CFTO-TV

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CFTO-TV
Greater Toronto Area
City of license	Toronto, Ontario
Branding	CTV
Slogan	Toronto's #1 Newscast
Channels	Analog: 9 (VHF) Digital: 40 (UHF) Virtual: 9.1 (PSIP)
Translators	see below
Affiliations	CTV
Owner	CTVglobemedia (CTV Television, Inc.)
First air date	December 31, 1960
Call letters’ meaning	Canada's Foremost, Toronto's Own
Sister station(s)	CKVR-TV, CHUM, CHUM-FM
Former affiliations	Independent (1960-1961)
Transmitter Power	325 kW (analog) 17.4 kW (digital)
Height	467 m (analog) 458.8 m (digital)
Transmitter Coordinates	43°38′33″N 79°23′14″W / 43.6425°N 79.38722°W / 43.6425; -79.38722
Website	CTV Toronto

CFTO-TV, channel 9, is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned by CTVglobemedia. Currently branded as CTV Toronto, it is the flagship station of the CTV Television Network, and was one of the charter members of the network when it was launched in 1961. It broadcasts from the CN Tower with a power output of 316 kW, and operates a digital transmitter on channel 40 (PSIP 9.1). In addition, the station currently operates two auxiliary transmitters serving the Orillia and Peterborough areas, and is available on cable and satellite throughout southern Ontario.

The station's studios are located at 9 Channel Nine Court (recently renamed "Dave Devall Way") in Agincourt, near the junction of Highway 401 and McCowan Road. CFTO now shares these premises with the network's headquarters, which includes studios for the network's news programming (Canada AM, CTV National News and the CTV News Channel), along with most of CTVglobemedia's specialty channels. CTV News has in fact been based at CFTO's studios for most of its history, dating to the days when the network was a cooperative (CFTO's parent company later acquired most of the other affiliates to become the present-day CTVglobemedia).

History

CFTO went on the air for the first time on December 31, 1960 at 10.00 p.m. The first official day of programming was January 1, 1961. The opening program was a telethon hosted by Joel Aldred, complete with a fireworks ceremony. The telethon was for what was then known as the Ontario Association for Retarded Children.

An early-1990s version of CFTO's longtime multicoloured iris logo, first introduced during the transition to colour TV in 1965. It was unused for much of the 1980s in favour of a blue "circle-9" design before returning circa 1987. This version was later used as the basis for the BBS logo.

The station was originally owned by Baton-Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting, made up of:

• Telegram Corp (Bassett and Eaton families)
• Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting Ltd (Joel Aldred & E.S. Rogers)
• Foster Hewitt Broadcasting Ltd (CKFH Radio)

US network ABC had a minority share in the partnership, but this was sold shortly before CFTO-TV went on the air to each of the partners. John Bassett trained at WXYZ-TV in Detroit, and WABC-TV in New York.

The elder E. S. Rogers was a minority owner of Western Ontario Broadcasting, Ltd., owners of CKLW-TV (now CBET) in Windsor, Ontario/Detroit (which was mostly owned by RKO General).

The station's original studios and transmitter were located at 1550 McCowan Road.

CFTO's BBS logo

In March 1961, Joel Aldred sold his interest in CFTO, and on October 1 that year, the station joined the CTV Television Network. In 1970, Ted Rogers sold his interest in CFTO and the Bassett-Eaton group sold their interest in Rogers Cable.

On May 31, 1976, CFTO began broadcasting from the CN Tower, while studios remained in Agincourt. CFTO began broadcasting in stereo in 1985.

In 1994, the station became part of the Baton Broadcast System, a subsystem within the CTV network.

In 1995, CFTO began operating rebroadcast stations at Orillia (channel 21) and Bobcaygeon (near Peterborough, channel 54).

On January 27, 1998, the Eaton family sold its 41% interest in Baton. On the same day the Baton Broadcast System merged into CTV.

