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On March, 31, 2008, the CRTC approved Rogers Broadcasting's purchase of channel m, the over-the-air ethnic channel in Vancouver, from Multivan Broadcast Ltd. The station will be branded after Rogers' Toronto multicultural stations, OMNI 1 and 2.
Rogers owns an OMNI-branded station in Vancouver, CHNU-TV Fraser Valley, but it is a Christian channel that it has agreed to sell. The CRTC approved the sale of this channel, along with CIIT-TV Winnipeg, to Christian Channel Inc.
In addition, Rogers was granted licences for new OMNI channels in Calgary and Edmonton, which are expected to launch in the fall. The expansion of the OMNI properties across the country provides Rogers with a national platform for ethno-cultural audiences and advertisers.
Rogers had previously tried for a licence for an over-the-air ethnic station in Vancouver in the 1990s, but its attempts failed. The company appealed the CRTC's decision not to grant it a station to Cabinet, which asked the commission to re-examine the issue.
The CRTC put out a general call for applications for such a station in 2002. It received an application from Rogers and one from Multivan, which was awarded the licence and launched channel m in June 2003.
Source: Cartt, 03/31/2008
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