Brutal cuts to news at the City TV's

[Yeziknoradio]

Thank-you CBC for this information regarding CityNews and Citynews international:

"CityNews at Noon, CityNews at Five, both in the Toronto market, and CityNews International, which runs across the country, have been cancelled, according to the Citytv website.

Stations in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver will no longer produce a 6 p.m. newscast. Winnipeg was unaffected by the layoffs."

AND

"six per cent of the Citytv workforce of 1,000 employees — or 60 people — were laid off.

On-air personalities, including Anne Mroczkowski and Laura DiBattista in Toronto and Aisling Slattery in Calgary, were reported to be affected, as well as writers, producers, editors and camera people.

Citytv will continue to produce Breakfast Television and CityLine for all markets and CityNews at Six and CityNews Tonight in Toronto"

Sourcre: http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/story/2010/01/19/citytv-layoffs.html

Oh...Happy new year City TV!...and Thanks for not making the cuts at Christmas time. ;D

 

[e-dawg]

Darn, I was hoping for Citynews to be in competing with other nationals newscast such as CTV News with Lloyd Robertson and Global National with Kevan Newman. Also I was hoping for Citynews to expland their newscast at 6pm and 11pm in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmontion, and Winnipeg.

 

[mjlarochelle]

Citytv just continues to drift away into irrelevance. Why they would even still call it "City" TV is beyond me.

I wonder what ratings for their morning shows are like in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, where the local Global stations dominate mornings. Winnipeg and Toronto are the cities they have the competitive advantage - there's no local competition whatsoever.

 

[hintomedia]

No big loss in Vancouver (though I feel for those who're let go). Whatever CKVU was showing at 6pm could not be considered a newscast. CKVU ceased being a news station to me the day their *real* 6pm and 11pm newscasts were cancelled in 2006. Sure, BT Vancouver lingered on, but I just never felt the inclination to watch it whenever I'm actually home in Vancouver; I'm more likely watching Global BC (as is most if not all of the rest of the Lower Mainland), KCPQ or, heck, KTLA. Sad for a once-respectable second place news station.

At least the early evening void in Vancouver has been filled with CBUT's 5-6.30pm local news block; likewise with Edmonton and Calgary. (Though I just wonder if they absolutely had to show Coronation Street at 6.30pm.)

I wonder what ratings for their morning shows are like in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, where the local Global stations dominate mornings. Winnipeg and Toronto are the cities they have the competitive advantage - there's no local competition whatsoever.

Do the stations have some sort of local production quota on their licenses? If not, I'm pretty sure BT in those 3 cities would've been cancelled too. That show can't be surviving on ratings alone.

And BT Toronto does have *one* local competition: CP24 Breakfast. I do wonder how that show's been doing. I can't be the only one to tune into CP24 just for the wind speed in the top right, then stay with them until I head out the door...

Additional thought: Couldn't they at least use OMNI Alberta's South Asian crew to do the English news for Citytv Calgary and Edmonton? Sure, it'll still be barebones, but at least it's something.

 

[mjlarochelle]

I wonder what ratings for their morning shows are like in Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver, where the local Global stations dominate mornings. Winnipeg and Toronto are the cities they have the competitive advantage - there's no local competition whatsoever.

Do the stations have some sort of local production quota on their licenses? If not, I'm pretty sure BT in those 3 cities would've been cancelled too. That show can't be surviving on ratings alone.

In order to qualify for funding from the Local Programming Improvement Fund (LPIF, not to be confused with fee-for-carriage), stations must air a certain amount of local programming per week. I believe in the affected markets, that amount is 14 hours per week, and with BT at 3 hours a day during the week, that's 15 hours a week of local programming. Pretty slim compared to many American stations in comparable-size markets, where 25+ hours a week is the norm.

Still, the Citytv stations are doing better than CBC in the affected markets - in Edmonton and Calgary, CBC is doing 8 hours 20 minutes a week of local programming in each of those markets, short of the 14 hours required for LPIF funding. Of course, that is way up from when CBC Calgary had its newscast amalgamated with Edmonton in 1990, as well as during the Canada Now era.

Of course, everyone pales in comparison to CHCH in Hamilton, which is now doing 72 hours a week of local programming (43% of a 24/7 broadcast schedule). And there's been talk of expanding that number.

And BT Toronto does have *one* local competition: CP24 Breakfast. I do wonder how that show's been doing. I can't be the only one to tune into CP24 just for the wind speed in the top right, then stay with them until I head out the door...

CP24 has limited reach. Of course, over-the-air viewers can't get CP24 (notwithstanding their audio carrier simulcast on CHUM 1050), but I've heard some Shaw Direct satellite customers don't have access to CP24 either.

 

[compubit]

CP24 is on Shaw Direct, but is not in the primary bundle that contains news stations (CNN, CNBC, HLN, Viva, History, & BNN). It's in the secondary news bundle along with Bloomberg, Fox News, BBC News, MSNBC, Bold, G4, The Biography Channel & Documentary.

Jim

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Don't forget CHCH is now in the hands of an independent company. (Channel Zero)
They are doing a very high level of local news at a time when the big guys all say "that will never work" and "that's too expensive".
so GOOD for Channel Zero!!!!
If it weren't for them, not only would there not be local news, there may not have even been a tv station!

I'm very angry with Rogers right now. They never should have cut week end news from City TV Toronto!

 

[e-dawg]

If the recession over in Canada. Will Rogers add Citytv News at 12N, 6PM, & 11PM and weekend News back to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and Winnipeg? Also, will they bring back CityInternational (National News programme) to Citytv stations and its affiliates in BC and AB? Also, what is the status on Citytv Newschannel?

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Citynews international is now a 30 second or minute long blurb on an hour long newscast. It is highly doubted that it will be restored as a 30 minute program.

Rogers seems happy with EP (Electric playground) being the new replacement.
I guess they want younger viewers.

The citynews channel has been scrapped. Rogers wants to pour all their money into sports programming on their sports channels instead.

They even added a new Sportsnet ONE channel, forcing people to subscribe if you want Blue Jay games.

Rogers is not a news business, sadly, they are a sports business these days.

(on the tv side, respectfully. On the radio side, they seem to be doing well with their all news formats across the country...adding AM 1310 in Ottawa to their list of stations)