CHCH president says station not in danger

The owners of CHCH say we are not going anywhere, despite a story in today’s Hamilton Spectator.

The article is based on a report by the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting which suggests small stations would be forced to close if the CRTC ends the practice of simultaneous substitution. That’s where distributors such as cable and satellite companies replace an American signal with that of a Canadian station that holds the rights for the same program, and runs it at the same time.

Channel Zero management calls the simsub revenue estimate of 30 to 100 per cent for small Canadian stations wildly speculative, adding CHCH is a privately-owned station and doesn’t report financials. Our management also points out that this station operates in a very large market – the greater Toronto and Hamilton market – and they say CHCH is not in danger of going anywhere.

President Cal Millar says Friends of Canadian Broadcasting does not speak for CHCH — and he’s looking forward to appearing in front of the CRTC during the current round of hearings on local TV this coming Thursday.