Shaw says national news-channel plans on hold

Shaw Communications Inc. has put on hold plans to establish a national news channel in the wake of changes in the television regulatory environment over the last year, a company official said Thursday. "The application submitted in 2014 for a new national English-language, Category C specialty news channel will not go forward," Shaw Media spokeswoman Dervla Kelly said in an email. "We’re still in the process of understanding the full implications of the significant policy determinations following the Let’s Talk TV proceedings, but remain committed to exploring new options to stay innovative in our approach and offer consumers additional local news services/coverage." Shaw applied in September last year for a broadcasting licence for a national news channel it intended to call Global News 1. Since then, the CRTC has issued several decisions stemming from its Let's Talk TV review that change the regulatory conditions a new national news service would face. That includes a decision on March 12 that eliminated most of the strict conditions surrounding the type of content specialty channels can show. That same decision, however, included new requirements for national news channels, including that they broadcast an average of at least 16 hours a day of original programming, maintain a live broadcast facility as well as news bureaus in at least three other regions, and that 95 per cent of their programming be news, analysis, documentaries or “reporting and actualities.” Then on March 19, the CRTC said that it would start requiring TV-service providers to offer skinny-basic packages for no more than $25 a month next year, and that all-news channels would not be part of that minimal tier. Several applications from Shaw appeared on the CRTC's website Thursday that seek to change the "nature of service definition" of 19 of its specialty channels, including Showcase, the Food Network, HGTV, History, Slice and BC News 1. A briefing note filed by Shaw indicated that it is seeking these changes in accordance of the CRTC's decision in March to end genre exclusivity for discretionary TV services. A filing specific to BC News 1 asked that its nature of service be changed from a channel that provides "a mix of local and regional news, traffic, weather, business, sports and entertainment information devoted to serving residents of British Columbia" to a "national English-language discretionary service primarily focused on News programming." Despite this request, Kelly said: "There are no plans to change the service from its regional focus on British Columbia, nor to replace BC1 with Global News 1. This is simply a necessary administrative process that followed the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV decisions to eliminate genre protection, replace 'nature of service' conditions with a brief description of the service, and streamline the licensing and definitions of discretionary services." — With reporting by Derek Abma at dabma@thewirereport.ca and editing by Anja Karadeglija at akarad@thewirereport.ca

Shaw says national news-channel plans on hold

News | September 10, 2015

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Shaw says national news-channel plans on hold

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