CFTO-TV's former logo (1998-2005). As of October 2005 logos with the stations' callsigns are no longer used on CTV stations; instead they all use the main CTV logo.

With rumours of a takeover impending, Bell Canada Enterprises proposed to buy CTV Inc. for $2.3 billion. This was approved by the CTV board in March 2000. The deal still required CRTC approval, but with the promise of the largest benefits package ever presented to the regulators, the deal was approved on December 7 that year. BCE later sold most of its interest in CTV, with the parent company renamed CTVglobemedia.

The station began providing a digital signal on satellite on November 17, 2003, and on January 30, 2004, CFTO was granted a digital television channel signal, transmitting on channel 40VU from the CN Tower with an ERP of 17,400 watts. In mid 2005, CFTO's CN Tower transmitter began transmitting HDTV over the air. As this is the only HDTV feed of the CTV network emanating from eastern or central Canada, CFTO-DT is sometimes known as CTV HD East.

By February 2005, the station stopped using its call letters, and became official on several CTV stations in October 2005.

Current programming

Being the flagship station of the CTV network, its schedule reflects virtually the entirety of the CTV network schedule. A largely identical schedule is used on the other CTV stations in Southern Ontario, as CFTO acts as the master control for these stations. Any discrepancies with other stations would generally be limited to local infomercials and religious programming on Sunday mornings. In regards to the latter, CFTO currently airs Mass for a Television Community and Living Truth which are not seen on other CTV stations.

CFTO is one of several television stations in Toronto that broadcast descriptive video services for the blind on the Secondary Audio Program.

News

CFTO's news programming is aired at noon on weekdays, as well as 6:00 p.m. and at 11:30 p.m. seven days a week. The station's 6:00 p.m. newscast is the highest rated local newscast in Toronto, drawing approximately 500,000 viewers each night. Known beginning in the 1970s as World Beat News (early evening), Noon Beat News (lunch hour) and Night Beat News (late evening), the station's newscasts were rebranded as CFTO News in early 1998, and as CTV News in 2005.

CTV News has the most advanced weather technology compared to other Canadian stations which incorporates WSI's TrueView technology and real time doppler radar with zoom and pan capabilities.^{[citation needed]} Moreover, CFTO has bureaus at City Hall, Queen's Park, and downtown Toronto (Front St.). Finally, as the network's flagship station, CFTO is able to take advantage of live remotes from other CTV stations and bureaus nationwide and internationally.

In December 2008, CablePulse 24, a 24-hour news channel now also owned by CTVglobemedia that primarily focuses on Toronto, began airing a simulcast of CTV News at Six, replacing its simulcast of CityNews at Six. This change occurred because the long-standing affiliation between Citytv Toronto and CP24 (which were previously both owned by CHUM Limited) abruptly came to an end after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved their application by Rogers Media, owners of Citytv to launch its own 24-hour local news channel which would be focusing on the Greater Toronto Area. ^[1][2] Presently, however, the CP24 and CFTO operations remain otherwise separate.

By extension, CFTO's newscasts now also has a radio simulcast on CHUM (1050 AM), now known as CP24 Radio 1050, which itself began simulcasting CP24's audio feed in March 2009.

On May 12, 2009, CFTO began broadcasting local news in High-definition and introduced a renovated studio.

As of May 25, 2009, CP24 also now airs a simulcast of CTV News at 11:30.

Fleet

CTV Toronto operates a large fleet of Vehicles for reporters and camera men as well as two microwave trucks ("Cypress" and "Bullet") for live broadcasts, and a Satellite Truck for broadcasts from locations in Southern Ontario.

CFTO is one of the few stations in Canada to lease a news helicopter which can broadcast live at 1500 feet above land; the only other CTV station currently making use of such a helicopter is CIVT Vancouver. CTV's helicopter is painted with their colours and logo, however it moonlights under the name "Chopper 24" when feed is used on CTV Toronto's all news station CP24.

