Bloomberg Television, the US-based international business cable channel, is expected to launch in Canada this spring, sources confirmed to the Financial Post, with an announcement of the news expected as early as Thursday.
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Bloomberg Television, the U.S.-based international business cable channel, is slated to launch in Canada this spring, sources at the Financial post, with an announcement of the news expected on Thursday.
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New York-based business news television channel, owned by private financial data and media giant Bloomberg LP, has partnered with independent Canadian media company Channel Zero, which owns CHCH-TV in Hamilton, Ont. . and a handful of emerging specialty channels, including Rewind and Silver Screen Classics.
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According to sources familiar with the plans, Channel Zero is expected to either convert or rename an existing channel to a news format. Much of the content would be broadcast simultaneously from Bloomberg’s existing US programming, with time per hour devoted to Canadian content being broadcast live from the Toronto Stock Exchange. CHCH-TV’s news staff spearheaded the channel’s development, acquiring additional information and data rights and hiring Canadian staff.
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In order to meet the Canadian content requirements set out by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the new Canadian television station Bloomberg is expected to offer a few hours of prime-time Canadian programming, which will likely be hosted by a Canadian, and repeated later in the evening. Under CRTC requirements, at least 50% of prime-time programming between 6 p.m. and midnight must be of Canadian origin, that is, of a Canadian written, produced, presented or cultural nature.
A CHCH-TV executive directly involved in the strategic planning of the channel’s rebranding to Bloomberg TV asked questions of Channel Zero executives on Wednesday. Executives at Channel Zero in Toronto and Bloomberg TV in New York did not respond to calls or emails seeking comment on this story.
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Bloomberg TV is believed to have entered into an affiliate agreement with Channel Zero, which will not trigger any change in ownership of the broadcast license currently held by the Canadian company. Federal regulations require that Canadian citizens hold the majority of a broadcast license, and any change of 30% or more requires prior approval from the CRTC.
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Currently, Business News Network (BNN), a specialty cable and satellite channel owned by Bell Media, broadcasts business programming all day in Canada from Toronto. Launched in 1999 as Report on Business Television, and renamed several times since, the English-language channel provides real-time data from the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.
According to financial results released by the CRTC, BNN’s total revenues declined slightly in 2013 to $ 31.8 million from just under $ 32 million the year before, while its expenses also declined. At the same time, the total number of subscribers to the specialty channel fell to 6,358,008 in 2013, a drop of 1.5%, the first in three years.
Bloomberg TV was first launched in the United States in 1994 and currently has over 10 channels worldwide, with offices in major business capitals around the world, including the European headquarters in London and the Asian headquarters in Hong Kong. The news channel boasts of reaching over 300 million homes worldwide.
Channel Zero, which employs 250 people in Toronto, Hamilton and Montreal, also operates Ouat Media, a film sales and distribution company that has won eight Oscar nominations.
It is also parent of a series of digital properties and operates the leading South Asian HD TV channels in Canada including Bollywood Times, Mehndi TV and Halla Bol.
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