CFMT-DT

CFMT-DT

City of license	Toronto, Ontario
Branding	OMNI.1
Slogan	Diversity television
Channels	Digital: 47 (UHF) Virtual: 47.1 (PSIP)
Translators	see below
Affiliations	OMNI Television
Owner	Rogers Media (Rogers Broadcasting Ltd.)
First air date	September 3, 1979
Call letters' meaning	Canada's First Multilingual Television
Sister station(s)	TV: CITY, CJMT Radio: CFTR, CHFI, CJCL, CKIS
Former callsigns	CFMT-TV (1979-2011)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 47 (1979-2011) Digital: 64 (200?-2011)
Former affiliations	Independent (1979-2002)
Transmitter power	22.2 kW
Height	501.4 m
Transmitter coordinates	43°38′56″N 79°22′54″W / 43.64889°N 79.38167°W / 43.64889; -79.38167
Website	OMNI.1

CFMT-DT, channel 47, is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with rebroadcasters in Ottawa and London. The station broadcasts multicultural programming targeting European and Latin American communities throughout Southern Ontario. Part of the Omni Television group of stations owned by Rogers Media, it uses the on-air brand OMNI.1. Sister company Rogers Cable carries OMNI.1 on cable channel 4 in the Greater Toronto Area.

Among English-speaking television viewers in Southern Ontario, CFMT is likely best known as home to various English language syndicated talk shows and sitcom repeats, including The Simpsons, Friends, and Family Guy, airing nightly as counterprogramming to local newscasts and first-run primetime series on the major networks.

History

In December 1978, station founder Dan Iannuzzi, founder of the Italian language daily newspaper Corriere Canadese and future recipient of the Order of Canada, received a license for a multilingual TV station, defeating rival applicants Johnny Lombardi and Leon Kossar. His company, Multilingual Television (Toronto) Ltd., had been producing multilingual TV programs since 1972.^[1] Iannuzzi initially owned 30 percent of the station, and other investors included Jerry Grafstein, Raymond Moriyama, Steve Stavro, Garth Drabinsky and Nat Taylor.^[1] The call letters CFMT were derived from "Canada's first multilingual television." English language programming was limited to one-third of the station's broadcast hours, with French language programming accounting for seven percent and programming in about two dozen other languages providing the remaining 60 percent.^[1] The station was originally going to broadcast on channel 45, but that was changed to channel 47 for technical reasons. The station began broadcasting on September 3, 1979, under the brand name MTV (for Multilingual Television). It dropped that name to avoid confusion due to the 1981 launch of the American MTV cable network.

In August 1980, CFMT began broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week and introduced The All-Night Show three weeks later. In 1985, CFMT became Canada's first TV station to broadcast in stereo.^{[citation needed]} The following year, it was sold to Rogers Communications. In 1993, CFMT installed rebroadcasters in London and Ottawa, on channels 69 and 60, respectively. Under Rogers ownership, the station targeted English-speaking viewers at times that other stations did not aggressively go after viewers.^{[citation needed]}

CFMT-TV's logo until 2002

In 2002, Rogers launched CJMT, or OMNI.2, to increase multicultural programming, and rebranded CFMT as OMNI.1. CFMT's programming for Asian and African communities moved to CJMT, while CFMT kept programming targeted to European and Latin American groups.

In October 2007, Rogers announced that the OMNI stations would move from 545 Lake Shore Boulevard West to 33 Dundas Street East.^[2] The move took place on October 19, 2009. CFMT and CJMT share the facility with Citytv Toronto, which moved to the building the previous month.

Until around 1990, CFMT was the original Toronto home of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!. At that time, both game shows moved to CTV flagship station CFTO-TV and stayed there until 2006, when Wheel of Fortune moved to Barrie A-Channel (later A, now CTV Two) affiliate CKVR-TV, while Jeopardy! remained on CFTO-TV. In 2008, when CBC Television acquired the Canadian television rights to the game shows, they both moved once again to CBC flagship station CBLT. In the past, CFMT-TV has identified itself on air as Channel 47/Cable 4 (reflecting both the over the air channel number and its channel position in the Greater Toronto Area through Rogers Cable) and as CFMT International.

Newscasts

OMNI.1 currently carries two local newscasts aimed at specific ethnic demographics:

• Omni News: Portuguese Edition - weeknights at 9:30 p.m.
  • Anchors/Reporters: Clara Abreu, João Vicente, Luís Medeiros

• Omni News: Italian Edition - weeknights at 8:00 p.m.
  • Anchor: Vincenzo Somma
  • Sports Anchor: Dino Cavalluzzo

A Cantonese newscast was previously aired on CFMT; it was moved to CJMT after that station's launch in 2002.

Transmitters

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Station	City of licence	Channel	ERP	HAAT	Transmitter Coordinates
CFMT-DT-1	London	48 (UHF) Virtual: 69.1 (PSIP)	25 kW	197.6 m	42°57′16″N 81°21′17″W / 42.95444°N 81.35472°W / 42.95444; -81.35472 (CFMT-TV-1)
CFMT-DT-2	Ottawa	27 (UHF) Virtual: 60.1 (PSIP)	15 kW	202.3 m	45°13′2″N 75°33′49″W / 45.21722°N 75.56361°W / 45.21722; -75.56361 (CFMT-DT-2)

Digital television and high definition

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which took place on August 31, 2011,^[3] CFMT-DT moved from its current pre-transition channel number, 64, to its post-transition and former analog channel number, 47, mainly due to the phaseout of channels 52-69.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Ethnic TV: A Tower of Babel?," Robert Stephens, Toronto Star, June 4, 1979, p. C9,
2. ^ "Development Fact Sheet". Downtown Yonge BIA. http://www.downtownyonge.com/Development_fact_sheet. Retrieved 2008-05-31. 
3. ^ http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/oca-bc.nsf/en/ca02336e.html

External links

• Omni.1
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CFMT-TV History
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CFMT-TV
• Query TV Fool's coverage map for CFMT