OTTAWA – Shaw Television has received the CRTC’s permission to move forward with its plans to launch British Columbia’s first all-news channel.
The English-language Category B service, which was green-lit by the Commission on Friday, will be called Global News: BC 1 and programming will include “a mix of local and regional news, traffic, weather, business, sports and entertainment information devoted to serving residents of British Columbia, with a special focus on the Vancouver/Victoria Extended Market”, according to its application.
In response to an intervention by Victoria-based local broadcaster CHEK-TV, the CRTC imposed a condition of licence that precludes Global News: BC 1 from soliciting and accepting local advertising revenues on Vancouver Island, including Victoria, noting that any local advertising shall be solicited or accepted only from the Vancouver Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) and the neighbouring Abbotsford CMA, as defined by Statistics Canada. The channel’s licence will expire August 31, 2018.
The new network, which is targeting a January 2013 launch, will be available on-air, on-line, and via mobile platforms.
