CHWI-DT

CHWI-DT

City of license	Wheatley, Ontario
Branding	CTV Two (general) CTV News (local news)
Slogan	Windsor's News Leader
Channels	Digital: 16 (UHF) Virtual: 16.1 (PSIP)
Translators	26 CHWI-DT-60 Windsor
Affiliations	CTV Two
Owner	Bell Media (CTV Inc.)
First air date	October 19, 1993
Call letters' meaning	CHatham WIndsor
Sister station(s)	CKWW, CKLW, CIMX-FM, CIDR-FM, CKCO-TV
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 16 CHWI-TV (1993-2011) 60 CHWI-TV-60 Windsor[1] (1995-2011)
Former affiliations	independent (1993-1997)
Transmitter power	CHWI-DT: 3.4 kW CHWI-DT-60: 0.2 kW
Height	CHWI-DT: 168.2 m CHWI-DT-60: 93.8 m
Transmitter coordinates	CHWI-TV: 42°8′30″N 82°26′48″W / 42.14167°N 82.44667°W / 42.14167; -82.44667 CHWI-TV-60: 42°18′58″N 83°2′24″W / 42.31611°N 83.04°W / 42.31611; -83.04 (CHWI-TV-60)
Website	CTV Windsor

CHWI-DT (CTV Two Windsor) is a Canadian television station owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Two system. The station is licensed to Wheatley, Ontario, but operates out of (and focuses on) Windsor. CHWI also has offices in Chatham.

On cable, CHWI can be seen on Cogeco Windsor channel 6. It is not seen on Comcast Detroit or Bright House Livonia.

After being threatened with closure in early 2009, recent CRTC decisions increasing funding for local stations are expected to allow CHWI to remain on the air.^[2][3][4]

History

Beginnings: independent and BBS

Baton applied to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a licence on for the Wheatley area, to serve both Chatham and Windsor with an independent local television station. This application was related to, and directly dependent on, Baton's purchase of CFPL-TV and CKNX-TV from The Blackburn Group, as their intention was to launch a semi-satellite of CFPL-TV that served Chatham and Windsor. At the time, the only clear signals from Canadian stations were from TVOntario, the CBC and Télévision de Radio-Canada. The station was approved on January 26, 1993, and its first transmissions began on October 19, 1993.

CFPL-TV logo from 1993-1994. CHWI-TV had a similar logo, with different call letters as the only difference.

During its tenure as an independent station, it also aired ABC's Disney's One Saturday Morning schedule (along with, or from, CTV affiliate, CKCO-TV), along with syndicated Disney shows in the afternoons on weekdays (The Disney Afternoon), such as Bonkers and Goof Troop before the 5 PM News, similar to WXON and WKBD-TV across the river in Detroit. While the station aired many CTV programs, it was never branded as a CTV station directly, but it was labelled as a BBS station instead. For all intents and purposes it was Windsor's CTV affiliate for most of this time, if in programming and not by affiliation or name. Windsor is one of the few major Canadian cities that has never had a CTV affiliate of its own, largely because CTV owns the Canadian rights to a large trove of American programming. The Windsor area is considered part of the Detroit market for purposes of programming rights, and Windsor stations have often had to adjust their coverage or programming under pressure from the Detroit stations. CTV programming is piped in via Kitchener's CKCO-TV on basic cable; its Sarnia-area translator is the nearest over-the-air source of CTV programming.

Logo used while as BBS, used from 1994-1997.

It was broadcast on channel 16 only (its Wheatley transmitter) for the first two years. However, the transmitter was located far to the southeast, presumably to protect the Detroit stations. As a result, it was practically unviewable over-the-air in Windsor.

In response to complaints from the Windsor area, Baton applied for a Windsor-area translator on Channel 6, with an effective radiated power of 87 watts, in 1994.^[5] While the CRTC agreed to this request, the Federal Communications Commission of the United States refused to sign off on it, citing potential interference with WLNS-TV from Lansing, Michigan. However, the FCC recommended Channel 60 instead. The CRTC agreed, and Baton was allowed to place a broadcast translator in Windsor on Channel 60 with an effective radiated power of 580 watts (with the same signal contours as channel 6 at 87 watts). However, some parts of the Windsor area, including Tecumseh, were not (and still are not, as of 2009) reached by the Channel 60 signal, or the Channel 16 signal, and must rely on cable to watch CHWI-TV.

