CHCH-DT

"CHCH" redirects here. For the New Zealand city abbreviated "ChCh", see Christchurch.

CHCH-DT

Hamilton, Halton, Niagara, and Greater Toronto Area
City of license	Hamilton, Ontario
Branding	CHCH (general) CHCH News (news)
Slogan	Your Superstation (primary) Great Movies Every Night (secondary)
Channels	Digital: 11 (VHF) Virtual: 11 (PSIP)
Translators	see below
Affiliations	Independent (1961-2001, 2009-present)
Owner	Channel Zero (2190015 Ontario Inc.)
First air date	June 7, 1954
Call letters' meaning	C Hamilton's CHannel
Former callsigns	CHCH-TV (1954-2011)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 11 (VHF, 1954-2011) Digital: 18 (UHF, 2008-2011)
Former affiliations	CBC (1954-1961) CH / E! (2001-2009)
Transmitter power	6 kW
Height	361.0 m
Transmitter coordinates	43°12′27″N 79°46′31″W / 43.2075°N 79.77528°W / 43.2075; -79.77528
Website	CHCH

CHCH-DT, channel 11, is a television station originating in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with transmitters located throughout Ontario. CHCH currently operates as an independent station, having previously served as a CBC Television affiliate, and more recently as the flagship station of the now-defunct CH / E! system.

Owned and operated by Channel Zero, it is the oldest privately-owned television station in the Hamilton-Toronto area, having launched in 1954. CHCH's programming schedule features a weekday rolling news format geared primarily to southern Ontario's Golden Horseshoe, along with feature movies on weeknights and weekends; some American entertainment series were added to the evening schedule in the fall of 2010.

History

CBC affiliation

CHCH-TV was founded by Ken Soble. A leader of Hamilton's urban renewal movement, and owner of CHML radio, Soble was regarded as a pioneer in all of his endeavours.^[1]

The station began broadcasting in 1954 as a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) affiliate from the CHCH Television Tower, a transmitter located at 481 First Road West in Stoney Creek. At the time, all private stations were required to be CBC affiliates. In 1961, CHCH disaffiliated from the CBC and became an independent. The reason for the disaffiliation from CBC was threefold. Toronto's CBLT already provided full network service to some of CHCH's viewing area, and a power increase and change of channels at CBLT (from Channel 9 to Channel 6 and eventually Channel 5) would result in an overlap of nearly all of the CHCH and CBLT coverage areas. Additionally, the station's managers wanted to produce a larger amount of local programming, instead of being forced to carry CBC programming.

Superstation CHCH

CHCH-TV's logo from the 1960s to the late 1980s

CHCH became the first (and for over a decade, the only) television station in Canada not to have any network affiliation, as the other private stations (which signed on the air in 1960 or early 1961) that were not affiliated with the CBC had formed the CTV network in 1961. CHCH became a nationwide superstation on January 1, 1982, when Cancom began carrying the station and three others to cable television operators in remote regions of the country that had access only to the CBC.

This was the last logo used by CHCH before re-branding to ONtv

The station also produced a number of important Canadian syndicated series, including The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, Me & Max, Party Game and Smith & Smith, and was the original TV home of The Red Green Show. Hamilton native Martin Short also had his television debut on the station. CHCH also produced local broadcasts such as Tiny Talent Time.

For a time, CHCH broadcast local mid-week telecasts of the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs. It also produced a wrestling show called Ringside Wrestling. It was originally filmed in the Telecentre, later moving to the Hamilton Forum. They later reproduced World Wrestling Federation programming for Canadian audiences before the company's focus shifted entirely to cable.

ONtv era

CHCH-TV's logo as "ONtv", (1997-2001) ^[2]

In 1990, Western International Communications (WIC) purchased CHCH. Although CHCH had been available on cable in many Ontario markets for years, the station's broadcast signal coverage was expanded throughout Ontario with repeaters in 1997, in an effort to compete with the reach of Global's Ontario station CIII, as well as the Baton Broadcast System, a group of mostly CTV-affiliated stations which served most of the province. In turn, WIC renamed the station ONtv, as in "Ontario Television", in line with the naming pattern of many of its other stations (such as BCTV, ITV, and RDTV).

Local news shifted focus from the station's core market, the Hamilton area, toward Ontario as a whole, in an attempt to challenge what was then a regional news service provided by Global. However, with Hamilton now being largely an afterthought, and other local stations (in Toronto and elsewhere) already strong in the ratings, the shift was unsuccessful, and CHCH's ratings actually dropped. During the ONtv years, the station also aired WIC's nightly Canada Tonight newscast.

