CTV Atlantic

This article is about a terrestrial television system. For the cable-only channel airing CTV Two programming, see CTV Two Atlantic.

"ATV (Canada)" redirects here. For the Bell Media-owned Canadian television system that has used the URL atv.ca from 2008 until 2011, see CTV Two.

CTV Atlantic

Type	Broadcast television network
Branding	"The Maritimes Are Watching"
Country	Canada
Availability	Most communities in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, also available nationally via satellite
Owner	Bell Media
Key people	Mike Elgie - Vice President & General Manager
Launch date	September 1972
Former names	ATV (1972 - October 10, 2005), Atlantic Television System
Official website	CTV Atlantic

CTV Atlantic (formerly known as the Atlantic Television System, or ATV) is a system of four television stations in the Canadian Maritimes, owned and operated by the CTV Television Network, a division of Bell Media. Despite the channel's name, the station is not available on basic cable or analog in Newfoundland and Labrador even though that province is part of Atlantic Canada.

The CTV Atlantic stations are:

• CJCH-DT - Halifax, Nova Scotia (flagship station)
• CKCW-DT - Moncton, New Brunswick/Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
• CKLT-DT - Saint John, New Brunswick
• CJCB-TV - Sydney, Nova Scotia

All four stations refer to themselves on air as CTV, not by their call letters. CJCB and CKCW simulcast CJCH for most of the day, but air separate commercials and local telethons. CKLT is a full repeater of CKCW. However, all four stations are separately licenced by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Station information and history is discussed in each station's own article.

History

The original ATV logo, used from 1972 to 1997.

CJCH was a charter CTV affiliate when it started in 1961. CJCB and CKCW were established as CBC Television stations in 1954. CKCW affiliated with CTV in 1969, adding sister station CKLT the same year, and CJCB affiliated with CTV in 1972. Between 1969 and 1976, CKCW's relay stations in Northern New Brunswick (Campbellton, Upsalquitch Lake and Newcastle (Miramichi), plus three relay stations in Quebec) carried a combined CBC/CTV schedule, becoming full relays of CKCW after CHSJ Saint John, the CBC affiliate in New Brunswick, established their own relays in the area.

CHUM Limited, a Toronto broadcaster, bought CJCH in 1970, CJCB in 1971 and CKCW and CKLT in 1972. After CJCB switched to CTV, ATV merged the four stations into the ATV system. Shortly afterward, CKCW opened a rebroadcaster in Charlottetown, making Prince Edward Island the last province to get CTV. In 1997, as part of a group deal, the ATV stations were sold to CTV.

ATV primary logo from 1997-2005

Although each station originally produced its own news and local programming in the beginning, they too were merged in the early 1980s. A side effect of this is that the newscasts often include stories about things like local politics that can be of little interest to viewers in other parts of the region, and a common complaint among residents of both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is that CTV News focuses too much on the other province. However, CTV Atlantic has had some of the highest ratings of any local newscasts in Canada, although its presence and viewing audience is somewhat less in PEI mainly as a result of competition from a local CBC station which provides the province's only PEI-specific newscast.

On October 11, 2005, ATV was renamed "CTV Atlantic". Most other CTV owned-and-operated stations had been renamed the prior week.

Programming

CTV Atlantic produces approximately 26 hours of local programming each week.

• Live at 5 is CTV Atlantic's flagship early evening news magazine program.

• CTV News airs weekdays at noon (on A Atlantic), 6:00 p.m., and 11:30 p.m. and on weekends at 6:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. The flagship weekday 6:00 p.m. newscast was formerly known as the ATV Evening News while the 11:30 p.m. newscast was ATV News Nightside

• CTV Atlantic also produces a version of Breakfast Television under licence from Rogers Communications, (the owner of Citytv), which airs weekdays 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on A Atlantic.

• Mass for Shut Ins airs every Sunday at 11:30 am and it is filmed at CJCB Sydney and produced by CTV Atlantic and the Diocese of Antigonish. It has aired on CTV Atlantic since 1963.

News programs such as CTV News and Live at 5 are produced at CJCH's Robie Street studio in Halifax. CTV News also has news bureaus in Charlottetown, New Glasgow, Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton.

On air staff

Current

Anchors:

• Jayson Baxter, anchor of news updates during Canada AM/fill-in anchor for CTV News at Noon on CTV Two Atlantic (Also co-host and news anchor for CTV Morning Live on CTV Two Atlantic)
• Steve Murphy, anchor of CTV News at noon and CTV News at 6:00 p.m. weekday editions, former co-host of Live at 5
• Bruce Frisko, co-host of Live at 5 and anchor of CTV News at 11:30 p.m. weekday editions/Fill-in anchor of CTV News at 6:00 p.m. weekday editions
• Starr Dobson, co-host of Live at 5
• Paul Hollingsworth, anchor of CTV News at 6:00 p.m. weekend editions/Primary fill-in anchor for CTV News at 6:00 weekday editions
• Felicia Yap, anchor of CTV News at 11:30 p.m. weekend editions/fill-in anchor

Weather:

• Cindy Day, weekday meteorologist - noon, Live At 5, 6:00 p.m. and 11:30 p.m./fill-in anchor for Live at 5
• Tina Simpkin, meteorologist for CTV Morning Live on CTV Two Atlantic and news updates during Canada AM/weekday fill-in meteorologist
• Felicia Yap, weather anchor for CTV News at 6:00 weekend editions

Sports:

• Paul Hollingsworth, sports reporter (also Atlantic Canada correspondent for TSN)

Reporters:

