REGINA – It’s been an jarring 18 months for SCN, the former Saskatchewan provincial public broadcaster, and viewers in the province.
Back in the first half of 2010, the government there decided to close the channel down, citing a need to cut costs and get out of non-core government initiatives such as television few seemed to watch. However, just before the government faded it to black, Bluepoint Investments, which is headed by advertising executive Bruce Claassen, stepped into the breach and paid $350,000 for the operation.
The CRTC approved the transaction in late 2010 and altered the station’s license as requested so that it could sell advertising, too, provided the new owners continued with its educational mandate. The new ownership also committed to a benefits package of $1.75 million per year on independent Saskatchewan production and $1 million per year on digital production in Saskatchewan over the next seven years.
In September of this year, Claassen launched the station’s new look and programming, but with many second-tier programs like 60 Minutes, 20/20, Heart of Dixie, The Insider, Frasier reruns and other shows which drew low audience shares and didn’t earn a lot of ad revenue. It quickly became apparent that something else was required and discussions with Rogers were opened that month. As well, Claassen had been running the station on his own dime, with no revenue coming in, for nine months prior to its rebrand.
So beginning January 2nd from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m., the branding will change to “Citytv on SCN” as the afternoon, evening, prime-time and late night schedule will be given over to the Rogers Communications-owned broadcaster, giving Citytv its first-ever presence in Saskatchewan. SCN will stick to its non-commercial cultural and educational programming from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Claassen says he hasn’t yet decided what will air during Citytv’s local news blocks at 6 and 11, but added SCN will not be doing any of its own local news. “There are certainly enough stations to do that from a television and radio standpoint,” he said in an interview with Cartt.ca on Monday.
So, instead of tired newsmagazines and B-level dramas and comedies, the bulk of SCN’s prime time will now feature ratings hits such as Modern Family, NFL Football, 30 Rock, The Bachelor, New Girl and Revenge. “It’s great because we get access to a depth and quality of programming that as an independent working out of Saskatchewan would have been difficult for us to independently acquire,” he added.
“SCN will now be seen as a substantial counterpoint and an option… relative to CTV and Global in the province,” Claassen continued. “It’s a good move for Rogers because they don’t have a stick there. They see us as a nice addition to their growing mandate of becoming a national network. We’re a good complement to their endeavours and they’re a good complement to ours.”
SCN will handle local sales and Rogers will have national sales. Claassen declined to disclose financial details of the affiliation agreement.
Claassen admitted it was a tough go pulling in advertising to the small independent station which, while it serves a sparsely populated province, is also a must-carry everywhere even though it isn’t an over-the-air station but a satellite-distributed channel.
“We had virtually every major advertiser on our schedule. Now, they didn’t spend as much as we would have liked… but they all continued to stay with us,” he added. “This deal puts us onto another level on the playing field though.”
The channel’s former owner (the provincial government) is pleased with this move, too, explained Claassen. “They were delighted because they said ‘you’ve turning something we were about to say goodbye to into something which is a very viable network now in the province that still maintains its mandate in terms of investing in local domestic productions and its mandate within the arena of culture, variety and education,’ which was the original signature of the network in the first place.”
This isn’t Claassen’s first foray into Prairie television. Readers may recall he initially tried to buy CKX Brandon from CTV in 2009 for $1 but when Shaw Direct stopped carrying the channel, cutting viewership in Brandon by 57%, said Claassen, he had to walk away from that near-acquisition at the very last minute. He did kick in a “serious” amount of money to help defray CTV’s costs in terms of employee severance at the station, he said. CTV shuttered it as soon as that deal fell apart.
“That was a bad situation for Brandon and for viewers and it goes to show the power of the BDUs in this industry in which we operate,” added Claassen. “(SCN) is a much better situation.”