CHUM and The New WI

CHWI's logo as The New WI

In 1997, the station was sold by Electrohome and Baton Broadcasting to CHUM Limited as a result of an affiliation swap which saw BBS gain control of the CTV network. CHUM would re-format the station (along with the other independent stations CHUM acquired in the deal) with a lineup and branding similar to its new sister station CKVR-TV in Barrie, which would be known as "NewNet". CHWI would be re-branded as The New WI as a part of the reformat.

In 2000, CHUM Limited applied to increase CHWI's power from 580 watts, to 5.8 kilowatts (10 times the strength), and was approved. Its Windsor transmitter stands atop the 34-floor Victoria Park Place apartment building, currently the tallest building in Windsor.

Until 2003, the station broadcast its news from a separate studio at CFPL-TV. Sports and weather are still done from there, while the news is done from Windsor. From 1993 to 1999, the Windsor newsroom was at the corner of Riverside Drive East and Goyeau Street, at the foot of the 75 Riverside Drive apartments — left abandoned for 10 years after the move before being replaced by a restaurant. The newsroom now sits at the corner of University and Ouellette Avenue, in the same building as the Palace Cinema.

As a result of CHUM's acquisition of Craig Media (and its re-branding of a series of stations in Western Canada as Citytv stations on the same day), the NewNet stations (along with CHWI) were re-branded as A-Channel in August 2005.

Sale to CTV

CHWI's current Downtown Windsor studio (seen with A-Channel signage)

In 2006 CTV owner CTVglobemedia had announced that it would be taking over CHUM Limited for $C1.7 billion, with plans to divest itself of the A-Channel stations and Alberta educational broadcaster Access.

In 2007 Omni Television owner Rogers Media had announced it would takeover the A-Channel stations, including CHWI, along with SexTV: The Channel, CLT, Access Alberta, and CKX-TV in the wake of CTVglobemedia's pending takeover of the CHUM Limited group. The transaction is said to cost $137 million in which will be paid in cash by Rogers. The CRTC later announced its approval of CTVglobemedia's purchase of CHUM Limited, but it added a condition that CTVglobemedia must sell off CHUM's Citytv stations to another buyer. As such, CTVglobemedia retained the A-Channel stations and all of CHUM's specialty channels, and sold the Citytv stations to Rogers Media.

Additionally, the A-Channel stations were re-branded simply as "A" in August 2008.

Threatened closure and reprieve

On February 25, 2009, CTV announced that, given the ongoing structural problems facing the conventional television sector in Canada and the current global economic crisis, it will not be applying to the CRTC for renewal of the licences of CHWI, CKNX-TV Wingham, and CKX-TV in Brandon, Manitoba. CTV said that with the CRTC's decision to bar broadcasters from charging cable systems to carry their stations (similar to retransmission consent regulations in the United States), CHWI and CKNX-TV—the two smallest stations in the A system—were no longer viable.^[6] Even though both stations were losing money for CTV, in the case of CHWI, this comes despite its dominant ratings in local news over CBET.^[7][8]

The stations' transmitters were slated to be shut down entirely, instead of being converted to rebroadcasters of London's A station, CFPL-TV.^[9] CFPL is expected to be available on cable, and remain available on satellite, in the affected areas following the shutdown. CTV has planned it will continue news coverage of the southwestern Ontario region through CFPL and CTV network station CKCO-TV.

The Windsor Star reported on March 4, 2009 that Windsor City Council, local Members of Provincial Parliament Sandra Pupatello and Dwight Duncan, and federal Members of Parliament Brian Masse and Joe Comartin began lobbying the CRTC and CTVglobemedia not to shut down CHWI, as it is the only local privately-owned television station in Windsor.^[10]

On April 30, 2009, Shaw Communications announced that it would purchase CHWI, CKNX, and CKX for one dollar each from CTV, pending CRTC approval.^[11][12] However, it was reported on June 30, 2009 that Shaw had backed out of the deal and was declining to complete the purchase, putting the stations' futures in serious doubt.^[13]

