CBAFT-DT

CBAFT-DT, branded as Télévision de Radio-Canada Acadie, is Radio-Canada's television service in Atlantic Canada, serving Acadians in the Maritimes and Franco-Newfoundlanders in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Prior to September 2, 2008, the station was known as Télévision de Radio-Canada Atlantique. It has now been rebranded as part of the public broadcaster's efforts to better reflect the region it serves.^[1]

Its primary studios and transmitter are located in Moncton, New Brunswick and has additional news bureaus in Edmundston, Bathurst, Caraquet, Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick;^[2] Halifax, Nova Scotia;^[3] St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador;^[4] and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.^[5]

The service was launched at 6:25 p.m. on December 21, 1959 from Moncton on channel 11. The station slowly added rebroadcasters, such as one serving Fredericton and Saint John in 1973 on channel 5.^[6] Radio-Canada later converted CJBR-TV-1 Edmundston, a retransmitter of a former affiliate in Rimouski, Quebec on channel 13, to a rebroadcaster of CBAFT.

Unlike all other Radio-Canada stations, programming in the Atlantic region airs one hour later than its scheduled time in the rest of Canada: this noted by the phrase Une heure plus tard dans les Maritimes, present on nearly all Radio-Canada network promos. (Due to Newfoundland's small Francophone population, the correct time for programs there is only noted on local promos.)

Local programming

Le Téléjournal/Acadie, formerly Le Téléjournal/Atlantique, daily newscast airing every day at 6:00 p.m. AT. Abbé Lanteigne anchors the program from Monday to Thursday. Martin Robert anchors from Friday to Sunday.

Le Téléjournal midi/Acadie, formerly Le Téléjournal midi/Atlantique, a newscast airing weekdays at 12:30 p.m. AT, with Abbé Lanteigne anchoring.

Luc et Luc (Dec. 2007–), a talk show hosted by comedian Luc LeBlanc. The program is recorded from the Théâtre l’Escaouette in Moncton.^[7]

Exchange agreement with RFO

In May 2010, it was announced that CBAFT will be exchanging news stories and reporters with Télé Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the RFO outlet for the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, in an agreement made with France Télévisions, the public broadcaster that oversees RFO (since renamed Outre-Mer 1ère, with the local affiliate called Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon 1ère). In addition, Télé Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon will also broadcast Le Téléjournal/Acadie to local viewers there, as well as on France Ô, which showcases RFO programming for viewers in Metropolitan France. In consequence, due to Télé Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon's availability on Canadian cable and satellite, the program will be available to viewers across Canada as well. This exchange was following the arrival of the aerial TNT digital television service to Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which offers only RFO and Metropolitan France channels, unlike the local cable system, which offers Canadian and American channels, including CBAFT.^[8][9]

Transmitters

Notes

1. ^ Currently licensed as transmitters of CBFT Montreal. These transmitters carried the CBFT signal before switching to the CBAFT signal in the mid-1990s, but have not yet been officially reassigned to the latter's licence, although the CBC finally applied to do so in 2010.^[10] It was previously believed that CBFT-11 Churchill Falls and CBFT-12 Labrador City had similarly switched their signal to CBAFT, but this was never confirmed.

Digital transition

CBC plans on converting CBAFT's Moncton transmitter to digital by 2011 August 31.

Transmitters in mandatory markets are required to go digital or be taken off the air by the transition deadline of 2011 August 31. CBC had orginially decided that none of its rebroadcasters will switch to digital. These CBAFT rebroadcasters are in mandatory markets:

• CBAFT-1 and CBAFT-10 Fredericton, NB
• CBFJ-TV St John's, NL
• CBHFT Halifax, NS
• CBAFT-5 Charlottetown, PE

However, on 2011 August 16 the CRTC granted the CBC permission to continue operating twenty-two repeaters in mandatory markets, including the above, in analogue until 2012 August 31, in which by then they must either convert to digital or close down. This is pending the corporation's licence renewal process that will include an evaluation of its transition plans.^[11]

The requirement remains for any of corporation's full power transmitters occupying channels 52 to 69, including CBHFT-6 in Digby, Nova Scotia, to either relocate to channels 2 to 51 or become low power transmitters.

References

External links

• Radio-Canada Acadie (French)
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CBAFT History
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CBHFT History
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CBAFT
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CBHFT
• Query TV Fool's coverage map for CBAFT
• Query TV Fool's coverage map for CBHFT