| VisionTV | |
|---|---|
 |
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| VisionTV logo | |
| Launched | September 1, 1988 |
| Owned by | S-VOX (sale pending to ZoomerMedia) |
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Website | VisionTV |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Bell TV | Channel 261 |
| Shaw Direct | Channel 394 |
| Cable | |
| Available on most Canadian cable systems | Check local listings, channels may vary |
VisionTV is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel that airs multi-faith and multicultural programming.
VisionTV is owned by S-VOX, a not-for-profit charitable organization. VisionTV's funding comes from cable subscription fees, viewer donations, advertising revenues and the sale of airtime to faith groups.
In June 2009, S-VOX announced it would sell its broadcasting assets to ZoomerMedia, a company controlled by Moses Znaimer.[1]
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History and viewership
Licensed in December 1987 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the channel was launched in 1988 and was initially one of Canada's more popular cable channels. However, with the proliferation of new cable channels, and with VisionTV lacking clout with cable carriers due to it being owned by a one channel operation owned by a not-for-profit organization rather than a large commercial entity operating many channels, the service has been moved up the dial by carriers and become less available to audiences causing a drop in its viewership. Notably, Rogers Cable's operation in Toronto was criticized in 1997 for moving Vision to Channel 59, rendering it inaccessible to many residents of the city because 59 is the channel most commonly overridden by the lobby camera service in apartment buildings.[2]
Network vice-president Rita Deverell, who hosted interstitial segments between programs, was the network's most prominent on-air personality from its launch until she left in 2002 to work for APTN.
Some evangelical Christian denominations view the station as liberal in orientation, and thus prefer more evangelically-oriented operations such as the Crossroads Television System (CTS).
Programming
VisionTV's programming consists of two programming streams; Mosaic and Cornerstone.
Mosaic
Its Mosaic block consists of faith related programming representing 75 faith groups within various religious denominations, including Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. While the station sells time to several television evangelists, most of its Christian programming tends to originate from more mainstream denominations such as the United Church of Canada and the Catholic Church.
Cornerstone
VisionTV's Cornerstone programs include music, feature films, dramas, comedies, documentaries and programming on social issues that explore spirituality, morality and cultural diversity.
The network also sponsors an annual Canadian drama competition, which solicits television series proposals revolving around faith and cultural diversity and then funds a pilot episode for the winning proposal. Two noted Canadian series, Lord Have Mercy and Da Kink in My Hair, have been developed from pilots commissioned by VisionTV.
Noted series
Mosaic series
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Cornerstone series
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Note: This is only a partial list of programs listed as of January 2009.
References
- ^ VisionTV Board agrees to ZoomerMedia purchase of television properties, VisionTV press release, June 15, 2009
- ^ Lorna Dueck, "Me TV Bumps God Up The Dial", Crossroads Christian Communications, October 1997.
External links
- VisionTV
- Broadcaster with Vision profile from For A Change magazine
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