Canwest ownership

In 2000, Canwest purchased WIC's television assets. Since Global already served the Hamilton area through flagship CIII-TV's transmitter in Paris, Canwest rebranded the station CH (or CH Hamilton) on February 12, 2001 and subsequently launched the CH television system in September of that year. This move launched a secondary television system for Canwest's stations in medium-sized markets near larger markets. Local news coverage was revamped and re-focused on the Hamilton/Halton/Niagara region.

Despite the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)'s current TV station ownership restrictions (one station per owner per language per market), Canwest was permitted to maintain CHCH's coverage of other markets throughout most of Ontario. However, it could not broadcast to Thunder Bay, Peterborough, or Kingston due to opposition by local stations. Some cable systems outside of Ontario also continue to carry CHCH as a form of "superstation". Additionally, its over-the-air signal easily covers Buffalo, New York and Erie, Pennsylvania.

On June 7, 2004, at 8:00 p.m., CHCH-TV celebrated exactly 50 years on the air. At this precise time, the station aired a documentary profiling the station history, entitled The First 50 Years: A Half Century of CH and hosted by Matt Hayes.

It was announced that the CH brand would change starting in 2007, however, it remained in use until September 7, 2007 when Canwest rebranded CHCH's local programming from CH Hamilton to CHCH News after the following the relaunch of the national CH service as E!.

The logo used for newscasts from 2007-2010. It was used as the de facto branding of the station from 2007-2009

In late 2008, Canwest retired CHCH's longest serving news anchors, Connie Smith (last day on air November 28, 2008) and Dan McLean (last day on air December 12, 2008), blaming money troubles and having to cut budgets. After their departures, Annette Hamm began handling anchoring duties on a shortened CHCH News at Noon, as well as co-hosting Morning Live with Bob Cowan, while Nick Dixon took over anchoring duties on CHCH News at 6:00. Since being taken over by Channel Zero on August 31, 2009, Annette Hamm and Bob Cowan have co-hosted a restored hour long newscast at noon.

In January 2009, CHCH's Morning Live program began to be simulcast on former sister station CIII-TV due to low ratings leading to the cancellation of its own Global News Morning. The simulcast on CIII-TV was dropped at the end of August after Channel Zero officially took control of CHCH. While the station continued to share helicopter traffic services provided by the Canadian Traffic Network, the arrangement between Canwest and CHCH ended on December 31, 2009 as Canwest held the exclusive rights to CTN services in the Greater Toronto Area.

Channel Zero era

On February 5, 2009, Canwest (CHCH's parent company at the time) announced it would explore "strategic options", including possible sale or closure, for CHCH and its other stations in the E! system, saying "a second conventional TV network is no longer key to the long-term success" of the company.^[3] A grassroots group, fronted by Live @ 5:30 co-host Donna Skelly, surfaced with an intent to purchase CHCH from Canwest and return the station to its former local focus.^[4][5]

In March 2009, paperwork to the CRTC for a one-year renewal of CHCH's licence revealed that the station is projected to lose nearly $30 million during the 2010 fiscal year, which begins September 1, 2009—the station would make $41 million, but the profits would be outpaced by costs of $69 million. John Douglas, a spokesperson for Canwest, said that CHCH, and its other stations in the E! group, were money losers during the last decade, coupled with the Canadian broadcasters' dependency on American programming for profits.^[6]

On June 30, 2009, Channel Zero announced that it would purchase CHCH and CJNT in Montreal from Canwest in exchange for $12 in cash and the assumption of various station liabilities.^[7][8] The CRTC approved the sale on August 28, 2009.^[9][10]

Logo used by CHCH from 2009-2010.

Channel Zero took control of the station's programming at midnight EDT on the morning of August 31, beginning its tenure with a film from the 1980s. CHCH disaffiliated from E! (which shut down at the end of that day), adopted a new format consisting of local news all day on weekdays and movies at night (all day on weekends), and reverted to branding itself as simply CHCH. The first film broadcast in primetime that night was Rocky, signifying the new ownership's come-from-behind spirit. CHCH would add, in sparse amounts, additional programming during the 2009-2010 season, including Let's Get It On, a mixed martial arts program; Ed the Sock's This Movie Sucks!, a movie show featuring the former MuchMusic character alongside co-host Liana Kerzner and comedian Ron Sparks; and infomercials.

