CFHD-DT

CFHD-DT is an independent multicultural television station serving Montreal and, through distribution arrangements, viewers across Quebec. It operates under the ICI Télévision branding, a bilingual reference to “International Channel” and “Canal International,” and is associated with the Norouzi family and its production business, Mi-Cam Communications. The station’s studios are located on Christophe Colomb Avenue in Montreal’s Ahuntsic district, while its transmitter is situated at Mount Royal Park near downtown Montreal. The station was created as a successor to the multicultural role once associated with CJNT. CJNT had originally emerged from Télévision Ethnique du Québec, a cable-access service, and began broadcasting in 1997. After successive ownership changes—from WIC to Canwest and then Channel Zero—CJNT’s ethnic output declined substantially. By the time Channel Zero owned the station, it was no longer producing multicultural programming on its own schedule. In 2012, Rogers Media proposed buying CJNT and converting it into an English-language Citytv station. As part of that regulatory proposal, a separate application was advanced for a new Montreal multicultural service named ICI. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved both the CJNT transaction and the ICI proposal on December 20, 2012. Rogers agreed to provide approximately $1.07 million in support and access to up to 200 hours per year of programming from its Omni Television ethnic network. Channel Zero committed a $1 million loan and five years of free master-control services. CFHD-DT tested its transmitter in August 2013 and began regular programming on December 11, 2013. The station’s proposed call sign was initially CFHG-DT, but it was changed to CFHD-DT before launch. CFHD-DT uses a producer-cooperative operating model. Producers of local ethnic programs purchase airtime, create or commission their shows, and sell advertising to their audiences. This model reflects the earlier structure of Télévision Ethnique du Québec and is intended to place programming and commercial decisions close to the communities being served. The station’s licence permits some non-ethnic programming, but its schedule has been primarily or entirely multicultural, with much of the output produced locally. Its programming has served Armenian, Italian, Latin American, Lebanese, Egyptian, Maghrebian, Greek, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, Romanian, Iranian, Haitian, Jewish, German, Ukrainian, Polish, Filipino and other communities in Quebec. Broadcast languages have included Italian, Greek, Arabic, Portuguese, Persian, Romanian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, French, English, Armenian, Polish and Creole. Examples of externally sourced or non-station productions have included the Portuguese soap opera Bem-Vindos a Beirais, South Asian Veggie Table from Omni, and Il est écrit, a French-language version of the Seventh-day Adventist program It Is Written. Much of the station’s output has also been made available online through YouTube. CFHD-DT later became available through Omni Regional, a Rogers-distributed service that carries Omni programming as a must-carry specialty channel. The feed has been marketed in Quebec as ICI Québec. In August 2017, the CRTC relieved Vidéotron of carrying CFHD as a terrestrial channel because its customers received the Rogers-supplied feed through Omni Regional. The station therefore occupies both a local-broadcast and broader specialty-distribution role within Quebec’s multicultural television ecosystem.

CFHD-DT developed from a regulatory and market effort to restore a dedicated multicultural television service in Montreal. Its institutional background reaches back to Télévision Ethnique du Québec, a cable-access channel on which Sam Norouzi’s father produced a Persian-language program. TEQ was a precursor to CJNT, which began broadcasting in 1997 as a multicultural station. CJNT’s identity changed substantially after it was sold to Western International Communications in 1999. Canwest acquired WIC in 2001, placing the station within the CH/E! system, and Channel Zero acquired it in 2009. During these ownership transitions, the station’s commitment to local ethnic programming diminished. By the Channel Zero period, CJNT no longer produced multicultural programs itself, leaving a gap in Montreal’s broadcast market. Rogers Media announced in May 2012 that it intended to acquire CJNT and make it a Citytv owned-and-operated station. Its subsequent application asked the CRTC to change the station’s licence from multicultural broadcasting to a conventional English-language service. In parallel, Rogers supported the creation of a new service, ICI, to assume the multicultural role. The CRTC considered both applications at a November 2012 hearing and approved them on December 20 of that year. The approved arrangement supplied the new station with important start-up support. Rogers committed $1.07 million and offered access to 200 hours annually of ethnic programming from Omni Television. Channel Zero agreed to provide a $1 million loan and five years of free master-control services. The station tested its transmitter on August 21, 2013, and launched programming on December 11. Although CFHG-DT was initially proposed as the call sign, the station adopted CFHD-DT before launch. The station is linked to Sam Norouzi and his family, and its studios operate from the premises of Mi-Cam Communications in Montreal’s Ahuntsic district. Rather than relying exclusively on a conventional broadcaster-employed production department, CFHD-DT operates as a producers’ cooperative. Local ethnic-program producers buy airtime, arrange programming, and sell advertising themselves. The model is deliberately close to TEQ’s earlier structure and reflects the Norouzi family’s view that producers embedded in particular communities are better placed to identify audiences, advertisers and culturally relevant subjects. CFHD-DT’s schedule has been predominantly ethnic and locally produced, despite a licence that allows some non-ethnic programming. Its languages and community coverage have included Italian, Greek, Arabic, Portuguese, Persian, Romanian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Hindi, Urdu, Spanish, French, English, Armenian, Polish and Creole. The station has served a broad range of communities, including Armenian, Italian, Latin American, Lebanese, Egyptian, Maghrebian, Greek, Portuguese, Chinese, Russian, Romanian, Iranian, Haitian, Jewish, German, Ukrainian, Polish and Filipino audiences. External or non-station productions have included Bem-Vindos a Beirais, South Asian Veggie Table and Il est écrit. A short-lived English-language sports program, Montreal Sports Weekly, also appeared in 2017 as a continuation of a discontinued CJNT sports discussion program. The ICI name generated a legal dispute with CBC. On March 25, 2013, CBC sought to have the station’s ICI trademark removed and to stop its use of the name. The corporation argued that Radio-Canada had used “Ici Radio-Canada” in branding since the 1930s and had registered numerous marks involving “Ici.” Norouzi’s ICI application had been filed before the station’s licence application, while the Radio-Canada-related registrations followed later. Norouzi rejected CBC’s position and indicated that he intended to defend the name. Distribution evolved after the station launched. Rogers arranged for CFHD to be carried as part of Omni Regional, a must-carry specialty service distributing Omni programming. In Quebec, the feed was marketed as ICI Québec. In August 2017, the CRTC relieved Vidéotron from carrying CFHD as a separate terrestrial channel because the Rogers feed was available through Omni Regional. CFHD-DT consequently functions as both a Montreal broadcast station and a service with wider Quebec distribution.

