I grew up watching CHCH. I'm so old I remember Tiny Talent Time, a little amateur show they had. I'm afraid CHCH, in our view, is symptomatic of the difficulties of the broadcast system in its current state. Commitment and a radical program format--this is all laudable. The reality is there's no revenue there. In fact, an all-news station will generate significantly fewer rating points than the current fare. As to the local people who are dying to get on the station, believe me, we've been welcoming them for a number of years at very low rates. They've never taken it up. I wish the group well. We'd be happy to facilitate selling the station at low or no cost. We just don't believe they'd be able to marshal a business plan that would pass muster at the CRTC. Still, we wish them well.
On April 22nd, 2009. See this statement in context.