Saskatchewan Communications Network
Encyclopedia
SCN is a Canadian
English language
cable television
entertainment, information, and educational channel
in the province
of Saskatchewan
. It is owned by Bluepoint Investment Corporation.
The channel is licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as an educational programming service for the province of Saskatchewan, and was formerly a public broadcaster owned by the Saskatchewan government. Since becoming a private broadcaster, it has aired a mix of educational and cultural programming along with entertainment programming more favourable to advertisers and viewers.
For being licensed as an educational broadcaster, SCN is required to be distributed as part of the basic cable service in Saskatchewan. SCN's broadcast licence is for satellite-to-cable programming only and is not available over-the-air unlike other similar services such as TVO
or Télé-Québec
. It is also available on both national satellite services, Bell TV and Shaw Direct.
was launched on September 27, 1970; British Columbia's Knowledge launched on January 12, 1981; and Alberta's Access was launched on June 30, 1973, later privatized in the mid 1990s and now called CTV Two Alberta)
While being a publicly-owned entity, SCN received funding from the Saskatchewan government and from the general public in the form of donations. At the time, SCN frequently stopped between shows to ask for pledges like other public broadcasters such as PBS
in the United States.
On March 24, 2010, the Brad Wall
government announced it would wind up SCN's operations, citing low ratings, with some operations such as distance education
broadcasts to be transferred to SaskTel
. The channel was to have signed off at the end of April, but it was later decided to keep the channel in operation while offers to buy it were evaluated. On June 21, 2010, the Saskatchewan government announced the channel would be sold to Bluepoint Investment Corporation, a sale that would require CRTC approval. During the CRTC approval process, Bluepoint requested an amendment to SCN's licence to allow commercial advertising during non-educational programming. The CRTC approved the sale of SCN to Bluepoint and the licence amendments on December 23, 2010. The transaction was closed shortly thereafter; as did SCN's original funding streams: government funding and public donations.
Bluepoint planned on changing SCN to adopt a format similar to Access
, an educational television network in Alberta owned by Bell Media, which incorporates general entertainment programming alongside the existing educational programming.
On September 12, 2011 the channel rebranded itself by introducing a new logo, on-air presentation, and a new programming schedule incorporating entertainment programming such as Supernatural
and The Insider
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
entertainment, information, and educational channel
Television channel
A television channel is a physical or virtual channel over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the broadcast or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with carrier frequencies of 55.25 MHz for NTSC analog video and...
in the province
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
. It is owned by Bluepoint Investment Corporation.
The channel is licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as an educational programming service for the province of Saskatchewan, and was formerly a public broadcaster owned by the Saskatchewan government. Since becoming a private broadcaster, it has aired a mix of educational and cultural programming along with entertainment programming more favourable to advertisers and viewers.
For being licensed as an educational broadcaster, SCN is required to be distributed as part of the basic cable service in Saskatchewan. SCN's broadcast licence is for satellite-to-cable programming only and is not available over-the-air unlike other similar services such as TVO
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
or Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
. It is also available on both national satellite services, Bell TV and Shaw Direct.
History
In February 1991, the Saskatchewan government at that time, was granted a broadcast licence for SCN, a non-commercial educational service, by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). It launched on May 6 of that year, making it one of the newer English-language publicly-funded broadcasters in Canada (Ontario's TVOntarioTVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
was launched on September 27, 1970; British Columbia's Knowledge launched on January 12, 1981; and Alberta's Access was launched on June 30, 1973, later privatized in the mid 1990s and now called CTV Two Alberta)
While being a publicly-owned entity, SCN received funding from the Saskatchewan government and from the general public in the form of donations. At the time, SCN frequently stopped between shows to ask for pledges like other public broadcasters such as PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in the United States.
On March 24, 2010, the Brad Wall
Brad Wall
Bradley John "Brad" Wall, MLA is a Canadian politician who has been the 14th Premier of Saskatchewan since November 21, 2007....
government announced it would wind up SCN's operations, citing low ratings, with some operations such as distance education
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
broadcasts to be transferred to SaskTel
SaskTel
Saskatchewan Telecommunications is a provincial Crown Corporation operating under the authority of the Saskatchewan Telecommunications Act. It is the only remaining Crown Corporation in the Canadian telecommunications industry....
. The channel was to have signed off at the end of April, but it was later decided to keep the channel in operation while offers to buy it were evaluated. On June 21, 2010, the Saskatchewan government announced the channel would be sold to Bluepoint Investment Corporation, a sale that would require CRTC approval. During the CRTC approval process, Bluepoint requested an amendment to SCN's licence to allow commercial advertising during non-educational programming. The CRTC approved the sale of SCN to Bluepoint and the licence amendments on December 23, 2010. The transaction was closed shortly thereafter; as did SCN's original funding streams: government funding and public donations.
Bluepoint planned on changing SCN to adopt a format similar to Access
Access (TV channel)
CTV Two Alberta is a Canadian English language entertainment, information, and educational television channel in the province of Alberta...
, an educational television network in Alberta owned by Bell Media, which incorporates general entertainment programming alongside the existing educational programming.
On September 12, 2011 the channel rebranded itself by introducing a new logo, on-air presentation, and a new programming schedule incorporating entertainment programming such as Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
and The Insider
The Insider (TV series)
The Insider is an American tabloid television news program covering events and celebrities. It debuted on September 13, 2004 as a spinoff of Entertainment Tonight and started as a popular segment that took viewers "behind closed doors" and gave them "inside" information...
.