CKY-DT

CKY-DT, virtual and VHF digital channel 7, is a CTV owned-and-operated television station licensed to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The station is owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. CKY-DT's studios are located on Graham Avenue (adjacent to the Bell MTS Place) in Downtown Winnipeg, and its transmitter is located near Lord Selkirk Highway/Highway 75 in Ritchot.

CKY-DT
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Canada
BrandingCTV Winnipeg (general)
CTV News Winnipeg (newscasts)
SloganManitoba's #1 Newscast
ChannelsDigital: 7 (VHF)
Virtual: 7.1 (PSIP)
TranslatorsSee below
AffiliationsCTV (1961–present; O&O since 2001)
OwnerBell Media Inc.
First air dateNovember 12, 1960 (1960-11-12)
Call sign meaningtaken from its former sister radio station
Sister station(s)CFRW, CFWM-FM, CKMM-FM
Former call signsCJAY-TV (1960–1973)
CKY-TV (1973–2011)
Former channel number(s)Analogue:
7 (VHF, 1960–2011)
Former affiliationsIndependent (1960–1961)
Transmitter power24 kW
Height280.8 m (921 ft)
Transmitter coordinates49°34′48″N 97°10′3″W
Licensing authorityCRTC
WebsiteCTV Winnipeg

On cable, the station is available on Shaw Cable and MTS TV channel 5. On Shaw Direct, it is carried on channels 316 (Classic) and 33 (Advanced). There is a high definition feed offered on Shaw Cable digital channel 210, MTS TV channels 453 and 1005, Bell TV channel 1091, and Shaw Direct channels 29 (Classic) and 529 (Advanced). Several pay-TV providers in the Grand Forks, North Dakota and Fargo–Moorhead markets to the south in the United States also carry CKY-DT on their systems, in addition to carriage of the CBC's CBWT-DT.

CKY was also the call sign of two Winnipeg radio stations. CKY (AM) was founded in 1923 by Manitoba Government Telephones. In 1948, the station was purchased by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation which changed its call letters to CBW. In 1949, the CKY call letters were reassigned to a new AM station in Winnipeg, owned by Moffat Broadcasting Ltd., which also founded CJAY-TV in 1960 and CKY-FM in 1962.

History

Beginning in 1954, Winnipeg had one television station, government-owned CBWT (channel 4). In January 1960, the Canadian Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG) held public hearings in Winnipeg in response to three applications which had been submitted to operate a commercial television station on channel 7. These applications were presented by R. S. Misener and Associates, a group associated with radio stations CKY Winnipeg, CFAM Altona and CKSB St. Boniface; Perimeter Television Broadcasters Ltd., a group associated with Winnipeg radio station CJOB; and the Red River Television Association, a group associated with the Winnipeg Free Press newspaper and radio station CKRC.[1][2]

In 1973, CKY used this logo and promotional campaign, after its call letters were changed from CJAY.

The Misener application was subsequently approved by the BBG, and the TV station was founded as independent station CJAY on November 12, 1960. It joined the CTV Television Network when it launched on October 1, 1961.

On June 1, 1973, after Moffat bought controlling interest in the station, its call sign was changed to CKY-TV to match Moffat's AM and FM stations, making it one of the only two Canadian television stations, the other being the now-defunct CKX-TV, with a three-letter call sign. (From 2007 to 2009, CKY-TV and CKX-TV were sister stations following CTVglobemedia's buyout of CHUM Limited.)

The CJAY call letters are now used on a Calgary rock station now owned by CTV's owner Bell Media. In 1992, Moffat sold CKY-AM and CKY-FM (subsequently CITI-FM) to Rogers Communications while maintaining ownership of the television station.

In the Fall of 1973, CKY-TV was using this logo and promotional campaign.
CKY's former logo (2001–2005). As of October 2005 logos with the stations' call signs are no longer used on CTV stations; instead they all use the main CTV logo.

In August 1992, general manager Vaughn Tozer hired Jim Wicks, a Canadian-American broadcaster, to be the main news anchor and managing editor. Tozer and Wicks reorganized the newsroom and the on-air team to help accomplish their goal. Within three ratings periods, the newscast had climbed from third place to first place, replacing CBWT's 24 Hours as the highest-rated newscast in Winnipeg. At one point, the newscast was advertised on billboards throughout the city as "Wicks at 6". The on-air chemistry between Wicks and sports director Steve Vogelsang added to the popularity of the program.

