CHCH WANTS TO BE PART OF THE BIG PICTURE IN ONTARIO
By Adnews Staff
CHCH-TV has plans to take on companies such as Baton Broadcasting and Global Television in a battle for audiences in Ontario. The Hamilton, Ont. television station has applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for permission to expand into nine markets with rebroadcast transmitters. CHCH, which is owned by Vancouver-based WIC Western International Communications, wants to set up transmitters in London, Kingston, Peterborough, the Muskoka area, North Bay, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and Thunder Bay. CHCH says that it is available by cable in a few of these places but 60% of its programs are not seen in the nine markets. A CHCH release says, "These applications, combined with the station's previously filed requests to establish a programming undertaking or rebroadcast transmitter in Ottawa, would increase CHCH-TV's coverage of the province, permitting the station to fairly compete in a market totally dominated by regional broadcast systems." Baton Broadcasting has owns the BBS regional network in Ontario. Its Toronto property CFTO is the flagship station for both BBS and the CTV Television Network. Global is also a regional system in Ontario. If owner Izzy Asper is successful it will become part of a Canada-wide chain of TV stations which Asper is trying to put together under his Winnipeg-based company, CanWest Global Communications. Asper recently made an abortive attempt to take over WIC.