| CKAL-TV | |
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| City of license | Calgary, Alberta |
| Branding | Citytv Calgary |
| Slogan | Everywhere! |
| Channels | Analog: 5 (VHF) |
| Translators | 2 CKAL-TV-1 Lethbridge |
| Affiliations | Citytv |
| Owner | Rogers Communications, Inc. (Rogers Broadcasting, Ltd.) |
| First air date | September 20, 1997 |
| Call letters’ meaning | C K(C)ALgary -or- CK ALberta |
| Sister station(s) | CJCO-TV, CFAC, CFFR, CHFM-FM, CJAQ-FM |
| Former affiliations | A-Channel (1997-2005) |
| Transmitter Power | CKAL-TV: 79.4 kW CKAL-TV-1: 100 kW |
| Height | CKAL-TV: 257.2 m CKAL-TV-1: 191.9 m |
| Transmitter Coordinates | CKAL-TV: 51°3′53″N 114°12′51″W / 51.06472°N 114.21417°W CKAL-TV-1: 49°40′57″N 112°55′38″W / 49.6825°N 112.92722°W |
| Website | Citytv Calgary |
CKAL-TV is a television station based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Citytv system as of August 2, 2005, and was previously branded as A-Channel. The station is owned by Rogers Media as of October 31, 2007.
A transmitter in Lethbridge rebroadcasts the station on channel 2.
Contents |
History
The station was launched by Craig Media as a VHF station on September 20, 1997, two days after its A-Channel sister station CKEM-TV in Edmonton went on the air for the first time. It billed itself as a station with a very deep connection to Calgary, with the slogan "Very independent, very Calgary!"
In September 1999, CKAL aired a simulcast edition of Live@Five and News@Six on CKEM. This was due to a letter bomb that partially detonated at the Edmonton newsroom, injuring the assignment editor and one of the general assignment reporters. Edmonton newscasts resumed later on in the evening. Raymond Neal Best was charged with attempted murder and possession of explosive substances, in connection with the A-Channel letter bomb, and the attempted letter bombings aimed at both Calgary and Edmonton police chiefs.
CKEM's master control was moved to CKAL in 2003.
Nine employees working at CKAL were laid off on May 19, 2004 in addition to a 28-employee layoff at Craig Media's CKXT-TV in Toronto. Craig Media said the cuts were made to "further rationalize its operations and control costs".[1]
On October 30, 2008 CKAL carried its first ever Calgary Flames hockey game, due to a scheduling conflict on Rogers Sportsnet West involving the 2008 World Series. Rogers Sportsnet and Citytv share common ownership. Despite the World Series finishing up a day earlier, the game was kept on Citytv complete with the Sportsnet production team, graphics and announcers.
Citytv
In 2004, Craig Media announced a deal to sell its conventional television assets, including the A-Channel stations, to CHUM. The sale was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on November 19, 2004, and became official on December 1. On February 3, 2005, CHUM announced that the A-Channel stations will be relaunched as Citytv. The changes took effect August 2.
On July 12, 2006, it was announced that CTVglobemedia would acquire CHUM Limited and its assets, including the Citytv family. As a result of this merger, CKAL added CHMI-TV to its master control duties and as a result of the takeover the station's local newscasts (with the exception of CityNews at Noon) were immediately discontinued. The local newscasts were replaced by a half-hour news magazine program called Your City at 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., along with CityNews International (produced in the CityNews studios in Toronto, Ontario).[2]
On June 8, 2007, the CRTC announced its approval of CTVglobemedia's purchase of CHUM Limited, but added a condition that CTVglobemedia must sell off CHUM's Citytv stations (including CKAL) to another buyer but can keep the A-Channel stations. On June 12, Rogers Media announced that it would acquire five Citytv stations (including CKAL) from CTVglobemedia. As a result, effective August 29, the station will be taking over master control duties for Citytv Vancouver. The Rogers transaction was approved by the CRTC on September 28 and was officially completed October 31.
A CityNews Calgary website is expected to launch sometime in the fall.
Current CKAL-TV hosts
- Sandra Jansen, host, Your City
- Jebb Fink, remote weather host, Your City
- Dave Kelly, co-host, Breakfast Television
- Susanne Fox, co-host, Breakfast Television
- Andrew Schultz, LiveEye Meteorologist, Breakfast Television, CityNews
- Aisling Slattery, anchor, reporter, CityNews
- Jill Belland, reporter, CityNews, host The City Show
- AJ Demers, reporter, CityNews
- Mike McCourt, reporter, CityNews
- Mike Yawney, reporter, CityNews
Digital television and high definition
As of January 2009, CKAL-TV has not yet begun broadcasting in digital.
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on August 31, 2011 [3], CKAL-TV is required to begin digital broadcasts on its current assigned channel number, 49, however should the station sign-on before the analog shut off date, the station will broadcast on channel 52. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display CKAL-TV's virtual channel as 5.1.
References
External links
- Citytv Calgary
- Canadian Communications Foundation - CKAL-TV History
- Query the REC's Canadian station database for CKAL-TV
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