Rogers asks to overhaul OMNI into national, must-carry multicultural service

TORONTO – Rogers-owned OMNI Television has filed an application with the CRTC for a new must-carry, multilingual and multicultural channel to be known as OMNI Regional.The proposed national channel would be comprised of four feeds: Pacific, Prairies, and East, mirroring OMNI’s local stations in those regions, plus ICI Quebec via a strategic partnership with Montreal ethnic television station International Channel/Canal International (ICI) aimed at French-language ethnic communities in that province.As part of its proposal, OMNI Television is asking for inclusion in basic TV packages (pursuant to section 9(1)(h) of the Broadcasting Act). Current local OMNI stations in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary,...