CBMT-DT

For the radio station in La Tabatière, Quebec that uses the calls "CBMT-FM", see CBVE-FM.
CBMT-DT
City of license Montreal, Quebec
Branding CBC Television
Slogan Canada Lives Here
Channels Digital: 21 (UHF)
Virtual: 6.1 (PSIP)
Translators see below
Affiliations CBC
Owner Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
First air date January 10, 1954
Call letters' meaning Canadian
Broadcasting Corporation
Montreal
Television
Transmitter power 107 kW (digital)
Height 259.9 m (analog)
300 m (digital)
Website CBC Montreal

CBMT-DT is the CBC's television station in Montreal, Quebec. Programming on CBMT is seen on a network of more than 50 rebroadcasters throughout Quebec and in three communities in northern Manitoba: Brochet, Poplar River, and Shamattawa.

Contents

History

CBMT was Montreal's second television station; previously English and French-language programs had shared time on CBFT, Canada's first television station.

By the end of 1953, Canada had about a dozen television stations either licensed or under construction, and American competition was about to arrive in Montreal with the construction of WCAX-TV in Burlington, Vermont and WIRI-TV in Plattsburgh, New York (now known as WPTZ). The CBC decided that it was imperative to stop time-sharing in English and in French, so CBMT was included in the network's expansion plans for television.

This station was branded in the late 1970s and early 1980s as Montreal 6, becoming CBC Television Montreal 6 by the mid 1980s, and CBC Television Montreal during the 1990s.

Since 1997, CBMT has been the only full-fledged CBC station in Quebec province. Previously, the only other CBC station in the province had been Quebec City's CKMI-TV. However, in 1997, CKMI switched its affiliation to the Global Television Network. CBMT set up a full-power rebroadcaster, CBVE, on CKMI's old channel 5, while CKMI moved to channel 20.

CBMT transmits from the Mount Royal candelabra tower, in Mount Royal Park, overlooking the city of Montreal. As a result, channel 6 experiences severe multipath interference in parts of the city and South Shore.

It was also previously seen unscrambled on C-band satellite but this has since ended in the early-2000s, when it switched to a proprietary digital satellite signal. When the signal was sent unscrambled on the C-band, many American satellite viewers tuned into CBMT for a variety of news, entertainment, and sports — particularly CBC's Olympic Games TV broadcasts, which gave a different perspective than the American broadcasts. That Canadian signal is still available, but it requires the purchase of a dedicated and expensive receiver, or a grey market subscription to a Canadian satellite service. CBMT is also still available on many cable systems in Northern Vermont, Northern New York State, as far east as Belfast, Maine, and as far west as Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

News operation

Like most other CBC stations, CBMT has an evening local newscast from 5 to 6:30 p.m. entitled CBC News: Montreal at Five/5:30/Six (title depending on time), anchored by Debra Arbec, Andrew Chang and Frank Cavallaro.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

Station slogans

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News team[2]