Other station productions

Under CTV's original cooperative structure, CFTO, through Baton's in-house production company Glen-Warren Productions, was one of the network's main contributors of Canadian programming, such as The Littlest Hobo, Circus, and The Uncle Bobby Show. Indeed, the amount of programming originating at CFTO was often a source of tension with the network's other major-market affiliates. However, as with most local stations in North America, such locally produced non-news programming has become increasingly rare.

For much of its history, CFTO's studios have also served as the home for network-produced programs such as CTV National News, Canada AM, and W5. The studios are now also used by a number of CTV's specialty channels, for productions such as the rolling news channel CTV News Channel, TSN's SportsCentre, and Discovery Channel's Daily Planet.

Over the years, the studios have also been rented out for third-party productions, such as the studio scenes in the 1976 film Network. The Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Super 7 drawings were also held at CFTO studios until 2008.

Personalities

• Noon & 6:00 p.m. anchors
  • Ken Shaw - formerly of CHFI-FM
  • Christine Bentley
• 11:30 p.m. anchors
  • Bill Hutchison
  • Pauline Chan - formerly of Global TV
• Weekend anchors (6:00 p.m. & 11:30 p.m.)
  • Tom Hayes
  • Andria Case

• Fill-in anchors
  • Janice Golding
  • Alicia Kay-Markson - on maternity leave
  • John Musselman
  • Galit Solomon
  • Paul Bliss
  • Dana Levenson
  • Brad Giffen
  • Michelle Dubé

• General reporters:
  • Janice Golding
  • Alicia Kay-Markson - on maternity leave
  • Galit Solomon
  • Tom Hayes
  • Andria Case
  • Bill Hutchison
  • Dana Levenson
  • Chris Eby - court reporter
  • Austin Delaney
  • Jim Junkin - crime and police reporter
  • John Musselman
  • Paul Bliss
  • Naomi Parness - formerly with CTVglobemedia's A-Channel/CKVR in Barrie, ON
  • James MacDonald
  • Carol Charles
  • Karlene Nation - diversity producer and reporter
  • Ken Regular - formerly with CJON-TV and ctv.ca
  • Brad Giffen - formerly with WWSB and CHUM AM/FM; also anchors on CTV News Channel on weekends.
  • Zuraidah Alman - formerly with Global TV
  • Michelle Dubé - formerly with CHCH-TV

• Entertainment reporter:
  • Andria Case

• Consumer affairs reporter:
  • Pat Foran

• Lifetime/Health reporter:
  • Monica Matys

• Weather:
  • Tom Brown - formerly of CKCK-TV, (CTV Regina), Chief Meteorologist; seen at 6:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
  • Anwar Knight - formerly of Global TV, seen during Morning News updates during Canada AM and at noon.
  • Michelle Leslie - formerly of The Weather Network and CHCH-TV, Weekends 6:00 p.m. & 11:30 p.m.
  • Dana Levenson - Replacement

• Sports:
  • Lance Brown
  • Joe Tilley
  • Claude Feig
  • Suneel Joshi - formerly of Citytv

• Business:
  • Michael Hainsworth
  • Linda Sims

The station brands its newscasts as CTV News, in line with all of CTV's other owned and operated stations, using generic CTV News graphics.

