Canwest selling TV stations in Montreal, Hamilton

Money-troubled Canwest Global Communications Corp. said Tuesday it is selling two conventional television stations in Montreal and Hamilton to an affiliate of Channel Zero Inc., an independent Canadian television broadcaster.

Financial terms of the deal to sell CHCH-TV in Hamilton and CJNT-TV in Montreal were not disclosed.

"We believe that this sale, once complete, will represent the best opportunity for these stations, the communities they serve and the employees who work there," Canwest Broadcasting president Peter Viner said.

 "Despite considering a number of strategic alternatives, we concluded that without new ownership, these stations would have to be closed."

The sale is conditional on approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

A privately held, Toronto-based company, Channel Zero's operations include digital cable channels Movieola, Silver Screen Classics and adult entertainment channels  AOV Adult Movie Channel, XXX Action Clips Channel and Maleflixxx Television.

Channel Zero said CHCH will broadcast an all-news format during the day with movies in the evening, while CJNT will broadcast original foreign movies and multicultural music videos.

Shift in focus

Channel Zero plans to file a request with the broadcast regulators seeking a transfer of the stations' licences under terms similar to those contained in Canwest’s current licences, including commitments to air 13.5 hours of local ethnic programming per week at CJNT and 36.5 hours of local programming per week at CHCH.

The sale is also conditional upon the renewal of the CHCH’s collective bargaining agreement to provide one year of labour stability for the new owner.

Canwest is selling the stations at part of a shift to focus on its Global television stations. Canwest is still looking for buyers for three other stations: CHCA-TV in Red Deer, CHBC-TV in Kelowna and CHEK-TV in Victoria.

On June 15, a group of Canwest creditors agreed to extend a deadline for its Canwest Media Inc. subsidiary to reach a deal on a long-term recapitalization.

In May, Canwest had been given until that date to reach an agreement-in-principle with a noteholder committee that represents creditors holding $761 million in outstanding notes. That deadline has now been extended to the end of June and the company still faces a July 15 deadline to come up with a definitive agreement.

Canwest missed $30.4 million in interest payments on the notes in March, but then got a series of extensions while it tried to work out a long-term plan.