Anchors

Weather

Sports

Reporters

Transmitters

Station City of licence Channel ERP HAAT Transmitter Coordinates
CBMT-1 Trois-Rivières 13 (UHF) 90 kW 377.8 m
CBMT-3 Sherbrooke 50 (UHF) 14 kW 184.4 m
CBMT-4 Thetford Mines 32 (UHF) 1.6 kW 286.2 m
CBMCT Chibougamau 4 (VHF) 0.238 kW 118.2 m
CBMDT Mistissini 12 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBMET La Tuque 9 (VHF) 0.313 kW 104.9 m
CBMGT Chisasibi 12 (VHF) 0.01 kW 25.7 m
CBMHT Waskaganish 12 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBMIT Baie-Comeau 28 (UHF) 10.95 kW 108 m
CBMK-TV Kuujjuarapik 12 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBMLT La Tabatière 10 (VHF) 0.2 kW 169 m
CBMMT Murdochville 21 (UHF) 0.02 kW NA
CBMNT Wemindji 12 (VHF) 0.01 kW 25.1 m
CBMO-TV Povungnituk 12 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBMPT Rivière-Saint-Paul 11 (VHF) 0.12 kW 70 m
CBMQ-TV Kuujjuaq 12 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBMRT Fermont 9 (VHF) 0.089 kW 83.3 m
CBMST Blanc-Sablon 5 (VHF) 0.93 kW 116.7 m
CBMUT Harrington-Harbour 13 (VHF) 0.244 kW 87.8 m
CBMVT Vieux-Fort 13 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBMXT Saint-Augustin 7 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBMYT Îles-de-la-Madeleine 7 (VHF) 6.9 kW 199.7 m
CBJET Saguenay 58 (UHF) 0.595 kW 183.7 m
CBJET-1 Alma 32 (UHF) 4 kW 60 m
CBSET Sept-Îles 3 (VHF) 3.7 kW 238.7 m
CBSET-1 Schefferville 7 (VHF) 0.445 kW 135.3 m
CBVA-TV Escuminac 18 (UHF) 9.95 kW 33.8 m
CBVB-TV Chandler 23 (UHF) 3.09 kW -8.2 m
CBVD-TV Malartic 5 (VHF) 19.2 kW 187.6 m
CBVE-TV Quebec City 11 (VHF) 84 kW 500.1 m
CBVF-TV Port-Daniel 16 (UHF) 2.54 kW 110 m
CBVG-TV Gaspé 18 (UHF) 10.1 kW 424.5 m
CBVH-TV Wakeham 24 (UHF) 0.1 kW NA
CBVI-TV Inukjuak 13 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBVN-TV New-Carlisle 45 (UHF) 11.32 kW 85.6 m
CBVP-TV Percé 14 (UHF) 10.7 kW 405.4 m
CBVR-TV New-Richmond 27 (UHF) 8.5 kW 171.9 m
CBVU-TV Maniwaki 15 (UHF) 3.15 kW 108 m
CBVW-TV Waswanipi 8 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBVX-TV Salluit 12 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBDE-TV Brochet, MB 9 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBDG-TV Shamattawa, MB 9 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA
CBDI-TV Poplar River, MB 13 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA

Audience outside Canada

CBMT also has substantial viewership in the United States, mostly from Maine to northeastern New York. It is also seen via cable TV in Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota — CBMT is the CBC station of choice for Charter Communications CATV systems in Bay City, Midland, Mount Pleasant, Alpena and Marquette.

CBMT is also broadcast in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago on Flow Cable[3] and in the Bahamas on Cable Bahamas.[4]

Digital television and high definition

Analog Channel Virtual Channel Digital Channel Programming
6 6.1 21.1 main CBMT programming / CBC

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which takes place on August 31, 2011,[5] CBMT has move from its pre-transition channel number, 20, to its post-transition channel number, 21. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display CBMT's virtual channel as 6.1. Digital frequencies and their PSIPs for CBMT's repeaters may vary.

Transmitters in mandatory markets are required to go digital or be taken off the air by the transition deadline of August 31, 2011. The CBC had originally decided that none of its rebroadcasters will transition to digital and instead will remain in analog. The CBC has rebroadcasters of CBMT in the following mandatory markets:

However, on August 16, 2011, the CRTC granted the CBC permission to continue operating 22 repeaters in mandatory markets, including the above, in analogue until August 31, 2012, in which by then they must either convert to digital or close down. This is pending the corporation's license renewal process, which will include an evaluation of its transition plans.[6]

The requirement remains for any of corporation's full power transmitters occupying channels 52 to 69 to either relocate to channels 2 to 51 or become low power transmitters. In some cases, CBC has opted reduce the power of existing transmitters to low power transmitters, which will result in signal loss for some viewers.

CBMT has been broadcasting a digital signal over-the-air since February 21, 2005.[7] The analogue channel 6 was silenced at 12:01 am on September 1, 2011.

See also

References

External links