TORONTO – CTV and its ‘A’ stations thanked viewers who they say helped to make its ‘save local television’ campaign a “tremendous success”.
The initiative, which CTV describes as “designed to inform viewers of the critical issues facing their local television stations”, hosted over 30,000 Canadians at its 16 open houses held across the country on May 23. The network said that it also received over 50,000 on-line petition signatures, and that more than 25,000 letters were sent to James Moore, the Minister of Heritage, expressing support for fee for carriage.
But with all of the promotional weight that the network threw behind its campaign, do 100,000 plus “expressions of support” truly equal a success?
"Our goal was to inform Canadians on the issues that local broadcasters are facing and we have succeeded", said CTVgm’s Paul Sparkes, EVP of corporate affairs, in a press release. “We now look forward to working with the CRTC and all stakeholders in negotiating fair market value for the local TV programming Canadian consumers want and demand."