On July 6, after the CRTC announced policy changes to increase funding for small-market TV stations (including the likely implementation of carriage fees), CTV said it would "review" its decision to close CHWI.^[2] The company announced two days later that CHWI would remain on the air for at least another year, based on temporary increases to the Local Programming Improvement Fund. The other two stations were not as fortunate; however CKNX's transmitter was retained to rebroadcast CFPL,^[3] and CKX-TV was closed down in October. In correlation to the reprieve from closure, the CRTC renewed the licenses for CHWI, CKNX and CKX, even though CTV had not filed renewals for these stations.^[14]

Sale to Bell, CTV Two

On September 10, 2010, Bell Canada announced plans to re-acquire 100% of CTVglobemedia, a deal which closed in April 2011. CTVglobemedia was officially replaced by Bell Media on April 1, 2011.^[15] One month later, Bell revealed that the A system, including CHWI Windsor and CFPL London would be re-launched as CTV Two for the Fall 2011 television season, A was officially re-launched as CTV Two on August 29, 2011.^[16] Alongside the re-launch came the re-branding of CHWI's newscasts as CTV News Windsor, and the establishment of a high-definition feed on its new digital signal.^[17]

Digital television

As part of Canada's transition to digital television, CHWI-TV flash-cut to digital on August 31, 2011, using its former analog channels 16 and 26. CHWI's Windsor repeater had moved its analog signal in January 2011 to channel 26 from channel 60 due to the removal of channels 52 and higher from the television spectrum upon the transition to digital.

In addition, CHWI-TV-60 has been authorised to relocate its analog transmitter to channel 26, and to switch its digital allotment from 25 to 26, due to the phaseout of all channels 52 and up.^[18] However, the CRTC decision did not address the situation regarding WLPC-LP in Detroit, which also broadcast its analog signal on channel 26 (an unprotected frequency), though WLPC-LP has a construction permit with the FCC to move to channel 40 when it converts to digital.

Programming

CHWI's programming is almost identical to that of London, Ontario's CFPL, including popular American television series such as Fringe and Supernanny. The former A Morning show had a contributor from Windsor, however, only the news anchor and weather anchor are based at their downtown Windsor studio. Prior to 2009, weather reports were based at CFPL. Sports news continue to be based out of the studios at CFPL in London. Prior to 2003, the CHWI newscasts were produced entirely out of studios at CFPL, and presently the weekend newscasts are simulcast with CFPL.

References

1. ^ Decision CRTC 95-471
2. ^ ^{a b} Kristine Owen, "Conventional TV broadcasters praise CRTC move to charge for carriage", The Canadian Press via Google News, July 6, 2009
3. ^ ^{a b} /A\ Windsor Station to Remain Open, CTVglobemedia press release, July 8, 2009
4. ^ A Windsor to stay on air, www.atv.ca, July 8, 2009
5. ^ http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1994/N94-12.HTM
6. ^ 'A' Television Stations in Wingham and Windsor to be Shut Down, CNW, 2009-02-25
7. ^ Ted Shaw, A Channel closing Windsor operation, The Windsor Star (online), February 25, 2009
8. ^ The Toronto Star, "Throwing salt on Windsor's wounds", 3/8/2009.
9. ^ CBC News Windsor at Six, February 25, 2009 (accessed February 25, 2009)
10. ^ "More local politicians lobby for A Channel's survival". Windsor Star, March 3, 2009.
11. ^ CTV Accepts Shaw Offer to Buy Local Stations, CTVglobemedia press release via TradeMarkets, April 30, 2009
12. ^ 'A' | NEWS | Shaw Communications says it will buy A-Windsor, www.atv.ca, May 1, 2009
13. ^ Grant Robertson, "Shaw cancels deal for 3 CTV stations". The Globe and Mail, June 30, 2009.
14. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-407, issued 7/6/2009.
15. ^ Canadian Press (2011-03-07). "CRTC approves BCE's purchase of CTVglobemedia" (HTML). CTV.ca. http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20110307/crtc-approves-ctvglobemedia-purchase-by-bce-110307/. Retrieved 2011-05-23. 
16. ^ Bell Media’s /A\ Network to Become “CTV Two” This Fall
17. ^ Bell Media Press Release: "Bell Media’s /A\ Network to Become “CTV Two” This Fall", May 30, 2011.
18. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2010-795, October 27, 2010.

External links

• CTV Two Windsor
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CHWI-TV History
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CHWI-TV
• Query TV Fool's coverage map for CHWI
• Michiguide.com's listing for CHWI 16