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Vancouver's Newest Media Moguls
 
THEY'RE VANCOUVER'S NEWEST MEDIA MOGULS - AND IN 22 LANGUAGES:
Multivan's owners include Geoffrey Lau, James Ho and Joe Segal. 'Sensitivity to
ethnic issues and audiences' will figure in hiring decisions, Ho promises
Multivan Broadcast Corp., owned by five
prominent Vancouver entrepreneurs, has won the right to launch a new
multilingual ethnic television station in B.C., which will cost about $30
million to start up.
The free station is aiming to go on air by
late fall, ultimately employing 135 people to serve the estimated 800,000 ethnic
residents in Greater Vancouver in 22 languages.
In a 3-to-2 vote, the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission denied a competing
application by CFMT-TV, a division of Toronto-based giant Rogers Broadcasting
Ltd.
Both rivals had made aggressive pitches,
because they expect the licence to be the last the CRTC will grant in the
Vancouver area for many years.
"We're bitterly disappointed," said
Tony Viner, president and CEO of Rogers Media, after learning Thursday the
federal regulatory body had rejected Rogers' Vancouver bid for the third time
since 1995.
"But we're not going to appeal this. We
always try to work with the hand we're dealt."
Although the CRTC found both applications to
be impressive, it ultimately decided in favour of Multivan's local ownership,
versus Rogers' years of experience in operating multicultural channels in other
parts of Canada, including CFMT-TV in Toronto.
"The new station will be owned by local
investors of ethnic origin, with strong broadcasting, business and community
backgrounds," the commission wrote.
"The new station will contribute to the
community through the broadcast of diverse programming for and by Vancouver's
ethnic communities, and will enjoy the support and participation of an advisory
board made up of local residents."
TV for a Pacific City
Five prominent Vancouver entrepreneurs have joined forces in a
bid to obtain a government licence to launch a multicultural television station
to serve more than 800,000 ethnic residents around the Lower Mainland by fall
2002.
The group has formed a new private company, Multivan Broadcast
Corp. (MVBC), and will compete against Toronto-based broadcasting giant Rogers
Media for the coveted licence.
Multivan and Rogers were the only two applicants to file
formal proposals with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission by the July 13 deadline. Four other companies, which earlier
submitted letters of intent, have abandoned their efforts.
"We believe a local application such as ours, with local
owners who are committed to local programming and production, will mean a lot to
our audience here," MVBC president James Ho said Wednesday.
"Currently, there is really no locally-owned TV station in the Vancouver
market. That means high decisions are made outside of this community.
"Our ownership group understands the local sensibilities
and subtleties that go into making an ethnic station a success. We share a real
passion for the diversity that makes Vancouver such a unique Pacific Rim
city."
If the CRTC grants Multivan the ethnic TV licence, it would
cost an estimated $30 million to start it up.
Multivan's five principals are:
- Joseph Segal, president of Kingswood Capital, and a
well-known philanthropist, as well as chancellor emeritus of Simon Fraser
University.
Robert
Lee, chair of Prospero International Realty and RG
Properties Ltd. Lee, who chairs Multivan, is a former governor and chancellor of
the University of B.C.
- James Ho, owner of Mainstream Broadcasting Corp., which
operates Vancouver multicultural radio station, CHMB-AM 1320. Ho also heads
Quantum Financial Services Ltd. and is president of the Taiwan Entrepreneurs and
Investors Association of Canada.
- Geoffrey
Lau, president of Golden Properties Ltd., which manages a diverse portfolio
of residential and commercial real estate around North America. Lau founded
Golden Capital Securities Ltd. and is also known for his philanthropy.
- Douglas Holtby, president of Arbutus Road Investments Inc.
and among Canada's best-known broadcasting executives as former head of WIC
Western International Communications.
"I'm quite excited," Segal said. "It'll be a
wonderful business and a wonderful opportunity for the community and our
shareholders."
Said Lee: "As owners of a new ethnic television station
in Vancouver, we have a deep belief and commitment that local ownership ... is
the best way to ensure that the presently under-served ethnic communities will
receive high-quality programming that reflects them and their interests."
Multivan president Ho said the company will immediately start
executing its business plan, which calls for an overall annual operating budget
of $25 million. Over the seven-year licence term, expenditures exceeding $54
million will be spent on local programming, Canadian content, hiring talent and
other community commitments.
"Multivan will serve and reflect the new Vancouver with
newscasts seven days a week, providing in-depth local, regional, national and
international news coverage from a local ethnic perspective," Ho said.
"Multivan news directors and assignment editors will be
hired for their sensitivity to ethnic issues and audiences."
Ho said Multivan will be releasing details of its game plan as
they are formulated over the coming months. Meanwhile, the company's top
priorities include finding suitable premises in downtown Vancouver offering at
least 35,000 square feet of space, as well as starting the hiring process for
135 employees.
Positions to be filled include journalists, producers, news
anchors, television crews, marketing personnel and office staff.
Before the CRTC held its public hearing last October, both
licence applicants intensively lobbied for local community support, recruiting
high-profile citizens to serve on their respective advisory boards.
Well-known TV personality Monika Deol chaired Multivan's
advisory group, while other supporters included Yulanda Faris, president of the
Vancouver Opera Foundation; author Peter C. Newman; publisher Peter Legge;
former Liberal MP Raymond Chan, and entrepreneurs Arthur Hara, Asa Johal, Lucy
Roschat and Farida Sayani.
Rogers' backers included B.C. Senators Mobina Jaffer and Pat
Carney, as well as prominent Vancouver lawyer Mason Loh.
"I'm very, very happy we won," said Deol, former
host of CHUM-TV's MuchMusic in Toronto and later co-news anchor at Vancouver
Television (now BC CTV).
"In my mind, it was a classic David and Goliath
situation. Rogers is a very successful corporation, but with multi-ethnic
broadcasting, it should be less corporate and more personal. There should be
some heart and soul in it.
"Growing up in Canada as an immigrant gives you some
sensitivity. It's about changing the world and a changing world."
Viner took no solace in the fact that the CRTC's decision was
close, with panel chair Andree Wylie casting the deciding vote, while
commissioners Cindy Grauer and Martha Wilson dissented.
"Whether it's 5-0, 4-1, or 3-2, the result is still the
same, a loss," he said.
"Clearly, that the B.C. regional commissioner [Grauer]
supported our position is gratifying, on a day I found it difficult to be
gratified about anything." -
by Wyng Chow Vancouver
Sun 2002
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