|
Ontario's Niagara Region is
getting a new local television station starting Feb. 7, giving area
advertisers the opportunity to dedicate their messaging to their primary
audience.
The Category 2 digital channel, Niagara News TV, is being carried
exclusively by Cogeco digital, and will reach 57,000 homes on channel 556.
It will initially span Port Colborne to Niagara-on-the-Lake, but will grow
to include neighbouring communities.
To start out, NNTV will air a one-hour nightly newscast Monday to Friday
in a loop from 5 to 11 p.m. The newscast will cover local issues and
events, with additional content from Canadian Press and CNN.
Outside the 5 to 11 p.m. block, the channel will air local weather
information and digital feeds, including celebrity, business and
international news feeds, Steve Stunt, NNTV spokesperson, tells MiC.
The news team is lead by Kim Rossi, Krissy Vann, Annie Silvester, with
sports being handled by Ryan McKinty and legendary Canadian broadcaster
Rick Hodge. Hodge began his career in 1974 doing sports for CHUM-FM and
spent two decades co-hosting Toronto's top morning show on CHUM. Hodge has
also worked with CFRB 1010 and EZ Rock.
"It's very regional content," Stunt says. "We're still going to talk about
some sports things happening in Toronto because we're close to that, and
Buffalo because we're close to that, but it's really the first time a
business owner here in Niagara can use that power of TV, and they've never
had that opportunity before."
Stunt adds that once the initial block of programming is running smoothly,
NNTV will start expanding its content offering through the day.
The channel is owned by a group of Niagara-area investors, including
former Vickers & Benson president Terry O'Malley. The station's website is
launching Monday.
Source: Media in Canada, 01/27/2011 |