Although the personalities have since changed on several occasions, the station's newscast has remained Manitoba's #1 newscast, increasing its lead in recent years due in part to the demise of CHMI's newscasts and budget cuts at CBWT. Currently, CKY-TV is the market's only station with a weekday noon newscast. As of today, CKY-TV is the oldest private television station in Manitoba since CKX-TV's demise.

In 2001, Moffat Broadcasting was purchased by Shaw Cablesystems, which was not interested in CKY-TV or its co-owned cable channel, WTN. CKY-TV was purchased by Bell Globemedia, while WTN was purchased by Corus Entertainment, moving to Toronto, and becoming the W Network. Now a CTV owned-and-operated station, promos on CKY-TV became similar to the other CTV owned-and-operated stations. However, Shaw returned to the television station business five years later, acquiring CJBN-TV, a now defunct Global Television Network affiliate, in nearby Kenora, Ontario.

Current CKY-TV facilities in the renovated Powerhouse Building on Graham Avenue.

On May 15, 2006, the station's studios moved to a new facility near Winnipeg's Bell MTS Place. This move was prompted by economic development in the area, including the Polo Park Shopping Centre, and the likelihood that CKY-TV's studios would be bought off by developers to use the property for additional retail space. The demolition of Winnipeg Arena and the possible development of a new football stadium to replace Canad Inns Stadium would have likely placed the broadcasting facility in a position of being surrounded by retail developments.

CKY-TV's new studios use state-of-the-art technology, and little was moved from the old studios to the new facility. The existing news set was moved to CFQC, the CTV owned-and-operated station in Saskatoon, and some technical equipment was sent to CTV's Quebec City bureau. In addition, the master control of the station was moved to 9 Channel Nine Court, home of flagship CTV station CFTO-TV in Toronto.

Another likely reason for the move is that CKY-TV had more space than it needed. With WTN, CITI-FM and CKY-FM moving to new studios in recent years, plus the reduction of local, in-studio programming on CKY-TV since 1991, a new, although smaller, facility suited CKY-TV's needs. In recent years, CKY-TV has allowed studio space to be rented for third-party productions, including the locally produced film Blue State.

CKY-TV marked its 50th anniversary in 2010.[3]

Digital television

Digital channel
Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[4]
7.11080i16:9CKYMain CKY-DT programming / CTV

Analogue-to-digital conversion

At midnight on September 1, 2011, the day after Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory markets transitioned from analogue to digital broadcasts, CKY-TV flash cut its digital signal into operation on VHF Channel 7.[5] The station's high definition feed is now offered on Bell TV via channel 1091 as of September 12, 2011.

Transmitters
Station City of licence Channel ERP HAAT Transmitter Coordinates
CKYA-TV Fisher Branch 8 (VHF) 62 kW 136.9 m 51°4′50″N 97°38′57″W
CKYB-TV Brandon 4 (VHF) 100 kW 406.9 m 49°40′6″N 100°0′41″W
CKYB-TV-1 McCreary 13 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA 50°40′22″N 99°36′12″W
CKYD-TV Dauphin 12 (VHF) 140 kW 353.9 m 51°28′14″N 100°43′16″W
CKYF-TV* Flin Flon 13 (VHF) 2.06 kW 60 m 54°47′16″N 101°50′36″W
CKYP-TV* The Pas 12 (VHF) 2.13 kW 52.6 m 53°50′9″N 101°15′12″W
CKYS-TV* Snow Lake 11 (VHF) 0.008 kW NA 54°52′34″N 100°0′59″W
CKYT-TV* Thompson 9 (VHF) 2.185 kW 43.3 m 55°43′47″N 97°51′52″W

* These and a long list of CTV rebroadcasters nationwide were to shut down on or before August 31, 2009, as part of a political dispute with Canadian authorities on paid fee-for-carriage requirements for cable television operators.[6] A subsequent change in ownership assigned full control of CTVglobemedia to Bell Media. As of 2016, these transmitters remain in normal licensed broadcast operation.[7]

On February 11, 2016, Bell Media applied for its regular license renewals, which included applications to delete a long list of transmitters, including CKYB-TV-1 and CKYS-TV. Bell Media's rationale for deleting these analog repeaters is below:

"We are electing to delete these analog transmitters from the main licence with which they are associated. These analog transmitters generate no incremental revenue, attract little to no viewership given the growth of BDU or DTH subscriptions and are costly to maintain, repair or replace. In addition, none of the highlighted transmitters offer any programming that differs from the main channels. The Commission has determined that broadcasters may elect to shut down transmitters but will lose certain regulatory privileges (distribution on the basic service, the ability to request simultaneous substitution) as noted in Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015–24, Over-the-air transmission of television signals and local programming. We are fully aware of the loss of these regulatory privileges as a result of any transmitter shutdown."

