Ownership By CHEK Media Group
On February 5, 2009, Canwest announced it would explore "strategic options", including possible sale, for CHEK and its other E! stations, saying "a second conventional TV network is no longer key to the long-term success" of the company.
On July 22, 2009, after failing to find a buyer, Canwest announced it would be closing CHEK as of August 31, 2009, issuing layoff notices to staff. CIVI-TV would then become the sole terrestrial station in Victoria. Shortly after this, the employees of CHEK announced a takeover plan to acquire 25% of the station and find local investors to own the remaining 75%. They also organized a campaign to support the plan and save CHEK.
On August 27, 2009, CHEK employees announced that they had raised $2.5 million for the buyout plan; however, the following day, Canwest announced that the employee buyout did not meet Canwest's guidelines to keep the station on the air, and the station had no programming and advertising lined up beyond August 31, at which date Canwest would permanently shut down the station. CHEK would have closed down following the late newscast and a retrospective on the station's history.
On its 5 p.m. newscast of August 31, 2009, however, CHEK-TV announced that its shutdown would be put on hold, and that it would continue broadcasting while negotiations between Canwest and the prospective new owners continue. Facing a new deadline of September 4, Canwest announced on that date that it had reached a deal to sell the station to CHEK employees and local investors (known as CHEK Media Group) for $2. Canwest would continue to provide transitional support for CHEK, including some programming, use of its Vancouver studios, and leasing, at "favourable rates," the 780 Kings Road studios to the new owners with the assumption of various station liabilities. The sale was approved by the CRTC on November 9.
After the sale's announcement, station manager John Pollard revealed to CBC News that CHEK would operate as a local independent station, with no plans to simulcast US programming.
CHEK Media Group took control of the station's programming after that announcement on that date, CHEK disaffiliated from E! (which shut down a few days prior), adopted a new schedule includes a mix of movies and older programming (both Canadian and American in origin); syndicated programming; and a greater emphasis on local news, including a new 10 pm newscast that launched on September 1, 2009. and reverted to branding itself as simply CHEK. With no plans to simulcast US programming at some point, CHEK would add, in sparse amounts, additional programming during the 2009-2010 season, including Let's Get It On, a mixed martial arts program; Ed the Sock's This Movie Sucks!, a movie show featuring the former MuchMusic character alongside co-host Liana Kerzner and comedian Ron Sparks; and infomercials.
On December 16, 2009, Tony Parsons anchored his final newscast at Global BC after 35 years of being the anchor of the News Hour. Tony Parsons began anchoring the 10 pm newscast at CHEK on March 15, 2010.
In April 2010, CHEK and the CBC started a news sharing agreement, in which both stations would share news stories, staff and resources. Tony Parsons also joined the CBC to anchor CBUT-DT's evening newscast, CBC News: Vancouver, from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm; Parsons will fly to Victoria after that program to anchor CHEK's 10 pm newscast. The 6 pm portion of CBC News: Vancouver will be simulcasted on CHEK. As of June 15, 2012, Parsons now anchors only the 6 PM News on both CBUT and CHEK as he left CHEK's 10 pm newscast to a rotation of anchors and reporters.
In September 2010, CHEK, for the first time since its purchase by station employees and local investors, began airing American network television series; many of the added shows, including Smallville, Supernatural, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Chuck, and 60 Minutes were previously seen in the Vancouver/Victoria market on CHNU-DT and Toronto/Hamilton's CKXT-TV (that station's owner, Quebecor, which is in the process of replacing its licence with one for an all-news cable channel, with CKXT's apparent sign off in 2011). CHEK will also air I Hate Hollywood produced by CHCH-DT, which has picked up all of the shows mentioned above.
CHEK-TV is one of two independent stations in Canada that began as a CBC Television affiliate, and then later a CTV affiliate (CJON-TV in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is the other).
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