Former personalities

• Dave Devall - retired as of April 3, 2009. Guinness World Record holder for the longest running weatherman in the world: 48 years, 2 months, 27 days.
• Tim Weber - laid off as of November 27, 2008
• Jacintha Wesselingh - laid off as of November 27, 2008
• Glenn Cochrane - retired and living in the The Beaches area of Toronto
• Tom Gibney - retired as of November 2007
• Ali Velshi - now with CNN as business anchor
• Tom Clark - now host of "Power Play" on CTV News Channel
• Gail Smith - co news anchor 1980s and later with the New VR in Barrie
• Anne Brodie - now writes a daily film column for Sympatico MSN and reviews films for Monsters and Critics
• Jim Wicks - now Executive Producer, Wicks Films, West Palm Beach, Florida
• Fraser Kelly - founding partner and Senior Associate - CorpWorld Group Incorporated, Toronto
• Arthur Vaile - business reporter, now deceased
• Teresa Roncon - now handling PR for Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation
• Garth Turner - former Liberal Member of Parliament, now with xurbia.ca
• George Bryson (TV reporter) - sports reporter now with Rogers Television in Barrie, Ontario as First Local news anchor
• Mary Ito - now with TVOntario
• Marcia MacMillan (anchors evenings at CTV News Channel) and formerly with the The Weather Network
• Jacqueline Milczarek (anchors weekend afternoons at CTV News Channel) and formerly with Global Ontario
• Christine Crosbie - formerly with CIII (Global) in Toronto and The Weather Network
• Sandra Neil - Now Sandra Neil Wallace. Went to ESPN & Fox Sports. Was (is?) owner of The Antique Emporium in Honsdale, PA
• Steve Jacobs (Chief Meteorologist) - formerly with KIII (2005-?)^{[citation needed]}; whereabouts unknown
• Bernie Pascall-Sports Commentator 1966-69, play by play Marlies, CFL Host, NHL coordinating Producer-later 30 years BCTV
• Pat Marsden - former Sports Editor, now deceased
• Sharon Caddy - former weekend weather anchor, quit CFTO August 14, 2006; now on CTS
• Sharon Navarro - former reporter with Citytv; now senior consultant with Punch Communications
• Bobby Ash - host of the The Uncle Bobby Show, now deceased
• John Lancaster - now reporter for CBLT in Toronto, Ontario
• Vic Phillips - 1960s and 70s anchor and crime reporter, wrote best-selling novel "The Heroin Merchants" and is Chief Correspondent for the nationally-syndicated Travel Hour with Stephen Pickford and Friends (formerly Travel World Radio Show)
• Ted Stuebing—legendary long-time CFTO News Director
• Wayne Dayton—currently consulting with radio and television stations across North America on format shifts and personnel selection
• Tony Parsons - late 1960s reporter, early 1970s late night news anchor. Was a longtime News Hour anchor at Global BC, a position he's held from 1975 to 2009. Will anchor the evening news program on CHEK-TV in March 2010.
• Carla Collins - now an actor, host and comedienne in Los Angeles and Toronto
• Tim Ryan - (1960-1967) Assistant sports director, Play by Play announcer for Toronto Marlboros games, and host of Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts home games. ^[3][4]
• Robin Ward (weatherman / entertainment reporter) - later with The Weather Network; now retired
• Mike Duffy - former Ottawa political reporter and host of Mike Duffy Live. Now an Ottawa Parliamentary Senator, appointed by Stephen Harper in December 2008.

Technical information

Cable and satellite coverage

CFTO is also available in the Toronto area on Rogers Cable channel 8 (SD) and 107 (HD). It is also carried nationally on digital cable through virtually all providers, on Bell TV channels 212 (SD) and 800 (HD), and on Shaw Direct channels 313 (SD) and 293 (HD). In the United States, Atlantic Broadband and Time Warner Cable carry CFTO throughout the Western New York area including Buffalo, Dunkirk, Fredonia, Westfield and Jamestown.

Transmitters

Both of these auxiliary transmitters are to be shut down on or before August 31, 2009, pending CRTC approval.^[5]

Digital television and high definition

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on August 31, 2011 ^[6], CFTO-DT will move from its current pre-transition channel number, 40, to its post-transition and current analog channel number, 9. CFTO-DT's old channel number will be given to CKXT-DT (Sun TV).

References

1. ^ CP24 broadcasts Toronto's Number One Local 6pm Newscast
2. ^ What Happened To CityNews On That Cable Channel?
3. ^ NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Search old newspaper articles online
4. ^ http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/sportsonradioandtv/CFL_The_TV_Years.html
5. ^ CTV list of transmitters to be shut down
6. ^ http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/oca-bc.nsf/en/ca02336e.html

External links

• CTV Toronto
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CFTO-TV History
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CFTO-TV