On July 30, 2019 Bell Media was granted permission to close down four analogue retransmitters by July 16, 2021 in the following locales: CKYA (Fisher Branch), CKYD (Dauphin), CKYF (Flin Flon), CKYP (The Pas).[8]

At the same time, Bell Media applied to convert the licenses of CTV Two Atlantic (formerly ASN) and CTV Two Alberta (formerly ACCESS) from satellite-to-cable undertakings into television stations without transmitters (similar to cable-only network affiliates in the United States), and to reduce the level of educational content on CTV Two Alberta.[9][10]

Programming

Scheduling

As Manitoba is in the Central Time Zone, CKY-TV generally abides by the U.S. practice of airing prime time programming simultaneously with its counterparts in the Eastern Time Zone, meaning one hour "earlier" in terms of local time than Eastern Time stations (e.g. "8 p.m., 7 Central"). This is primarily to maintain simultaneous substitution rights with the American network affiliates aired on cable in Winnipeg. However, the station's daytime and late night schedule is otherwise generally the same as other CTV stations in terms of local airtimes, such as local news from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., and CTV National News at 11:00 p.m. (whereas U.S. stations in the Central Time Zone typically air late news at 10:00 p.m.). To accommodate both practices, programs that air in the 7:00 p.m. hour on most CTV stations, such as etalk and repeats of The Big Bang Theory, are generally moved to the 10:00 p.m. hour on CKY-TV.

Prior to CTV's purchase of the station in 2001, this shifting of prime time programming normally extended to the 7:00 ET / 6:00 CT hour on Sundays, in line with the practice of American broadcast networks. This meant a local newscast would air at 5:30, followed by prime time, then an extra local newscast at 10:00 p.m. Since 2001, CKY-TV has usually aired local news at 6:00 seven nights a week, including Sundays, regardless of the station's ability to simsub at that hour, with programming rescheduled as needed to air within the 7–11 p.m. CT block.

News operation

CKY-DT presently broadcasts 28 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with six hours each weekday, and 90 minutes each on Saturdays and Sundays). When CKY-TV launched as CJAY, its broadcast day ran from 5:30 p.m. until around midnight daily. Its local newscasts were originally broadcast from 7:15 to 7:30, and 10:30 to 10:55 p.m. each weeknight. The early newscast was part of a longer program known as Panorama 7, which ran from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and consisted of cartoons and other children's features, a weather report and news. As of October 3, 2005, the newscasts on CKY-TV are branded as CTV News.

On June 6, 2011, it was announced the longtime CKY-TV personality Sylvia Kuzyk would step down in the fall of 2011, and Colleen Bready was named her replacement. On July 26, 2011, it was announced that CKY-DT would debut a new three-hour weekday morning newscast called CTV Morning Live starting September 26, 2011, and would air from 6–9 a.m. from CKY-DT's studios, with the newscast anchored by Kris Laudien (formerly of Vancouver's CKVU-DT and Edmonton's CKEM-DT) and current CKY-DT reporter Eleanor Coopsammy.[11]

Notable former on-air staff

References
  1. "Confidential Reports Bared As TV Hearings Underway". The Winnipeg Tribune. January 13, 1960. p. 1, 13.
  2. "Varied TV Fare Pledged As BBG Hearings Open". Winnipeg Free Press. January 13, 1960. pp. 1, 11.
  3. Broadcast MUSE – Winnipeg's CTV station marks 50 years. Winnipeg Free Press, 10 November 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
  4. RabbitEars TV Query for CKY
  5. "Digital Television – Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA)". Archived from the original on 2013-07-07. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
  6. CTV list of transmitters to be shut down
  7. Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2016-7
  8. "CRTC Decision 2019-268". July 30, 2019.
  9. https://services.crtc.gc.ca/pub/DocWebBroker/OpenDocument.aspx?AppNo=201600122&_ga=1.139397107.1388147273.1466830064
  10. "Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2016-225". crtc.gc.ca. 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  11. CTV Winnipeg to Launch New Morning Show Archived 2012-03-19 at the Wayback Machine, Broadcaster Magazine, July 26, 2011.
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