Citytv was long-famous for its “Citytv…everywhere” tagline. Two new deals have brought it much closer to being true.
The Rogers Media-owned Citytv currently has stations in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg. But that reach will now expand to Quebec and Western Canada thanks to deals with Channel Zero and Jim Pattison Broadcast Group that were announced Thursday.
The two deals have expanded Citytv’s reach considerably, Scott Moore, president, broadcast at Rogers Media, told Marketing. “It gets us to about nine million Canadian homes.” Just six months ago, Citytv was in 7.2 million homes.
To start, Rogers Media intends to acquire Métro14 Montréal (CJNT) from Channel Zero, giving Citytv a foothold in the Quebec market. Métro14 Montréal reaches 1.1 million households.
He called the deal to buy Métro14 Montréal “without question, an aggressive and essential step in the right direction” to reach the goal of becoming a full national network in the near future.
Citytv and Métro14 Montréal have signed an affiliate agreement that will see Citytv programming start airing on the station on June 4 (Citytv is selling the inventory). That agreement will be in effect until the agreement receives regulatory approval; Rogers Media predicts the decision will come in the fall.
Both local and acquired programming will air on the channel, from primetime acquisitions like New Girl, Modern Family and Revenge to original Citytv content such as CityLine. The lineup will also include original documentaries, specials, movies and daytime shows.
Meanwhile in Western Canada, Rogers is expanding its reach thanks to an affiliate agreement with the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. The agreement includes all three of Pattison’s TV stations in Western Canada—CFJC TV7 (Kamloops, BC), CKPG TV (Prince George, BC) and CHAT TV (Medicine Hat, AB)—and will get Citytv programming into those markets on a long-term basis.
The Pattison stations will air 90% of Citytv programming in primetime and the bulk of the morning and daytime hours starting on Sept. 1. Local newscasts produced by Pattison will still be broadcast at noon and the dinner hour.
The agreement is part of a continued relationship with Pattison for Citytv primetime and select daytime programming. This new long-term arrangement replaces a previous programming deal set to expire in August.
The deals reflect Citytv’s continued focus on its overall strategy of becoming a national network. In January, Rogers Media announced its intentions to acquire Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN). That acquisition is still pending regulatory approval.
“Before our SCN deal, we were at about 7.2 million [homes], so we’ve gone up about 25% in less than a year [in terms of] potential reach where we are down the dial, in the market, and get simultaneous substitution for our U.S. shows,” said Moore.
In terms of next steps in Citytv’s quest for a national network, Moore said Rogers Media is continuing to look at other ways to increase its distribution. “We’ll continue to work on it over the next six to 12 months,” he said.
An obvious missing piece of the puzzle is the Maritimes. While he couldn’t share specifics, Moore said the company is looking for options there. “We pretty much now have continuous coverage from the B.C. coast to east of Montreal, so it would be logical for us to look at options in the Maritimes and we hope to be able to do something out there certainly in the next year.”
The new deals will allow Rogers Media to put up a better fight against its national broadcaster competitors. “It’s important when you’re dealing with national advertisers—the perfect example would be political parties—when an election comes on they want a relatively easy national buy that’s going to reach the majority of the Canadian population,” said Moore. “So [with deals like this] you start playing in the national media game as opposed to the conventional spot media game.
“If you look at our competitors, CTV, Global and CBC, they’re able to play in both, now we’re closer to being able to play in both.
“In order to play in any big national product, whether it’s the National Hockey League, the World Cup or Super Bowl you need to have a strong cable presence—which we do with Sportsnet—and you need a strong over-the-air network where you’re into at least nine to 10 million homes,” said Moore. “That has certainly been a part of our strategy and will enable us to be a serious bidder for major events, whether they are sports or major entertainment events like the Academy Awards or Junos—you’ve got to have that strong national presence.”
