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Channel Zero, which owns short film specialty Movieola, classic movie channel Silver Screen Classics, and film distributor Ouat Media announced they have signed an agreement to purchase E!-branded CHCH TV Hamilton and CJNT TV Montreal from Canwest Global.
The fate of Canwest"s E!-branded stations in Red Deer, Alta. (CHCA), Kelowna (CHBC), and Victoria, B.C. (CHEK) are not known at this time. While Canwest is thought to be seeking buyers for those, company executives have gone on record saying it will not be operating these E! stations as of September 1, 2009.
The E! branding will soon be gone. Channel Zero also plans to push full speed ahead on high-definition and launch a new over-the-air TV model, repositioning and reprogramming CHCH Hamilton as an all-local-news station during daylight hours with movies at night.
The new owners plan to keep the successful morning show, supper newscast and late evening newscast, but when it comes to movies, something Channel Zero knows well, " 'they"re not going to be first run conventional window movies. These are going to be "comfort food" movies " not old movies necessarily, but movies that are familiar, have a high degree of title recognition with them,' " said company VP and GM Cal Millar.
In Montreal, where CJNT is a multicultural station (and the station where the E! branding made the absolute least sense), it will also be significantly changed and broadcast both original foreign movies and multicultural music videos, with vibrant, fresh multicultural hosts. Millar says film distribution arm Ouat had often turned down foreign language flicks, " 'but now we have an outlet for them,' " he said.
Source: Cartt, 06/30/2009
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