SURREY, BC—A well-known Christian broadcasting group is selling some of its financially struggling television operations to a major Canadian communications company.
Trinity Television Inc. has agreed to sell NOWTV, its over-the-air religious channel in B.C.’s lower mainland, along with the license to operate a similar station in Winnipeg, to media giant Rogers Communications Inc. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission must still approve the deal.
Since 2001 Winnipeg-based Trinity has been running a 24-hour station in the greater Vancouver area, broadcasting a wide range of “primarily Christian” religious and “value-based” programs. But it hasn’t been easy.
“We’ve been undercapitalized from the beginning,” allows Trinity president Willard Thiessen. “The hard reality is that doing something like NOWTV requires more capital than a charity can reasonably come up with.”
With financial stresses threatening the entire organization, Thiessen, who founded Trinity Television in 1976 and hosts the daily “It’s a New Day” program, went looking for a buyer. “We employed an agent and received legitimate offers from several organizations. In assessing the offers our board made a decision to accept the one from Rogers.”
According to Thiessen, Trinity wanted to sell to an organization that would guarantee payment to all its creditors, take proper care of the station’s staff and “commit to continuing the conditions of license” (i.e. continue as a religious station).
“We received an offer we could accept,” he says. Rogers committed to continuing with existing staff in Vancouver, plans to have the Winnipeg station up and running by next fall and has retained Trinity Television on a seven-year contract to provide programming.
“Rogers is a niche player in television and we’re always interested in opportunities to serve underserved segments of the population, says Rael Merson, president and CEO of Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. “We’re also pleased that the Thiessens have agreed to remain involved with the Rogers’ management of these stations,” he said at a November 1 press conference.
“That’s way more than we anticipated. They initiated the seven-year contract,” says Thiessen, who is feeling he started something that will go on. “I’ve looked at [the struggle to operate these stations] through eyes of failure and disappointment. But it will continue and I don’t have to solicit the money to make it all work,” he says.
“We’ve been in ‘death’ mode for a year now. This is like resurrection. There is life after this grieving process. They look at NOWTV for its growth potential. It’s an incredible thing.”
Neither Rogers nor Trinity would disclose the financial terms of the deal. According to Thiessen, “Only the license in Winnipeg is sold. Our building and equipment [and “It’s a New Day”] remain entirely with Trinity.”
