Citytv

[e-dawg]

Since Citytv trying to expand their footprint east of Ottawa. Recently they purchase CJNT Montreal from Channel Zero Media, and Saskatchewan Community Network (SCN) from Blueprint media. Why Citytv can't build a TV stations in Montreal, Saskatoon, and/or Halifax Canada from scratch instead of buying the license from these channels?

 

[azumanga]

They could've -- they just didn't want to:

http://blog.fagstein.com/2012/09/25/rogers-cjnt-ici/

 

[Yeziknoradio]

They knew damn well what they were investing in when it came to the Montreal market. I say it should simply be Omni Montreal.

 

[EJ204]

Just out of curiosity, how large is the English community in Montreal? Are there more English speaking people in Montreal than, say Winnipeg? How would Montreal rank if only Anglophones are considered? I'm sure the existing English broadcasters aren't happy to have CityTV enter their market.

If CityTV were to get a station in Montreal, that would give the market four English TV outlets...

CBC
CTV
Global
CityTV

and five French stations

SRC
TVA
V
Tele-Quebec
Canal Savoir

plus one ethnic station.

 

[w9wi]

According to Wikipedia, 17% of the population of Montreal and 12% of the greater Montreal area speaks English as their first language. Further, a third of those whose first language is French also speak English. (my suspicion is the latter number is actually considerably lower than reality)

Those figures suggest a population of about 1.6 million Montrealers who speak English. Which is indeed about twice the size of Winnipeg.

 

[Yeziknoradio]

Based on the above information,
I now fail to understand why Channel zero ever bothered with an ethnic or multicultural station for Montreal.
With Rogers now owning the station,
City TV Montreal STILL comes across as something that really should be called Omni, and the audience
(for the Omni content) is so small.

 

[w9wi]

Based on the above information,
I now fail to understand why Channel zero ever bothered with an ethnic or multicultural station for Montreal.

I'm guessing the CRTC wouldn't licence it as a regular station in English.

There's an awful lot of U.S. English programming on the Omni stations -- might the line between an ethnic station and a regular independent be a lot blurrier than might appear at first look?

 

[mjlarochelle]

Based on the above information,
I now fail to understand why Channel zero ever bothered with an ethnic or multicultural station for Montreal.
With Rogers now owning the station,
City TV Montreal STILL comes across as something that really should be called Omni, and the audience
(for the Omni content) is so small.

I think that CJNT was just bundled in with CHCH when Channel Zero purchased that station fro CanWest. CHCH was the crown jewel in that purchase, and I don't sense Channel Zero considered CJNT a long-term strategy. I would be their intent always was to merely keep it on the air and then re-sell it.

 

[blackgold]

And maybe City TV will start a French network for La Belle Province(which can be relayed to the rest of Canada, giving SRC a run for its dough!).

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Update: Rogers Gets CRTC Approval For City TV In Montreal (Was: Re: City TV)

The CRTC has granted approval for Rogers to buy CJNT Montreal and for it to become a full-fledged English-language City TV station.

Look for CJNT to adopt the full City TV schedule sometime in the first half of 2013.

Link to Broadcaster Magazine article:

http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/...-launch-english-citytv-in-montreal/1001954661 .

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

And maybe City TV will start a French network for La Belle Province(which can be relayed to the rest of Canada, giving SRC a run for its dough!).

"Television De La Cite" could, if done right, not only give SRC a "run for it's dough", but also TVA and V (formerly TQS)!

 

[mjlarochelle]

I highly doubt there's room in Quebec for another French-language conventional network. "V" and its predecessor TQS have had enough problems as it is. Even though the French population outnumbers the English population in Montreal, starting a Citytv station there isn't that costly as the infrastructure is already in place, and there's already a national program supply. Basically they're just extending what's already available on satellite onto an OTA transmitter and onto basic cable, with a local breakfast show for good measure. A whole new French network would be totally different.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

But Rogers Communications has the deep pockets to launch a "Television De La Cite" and perhaps underwrite a few years of losses.

But they certainly would have the resources to make it profitable within a few years.

Or, maybe they could buy V, and re-name it "Television De La Cite".

 

[azumanga]

And maybe City TV will start a French network for La Belle Province(which can be relayed to the rest of Canada, giving SRC a run for its dough!).

"Television De La Cite" could, if done right, not only give SRC a "run for it's dough", but also TVA and V (formerly TQS)!

I highly doubt there's room in Quebec for another French-language conventional network. "V" and its predecessor TQS have had enough problems as it is.

