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Smallest TV station in Canada shutting down

The smallest local TV station in Canada, Kenora's CJBN, will sign off forever in the new year.
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Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield. (Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com)

In a move that Kenora Mayor Dave Canfield describes as sad but not a shock, TV station CJBN will shut down next month.

The Global Television affiliate serves the smallest local TV market in Canada, centred in Kenora with a population of 15,000.

Shaw says the decision to cease operations is the result of a duplication of service, as Kenora residents can obtain the same Global programming from another source.

"All Global-affiliated programming that airs on CJBN can continue to be accessed through Global Winnipeg," Shaw Communications vice-president Chethan Lakshman said in an email from corporate headquarters in Calgary.

CJBN was started by two local businessmen in 1980.  In 2006 it was purchased by Shaw Communications from  Norcom Communications. Unlike other broadcasters, CJBN did not transition to high-definition digital technology, but continued to transmit an analog signal.

Three employees are affected by the closure, which takes effect January 27, 2017, but two of them have been offered positions at Shaw TV's community cable channel in Kenora.

Mayor Dave Canfield said Shaw had given him advance notice of the recent announcement.

"I guess it's a reality check," he said. "It was the smallest one, very little capacity."  

Canfield added that "It's a sign of the times, of things that have transpired ... It's sad and at the same time it wasn't really surprising." 

  

 


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Gary Rinne

About the Author: Gary Rinne

Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Gary started part-time at Tbnewswatch in 2016 after retiring from the CBC
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