Was there any sign of this coming?  I know news is expensive, but I thought that Channel Zero was making a go of it.  Wow I'm shocked.
 

Not going off the air (yet) though.

Apparently
Significant changes to programing schedule.
Fewer newscasts, etc.
Forced to make cuts but will try to maintain core news services.

 

Let go not only so close to Christmas, but on a Friday, no less.  Great way to start a weekend.

There used to be an unwritten rule that you never let someone go on a Friday.  What happened to that?   

So now the question is, what will they fill the time with?  Well, they can always fill it will vintage movies and episodes of the "Being Frank" show.  

 

Chairman and CEO message


http://f980bc17d352e4b134c9-c2dae4aa19eccb82beedc616a8db3af0.r76.cf2.rackcdn.com/CHCH_STATEMENT_GENERIC.mp4

Don wrote:

The first sign of this coming was when they went with "all local news" well beyond their required amount. They made a "go" of something that was admirable, but made zero business sense. 

"CHCH will continue to exceed the CRTC local broadcasting requirements..."

 http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/chch-tv-implements-major-restructuring-to-remain-on-the-air-561608271.html

Last edited by Radiowiz (December 12, 2015 12:21 am)

I'm inclined to agree with the earlier speculation, Channel Zero probably isn't making nearly as much as it used to.  Nowhere close.  I'd guess with their main content generators though, they have to play really nice with the CRTC based on the complaints I'm sure the show titles alone would generate.

After all, you can get it free on the internet now,  And you don't have to give anyone your name, address or pay a monthly fee to get it, and that's just news.    Same with porn .  

I would also venture to guess that the legislated 'soft' porn they can show is probably akin to a 1978 playboy versus what you can find online along the river bank .
 

Last edited by ig (December 12, 2015 12:25 am)

ig wrote:

I'm inclined to agree with the earlier speculation, Channel Zero probably isn't making nearly as much as it used to.  Nowhere close.  I'd guess with their main content generators though, they have to play really nice with the CRTC based on the complaints I'm sure the show titles alone would generate.

After all, you can get it free on the internet now,  And you don't have to give anyone your name, address or pay a monthly fee to get it, and that's just news.    Same with porn .  

I would also venture to guess that the legislated 'soft' porn they can show is probably akin to a 1978 playboy versus what you can find online along the river bank .
 

I do believe The real question is, how is AOV  actually doing?  
That was one business they had investments in.
AOV could still do online sales and make money...keeping on mind, we're not just talking about porn videos or the AOV channel.
Maybe the sale of sex dolls, fancy condoms and other...whatever stuff. 
(there's also the actual stores...)
 

Another update Via The Spec.

By: The Hamilton Spectator Published on Fri Dec 11 2015
At least 129 full-time employees and close to 30 part-timers have been let go as part of a massive restructuring of local news at CHCH TV.
A newsroom staffer says the number of cuts was announced in a meeting with senior management Friday.
Of that group, 71 people have reportedly been offered new jobs, but it’s unclear in what capacity.
With the changes, CHCH is expected to reduce its local programming from 80 hours to 25 hours a week, Unifor media sector director Howard Law reportedly told The Canadian Press.
News staff at CHCH TV learned Friday their company has filed for bankruptcy.
As of 4 p.m., newscasts were cancelled for Friday and the remainder of the weekend.
Channel Zero chair and CEO Romen Podzyhun went on the air late Friday afternoon to tell viewers that local news would return on Monday. He did not detail what changes would be happening.
“This new reality put us in an untenable situation and as a result, in order to ensure the continued broadcast of CHCH, we’ve made some significant changes to our programming schedule,” he said. “Decisions like these are hard because they impact the personal lives of so many colleagues we care deeply.”
A press release issued by Channel Zero — the parent company of CHCH — said CHCH will transition to a new schedule including 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts starting Saturday.
According to the release, Morning Live — the station’s morning show — will return on Tuesday.
Employees began asking questions this morning after money was unexpectedly deposited in some employees’ bank accounts. One staffer — who does not want to be identified — says the amount was equal to about two paycheques.
The station was bought by Channel Zero in Toronto in 2009. It was on the verge of going off the air then when CanWest Global collapsed.
Executive producer of television news at CHCH John McKenna said he had few details.
“It’s a very hard and a very sad day,” he said.
One staffer, who didn’t want her name used because she was clinging to the hope she might still have a job on Monday, said the mood is “awful.”
As of 2:45 p.m. people were still optimistically working to file stories, she said.
Staff took to social media with reaction to the news cut.
Aaron Rathbone, a producer, used Twitter to say: “I usually use twitter to find sources. Now using it to figure out if I have a job.”
Hamilton Centre MPP and Ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath tweeted: “Thinking about all the folks at CHCH TV right now. Hoping they can continue to tell local stories.”
Greg O’Brien, the Westdale-based editor and publisher of online industry magazine Cartt.ca, described the news as unfortunate but not surprising given the growing challenges facing TV news networks.
“They’re great for local news but man, it’s expensive to do,” he said of the station. As he understands it, local advertising is still strong, but the national advertising dollars — the real bread and butter — just isn’t there.
For example, CHCH must keep their over-the-air transmitters running at all times to maintain their must-carry status on cable, O’Brien says — which can cost between $15,000-30,000 a month in hydro power alone. Plus the costs of news trucks and reporters on the ground.
CHCH was one of just two independent news stations left in Canada. The other, O’Brien says, is in Victoria.
With files from The Canadian Press
 

andysradio wrote:

One thing they ought to consider doing is to shut down all those OTA transmitters outside of Hamilton.

