CHUM Television has made its first move into the home territory of rival Craig Broadcasting. The Toronto-based heavyweight recently applied to the CRTC to open stations in Calgary and Edmonton, both of which are home to Craig stations. If approved, CHUM could go on the air in Alberta as early as fall 2004, entering a new phase of a bitter turf war that has seen CHUM and Brandon, Calgary-based Craig compete for viewers and licences in Toronto and British Columbia.

The CRTC announced on Nov. 7 it had received applications for the new TV licences and has issued a call for competing submissions. Public hearings are expected by next spring or summer.

‘We’ve seen a clear interest and need for better local programming in Calgary and Edmonton,’ says Peter Miller, CHUM’s VP of business and regulatory affairs, ‘and we see an opportunity to provide support to the independent production community.’

The move is seen by many as a response to Craig’s arrival earlier this year in the CHUM-dominated southern Ontario market, made possible when the feds wrote a licence for toronto|one, the new Craig-owned local station. CHUM opposed the application, arguing it stands to lose up to $6.5 million a year.

But Miller downplays any rivalry. ‘I wouldn’t call it a response. It’s a recognition of the reality of the marketplace and the fact that Alberta can, if any market can, sustain new entrants. We’ve actually been looking at Alberta for some time, so the timing seemed to be right,’ he says.

CHUM and Craig also crossed swords last fall, when the Toronto company bought CKVU in Vancouver, and both broadcasters own competing specialty channels. CHUM owns MuchMusic and Craig last year launched MTV Canada.

The two broadcasters actually had a close working relationship for years, with CHUM backing Craig’s Alberta licences and Craig acquiring much of its non-local programming from CHUM. As of last summer, CHUM was still supplying Craig with a limited number of programs.

-www.chumlimited.com