CFCF-DT
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2014) |
CRTC | |
ERP | 10.6 kW |
---|---|
HAAT | 299.6 m (983 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 45°30′19″N 73°35′29″W / 45.50528°N 73.59139°W |
Links | |
Website | CTV Montreal |
CFCF-DT (channel 12) is a
History
Canadian Marconi Company (1961–1972)
CFCF-TV was founded by the
The station was originally located above the Avon Theatre. The first night on-air was fraught with problems. A power failure interrupted the opening ceremony, and later on, police raided the downstairs ballroom, with sirens blazing and a number of arrests made. The station's newscast, Pulse News, faced a few problems because of the noise from the ballroom. CFCF-AM-FM-TV moved into their own facilities at 405 Ogilvy Avenue in Montreal's Park Extension neighbourhood on May 19.
Channel 12 joined CTV as a charter affiliate on October 1, 1961. However, despite its status as CTV's second-largest affiliate, its relationship with CTV was somewhat acrimonious over the years. Canadian Marconi, as would channel 12's numerous owners over the years, felt CTV's flagship station,
Multiple Access (1972–1979)
In 1968, the
Multiple Access bought the stations after the CRTC refused to approve purchase offers by
CFCF Inc. (1979–1992)
In 1979, Multiple Access sold the stations and its production company, Champlain Productions, to CFCF Inc., headed by
CFCF Inc., expanded to include the assets of
Canwest Global and Videotron (1992–1997)
Financial relief came to the company in the 1990s with an investment from
In 1997,
Vidéotron knew that the CRTC would never approve such an arrangement, so it sold CFCF to
Before 1997, when CHCH and CITY launched rebroadcast transmitters in the Ottawa region, local cable companies there carried CFCF as well. Because CHCH and CFCF were sharing some programs, CFCF was removed from these systems, except for Rogers Cable. Also around this time, CJOH was dropped from Montreal cable systems after its owner, Baton, bought controlling interest in CTV.
CTV (2001–present)
Canwest bought WIC's television assets in 2000. However, the CRTC did not allow Canwest to
With the opening of the Fall 2001 television season, CFCF officially adopted the full CTV schedule. The newscast dropped its longtime Pulse title in favour of the generic CFCF News. However, the Pulse brand was so firmly established that viewers still continued to called the newscasts by that title for several years. The station also adopted a new golden call letter logo similar to all other CTV owned stations, as well as similar promo and newscast graphics.
In 2003, CFCF moved to a studio on Papineau Avenue in the eastern part of
On October 3, 2005, the station dropped the use of its call letters on-air, instead branding as simply "CTV", with the newscast becoming CTV News. This type of rebranding was instituted at all affiliates across the country to provide a common brand for the entire network.
By 2005, Bell Globemedia was considered to be a non-core asset by parent company
In 2009, CFCF discontinued the Telethon of Stars that aired during the first weekend of December, consecutively, for 32 years from 1977 to 2009; the removal of the telethon from the station was due to budget cuts made by CTV as a result of the
On August 5, 2009, CTV camera operator, 44-year-old Hugh Haugland was killed after a helicopter crash near Mont-Laurier about 240 kilometres (149 mi) from Montreal, Haugland was shooting footage of the destruction left behind by a tornado that touched down in the area on August 4, 2009. Haugland was the son of Canadian journalist and retired former television news anchor for CFCF-TV in Montreal, Bill Haugland. The other person killed in the crash was Roger Belanger, a veteran pilot and local businessman who was in his 60s.[8][9][10]
Programming
CFCF has always been the highest-rated television station for Anglophone Quebecers. As well, a significant number of bilingual Francophones also watch CFCF – for both programming and news – although CFTM, CFJP and CBFT-DT (Radio-Canada) are the obvious market leaders for Quebec's French community.
The station now airs all of the standard CTV schedule. CFCF's schedule is now identical to CFTO – the only difference being its afternoon talk programs from 3 to 6 p.m. CFCF scheduled its programming around the schedules of Burlington, Vermont–Plattsburgh, New York stations for simultaneous substitution purposes, with Anderson Live at 3 p.m. (simsubbing WPTZ), The Ellen DeGeneres Show at 4 p.m. (simsubbing WCAX-TV) and The Dr. Oz Show at 5 p.m. (simsubbing WVNY). In contrast, CFTO broadcasts Dr. Phil at 3 p.m. (locally simsubbing WGRZ), Ellen at 4 p.m. (also simsubbing WGRZ) and Anderson Live at 5 p.m. (the only non-simsubbed program, not broadcast at that time by any Buffalo station).[11]
As with most CTV-affiliated stations, CFCF's prime time network schedule is usually synchronized with the original American airings of the same programs because all major stations serving the Burlington–Plattsburgh area—WCAX, the CBS affiliate; WPTZ, the NBC affiliate; WVNY, the ABC affiliate; and WFFF-TV, the Fox affiliate—are available on cable in Montreal and CFCF is likewise available on cable in the Burlington–Plattsburgh area. CFCF's ratings do generally top all of those stations, as well as CBMT-DT, the local CBC station.
