Brandon TV station sells for one dollar!

Years ago when I lived in Brandon and the Craig family owned CKX it was a cash cow! Now the udder has dried up. It remains to be seen whether the new ownership can make a silk purse from this sows ear to mix metaphors! Times are certainly changing as owners of local TV and newspapers are finding. The future is in cable and on the internet it would seem because that is where the advertising dollars have gone.
Claasen the head of the media company that bought CKX previously worked at a defunct Montreal newspaper. Sounds encouraging!
This is from the CBC.


CTV sells Brandon TV station for $1
Last Updated: Thursday, July 16, 2009 CBC News
CTV is selling its CKX-TV Brandon television station for $1 to Bluepoint Investment Corp., a Canadian company headed by media-industry figure Bruce Claassen.

The Brandon station, formerly owned by CHUM and before that by Craig Media, has been in danger of closing.

CTV had said it would not renew the station's licence and CBC has decided not to renew its affiliation agreement.

Bluepoint is expected to take ownership Dec. 31, pending approval from the federal regulator.

"We are delighted to announce our acquisition of the Brandon station, the first part of our strategic plan to become a significant media player in North America," Bluepoint chief executive Colin Berrie said.

In hearings before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, CTV has said it cannot afford to produce local programming in small markets.

CTV has told the CRTC it is facing financial constraints because of declining advertising and competition from other electronic media.

Recently, the CRTC increased the pot of funding available for local programming by small market stations to $100 million annually. CKX-TV Brandon is expected to be able to take advantage of that fund.

CTV spokesman Paul Sparkes said 39 people currently work at the Brandon station and the takeover is good news for local jobs.

The station was previously slated to be sold to Shaw Communications for $1, but the Calgary-based cable company later pulled out of the deal.

Claassen is head of media management firm Genesis Vizium, based in Toronto, and previously worked at the now defunct Montreal Star newspaper.

With files from the Canadian Press