Citytv - History

History

See also: 2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment

The original Citytv station, granted callsign CITY-TV by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), was founded in Toronto in 1972 and began broadcasting for the first time on September 28 under the ownership of Channel Seventy-Nine Ltd; CHUM Limited acquired the station in 1981. Broadcasting on UHF channel 79 through its first decade, the station moved to channel 57 in 1983, until moving to UHF 44 with the digital switchover. In 1987, the station moved its headquarters from the former Electric Circus night club at 99 Queen Street East to 299 Queen Street West, formerly known as the Ryerson Press Building (then known as the CHUM-City Building); one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city. On September 8, 2009, Citytv moved to its current location at Yonge-Dundas Square at 33 Dundas Street East.

Citytv gained a second station in Vancouver when CHUM bought CKVU from Canwest Global in 2001. The station became Citytv Vancouver on July 22, 2002. Prior to CHUM's acquisition of CKVU, some Citytv programming was syndicated to KVOS in nearby Bellingham, Washington.

In 2004, CHUM bought Craig Media Inc., parent of the A-Channel system in Manitoba and Alberta. The Craig-owned A-Channel stations were relaunched as Citytv on August 2, 2005; the same date when CHUM's NewNet (The New VR, The New WI, the New PL, etc.) stations were rebranded under the A-Channel banner.

On July 12, 2006, Citytv parent CHUM Limited announced plans to sell its broadcasting assets to CTV parent CTVglobemedia. CTVgm initially intended to retain CHUM's Citytv system while divesting CHUM's A-Channel stations and Access Alberta in order for the CRTC to approve the acquisition. On the same day that the takeover was announced, Citytv canceled its supper hour, late night, and weekend newscasts at its local Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Winnipeg stations, laying off hundreds of news department staff.

In October 2006, Citytv launched a daily national newscast, CityNews International. It is produced in Toronto for broadcast on the western Canadian stations, as well as on CHUM's Toronto news channel CP24. The Edmonton and Calgary stations also began broadcasting a daily 30-minute magazine show, Your City, instead of a full-fledged newscast. The Vancouver news operation, which had operated for 30 years under various owners and station identities, was not maintained aside from BT.

In the same month, Citytv Toronto began broadcasting local news in high-definition, becoming the first television station in Canada to do so.

On June 8, 2007, the CRTC approved the CTV takeover of CHUM. However, the CRTC made the deal conditional on CTV divesting itself of Citytv, because they already have CTV O&O stations serving the very same cities (CFTO-DT Toronto, CIVT-DT Vancouver, CFCN-DT Calgary, CFRN-DT Edmonton, and CKY-DT Winnipeg) as it would have exceeded the CRTC's concentration of media ownership limits. As a result, CTV announced on June 11, 2007, that it would retain the A-Channel stations, and sell off the Citytv stations to Rogers Communications for $375 million. The transaction was approved by the CRTC on September 28 and was completed on October 31, 2007.

The Jim Pattison Group announced in July 2009 that its three television stations in western Canada, formerly affiliated with E!, would broadcast the entire Citytv program lineup starting on September 1, 2009. As these stations are not located in major urban centres, they do not carry Citytv branding; instead, they opted to keep the same names and logos used as affiliates of the E! system. Moreover while the Pattison-owned Citytv affiliates produce local newscasts, they do not produce their own versions of Breakfast Television nor title their midday and evening newscasts under the CityNews brand like the Citytv O&Os do. The agreement was originally slated to run through August 2012, however Rogers signed a long-term affiliation renewal agreement on May 3, 2012, allowing the Pattison stations to carry 90% of primetime programming and the majority of morning and daytime programming from the programming grid of CKVU-DT (including simulcasts of the Vancouver edition of Breakfast Television; however unlike CKVU, the Pattison stations will continue to produce midday and evening local newscasts).

On December 6, 2010, CityNews Tonight Toronto anchor/Citytv continuity voice-over, Mark Dailey died after a long battle with cancer.

On December 20, 2011, Bluepoint Investment Corporation announced an affiliation agreement with Rogers Communications to air Citytv programming on the Saskatchewan Communications Network from 3 p.m.-6 a.m. CT daily, as of January 2, 2012. This block of programming will follow the national program grid of Citytv and be known on-air as Citytv on SCN; the SCN affiliation agreement gave the Citytv system affiliations in all provinces west of Quebec and south of the federal territories of Northern Canada. On January 17, 2012, Rogers announced its intent to acquire SCN outright from Bluepoint Investment Corporation, pending approval by the CRTC. Rogers plans to rename the channel as Citytv Saskatchewan, invest into improving its infrastructure, and also launch a high definition feed for SCN. The sale was approved in late June 2012 by the CRTC and the transaction was officially closed on July 1, 2012, which coincided with the rebranding of the station to Citytv Saskatchewan.

On May 3, 2012, Rogers announced its intent to acquire Montreal multicultural station CJNT-DT from Toronto-based Channel Zero and announced an affiliation agreement with the station, effective June 4, 2012 (like the Jim Pattison Citytv affiliates, CJNT was formerly affiliated with the CH / E! system prior to its shutdown). With the CJNT affiliation agreement, Citytv will have affiliations in all provinces west of Atlantic Canada and the first affiliated station located east of the Greater Toronto Area.