Toronto’s Channel Zero will buy Canwest’s CHCH-TV in Hamilton and and CJNT-TV in Montreal, assuming the company gets the green light from the CRTC.
Channel Zero owns Moveiola and Silver Screen Classics, a couple of digital specialty channels, as well as some “adult entertainment” channels.
There’s apparently no buyer yet for the other three local TV stations Canwest is trying to unload by the end of this summer in Red Deer, Kelowna and Victoria.
In Hamilton, it looks like they plan to keep on the existing staff and run news all day until 8 pm, after which they will show familiar, if not first-run, movies. Think Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey.
It sounds quite a bit like the proposal originally floated by CHCH employees interested in mounting a community bid for the station. In fact, in an article in CARTT.ca, Channel Zero says they will be relying on the existing CHCH crew to pull off the new format.
In Montreal, where the licence is for a multicultural channel, they are talking about running foreign movies and “multicultural music videos.”
Channel Zero seems bullish about local TV. At least somebody is. Funny that we haven’t heard another word out of Shaw since they announced they were paying $1 to CTVglobemedia for the local stations in Windsor and Brandon.
Today’s sale also seems to represent a move away from big media conglomerates.