RadioActive wrote:

We all know times are tough in the traditional broadcast TV space. But now a CTV executive has outlined just how bad things are going in testimony before a House of Commons Committee. 

According to paywalled site Blacklocks Reporter, Richard Gray told MPs there's real fear in many newsrooms that the axe is coming as Bell Media bleeds money on news. 

"The economics of local journalism remain under serious strain. At Bell Media alone, news operations lose approximately $40 million a year despite continued investment and strong audience performance.”

Saskatchewan Conservative MP Kevin Waugh, who used to work at CTV, agrees things look dire. And his comments will resonate with those who watch CTV News in Barrie, London and Windsor, and to a lesser extent, Toronto.

"I don’t recognize CTV Saskatoon anymore,” he said. “We don’t have weekend news out of Saskatoon. The noon news was cancelled in February 2024.”

The network rep is hoping the government will open its wallet to help out broadcasters in trouble. 

We know about the shortcomings of CFTO as of late, but at least they were able to keep noon and weekend newscasts there. It is really sad that CTV is not a choice for local news on TV on the weekends or at noon in most parts of the country. I hate to see what the next wave of cuts will bring.

Bell keeps crying.  If they can't do it, hand in the licence.  

I can’t help but wonder if the economics of employees buying a station would work today. Employees of CHEK in Victoria bought their own station at the 11th hour to save it from shutdown by CanWest in 2009, at a time local TV was also struggling - mainly due to the global economic downturn and also fragmentation from cable and new online choices. CHEK is still going under this model over 15 years later, but it also has the benefit of being able to target the Vancouver market with some of its programming. They also have their own FAST channel and they produce podcasts, one of which is a sports one broadcast live for 2 hours every weekday morning and has a solid following.

Would an employee-owned model like this work for local TV in 2026?

CTV has a news obligations as a TV station with simsub rights.The NFL makes them money and the news is part of the deal.CRTC needs to enforce the regulations for news.CTV could give up broadcasting and just have crave and cable channels but would would also give up simsub rights.

Ale Ont wrote:

Bell keeps crying.  If they can't do it, hand in the licence.  

And that they did, on the radio side already. Be careful what you wish for...

[rant] If Bell is so strapped for cash, how about getting rid of those execrable reports every day in their noon newscasts where they visit some completely useless event that is an utter waste of time and uses up already limited resources? On Thursday, viewers were forced to sit through a segment about a group of ukelele players that seemed to go on forever. And no, I'm not kidding. Two or three minutes with ukelele players.

In the past few weeks, we've heard from artists painfully explaining their "visions" for new projects virtually no one is going to, art shows that are (ironically) like watching paint dry and other so-called local events that have an interest for maybe 2% of viewers. But it allows Bell to fool the CRTC into thinking they're 'serving their community' of licence.

Jessica Smith tries but can't save these reports and worse yet, they air them before the weather, forcing viewers to sit through these time wasters in order to get to the forecast.

If they really want to make use of Ms. Smith, perhaps they could return her to weekend weather, where her presence is very much missed, instead of Rahim Ladhani's painful "which map are we going to?" efforts.  

This would be a much better use of the funds Bell claims to be short of instead of wasting viewers' time with this completely unnecessary and futile filler. It absolutely drives me crazy. But hey, maybe that's just me.[/rant]

paterson1 wrote:

I saw the report on ukelele playing and didn't mind it.  As a kid I played one for a time I am sorry to say!  They have an hour to fill, so some lighter material seems appropriate and Jessica Smith usually does an ok job whatever she covers.  When she was here in Kitchener doing the weather she was out in the community a lot and many people likely enjoyed these lighter breaks mixed with the weather.

To each his or her own, I suppose. I find these segments absolutely pointless and they take up airtime for actual news. But I'm glad you enjoyed it. At the very least, do the weather first, so those of us who don't care about this stuff don't have to sit there waiting for a real segment that's of far more use to most viewers than a ukelele festival. 
 

paterson1 wrote:

I don't see how these reports would impact CTV's news budget.

I don't want to see anyone lose a job and with all due respect to Ms. Smith, but perhaps they could cut down on paying a reporter solely to cover a non-event like this. With CTV in supposedly dire straits, every penny saved helps. 

g121 wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

[rant]  .. This would be a much better use of the funds Bell claims to be short of instead of wasting viewers' time with this completely unnecessary and futile filler. It absolutely drives me crazy. But hey, maybe that's just me.[/rant]

It is just you & those of similar ilk who refuse to accept/acknowledge that others may indeed enjoy items you detest.  Events around the city do fall under the umbrella of news.

RadioActive wrote:

.. I don't want to see anyone lose a job and with all due respect to Ms. Smith, but perhaps they could cut down on paying a reporter solely to cover a non-event like this. With CTV in supposedly dire straits, every penny saved helps. 

Think it through.  Maybe Jessica isn't interested in a part time gig where she only gets a shift when Lindsay is away.  When Lindsay is doing weather, having Jessica do city events keeps a qualified weather person (ie. Jessica) on staff for when Lindsay is away & there needs to be a fill in.
 

In the end, all I'm really asking is not to delay the weather or some other key component of a newscast for fluff. It's irritating to viewers who depend on that kind of information. And yes, some may find it interesting, although for the life of me, I have no idea why. But put it lower in the newscast. There's absolutely no reason to put it so high in the line-up. 

As for Jessica Smith, I'm quite sure she can do better and more important stories than this. Air time is valuable, and with commercials, most hour long newscasts are - what, 43 minutes long? As a long time producer, I have to wonder: what are they skipping to include this?

RonaldS wrote:

With all respect RA, I would guess that anyone who urgently needs to know the weather forecast isn't waiting for it on the noon or 6 PM newscast, OR there are fewer and fewer of these people as time passes. 

With sites like The Weather Network, Environment Canada, and windy.com waiting until the bottom of the hour (or whenever it usually ) isn't necessary.

RadioActive wrote:

In the end, all I'm really asking is not to delay the weather or some other key component of a newscast for fluff. It's irritating to viewers who depend on that kind of information. And yes, some may find it interesting, although for the life of me, I have no idea why. But put it lower in the newscast. There's absolutely no reason to put it so high in the line-up. 

 

You're right, of course, but if I'm going to bother watching an hour or a 30 min. newscast, I expect the basics to be emphasized first, not the frills. I can tell you with absolute certainty that people like yours truly (apparently the last of a dying breed) will tune out that pointless feature stuff every single time. Save it for the kicker spot. 

To all those who like that fluff, fill your boots. But I say thank God for the TV remote!