In order to maintain the "must carry" status with cable and satellite carriers, CHCH is required to operate and maintain their regional transmitters.

The build out of the CHCH regional transmitter occurred in the late 90s as part of the " ONtv rollout under the former WIC  occupation...
 

Radiowiz wrote:

Don wrote:

The first sign of this coming was when they went with "all local news" well beyond their required amount. They made a "go" of something that was admirable, but made zero business sense. 

"CHCH will continue to exceed the CRTC local broadcasting requirements..."

 http://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/chch-tv-implements-major-restructuring-to-remain-on-the-air-561608271.html

Yes, by a very small amount - the same margin of error amount as other stations. Not sure what your point is.

Last edited by Don (December 12, 2015 12:48 pm)

This is another article from The Hamilton Spectator

Federal broadcast policies blamed for CHCH troubles

Hamilton Spectator
By Steve Arnold

Hamilton's CHCH TV won't be the last local television news operation to run into financial trouble, warns the head of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.

In the wake of Friday's announcement that the venerable Hamilton station will cut its workforce and slash local news programming to 17.5 hours a week from 80, Ian Morrison said more local news operations will fail if the federal broadcast regulator doesn't adopt policies better suited to the new digital world.

"What happened in Hamilton today is a direct result of the CRTC's failure to address the problem," he said in an interview. "This is very bad news for the million people who live in and around Hamilton."

Before Friday's cuts, CHCH offered 15 hours a day of local news.

In a September brief to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, the overseer of Canadian broadcasting, the Friends group said private broadcasters across the country have seen collective revenues fall from $1.94 billion in 2013 to $1.8 billion in 2014. In the same period, pre-tax earnings went from an overall loss of $2.3 million to a loss of $138.7 million.

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is an independent watchdog group for Canadian programming.

A study of the industry concluded that half of Canadian TV stations could close by 2020.

In the face of those declines, Bell Canada has warned it has contemplated shutting down between five and 20 of its local stations as early as September 2017 and small-market independent stations have warned closures are imminent.

In that context, CHCH TV's corporate parent, Toronto-based Channel Zero, announced it was slashing local news coverage and terminating a large part of its local staff.

When Channel Zero acquired CHCH in 2009, it announced a bold new plan that would put local news at the heart of its programming. Cal Millar, president of the company, admitted news is an expensive form of content, but it's one people wanted. Later, the company added some syndicated American programming, but neither attracted the advertising dollars the corporate parent needed.

"Channel Zero really didn't have the deep pockets needed to keep this functioning," said McMaster University business professor Marvin Ryder. "It wasn't able to generate the revenue it needed on its own without having a big daddy to write a couple cheques for them."

Adding to the sinking revenue problem for Canadian stations has been the loss of other supports such as the federal Local Programming Improvement Fund. For CHCH, it was estimated that fund provided the station between $5 million and $8 million a year — between 12 and 20 per cent of its revenue by some estimates.

London-based technology analyst Carmi Levy said the loss of that fund, increased competition for advertising dollars and viewers drifting away from traditional television to other forms of entertainment all played a role in bringing CHCH to the brink of failure.

"This is the result of a long-term list of factors," he said. "There's never just one smoking gun."

CHCH, he added, was a model for the industry by pouring resources into local news, so the failure of the experiment is especially sad."CHCH really was a category of one," he said.

"They were the model for this kind of operation in the digital age.

"Levy and Ryder both added there's always a slim chance someone might buy the station — Ryder rated the chances as "better than being struck by lightning or winning the lottery."

"It has happened, if you have a buyer with the will and the deep pockets, but I'm pretty sure Channel Zero would have scoured the market before taking this step." Levy said.



http://www.thespec.com/news-story/6181004-federal-broadcast-policies-blamed-for-chch-troubles/

 

Last edited by Glen Warren (December 12, 2015 4:30 pm)

The paper once proudly known as the K-W record did an interesting and somewhat more personal take on the story:

http://www.therecord.com/news-story/6191457-chch-tv-suspends-newscasts-amid-bankruptcy-and-restructuring-moves/


 

Mary Bellows 'do it for yourself' or something like that.

Davester wrote:

Sad end to a once great station that brought us such Canadian classics as Smith & Smith, Me & Max, Tiny Talent Time and The Hilarious House of Frightenstein.

Davester.

grilled.cheese wrote:

Is there any information available about Frank D'Angelo's show?  

eight-figure bidding said to be happening already
 

Captain Andy
A Special Place
Grampa Schnitzel
Hilarious House of Frightenstein
Smith & Smith
Polka Party (with Walter Ostanek)
At the Caribou/The Harry Hibbs Show
Ein Prosit
George Hamilton IV Show
The Palace
Don Messer's Jubilee (after the CBC cancellation)
Ringside/Maple Leaf Wrestling

My god, those were literally off the top of my head.  That place was a powerhouse and so many Canadian treasures were produced there.  Kind of sad thinking about it.