Bill Brownstein reports in The Gazette that CTV Montreal is expanding its weekend evening newscasts from 30 minutes to 60.
That sounds pretty cool except when you consider that, in exchange, they're cutting two weekend shows: Entertainment Spotlight and SportsNight 360.
I won't shed too many tears over Mosé Persico and Entertainment Spotlight (ok, maybe one for Natasha Hall having to find new work - again). But the cancellation of CTV's weekend sports show and the final indignified push out the door for Ron Reusch might ruffle some feathers (UPDATE: A Facebook group has already started).
To make up for the cancelled shows, the weekend newscasts will have expanded entertainment and sports-related features. The changes will take place in January.
It's really sad how CTV has been pushing Ron Reusch out. I feel sorry for him. It makes CTV look pretty cold hearted.
So basically at CTV now, local programming = news and nothing else.
I wonder if this change is happening with all their affiliates...
Loss of SportsNight 360 is signifcant. Entertainment Spotlight where Mosé always mispronounces the names of movies is no loss. Why can't CTV, CBC, Global allow their affiliates to have some local identity like WCAX, WPTZ do? CFCF was a great station when it was locally owned. Now everything is owned by CTV directly and it's all identical everywhere.
Mtl CTV News hasn't been as good since Jed Kahane took it over, hopefully he'll get his bearings but right now they've lost their mojo.
[...] license requires a minimum of 15.5 hours a week of local programming. Since the cancellation of Entertainment Spotlight and SportsNight 360 in January, this has been entirely made up of local newscasts (and the late sportscast at 11:45). The [...]
[...] was discouraged by the decision of CFCF 12 last fall to expand the weekend newscasts and cancel SportsNight 360, the only anglophone sports television talk show in the city. Well, maybe "discouraged" is too soft [...]