In September 2010, CHCH, for the first time since its purchase by Channel Zero, began airing American network television series; many of the added shows, including Smallville, Supernatural, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, 48 Hours Mystery, 20/20, Chuck, and 60 Minutes were previously seen in the Toronto-Hamilton market on CKXT-TV (that station's owner, Quebecor, was in the process of replacing it with an all-news cable channel).^[11] CHCH also debuted additional original local programs Sportsline with Mark Hebscher & Clint "Bubba" O'Neil, and will launch a second series with Ed the Sock, the entertainment newsmagazine spoof I Hate Hollywood.^[12] Coinciding with the schedule changes was a return to an updated version of the classic CHCH multi-coloured logo used from the 1960s to the 1980s.^[13][14]

On April 10, 2011 Green party leader Elizabeth May participated in a panel interview on CHCH, which she was invited to attend, as were the leaders of the Bloc, Liberals, NDP and Conservatives, by Channel Zero, whose president was disappointed by May's exclusion from the 2011 election leaders' debates.^[15]

On April 18, 2011, CKXT-TV Toronto switched from a independent station to a simulcast of the Sun News Network, leaving CHCH the only independent station in the Toronto/Hamilton area.

On June 8, 2011, at Channel Zero's upfront presentation for advertisers, the company announced they would be adding the series Hart of Dixie and The Secret Circle, both of which will premiere on The CW in the United States for the 2011-12 Fall television season, on the CHCH primetime schedule, as well as the entertainment news show The Insider (the same show that was last aired when the station was under the E! moniker between 2007-2009).

The company also announced a programming deal with Twentieth Century Fox, that will allow Channel Zero's CHCH and Metro 14 TV stations to show first-run exclusive broadcast movie premieres, most notably Avatar, scheduled to air in Spring 2012 on both stations. The station will be airing the director's cut version of the film not shown in theatres. Other debut titles include Crazy Heart, Taken and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. ^[16]

Newscasts and other local programming

CHCH and Channel Zero signs are up on the side of 163 Jackson St. West. Previously, both E! and CHCH News logos were placed up in 2007. The red E! logo was removed after Channel Zero took control of CHCH in 2009, and has replaced the previous E! era newscast logo the following year.

CHCH currently airs 84 hours of local news content every week,^[17] more than any local television station in Canada or the United States. In contrast, CHAN in Vancouver broadcasts 45 hours of local news a week, WSVN in Miami airs 55.5 hours, WDAF in Kansas City runs 57.5 hours, WTVT in Tampa carries 60 hours and KRON in San Francisco does 60.5 hours of local programming each week. CHCH broadcasts 15.5 hours of local programming every weekday (4 a.m.-5 p.m., 5:30-7:30 p.m. and 11-11:30 p.m.) and two hours a night (6-7 p.m. and 11 p.m.-12 a.m.) on weekends.

On September 12, 2011, CHCH increased its local news programming by launching a 90-minute extension of Morning Live, called Morning Live First Edition, airing weekdays from 4-5:30 a.m.^[18]

Donna Skelly, the 3:30-4:30 p.m. anchor of News Now and co-host of the 5:30 p.m. show Square Off is currently on leave from the station. Skelly, along with Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak, announced on March 28, 2011, that Skelly was running for the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in the riding of Ancaster—Dundas—Flamborough—Westdale in the October 2011 Election; CRTC rules do not allow broadcasters to be on-air while running for public office. On her last day as co-host of Square Off, Skelly announced she will return to the show if she is unsuccessful in her bid to be elected. On October 6, 2011, Skelly came in second to Liberal Party incumbent Ted McMeekin in the Ontario Election.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• Newsroom 11 (1970s–1982)
• TV 11 Newsroom (1982–1997)
• On-TV News (Source) (1997–2001)
• OnTV News First Edition (6 p.m. newscast; 1997–2001)
• CH News (2001–2007)^[19]
• Live @ 5:30 (2005–2010; debate & talk program)
• CHCH News (2007–present)
  • News Now (2009–present; late morning and afternoon newscasts)^[20]
  • News Now Midday (2010–present; noon newscast)
  • Square Off (2010–present; 5:30 pm debate & talk program)
  • Evening News (2010–present; weeknights and weekends 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts)^[21]

