Neepawa TV Expands Programming and Increases Ratings in 2023

At the 2023 NACTV AGM, Station Manager Ken Waddell and President Bill Syrik take the mic to talk about what the station has accomplished over the past year and where it is going into the future.

Waddell, who also brought greetings from MP Dan Mazier, broke down the funding that the station receives and how it compares to other stations. While the amount from the Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) may seem like a lot to a small station, it is a drop in the bucket compared to the funding that a national broadcaster like the CBC receives from the federal government.

“Things are tough in the journalism world,” says Waddell, who has published the local newspaper for over 20 years. In the past five years, 22 Manitoba community newspapers have shut down, and just this fall 70 Metroland papers in Ontario quit publication. However, he believes that the government, regardless of party, is interested in bringing a halt to the decline in Canadian media, through the LJI program and others. He doesn’t want to rely on that for continuing operations, though, and encourages community members and businesses to support the station through donations and advertising.

“We don't understand - people in Manitoba...and certainly in Neepawa - how important our endeavours are. We are pretty darn good at what we do, and pretty darn poor at bragging about it."

Syrik talks about the ever-changing landscape of local media, citing the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and Bill C-18 among others, but NACTV has remained adaptable and has garnered many compliments and thanks from its local audience for its resilience and coverage.

While ratings can be hard to come by for a community station, when they do come in, they can be surprising. Syrik was pleased to report that of the approximately 620 stations carried by Bell MTS, NACTV was consistently ranking in the top 15%, and during coverage of the 2023 Viterra Men’s Provincial Curling Championships, which were held in Neepawa, that ranking spiked up to #42, ahead of such big names as The Food Network, TLC, and TSN 3, which carries local market Winnipeg Jets NHL games.

He credits NACTV board, staff, and volunteers with working diligently to keep up with the quantity and quality of programming that keeps the station going strong. Both men also put out a call for any community members who want to get involved with the station at any level, as volunteers are always needed and welcome.