atticus]

Moses Znaimer, formerly of City TV, has been quietly kicking the tires...

[SteelTown]

That would be nice since he's a supporter of stong independent local content.

[hmagazine]

I too have heard the Znaimer rumour. He may or may not be in town on Wednesday for a luncheon.

Zoom TV perhaps?

[mic67]

http://www.thespec.com/News/Discover/article/534094

"Locally, Hamilton's CHCH is projected to lose about $29 million next year, according to material filed to the CRTC to support Canwest's application to renew the station's broadcast licence."

"In Canwest's case, the debt load of its $2.3-billion deal for Alliance Atlantis is magnified by an additional $3.2-billion tab dating back to 2000, when it acquired a chain of major newspapers across Canada. All of which has sent Canwest officials scrambling to begin selling assets this month and to hammer out a new credit deal with its lenders. Canwest now has until April 7 to reach an agreement."

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Broadcasting has changed.......

The CRTC refused "fee for carriage" request by broadcasters. Although that may and ought to be reconsider. It seems reasonable and fair, but the chairman initially did not agree as when he asked the broadcasters if that would help local programming they said NO????

If corporate bradcasters cant make these stations viable then the communities in which they are located ought to take control and use the template of cable 10 stations to make them work - waynes world:}

Any way you look at it CHCH is a real prize - given its distance to Toronto. Now if they could only get it together to have a decent transportation link, Hamiltons fortunes would dramatically improve. But if they still dont have a link from Pearson airport to Union train station, - go figure on any sort of link to Toronto, let alone any LRT system in Hamilton.

mic67