Station slogans

• Serving Hamilton, Toronto and the Niagara Peninsula. This is CHCH TV 11 (1970–1988?)
• Join Us (1988?)
• Together, We're the Ones (1988–1997)^[22]
• There's Always Something ONtv (1997–1999)
• ONtv: Where You Are (1999–2001)
• Closer to Home (2001)
• Closer to You! (2001–2010)^[23]
• In Hamilton, Halton, Niagara, CH News is Closer to You! (2001–2007; news slogan)
• CH Has It All (2001–2007; general slogan)
• The Most Dependable Name in Local News (2007–2009)
• Everything Entertainment (2007–2009; localized version of E! ad campaign)
• Canada's Superstation (2009–2010)
• Your Superstation (2010–present; general slogan)
• Great Movies Every Night (2011–present; slogan for movie programming)

News team^[24]

Nick Dixon at the Burlington Music Festival

Anchors

• Taz Boga - News Now (weekdays 11 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2-5 p.m.)
• Tim Bolen - Morning Live First Edition (weekday mornings, 4-5:30 a.m.) and News Now AM (weekday mornings, 9-11 a.m.)
• Kate Carnegie - Evening News (Sundays at 6 and 11 p.m.)
• Bob Cowan - Morning Live (weekday mornings, 5:30-9 a.m.), and News Now Midday (weekdays at noon)
• Nick Dixon - Evening News (weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.)
• Annette Hamm - Morning Live (weekday mornings, 5:30-9 a.m.), and News Now Midday (weekdays at noon)

Weather team

• Matt Hayes - lead weather anchor; News Now Midday (weekdays at noon), News Now PM (weekday afternoons 4:30-5 p.m.) and Evening News (weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.), also noon community reporter and 6 p.m. entertainment reporter
• Jaclyn Colville - weather and traffic anchor; Morning Live First Edition (weekday mornings 4-5:30 a.m.) and traffic anchor; Morning Live (weekday mornings, 6-9 a.m.)
• Nicola Jones - weather anchor; Morning Live (weekday mornings, 6-9 a.m.)
• Steve Ruddick - weather anchor; Evening News (weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.)
• Brian Wood (CMOS-endorsed weathercaster) - weather and traffic anchor; weekday mornings News Now AM (9 a.m.-12 p.m.), and weekday afternoons News Now PM (2-4:30 p.m.)

Sports team

• Ken Welch - lead sports anchor; Evening News (weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.)
• Jeff Leyland - sports anchor; Evening News (weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.)
• Natalie Marconi - sports reporter

Reporters

• Adam Atkinson - video journalist
• Sean Cowan - video journalist
• Cindy Csordas - video journalist
• Lori De Angelis - Morning Live community reporter
• Maria Hayes - health reporter
• Lisa Hepfner - general assignment reporter; also fill-in news anchor
• Lisa Knap - general assignment reporter
• Melissa Raftis - video journalist
• Alex Reynolds - entertainment reporter, film and theatre critic and host of The Movie Lounge (Saturday afternoons)
• Lauran Sabourin - Niagara Bureau reporter
• Lesley Stewart - fill-in news anchor/reporter
• Al Sweeney - general assignment reporter; also fill-in news anchor
• Cristina Tenaglia - video journalist; also fill-in news anchor
• Scot Urquhart - general assignment reporter

Square Off

• Mark Hebscher - host
• Liz West - co-host
• Lawrence Diskin - producer and fill-in co-host

Sportsline

• Mark Hebscher - host
• Clint "Bubba" O'Neil - co-host and producer
• Robin Sawh - field producer
• Candace Devai - feature reporter

Transmitters

On August 28, 1996, CHCH received CRTC approval to add new transmitters across most of Ontario.^[25] Their launch in 1997 coincided with the rebranding to ONtv.

Map of all coordinates from Google Map of all coordinates from Bing
Export all coordinates as KML
Export all coordinates as GeoRSS
Map of all microformatted coordinates
Place data as RDF

Station	City of licence	Channel	Virtual	ERP	HAAT	Transmitter Coordinates
CHCH-DT-1	Ottawa	22 (UHF)	11.1 (PSIP)	25 kW	216 m	45°13′2″N 75°33′49″W / 45.21722°N 75.56361°W / 45.21722; -75.56361 (CHCH-TV-1)
CHCH-DT-2	London	51 (UHF)	51.1 (PSIP)	190 kW	296.5 m	42°50′27″N 81°51′29″W / 42.84083°N 81.85806°W / 42.84083; -81.85806 (CHCH-TV-2)
CHCH-DT-3	Muskoka	23 (UHF)	67.1 (PSIP)	63 kW	306.7 m	44°58′14″N 79°46′57″W / 44.97056°N 79.7825°W / 44.97056; -79.7825 (CHCH-TV-3)
CHCH-TV-4	Sudbury	41 (UHF)	N/A	35 kW	171.9 m	46°25′29″N 81°0′53″W / 46.42472°N 81.01472°W / 46.42472; -81.01472 (CHCH-TV-4)
CHCH-TV-5	Sault Ste. Marie	38 (UHF)	N/A	5 kW	112.5 m	46°35′50″N 84°16′53″W / 46.59722°N 84.28139°W / 46.59722; -84.28139 (CHCH-TV-5)
CHCH-TV-6	North Bay	32 (UHF)	N/A	5 kW	116 m	46°18′10″N 79°24′39″W / 46.30278°N 79.41083°W / 46.30278; -79.41083 (CHCH-TV-6)
CHCH-TV-7	Timmins	11 (VHF)	N/A	3.3 kW	142.2 m	48°28′12″N 81°17′49″W / 48.47°N 81.29694°W / 48.47; -81.29694 (CHCH-TV-7)

