A-Channel (Craig Media)

Infobox Network
network_name = A-Channel
network_
country = Canada
network_type = Defunct Broadcast television system
available = Semi-national; urban areas of Alberta and Manitoba
owner = Craig Media Inc. (1997-2004) CHUM Limited (2004-2005)
key_people = Drew Craig
launch_date = September 18, 1997
closure_date = August 2, 2005 (relaunched as Citytv)
founder =
brand =

A-Channel was a Canadian television system owned by Craig Media from 1997 to 2004 and CHUM Limited from 2004 to 2005. It consisted of Craig's television stations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton, and was the company's unsuccessful attempt to build a national network.

CHUM Limited, which acquired Craig Media in 2004, merged these stations into its flagship Citytv system on August 2, 2005. The same date when the A-Channel name was transferred to the NewNet stations in Southern Ontario and Vancouver Island, which are now owned and operated by CTVglobemedia under the A name. The three original Craig Media A-Channel stations are now owned and operated by Rogers Media.

History

A-Channel was first used by Craig Media as it sought to develop a national presence. Originally, Craig owned only two stations in Manitoba: CKX, a CBC Television affiliate in Brandon; and CHMI, branded as the "Manitoba Television Network" (or MTN), in Portage la Prairie. Looking to expand, Craig decided to counter CanWest Global's attempts to obtain licenses from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for television stations in Alberta, with a proposal it dubbed "The Alberta Channel", or "A-Channel" for short. During the first round of hearings in the early 1990s, neither company obtained a licence. However, after a second round in the mid-1990s, Craig won against CanWest. (CanWest later bought out Western International Communications and assumed control of its Alberta-based stations.)

A-Channel stations in Edmonton (CKEM) and Calgary (CKAL) were launched in 1997. They billed themselves as very locally-oriented stations, with programming decisions made in Alberta and not Toronto. Programming included the local morning show "The Big Breakfast", and "Prime Ticket Movies", a brand initially used at MTN. MTN adopted the A-Channel name in 1999.

Craig established the A-Channel Production Fund which provided financing for made-in-Alberta television movies which A-Channel would air. The most notable of these was an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol" starring Jack Palance.

In the late 1990s, Craig tried to expand the A-Channel network to other markets, either by acquisition or by pursuing new licenses. When Canwest purchased WIC, Craig attempted to force the company to resell WIC's Hamilton station CHCH (as Canwest already owned CIII in the Toronto/Hamilton market). It also pursued stations up for grabs in Montreal (CFCF) and Vancouver (CKVU), and applied for a new licence in Victoria. All these attempts failed: Canwest was allowed to keep CHCH; Craig was outbid by other buyers for CFCF and CKVU; and CHUM won the Victoria licence (CIVI). However, in 2001, the company's persistence seemed to pay off: The CRTC granted Craig a licence for a station in Toronto, CKXT (known as Toronto 1), which, while not officially part of A-Channel, broadcast a similar program lineup and also adopted a similar logo.

In Edmonton, labour issues led to a strike on September 17 2003, when employees of the city's A-Channel went on strike during negotiations for a first contract. [ [http://www.cep1900.ca/strikefiles/letter%20to%20GTA.pdf Letter to local union presidents] ] The station filled airtime primarily with live feeds of MTV Canada.Fact|date=February 2007 The labour dispute was resolved on February 14 2004. [ [http://www.wsws.org/articles/2004/feb2004/labr-f24.shtml A-Channel employees ratify new collective agreement] ]

On April 12, 2004, CHUM Limited announced a deal to purchase Craig Media for $265 million. The sale was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on November 19, 2004, and was completed on December 1. CHUM had to sell off Toronto 1, because it already owned stations in Toronto and nearby Barrie. Toronto 1 was sold to Quebecor Media, owners of the media units TVA and Sun Media.

In February 2005, CHUM announced it would align Craig's A-Channel stations with its existing major-market stations under the Citytv name. The change took effect on August 2 of the same year, when the A-Channel name was transferred to CHUM's NewNet stations. With the subsequent takeover of CHUM Limited in 2007, all three of the Craig Media A-Channel stations are now owned by Rogers Communications and continue to operate under the Citytv name, while the former NewNet stations are now owned by CTVglobemedia operating under the A name.

Programming

A significant amount of the old A-Channel system's programming was subcontracted from CHUM, which did not have stations in the same markets. For several years before CHUM's acquisition of Craig Media, business analysts were already suggesting that some kind of merger between the two companies was likely, in part because of their already-established business relationship. The purchase of CHUM programming was diminished significantly following CKXT's launch, but increased following CHUM's purchase in the months prior to integration into Citytv.

Original programming on the old A-Channel stations included the police reality series "To Serve and Protect", the drama "1-800-Missing" and the variety series "Pepsi Breakout" and "MTV Select".

tations

* Calgary/Lethbridge - CKAL
* Edmonton/Red Deer - CKEM
* Portage la Prairie/Winnipeg - CHMI

CKXT in Toronto, then known as "Toronto One", carried most of the system's non-CHUM programming from 2003 to 2005. Its logo was also similar to the A-Channel logo, although with a numeral 1 in the square instead of a letter A.

logans

*"Very Independent" (1997-2003)
*"Connected To You" (2003-2005)

References