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DAILY NEWS
Sep 3, 2008 6:52 AM
First-ever Ethnic Television Provider in Calgary and Edmonton
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Canadian broadcast history will be made when Rogers OMNI Alberta - the province's first
over-the-air multilingual/multicultural television broadcaster-signs on in
Calgary and Edmonton, 6:00 a.m. MT, Monday, September 15th.
Rogers OMNI Television is pleased to announce
the imminent launch of two landmark ethnic television stations to serve and
reflect the increasingly diverse population of Alberta.
OMNI Calgary (CJCO) will air on cable channel 4; over-the-air on channel 38, and OMNI Edmonton (CJEO) will air on cable channel 11; over-the-air on channel 56.
"We're clearly happy to be pioneering language television in two previously underserved areas at the same time," said Al Thorgeirson,
Regional Vice President of Television for Rogers Media, in a release. "While we are breaking new ground with Rogers OMNI Alberta we are also providing a long-overdue service by offering community-focused programming in 20 languages to
ethnocultural audiences we feel will be highly receptive."
Central to OMNI Alberta's schedule of multilingual/multicultural programming are three locally produced newscasts that each weekday will
provide in-depth coverage for and about the emerging Cantonese, Mandarin and South Asian communities in areas served by OMNI stations in Calgary and Edmonton. (OMNI Calgary and OMNI Edmonton will have different news teams.)
"Rogers OMNI Alberta is pleased and privileged to bring much-needed broadcast reflection to the ethnocultural communities of the province -- this
is a huge victory on both sides of the camera," explained Madeline Ziniak, National Vice President of Rogers OMNI Television. "Each OMNI will have a strong focus on local news with a balance of local, regional and national perspectives as well as the opportunity to share ethnocultural issues and stories throughout
our evolving national television system - something we've never been able to offer before."
When OMNI Calgary and OMNI Edmonton officially introduce themselves on September 15th both will do so with schedules enhanced by diversity
programming from OMNI Ontario and OMNI BC, programmers descibe.
OMNI plans a strategy of hiring regional stringers, so its Alberta viewers will soon be able to see their respective communities reflected throughout the schedule. As well, OMNI's recently established station-wide collaboration will enable independently produced documentaries in English and non-official languages as well first-run Chinese and South Asian movies to be seen by an additional two
million households.
With more than 75 hours of ethnic programming each week, including locally produced newscasts each weekday for the regional Cantonese,
Mandarin and South Asian communities, OMNI Alberta reflects and serves the increasingly diverse population of Calgary and Edmonton in no less than 20 languages. In addition to specializing in Canadian multilingual/multicultural programming, OMNI Alberta features popular sitcoms and dramatic series from the US along with OMNI's station-wide schedule of Chinese Super Cinema and
South Asian Bollywood Freetime Movies.
Rogers OMNI Television is a free, over-the-air multilingual/multicultural system made up of five regional broadcasters serving nine major markets across Canada - OMNI BC (Vancouver and Victoria); OMNI Alberta (Calgary and
Edmonton), and flagship stations OMNI.1 and OMNI.2 in Ontario (Ottawa-Gatineau, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area) -- with the collective mandate to reflect Canada's diversity through the
airing of inclusive and accessible programming. All are part of Rogers Media Inc., a division of Rogers Communications Inc., a diversified Canadian communications and media company.
