VICTORIA – Friday marks the last day of CHEK-TV’s temporary reprieve from being shut down. At least until the next one.
Station GM John Pollard confirmed to Cartt.ca that it is still working diligently with former owner Canwest Global to finalize the deal that would see the employees own a 25% stake in the station. The balance would be held by three local investors.
“We’ve still got some work to do, things to be negotiated and items to be signed, but I’m always optimistic”, Pollard said while on his way in to the station early on Friday morning.
In related news, the CEP Media One/Global Advisory Council executive board voted unanimously to commit $150,000 to support the employee-backed purchase. With a combination of an interest-free loan plus the purchase of three shares valued at $15,000 each, the union told its members this week that the three shares will be offered up for purchase by individual units.
Union members in at CHEK-TV have agreed to a “special assessment” of 50 cents an hour for their dues, so that the loan will be paid back by September 2012.
