Thunder Bay, Ont., could see both its local TV stations sign off for the final time Sept. 1.
The stations are currently in the red and running on funds from life insurance policies, not revenue, Don Caron, vice president and general manager of Thunder Bay Electronics told a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) panel in Gatineau, Que., Wednesday.
“The reason we’re still operating is that we’re burning those non-broadcast assets to stay in business, awaiting to see if there’s some way we can work out and the Commission can hear our plight of angst, if you will.”
This isn’t a threat, Caron said, it’s simply the reality for Thunder Bay Electronics, also known as Dougall Media. The two stations in jeopardy are CKPR and CHFD – Global Thunder Bay, which has local programming along with Shaw Media content.
The state of local TV has grown increasingly grim as advertising revenues plummet. The change is due to a number of factors, including competition from speciality channels and Internet content providers such as Netflix.
The CRTC panel Wednesday was part of an ongoing public hearing on local and community television.
The Thunder Bay stations service an area “bigger than the size of France” Caron said, the only TV stations covering local news in Northwestern Ontario.
