TORONTO – A Channel Windsor/Wingham will be closed, station owner CTV Inc. announced today.
Thanks to the “ongoing structural problems facing the conventional television sector in Canada and the current global economic crisis,” says the release, it will not be applying for renewal of the CKNX-TV Wingham and CHWI-TV Wheatley licences (and its rebroadcaster in Windsor). Wheatley is about an hour east of Windsor, but it’s always been run as a Windsor/Essex County station.
The closure will see 25 people put out of work and the eight hours a week of local content eliminated.
"This decision was difficult but necessary. The traditional economic model for Canadian television is broken. The financial pressures facing our conventional television operations are further compounded by the Commission’s decision to turn down requests to implement a fee-for-carriage regime for local television in October 2008," said Paul Sparkes, executive vice-president, corporate affairs, CTVglobemedia, in the press release.
"Unfortunately, we may need to consider similar actions in other local markets given the current regulatory framework."
Other A-branded stations can be found based in Barrie, Ottawa, Victoria, London, and Halifax.
“These stations, which operate under the ‘A’ brand, offer a diverse schedule of entertainment and local news. As a result of today’s announcement, the communities of Wingham and Windsor will no longer be provided with their own distinctive local programming. News related to the broader Southwestern Ontario region will be provided through ‘A’ London,” says the release.
The CKNX-TV Wingham and CHWI-TV Wheatley licences will expire at the end of August 2009.
