OTTAWA – Channel Zero has received CRTC approval to assume ownership of former Canwest E! stations CHCH TV Hamilton and CJNT TV Montreal.
The independent specialty service operator, which owns short film specialty Movieola, classic movie channel Silver Screen Classics, film distributor Ouat Media and a majority stake in the AOV adult channel brands, agreed to purchase the stations from Canwest Global on June 30.
The Commission also renewed the broadcasting licences for CHCH-TV and CJNT TV through August 31, 2016, and for the transitional digital television station CHCH-DT Hamilton until August 31, 2011.
In its decision on the CHCH station, the CRTC granted Channel Zero’s request to be relieved of the current condition of licence requiring it to broadcast priority programming, noting the station will "no longer be part of a large multi-station ownership group".
In Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-536, the Commission approved an increase in the amount of local programming that CJNT broadcasts, and agreed to remove its obligation to provide specific proportions of its non-ethnic programming in English and French.
Noting “the specific context of the renewals” and “the financial difficulties of the station(s)”, the Commission said that it intends to re-evaluate issues related to the broadcast of local programming and priority programming for CHCH, and the inclusion of French-language programming in time periods devoted to non-ethnic programming for CJNT, at public hearings to be held in 2012.
