A Red Deer television station has gone off the air, leaving Alberta's third-largest city without local television news.

CHCA-TV provided Red Deer with news, weather and sports for 50 years, but was closed Thursday due to cost-cutting measures by owner Canwest Global Communications.

Jim Madder, the vice-president academic at Red Deer College, called the closing a blow to the community, as well as the college, which was often in the news.

"They're a very important media outlet for us — just to let people know what was going on at the college and the region," he said. "Everything from our role in economic development to supporting workers to going into new fields."

Madder said he hopes that another media outlet will decide to move into the Central Alberta market.

Canwest announced in July that it would close CHCA-TV and Victoria's CHEK-TV.