PETER CONRADI/Bullet News
Niagara News Television stumbled out of the gate in early February and never really gained traction in its attempt to win the attention of viewers and advertisers. As a result, the fledgling broadcaster pulled the plug on live programming Monday morning after about only 10 weeks on the air.
“It’s very frustrating,†NNTV spokesman Steve Stunt told Bullet News. “It just felt sometimes like it was one thing after another. We didn’t have a good launch and getting the confidence of advertisers after that was rather tricky. I hope we’ll be back, but right now we just don’t know.â€
A meeting Saturday of the NNTV’s eight shareholders could go a long way toward determining the future of the station. It should at least provide an indication of whether the owners want to regroup and try again or throw in the towel.
“It hasn’t been a good day,†said NNTV president Frank Thibault, who is also one of the shareholders. “I’ve been working on this for a long time. I still believe the community is under-serviced by local television, and I believe we can provide that.
“But it’s all about money. The only way we can go forward is to develop the sales side of things better. It’s going to take time. My goal is to get programming back on the air, but I think it’s probably going to be the fall before anything happens. We can’t rush into things. And all of this depends on what happens Saturday.â€
Thibault agreed with Stunt’s assessment, noting NNTV’s rocky start set an unfavourable tone that it was unable to overcome. The station was scheduled to be on the air Feb. 7, but didn’t actually debut until more than 24 hours later. Even then it was far from a smooth ride. Technical glitches continued to haunt the budding operation well after the delayed launch: Sometimes it was on the air, but just as often it was not.
“That definitely was part of it,†Thibault said. “It was hard to sell to advertisers.â€
NNTV’s location on the Cogeco dial at Channel 556, well outside the normal surfing path of most viewers, also made it difficult for the station to establish any kind of regular following despite being beamed for free into the homes of some 55,000 digital cable subscribers.
Stunt said the decision to suspend live programming was made Monday morning. However, signs of difficulties became apparent late last week when the entire three-member advertising staff was let go. Monday’s move put another 14 people out of work, who held various full- and part-time positions.
NNTV is currently still on the air with a weather graphic and international news ticker. Thibault said he didn’t know how NNTV’s current situation would be impacted by Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission regulations. NNTV continues to hold the license for local programming, but it’s unclear if the termination of live programming will affect its certification.
“The CRTC is not in the business of putting people out of business or making it difficult for them,†Thibault said. “Once we have our meeting Saturday I am hopeful I can go to the CRTC with a plan to regroup and that they will be OK with that.â€
Thibault, who lives in Burlington, would not name the other seven board members or identify the chairperson. He said some of the investors got involved on the condition that they remain anonymous. It is known that two of the backers are Terry O’Malley and Mike Katz, both former owners of the now defunct St. Catharines Stompers single-A professional baseball team. O’Malley is a former advertising executive and Katz has been involved in the ownership of McDonald’s franchises around Niagara.
Programming for NNTV, which operated out of studios on St. Paul Street in St. Catharines, was attempting to feature community events, interviews, news, sports, and public affairs, all with a local, Niagara angle. Stories from CNN and the Canadian Press were used to augment content. The local newscast, Monday-Friday from 5-11 p.m., was the heart of its operation. Niagara natives and veteran broadcasters Annie Silvester and Kim Rossi, along with newcomer and St. Catharines native Krissy Vann, fronted the station. Niagara native Rick Hodge provided sports commentary.
NNTV was the Niagara’s first commercial television station. Wendell Wilks made a previous attempt in 2005, but that was blocked by the CRTC. Niagara has long relied on stations in Hamilton, Buffalo and Toronto to provide limited TV coverage of local stories and events.
“We were getting better,†Stunt said. “The product was definitely improving. I still think there is a market for what we are trying to do.â€
pconradi@line2revenuesystems.com
