Rogers to buy SCN, launch CityTV Saskatchewan
- ️Jameson Berkow
Rogers to buy SCN, launch CityTV Saskatchewan
The Toronto-based broadcasting giant intends to use the station to launch a new Citytv channel for Saskatchewan
Rogers Communications Inc. acquired regional broadcaster Saskatchewan Communications Network for an undisclosed amount on Tuesday.
The Toronto-based broadcasting giant intends to use the station to launch a new Citytv channel for Saskatchewan. All obligations to run commercial-free educational content between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. CST will be maintained and the current Regina-based management team and staff will remain in place, the company said.
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“Acquiring SCN was motivated by our desire to expand our national reach for Citytv content, allowing us to more effectively compete with other national broadcasters,” Scott Moore, president of broadcasting for Rogers’ media division, said in a statement.
“Rogers Media will provide ownership stability and financial resources needed to maintain and grow this service for Saskatchewan residents.”
Upgrading traffic equipment and establishing a high-definition signal for Citytv Saskatchewan will be among the investments viewers can expects Rogers to make in the near future. After 3 p.m., the new station will air Citytv-owned content such as CityLine, Modern Family and the upcoming Canada’s Got Talent.
The deal comes one month after Rogers and SCN signed an affiliate agreement to provide Citytv content to Saskatchewan. Since January 2, the network designated itself as “Citytv on SCN” whenever it was not airing educational content.
In 2007, Rogers paid $375-million in cash to buy five Citytv stations from CTV, then known as CTVglobemedia. The stations were located in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg.
The deal to buy SCN and launch a Citytv station in Regina, which Rogers expects to receive regulatory approval for this spring, will give the urban media brand a presence in every province west of Quebec.
SCN was previously owned by Bluepoint Investment Corp., a Toronto-based private holding company, which purchased the station from the Saskatchewan government in a 2009 deal worth $700,000.
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