In the past, some children's programming was preempted, because of provincial regulations on advertising; the station now carries CTV's few remaining children's programs with public service announcements during ad breaks. As well, CFCF did not carry either Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy! when these were part of the standard CTV schedule; both were picked up by the CBC nationally in the fall of 2008, only for them to be discarded in the fall of 2011.
Most recently, the station began airing promos for Bell Media's secondary television system, CTV 2, despite the fact that CTV 2 stations are only available on cable and satellite, with no Quebec affiliates.
News operation
CFCF-DT presently dedicates 13 hours of air-time for locally produced newscasts each week (with 2 hours each weekday and 1+1⁄2 hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). The station's studios in Downtown Montreal also house the CTV News network division's Montreal news bureau.
Since 1986, one of CFCF's lead evening anchors has been Mutsumi Takahashi. Caroline Van Vlaardingen temporarily fills the spot of lead anchor of the weekend edition and Maya Johnson anchors the 5 and 11:30 p.m. bulletins. One of its most famous anchors, Bill Haugland, is now retired; his last newscast aired on November 30, 2006. Haugland worked at CFCF for more than 40 years. He covered major stories in the 1960s and 1970s before becoming the lead anchor at CFCF in the late-1970s. Haugland was an institution and in a special "Farewell to Bill" show broadcast on his final day, he was heralded by colleagues, viewers and former prime ministers alike. In December 2006, Haugland was replaced on an interim basis by Brian Britt, another CFCF veteran newscaster, until he too retired on July 24, 2008. Todd van der Heyden took over from Britt as co-anchor up until the end of 2011. Currently, Mutsumi Takahashi is the station's sole anchor for 6 p.m. evening broadcasts, as Bell Media eliminated the co-anchor position due to cost-cutting measures.
Until March 10, 2009, CFCF aired a weekday morning newscast at 6 a.m. called First News, which pre-empted the first half hour of Canada AM; anchored by Herb Luft, it was cancelled in favor of an early start time for Canada AM, which was then seen in its entirety starting at 6 a.m. Morning news briefs seen during Canada AM were also cancelled. Luft would continue his role as reporter for the station, until retiring in June 2010. These cancellations were part of continuing cutbacks made by CTV due to the economic crisis.[12]
On May 11, 2011, it was announced that longtime 11:30 p.m. news anchor Debra Arbec had left the station to become the main anchor at CBC O&O CBMT-DT. Various other anchors filled in the void for the remainder of May and then June 2011. CTV reporter/former CJAD and CJFM news announcer Catherine Sherriffs became Arbec's permanent replacement on July 4, 2011.
On December 2, 2011, Todd van der Heyden announced he would step down at the end of the month to become an anchor at
On July 29, 2014, several layoffs were announced by CTV Montreal's general manager. Among them was Catherine Sherriffs, who at the time was on maternity leave, and was told her job anchoring the 11:30 p.m. newscast was no more. Instead, Paul Karwatsky, already co-anchoring the 6 p.m. and occasionally the 11:30 p.m. news, took over as anchor for the 11:30 p.m. spot permanently.[14]
On June 20, 2017, local sportscast programming was cancelled, resulting in the immediate layoff of the entire sports department, which included long-time anchor Randy Tieman, reporter Brian Wilde and weekend anchor Sean Coleman
On November 14, 2017, long-time executive producer Barry Wilson, best known for his Postscript editorial, was laid off as part of Bell Media's ongoing cost-cutting measures.[17]
In December 2018, long-time weekend anchor Tarah Schwartz left CTV.[18]
In January 2020, news reporter and weekend anchor Annie DeMelt left CTV to join the
On September 4, 2020, news anchor Paul Karwatsky left CTV, with Caroline Van Vlaardingen filling the spot on an interim basis. It was announced on November 9 that Maya Johnson would take over as anchor for the 5 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. news.
On February 1, 2021, as part of Bell Media's ongoing cost-cutting, it announced the elimination of its Quebec City reporter position.[20]
On June 2, 2022, long-time news director Jed Kahane was laid off as part of Bell Media's ongoing cost-cutting measures.[21]
On September 29, 2023, long-time news reporter Cindy Sherwin left CTV.[22]
On November 13, 2023, Bell Media cut local 5 p.m. news broadcasts down to just 30 minutes, replacing the latter half with a CTV National News feed from 5:30 to 5:59 p.m.[23]
On November 26, 2023, weekend news anchor Amanda Kline left CTV,[24] with Caroline Van Vlaardingen filling the spot on an interim basis.
