The CRTC has approved Shaw Communications's application for a 24-hour news channel focused on British Columbia. With this approval, work is now underway to launch the new channel – officially named Global News: BC 1 – early in the New Year.
Shaw Communications Inc. announced plans to launch the all-news channel earlier this year. It will bear the Global BC brand and provide local, national and international headlines 24 hours a day.
The company's application to the Canadian Radio-television Communications Commission faced opposition from a number of other regional broadcasters. They were concerned about Shaw's plan to include local advertising on the channel, which critics argued would give the new channel an unfair advantage. The CRTC agreed, approving the channel on condition that Shaw not seek local advertising on Vancouver Island, including Victoria.
“This is huge step towards providing BC residents with a 24-hour news channel from the province’s most watched news brand.” says Troy Reeb, Senior Vice-President, News and Station Operations, Shaw Media. “Global News: BC 1 represents our continued dedication to building a news powerhouse by servicing viewers with compelling programming and personalities.”
With approval now secured, construction efforts will begin at Global BC’s Burnaby studio with a targeted end-of-January channel launch. The first of its kind in the BC market, Global News: BC 1 will provide viewers with the top local and regional stories from around British Columbia, as well as national and international coverage delivered from a distinctly BC perspective. The channel will also adhere to Global News’ Digital First objective by actively incorporating elements of social media and other online tools into the way its anchors and reporters deliver the news to the province.
More details regarding Global BC’s all-news specialty channel will be announced in the coming months.