The CRTC has okayed an application by Rogers Broadcasting to start a new 24-hour news channel in Toronto, setting aside objections raised by the owners of The Weather Network and CP24.

Rogers this week landed a Category 2 license for a channel to be called City News (Toronto) – to run news, analysis, weather, sports and the like relating to the city and its immediate surroundings such as Durham, Halton, York and Peel regions.

The proposal was opposed by CTVglobemedia, which complained that the channel would overlap with its CP24. But the commission noted that CP24 has since its inception in 1996 been licensed to serve the southern Ontario region, a condition that has been restated at subsequent licence renewals and other proceedings.

The Rogers channel, in contrast, would be a ‘niche news service’ for Toronto alone, said the CRTC in its ruling. The commission also saw little overlap between City News (Toronto) and The Weather Network, despite arguments to the contrary by the latter’s owner, Pelmorex Communications.
From Playback Daily