• 2017

  ICI is distributed through Omni Regional

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Rogers arranges broader specialty distribution for the station’s feed, marketed in Quebec as ICI Québec.

• 2017

  Montreal Sports Weekly airs briefly

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station carries a short-lived English-language sports discussion program continuing a format previously associated with CJNT.

• 2013

  CFHD-DT launches

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station tests its transmitter in August and begins programming on December 11, restoring a dedicated multicultural television service in Montreal.

• 2013

  CBC challenges the ICI trademark

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CBC files a lawsuit contesting the station’s use and registration of the ICI name.

• 2012

  ICI proposal is submitted alongside the CJNT transaction

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Rogers’ plan to convert CJNT into an English-language Citytv station is paired with support for a new Montreal multicultural service.

• 2012

  CRTC approves the new station

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The CRTC approves both the CJNT transaction and the ICI application on December 20.

• 2009

  Channel Zero acquires CJNT

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Channel Zero becomes the station’s owner; by this period, locally produced ethnic programming has declined sharply.

• 2001

  Canwest acquires WIC

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Canwest purchases WIC and operates CJNT within its CH/E! structure.

• 1999

  CJNT is sold to WIC

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Western International Communications acquires CJNT, beginning a series of ownership changes that later affect the station’s multicultural output.

• 1997

  CJNT begins broadcasting

  [1]CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CJNT launches in Montreal after the earlier Télévision Ethnique du Québec cable-access service, establishing the broadcast predecessor to CFHD-DT’s multicultural role.

An independent, community-oriented multicultural broadcaster that gives ethnic-language producers direct access to Montreal television audiences.

• Multicultural television station · 2013

  ICI Télévision

  The core CFHD-DT broadcast service, offering a predominantly ethnic and locally produced schedule for Montreal’s diverse communities. Programming has covered numerous languages and cultural audiences, with producers purchasing airtime and managing advertising around their own shows.

• Specialty television distribution feed · 2017

  ICI Québec

  The Quebec-distributed presentation of the CFHD service carried through Rogers’ Omni Regional arrangement. It extends access beyond the station’s over-the-air Montreal footprint and forms part of the broader distribution strategy for multicultural programming.

• Sports television program · 2017

  Montreal Sports Weekly

  A briefly aired English-language sports discussion program that continued a sports-panel format previously associated with CJNT. It was an exception to the station’s primarily multicultural and ethnic-language schedule.

• 2013

  CBC trademark lawsuit over ICI

  CBC sued Sam Norouzi in March 2013, seeking removal of the ICI trademark and an injunction against the station’s use of ICI. CBC relied on Radio-Canada’s historical branding and related trademark registrations, while Norouzi disputed the claim and defended the station’s right to use the name.

  Source

Read more

• 2017

  Expand distribution through Omni RegionalStrategy

  Background

  Rogers operated Omni Regional as a broader distribution platform for multicultural programming.

  Action taken

  CFHD’s feed was carried through Omni Regional and marketed in Quebec as ICI Québec.

  Aftermath

  The CRTC subsequently relieved Vidéotron from separate terrestrial carriage of CFHD because the Rogers feed was available through Omni Regional.

  Source

• 2013

  Launch CFHD-DT as ICI TélévisionProduct launch

  Background

  Montreal had lost much of CJNT’s original ethnic programming after successive ownership changes.

  Action taken

  The Norouzi family launched the station after transmitter testing, using a producer-cooperative model and a predominantly multicultural schedule.

  Aftermath

  CFHD-DT assumed the city’s dedicated multicultural broadcast role and began serving numerous language and ethnic communities.

  Source

• 2012

  Create a new multicultural station alongside the CJNT conversionM&A

  Background

  Rogers sought to acquire CJNT and convert it from a multicultural station into an English-language Citytv outlet. The change created a regulatory and market need for a separate multicultural service in Montreal.

  Action taken

  Rogers supported the ICI application with funding and access to Omni programming, while Channel Zero supplied a loan and master-control assistance.

  Aftermath

  The CRTC approved both applications, and CFHD-DT launched in December 2013 as Montreal’s new dedicated multicultural broadcaster.

  Rogers support; Channel Zero loan. $1.07 million support from Rogers and a $1 million loan from Channel Zero (2012 regulatory proposal)

  Source

1. 1CFHD-DTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2ICI Télévision official websiteicitelevision.ca