During the analog television shutdown and digital conversion in August 2011, CHCH's transmitters in Ottawa, London, and Muskoka converted to digital since transmitters in these cities were mandated to do so. However, the transmitters broadcast in standard-definition 480i since they receive the CHCH signal via Shaw Broadcast Services, which does not carry CHCH HD.

Digital television and high definition

CHCH currently broadcasts a digital signal on channel 11. The station's pre-transition digital transmitter on channel 18 in Hamilton was launched on April 18, 2008 by previous owners Canwest.^[26]

During the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which mandated stations in mandatory markets to shut down their analog signals before August 31, 2011,^[27] CHCH-DT moved from its pre-transition channel number, 18, to the channel position formerly occupied by its analog channel, 11, on August 15, 2011.^[28] The analog signal was discontinued immediately preceding the switch. CHCH-DT is available on digital cable as well as for free over the air using a regular TV antenna and a digital tuner, included in most new TVs. Reception of CHCH-DT on channel 11 has been difficult for some people in the GTA.

As of September 12, 2011, CHCH is now offered in HD on Bell TV via channel 1057.

References

1. ^ "Hamilton Spectator: "The Greatest Hamiltonian". (II)". http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1143499813048&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815. Retrieved 2007-02-11. 
2. ^ ONtv trademark data on Canadian Trademark Database
3. ^ "Canwest may sell TV stations". cbc.ca, February 5, 2009.
4. ^ "CHCH staff launch bold bid" The Hamilton Spectator (2009-02-26)
5. ^ "Will townsfolk save the House of Frightenstein?" From Toronto Star, March 15, 2009.
6. ^ Broadcaster Magazine: "CHCH-TV, Hamilton Projected to Lose $30-million", 3/18/2009.
7. ^ Channel Zero Inc. agrees to purchase CHCH-TV Hamilton and CJNT-TV Montreal from Canwest CNW Group (2009-06-30)
8. ^ Channel Zero Inc. agrees to purchase CHCH-TV Hamilton and CJNT-TV Montreal from Canwest (Video News Coverage) (2009-06-30)
9. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-536
10. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-537
11. ^ Channel Zero loads up on U.S. network series, THR, 2010-06-14
12. ^ ed the sock
13. ^ Source: CHCH Fall 2010 press release
14. ^ CHCH 2010 Fall Preview - New shows, new logo and more
15. ^ "CHCH-TV to Broadcast "Elizabeth May, For the Record" Live this Sunday, April 10, 2011 - 8pm ET". CNW. CNW Group. April 8, 2011. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2011/08/c2709.html. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 
16. ^ CHCH and Metro 14 Announce Fall Line-Up
17. ^ CHCH schedule
18. ^ CHCH-TV To Launch Canada's Earliest Morning Show
19. ^ CHCH Hamilton - "CH" News at Six Open
20. ^ CHCH News Now Open - Monday, August 1, 2011
21. ^ CHCH Evening News At 11 Open - Thursday, July 14, 2011
22. ^ CHCH Hamilton 11 Together We're The Ones 1988
23. ^ CHCH Closer to you Station ID Set of 5 extended Aug 31 2009
24. ^ Our On-Air Staff
25. ^ Decision CRTC 96-544
26. ^ "Canwest Broadcasting Launches Three New High Definition Transmitters In Major Canadian Markets". Canwest Broadcasting. 2008-04-10. http://www.canwest.com/media/viewNews.asp?NewsroomID=804. Retrieved 2008-05-03. 
27. ^ http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/oca-bc.nsf/en/ca02336e.html
28. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoF7jVAgg2g

External links

• CHCH
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CHCH-TV History
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CHCH-TV
• Query TV Fool's coverage map for CHCH