CTV announced today that when the war in Iraq begins, CTV will provide its live breaking news coverage, free of charge to any licensed radio station (AM or FM) in Canada, for as long as it warrants.
“This is a no-strings attached content offering by the News Division of CTV,” said Robert Hurst, President, CTV News. “Several radio stations asked for our live audio feed and we decided as a public service to make it available and free to all radio stations in Canada.”
Time and time again, when major national or international news events occur, research shows that Canadians tune in to CTV in record numbers. As demonstrated by BBM ratings, Monday night’s CTV News Special, President George Bush Addresses the Nation, drew 1.5 million viewers (2+), almost double its head-to-head national competitors (CBC, 790,000; Global, 880,000).
Today’s unprecedented announcement means millions of Canadians will have access to credible, Canadian-focused, on-going war coverage as it unfolds in the Gulf region, simply by tuning into their favourite local radio station. For the private radio community across the country, it’s a no-charge chance to piggy-back on the resources of CTV News’ multi-million dollar commitment to its war coverage, providing a direct link to CTV’s war correspondents in the Middle East and the Network’s unparalleled stable of experts. Reports by CTV’s correspondents in the Persian Gulf are particularly important to smaller- market radio stations that do not have the resources to cover the war.
CTV News war coverage will be anchored by Lloyd Robertson. CTV News has Canadian correspondents throughout the Gulf region currently reporting from Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan, Qatar, Israel and Britain. CTV News is also staffing The White House, The Pentagon and the U.S. State Department. In Canada CTV will be covering Canadian reaction and developments from 21 CTV stations and from Parliament Hill. CTV News coverage will include anchors and correspondents Lisa LaFlamme, Tom Clark, Sandie Rinaldo, Dan Matheson, Tom Kennedy and Alan Fryer.
CTV News has also arranged for top military strategists and analysts including Maj. General Lewis MacKenzie (retired) and U.S. Lt. Colonel Tom Christianson (retired) who was a battlefield commander during the 1991 Gulf war. CTV News is a division of CTV Inc. with 10 international and eight domestic bureaus.