Canwest Shutters Two Stations, Rebrands One

In February, Canwest retained RBC Capital Markets to assist in the sale of five of its E! TV stations: CJNT-TV in Montreal, CHCH-TV in Hamilton, CHCA-TV in Red Deer, CHBC-TV in Kelowna and CHEK-TV in Victoria. At the end of June, Canwest clinched a deal with the independent television broadcaster Channel Zero, which operates the Movieola and Silver Screen Classics specialty networks, for the sale of the Hamilton and Montreal outlets. Canwest today announced that CHBC in Kelowna will become a Global affiliate as of September 1. The company also said that there were "no viable options" for CHEK in Victoria and CHCA in Red Deer, which will be closed down on August 31. Canwest said in a statement that while a number of parties expressed an interest in certain of the stations, none came forward with viable long-term plans or funding.

“When we began this process about six months ago to determine if there was any way to keep these local stations on the air in the current regulatory environment, we said that we would examine every avenue,” Peter Viner, the president of Canwest Broadcasting, said. “From the outset, we said that closing stations would only be considered as a last resort. We recognize that the decision to close CHCA and CHEK will negatively impact the employees of those stations and the communities that those stations have served so well.”

He added: “I’m pleased to say that since then, we have been able to find creative solutions for three of the five stations, which will sustain more than three-quarters of the jobs impacted by the review.”