In actuality, there are four commercial francophone networks serving Quebec -- the fourth being pubcaster Télé-Québec, which runs ads during non-children's and non-educational programming, just like Radio-Canada. On that account, there's hardly any room, if at all, for a new francophone broadcaster.

But Rogers Communications has the deep pockets to launch a "Television De La Cite" and perhaps underwrite a few years of losses.

But they certainly would have the resources to make it profitable within a few years.

Or, maybe they could buy V, and re-name it "Television De La Cite".

Better name -- Télé-Cité, which is a direct translation of "Citytv". Too bad they can't use the CITE callsign (which belongs to Astral Media for its Montreal "Rouge FM" flagship).

 

[e-dawg]

I thought the french word for "CITY" is "ville", the word "CITE" in french means "town" in English?

 

[Yeziknoradio]

But Rogers Communications has the deep pockets to launch a "Television De La Cite" and perhaps underwrite a few years of losses.
Or, maybe they could buy V, and re-name it "Television De La Cite".

Rogers is not able to invest in the french side. They are too busy pouring their efforts into City TV first to cover as much of Canada as it can.
More importantly, Rogers is also heavily focused on the business of Sports.
Their "Deep Pockets" are very busy securing better Blue Jays for (hopefully) a better baseball team for Toronto.

I suppose if the plan were to restore the Montreal Expos, Rogers would be quick to make effort to get a team up and running and a new home station to broadcast some or all the games on...(in French)

 

[Yeziknoradio]

But Rogers Communications has the deep pockets to launch a "Television De La Cite" and perhaps underwrite a few years of losses.
Or, maybe they could buy V, and re-name it "Television De La Cite".

Rogers is not able to invest in the french side. They are too busy pouring their efforts into City TV first to cover as much of Canada as it can.
More importantly, Rogers is also heavily focused on the business of Sports.
Their "Deep Pockets" are very busy securing better Blue Jays for (hopefully) a better baseball team for Toronto.

I suppose if the plan were to restore the Montreal Expos, Rogers would be quick to make effort to get a team up and running and a new home station to broadcast some or all the games on...(in French)

 

[EJ204]

Let's remember how ambitious the plan for TQS was. Newscasts at 11:30am, an hour at 5pm and an evening newscast at 10:30pm, with local inserts from bureaus in Ottawa-Hull, Quebec City and Sherbrooke during the 5pm news. New production of prime-time programs. Daytime soaps and game shows. I don't believe their schedule included much off-network shows from France or dubbed shows from the U.S. that could have helped cut costs.

Sadly, TQS couldn't turn a profit. The switch to V meant a vast cutback in news and original productions. Maybe the Canadian government authorities are too strict in licensing a new television venture. It seems nobody is allowed to do what Fox did in the U.S.... start with a two-hour primetime schedule (and in Fox's case, a late night talk show) and go cheap on everything else. Most Fox stations in large markets had only a 10pm newscast, and no news in medium and smaller markets. Just lots of off-network re-runs and old movies.

As the money started coming in, Fox stations added more news, Fox came up with the money to show Sunday NFL games and they became a major network. Although to this day, they still have no daytime schedule, no national newscast and no late night show, having passed on Conan O'Brian because their local stations make too much money from 11pm and 11:30 sitcoms.

At least if CityTV comes to Montreal, they'll only have to do a local Breakfast Television and can omit evening and nighttime news. But I really don't think there's enough revenue in Quebec to support a third non-governmental commercial French broadcaster, unless it could be run on a shoestring. And I don't think the government would allow that.

 

[e-dawg]

Speaking of Citytv coming to Montreal, I know CTV has CTV two as a secondary network, they seem to cover most major markets except for Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec. Will they try to put a footprint into Montreal/Quebec market by using their satellite station in Cornwall, Ontario, CJOH-8 and move it to Montreal? On the side note, I'm surprise that CTV didn't convert CKX-TV in Brandon, MB into CTV Two station and try to serve Winnipeg instead they shut it down. Do they still have the license to CKX-TV or it's been permanently deleted?

 

[azumanga]

On the side note, I'm surprise that CTV didn't convert CKX-TV in Brandon, MB into CTV Two station and try to serve Winnipeg instead they shut it down. Do they still have the license to CKX-TV or it's been permanently deleted?

Last time I checked, CKX-TV's license is still active, though who knows if they'll ever use it again before the CRTC decides to cancel it for non-use.