Canada's Shaw Media Gets CRTC Okay to Launch 24/7 News Channel

TORONTO – Canadian broadcaster Shaw Media has a regulatory green light to launch a 24-hour cable news channel in Vancouver.

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“In the commission’s view, the proposed service would provide a new source of news information and programming for viewers in British Columbia that is likely to contribute to the diversity of programming in that province,” the CRTC, the country’s TV watchdog, said as it gave the all-clear for the Global News Plus B.C. venture to launch, likely later this year.

The English-language cable channel will provide top local, national and international headlines round the clock, and use Shaw Media's Global Television news-gathering operation in suburban Vancouver as a base.

“This is huge step towards providing a world class news source for the citizens of B.C., and we’re eager to move forward with the development of the new channel,” Troy Reeb, vp of news and station operations at Shaw Media, said in a statement.

Rival Rogers Media recently launched CityNews Channel, a 24/7 Toronto news channel that competes against Bell Media’s CP24 news channel, which has been on air in Canada's largest TV market for ten years.

And Montreal-based broadcaster Quebecor Media last year converted a Toronto TV station into Sun News Network, a right-leaning national all-news channel.

Canuck broadcasters, reserving their biggest acquisition dollars for U.S. network scripted and unscripted series, spend heavily on domestic and international news-gathering operations, not least to satisfy local programming obligations.