• Maria Panopalis, Take 5 (arts & entertainment segment on Live at 5)/Primary Fill-in anchor on Live At 5
• Rick Grant, Senior Halifax general assignment reporter
• Paul Hollingsworth, part-time Halifax general assignment reporter
• Dan MacIntosh, New Glasgow general assignment reporter
• Dan Viau, Charlottetown general assignment reporter
• Ron Shaw, Halifax general assignment reporter
• Jill Matthews, Halifax general assignment reporter
• Randy MacDonald, Sydney general assignment reporter
• Jacqueline Foster, Halifax general assignment reporter/fill-in anchor
• Andy Campbell, Fredericton general assignment reporter
• Mike Cameron, Saint John general assignment reporter
• Dina Bartolacci, Saint John general assignment reporter
• Todd Battis, CTV National News Atlantic Bureau Chief, former host of "The Scene" entertainment segment on Live At 5/fill-in anchor
• Kelland Sundhall, Halifax general assignment reporter/fill-in weekend weather and news anchor
• Kayla Hounsell, Halifax general assignment reporter/fill-in anchor
• Jayson Baxter, health reporter
• Felicia Yap, Halifax general assignment reporter
• Garreth MacDonald, Halifax general assignment reporter
• Alyse Hand, Halifax general assignment reporter
• Nick Moore, Moncton general assignment reporter
• Jonathan MacInnis, Moncton general assignment reporter
• Ashley Dunbar, Saint John general assignment reporter

Former

• Dave Wright, anchor of the ATV Evening News/original host of Live At 5 (died in 2011)
• Bruce Graham, anchor of the ATV Evening News (later at CIHF-TV, now retired)
• Terry Glecoff, anchor of the early and late ATV News (77-79)
• Ron Kronstein, co-host of Live at 5 (currently at CIHF-TV)
• Nancy Regan, co-host of Live at 5
• Elizabeth Chiu, reporter (now at CBHT Halifax)
• Jodi Cooke, reporter/fill-in anchor (now at CJON St. John's)
• Paul Mennier, sports anchor for/co-host of Live at 5
• Peter Coade, meteorologist (now at CBHT)
• Glen Carter, reporter/fill-in anchor (now at CJON St. John's)
• Richard Zurawski, meteorologist (now at CHNI-FM, CJNI-FM and CKNI-FM)
• Steve Weagle, meteorologist (now at WPTV West Palm Beach, Fla.)
• Laura Lee Langley, co-host of Live At 5 (later at CIHF-TV, now out of television)
• Phonse Jessome, reporter (now at CBHT Halifax)
• Bill McKay, anchor of noon and late evening news
• MairiAnna Bachynsky, reporter/host of "The Scene" entertainment segment on Live At 5
• Connell Smith, reporter (now at CBD-FM Saint John)
• Kate Letterick, reporter (now at CBAM-FM Moncton)
• Bill Jessome, reporter/fill-in anchor
• Yvonne Colbert, co-host of Live At 5/"On Your Side" reporter (now Senior Weekend News Producer for CBC Television in the Maritimes)
• Janet Stewart, reporter/weekend & fill-in anchor (later at CIHF-TV, now at CBWT Winnipeg)
• Janice Landry, weekend co-anchor/reporter
• Heather Proudfoot, reporter (died in 2007)
• Dr. Stewart Cameron, weather anchor/Live At 5 health reporter
• John Waterman, anchor of ATV LateNews/reporter/news anchor for Breakfast Television (now at CKBW-FM Bridgewater)
• Peter Mallette, weekend anchor/reporter/Senior News Producer
• Alex Vass, reporter
• Paul Greene, reporter (now at CIXN-FM Fredericton)
• Jonathan Kay, reporter/fill-in anchor (now producer, CTV National News Toronto)
• Jonathan Gravenor, weekend co-anchor/reporter
• Anne Drewa, reporter/fill-in anchor (now at CHAN-TV Vancouver)
• Kelly Ryan, reporter (later with CIHF-TV, now with CBC Vancouver)
• Peter Ryan, reporter
• Nicolle Carlin, reporter (later with CBAT, now at CBZF-FM Fredericton)
• Lindsey Deluce, reporter/fill-in anchor (now at CP24 Toronto)
• Erin O'Halloran, reporter
• Joanne Clancy, reporter/fill-in anchor/News Anchor for Breakfast Television (now Senior News Producer, CTV Atlantic)
• Marsha Andrews, weather (moved to Vancouver?, early 1980s)
• Liz Rigney, former co-host of Breakfast Television, reporter and "Take 5" Entertainment Reporter on Live at 5 (now CTV Atlantic's Head of Community Relations & Promotions)
• Jeff Harrington, reporter (now at CICI-TV Sudbury, Ontario)
• Lane Farguson, reporter
• Mark Patrone, reporter (now a Commissioner for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission)

The above list is woefully incomplete, writing off the entire history of ATV New Brunswick which became the highest-rated television station in the province under the leadership of then News Director and anchor, Doug James (who later went on to become an international correspondent for CNN). The late 70's were the golden years for television journalism in New Brunswick, with ATV breaking numerous enterprise stories including a liquor-hauling Tory kickback scheme, a scandal involving city officials and others living in subsidized public housing, a report on the storage of dangerous chemicals in uptown Saint John by the Irvings and attempts by the city to muzzle the fire chief's concerns and many others. Today CTV Atlantic's coverage of New Brunswick, and in particular Saint John, is woefully inadequate. Although it boasts of being Live and Local, local generally means the bulk of news the station reports on occurs in Halifax-Dartmouth.

External links

• CTV Atlantic