Vancouver: In a sweeping decision that changes the West Coast broadcasting landscape, the crtc has given CanWest Global nearly everything it wanted in the transfer of assets from WIC Western International Communications. The crtc also approved two new stations and a multipoint distribution service.

‘Annual revenues will easily surpass $1 billion for the first time in the history of CanWest,’ says CanWest president and ceo Leonard Asper, of the deal that will cost CanWest $800 million. ‘For Canada, this means increased investment in the development of Canadian talent and more and better Canadian programming on our screens.’

CanWest gets all of wic’s stations except for Montreal’s cfcf, which will be sold. It will also be forced to sell ckvu in Vancouver and gets to keep wic’s duopoly of bctv-chek on the West Coast and create a new one with ciii and chch in the Hamilton-Toronto area.

According to the commission, the markets are not compromised by having one owner for two television stations – especially when Global has committed to increasing local programming at both chch and chek.

In another decision, CHUM Limited finally gets a foothold in the Vancouver market, but through the backdoor. Its application for a new signal in Victoria and a transmitter to rebroadcast its signal in Vancouver was granted, says the regulator, because the Vancouver market cannot support another mainstream station and the provincial capital is underserved.

‘We’re a little sad we didn’t win in Vancouver, but we’re ecstatic about the win in Victoria,’ says Jay Switzer, senior vp/gm ChumCity. ‘It gives us a really important base in b.c. and we’ll also be seen in Vancouver with our retransmitter out there.’

chum will hire 100 people locally and has committed to 26 hours a week of local programming in Victoria and a full eight hours of priority programming each week in prime. No launch date has been set.

Craig Broadcasting’s president and ceo Drew Craig says he’s disappointed that his competing bid for Victoria didn’t fly with the crtc.

‘It’s on to the next plan,’ he says. ‘Craig isn’t going away.’

While Switzer maintains that the Victoria approval doesn’t preclude chum from trying to buy ckvu in Vancouver, Craig has the opposite opinion and says he’ll be bidding on ckvu.

The July 6 decision from the regulator wasn’t a total wash for Craig, however. Its application to provide an mds to various communities in British Columbia was approved. ‘It’s great positioning for [Craig subsidiary] SkyCable,’ says Craig.

Winnipeg’s Trinity Television, meanwhile, was approved for a new religious station to serve the Fraser Valley Region east of Vancouver.

Jeff Thiessen, Trinity’s vp, says he’s delighted to finally win an approval after five tries with the crtc. The new signal – serving West Vancouver to Chilliwack on Channel 66 on basic cable – begins in December and will be primarily a Christian faith channel, he says. Trinity, he adds, will be going after a younger demographic than the competing Vision tv, will air 20 hours of local programming a week, and be based in Maple Ridge or Langley.

Corus Entertainment and Shaw Communications also received good news about their applications for the wic television assets.

Corus will acquire WIC Premium’s discretionary pay services, such as MovieMax, Superchannel and Home Theatre. However, the commission requires that over the next six months, Corus sell half of its shares in Family Channel, which is also part of the WIC Premium portfolio.

And Shaw gets to acquire Canadian Satellite Communications (Cancom).

‘In today’s decisions, the crtc has recognized the importance of consolidating the Canadian radio and television industries, while at the same time promoting the diversity of voices and choices,’ says commission chairperson, Francoise Bertrand. ‘The stronger our companies, the more they can contribute to achieving the cultural objectives set out in the Broadcasting Act’.