CALGARY – Shaw Communications announced today that it will close its community cable TV stations in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver and redirect $10 million annually that would normally fund those stations to Corus Entertainment’s Global News.
Beginning September 1, 2017, Global News will use these new resources to sustain and expand its local journalistm.
The CRTC gave vertically integrated companies in large metropolitan centres the option to do this when it re-wrote the rules on funding local programming in 2016. Rogers Communications already has announced it will take advantage of the new regs, directing funds normally for Rogers Television in Toronto to its CityTV conventional broadcast outlet. Independent conventional stations will also start seeing additional cash this fall as part of that CRTC decision as well.
“We’re grateful to Shaw for providing this critical lifeline to protect and support local news, said Troy Reeb, SVP, Global News, Corus Radio and station operations, in the press release. “This additional funding will ensure viewers in BC’s Lower Mainland, the Calgary Region and the Edmonton Capital Region continue to receive top-notch local news coverage.”
Shaw will be closing its Shaw TV stations in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, effective Tuesday, August 15, 2017, a move which will affect approximately 70 jobs, and “will reduce duplication of coverage while better enabling Global News to report on grassroots community-focused stories,” reads the press release.
Historically, under the old regulations, up to 2% of basic cable revenues were diverted to community access programming but the new rules let VI companies cut that, as long as they divert it to local OTA station news programming. The $10 million Shaw is sending to Global is 100% of what it cost to run those community stations annually. (Shaw and Corus are corporate cousins, as both companies are controlled by the Shaw family.)
“Shaw has a long-standing reputation in recognizing the importance of local news and we hope that today’s move signals our continued dedication to preserving community coverage,” added Katherine Emberly, SVP, Shaw Communications, in the release. “We are grateful that our Shaw TV teams have for years been telling the stories that make our communities special. Today’s announcement recognizes the evolving habits of viewers and the strength and reach of Global News in these markets, providing local news and stories where it is accessible to the most people.”
Global News announced it will use the new funds to support its commitment to the community with programming initiatives to be implemented in the coming year. These include:
1. Establishing municipal affairs specialists and city hall bureaus that will cover municipal elections, expand civic election coverage on Globalnews.ca and offer continued coverage of pertinent community news,
2. Assigning community reporters to support and work directly with local groups and stakeholders on community events and initiatives,
3. Expanding Global News Live, a growing online platform, to provide greater focus on grassroots digital content,
4. Covering and supporting university, college and community sports in Western Canada,
5. Taking newscasts out of the studio and into the community to better showcase stories and news of local neighbourhoods and suburban communities.
Shaw TV will continue with its community TV stations in Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sault Ste. Marie and in over 180 small and medium-sized markets across Western Canada. These stations will also continue to support the development of access content through volunteer programs in all remaining community stations, and will continue to develop new and relevant online platforms to better deliver the content it produces, the company said in the release.
