CBOFT-DT

CBOFT-DT, virtual channel 9.1 (UHF digital channel 33), is an Ici Radio-Canada Télé owned-and-operated station licensed to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, serving Franco-Ontarians in Eastern Ontario and Quebecers in the Outaouais region of Quebec. The station is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as Société Radio-Canada), as part of a twinstick with CBC Television station CBOT-DT (channel 4). The two stations share studios at the CBC Ottawa Broadcast Centre on Sparks Street in Downtown Ottawa, alongside the main corporate offices of the CBC; CBOFT-DT's transmitter is located on the Ryan Tower at Camp Fortune in Chelsea, Quebec, north of Gatineau.

CBOFT-DT
Ottawa, Ontario–Gatineau, Québec
Canada
CityOttawa, Ontario
BrandingICI Ottawa-Gatineau
SloganPour toute la vie, ICI Radio-Canada Télé
ChannelsDigital: 33 (UHF)
Virtual: 9.1 (PSIP)
AffiliationsIci Radio-Canada Télé (O&O)
OwnerSociété Radio-Canada
First air dateJune 24, 1955 (1955-06-24)
Call sign meaningCanadian
Broadcasting Corporation
Ottawa
Français
Télévision
Sister station(s)CBOT-DT, CBOF-FM, CBOX-FM
Former call signsCBOFT (1955–2011)
Former channel number(s)Analog: 9 (VHF, 1955–2011)
Digital: 22 (UHF, 200?–2011)
Digital: 9 (VHF, 2011–2013)
Former affiliationsSecondary:
TVA (1977–1978)
Transmitter power3.5 kW
Height424.9 m (1,394 ft)
Transmitter coordinates45°30′9″N 75°50′59″W
WebsiteICI Ottawa-Gatineau

On cable, the station is available on Rogers Cable channel 5 and digital channel 601 and in high definition on digital channel 602, and on Vidéotron channel 2 and in high definition on digital channel 602 in Gatineau.

History

CBOFT first signed on the air on June 24, 1955 as the first French-language television station in Ontario. Previously, CBOT aired both CBC and Radio-Canada programs.

For a brief time during 1977 and 1978, until CHOT opened, CBOFT also carried some TVA programs, after Ottawa's first TVA affiliate, CFVO-TV (whose channel 30 frequency is now occupied by CIVO) went bankrupt.

Due to cost-cutting measures at the CBC in the early 1990s, local programming on Toronto's CBLFT and its rebroadcasters, as well as CBLFT semi-satellite CBEFT in Windsor was discontinued in 1991. All Radio-Canada transmitters in Ontario (except the northwest, which was served by CBWFT in Winnipeg) were reclassified as rebroadcasters of CBOFT, under the name "Radio-Canada Ontario-Outaouais". The station produced two distinct newscasts through the 1990s and 2000s, one for the Ottawa region and one for the remainder of Ontario.

In 2010, the CBC applied to the CRTC to have CBLFT relicensed as a separate station, which would again produce a separate newscast for broadcast in most of the province outside of CBOFT's market.[1] The application was approved on April 28, 2010, leading to CBLFT resuming newscast production from Toronto, and most of the network's transmitters in Ontario were reassigned to CBLFT's license. Following this split in the network, CBOFT and its Quebec transmitters became "Radio-Canada Ottawa-Gatineau", while most other Ontario transmitters became the "Radio-Canada Ontario".

Prior to the arrival of the Ottawa Senators NHL team, the station would broadcast the Montreal Canadiens games on Saturday nights, while the English counterpart, CBOT, would carry the Toronto Maple Leafs games during the Saturday Hockey Night in Canada slot.

News team

Current on-air staff

Anchors

  • Daniel Bouchard – weekends at 6 p.m.; also reporter
  • Mathieu Nadon – weeknights at 6 p.m.
  • Nathalie Tremblay – weekdays at noon

Reporters

  • Denis Babin – Hawkesbury reporter
  • Elise Brunet – general assignment reporter
  • Cindy Demontigny – general assignment reporter
  • Frédérica Dupuis – general assignment reporter
  • Réné Petit – general assignment reporter
  • Michel-Denis Potvin – general assignment reporter
  • Mélanie Riendeau – entertainment reporter

Transmitters

CBOFT operated three analog television rebroadcasters all located in Quebec in the communities of:

Due to federal funding reductions to the CBC, in April 2012, the CBC responded with substantial budget cuts, which included shutting down CBC's and Radio-Canada's remaining analog transmitters on July 31, 2012.[2] None of CBC or Radio-Canada's rebroadcasters were converted to digital.

Digital television

Digital channel
Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[3]
9.1720p16:9CBOFT-DTMain CBOFT-DT programming / Ici Radio-Canada Télé

Analogue-to-digital conversion

On August 31, 2011, when Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory markets transitioned from analogue to digital broadcasts,[4] the station's digital signal relocated from UHF channel 22 to VHF channel 9. Due to reception issues on channel 9, the station was granted permission to move to UHF channel 33.[5]

References
  1. CRTC Decision 2010-239
  2. Speaking notes for Hubert T. Lacroix regarding measures announced in the context of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan
  3. RabbitEars TV Query for CBOFT
  4. "Digital Television – Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA)". Archived from the original on 2013-08-17. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
  5. http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2012/2012-207.pdf
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.