Jay Switzer is back on the industry scene, and is banking that the CRTC will okay not one, but two channels all about action, and another two about romance.

The former top man at CHUM is attached to applications for the proposed Category 2 channels Velocity and Adventure, and Kiss and The Love Channel.

‘We believe four channels allows very high-quality, different brands, exceptional Canadian and international movies,’ he tells Playback Daily. ‘Four channels allows the price point to be very attractive because there are certain fixed costs…and the ability to share a lot of those costs across channels allows you to improve the value proposition.’

‘There’s a great demand from Canadian viewers and from BDUs across the country for more high-quality, true high-definition services and we intend to meet that demand with exceptionally programmed Canadian services,’ he adds.

The filing names Switzer as president and CEO of the as-yet unnamed company, joined by an experienced team that includes former ThinkFilm boss Jeff Sackman, former Salter Street COO Catherine Tait and Michael McLaughlin of Omnicom Entertainment and, before that, Global TV.

The plans for the new channels have been in the works for the last year and a half. Switzer hopes to see the channels on air by fall, buoyed by recent talks with the BDUs. ‘These meetings we’ve been having lead us to believe these are going to be very successful services,’ he says.

From Playback Daily