On February 8, 2024, as part of Bell Media's largest cost-cutting in nearly 30 years, the station cancelled its local noon and holiday newscasts. Additionally, reporter Vanessa Lee, long time production assistant and movie reviewer Mosé Persico (of nearly 40 years), weather presenter Lise McAuley (of nearly 25 years) and assignment editor Derek Conlon (of nearly 20 years) were laid off.[25][26][27]
Technical information
Subchannel
Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
---|---|---|---|---|
12.1 | 1080i | 16:9 |
CFCF | Main CFCF-DT programming / CTV |
Analogue-to-digital conversion
The station began providing a high definition feed to Videotron and Bell Fibe on December 1, 2009, and in September 2010 respectively. Its digital signal signed on over-the-air on temporary pre-transition UHF channel 51 on January 28, 2011.
On August 31, 2011, when Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory
References
- ^ "Bell's acquisition of V officially closes". Newswire Canada. May 15, 2020. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
- ^ CFCF-DT Archived June 14, 2021, at the Wayback Machine at Canadian Communications Foundation
- ^ a b Library and Archives Canada (August 7, 2005). "Description of archived material: CFCF (Montreal) fonds". Retrieved December 2, 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ DuImage, Bill (October 2007). "Radio Station History: CINW(CFCF)-AM, Montreal, Corus Entertainment Inc". Canadian Communications Foundation. Archived from the original on February 2, 2010. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
- ^ a b Chouinard, Yvon (August 2004). "Biographies: Pouliot, Jean Adelard (1923–2004)". Canadian Communications Foundation. Archived from the original on October 5, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
- ^ Canadian Newswire (August 2004). "Canada loses one of its broadcasting pioneers". Channel Canada. Archived from the original on October 25, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2007.
- ^ http://blog.fagstein.com/2010/12/01/no-telethon-on-cfcf/ End of Telethon of stars
- ^ CTV camera operator killed in helicopter crash 8/5/2009. CTV.ca
- ^ CFCF-TV: "Condolences for the Haugland and Belanger families" 8/5/2009. CTVMontreal.ca
- Canada NewsWire, August 5, 2009,
- ^ Per Zap2it, zip codes 05401 (CFCF and Champlain Valley stations) and 14301 (CFTO and Buffalo stations).
- ^ CFCF-TV: "CTV Montreal Cancels First News", 3/10/2009.
- ^ CTV.ca
- ^ "CTV Montreal to shed 10 to 12 jobs; anchor Sherriffs not returning". Archived from the original on August 5, 2014.
- ^ "CTV Montreal cancels local sportscasts, lays off Randy Tieman, Brian Wilde, Sean Coleman | Fagstein". June 20, 2017.
- ^ "Cohen in the City Episode 105: Legendary sports broadcaster Dick Irvin". September 6, 2022.
- ^ "CTV Montreal lays off executive producer Barry Wilson, CHOM drops Picard | Fagstein". November 14, 2017.
- ^ Brownstein, Bill (May 7, 2019). "Brownstein: Life after TV for former anchor Tarah Schwartz". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- ^ "Annie DeMelt leaving CTV Montreal to join MUHC Communications team". January 14, 2020.
- ^ "CJAD guts newsroom, CTV Montreal cuts Quebec City job as Bell Media cuts hit front lines | Fagstein". February 2021.
- ^ "Broadcast veteran Jed Kahane is new CMHC media chief". February 8, 2023.
- ^ "Cindy Sherwin says goodbye to CTV after 26 years".
- ^ "CTV adds national newscast at 5:30, taking a page from Global | Fagstein". November 2, 2023.
- ^ "Amanda Kline signs off at CTV News Montreal".
- ^ "More big names from CTV National News axed in latest round of Bell Media layoffs | Canada".
- ^ "Bell Media planning cuts to CTV, BNN Bloomberg following BCE layoffs, sale of 45 radio stations". February 8, 2024.
- ^ "Natasha Hall, Mose Persico, Lise McAuley among Bell Media cuts in Montreal | Fagstein". February 21, 2024.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for CFCF
- ^ "Digital Television – Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA)". Archived from the original on November 20, 2013. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ^ "Canada's Transition to Digital Television". Archived from the original on September 5, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
External links
- Official website
- CFCF-DT at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the Canadian Communications Foundation
- CFCF at TV Hat
- CFCF-DT in the REC Canadian station database