TORONTO – TV viewers in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Montreal will soon have more local news options after Rogers Media announced plans to expand its CityNews brand to its City television stations in these markets starting this Fall.
Currently seen in Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, the one-hour newscasts will air seven days a week with CityNews at Six at 6 p.m., and CityNews Tonight at 11 p.m. local time. Newscasts in Edmonton and Winnipeg will debut September 4 at 6 p.m. local time, while CityNews will expand into the Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary markets in Winter 2018. A Rogers Media spokesperson said that there are no plans at this time to expand CityNews to Saskatchewan’s City station.
Viewers will see news content delivered across all platforms, with each CityNews team engaging with audiences through their respective local websites and social media channels, continued the news release.
Rogers Media added that complementary stories from company brands like Maclean's, Breakfast Television, and Sportsnet will also be featured in the newscasts. Additional programming details and on-air news talent will be announced in the coming months.
Rogers Media’s TV news and information VP Dave Budge said that the shows' content will focus on viewer-driven, original stories introduced by local reporters.
"CityNews's fresh and innovative approach to news reporting resonates strongly with younger viewers, with CityNews at Six – which we revitalized over the last 18 months – now ranking number one in Toronto among the coveted 18 to 34 adult demo," said Budge, citing Numeris data, in the release. "It's a winning format that connects with today's viewer, and we're excited to bring the same authentic local approach to new audiences.”
