| British Columbia | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Branding | Global BC |
| Slogan | TV for BC |
| Channels | Digital: 22 (UHF) Virtual: 8.1 (PSIP) |
| Translators | See list |
| Affiliations | Global |
| Owner | Shaw Media (Shaw Television Limited Partnership) |
| First air date | October 31, 1960 |
| Call letters' meaning | CHANnel |
| Former callsigns | CHAN-TV (1960-2011) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 8 (VHF, 1960-2011) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1960-1961) CTV (1961-2001) |
| Transmitter power | 40 kilowatts |
| Height | 656 m |
| Website | Global BC |
CHAN-DT is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, broadcasting over-the-air on digital channel 22, and available via cable providers in the area on channel 11. Owned by Shaw Communications as a part of its Shaw Media division, it is the West Coast flagship station of the Global Television Network. CHAN-DT's studios are located in the nearby city of Burnaby.
The station is Global's owned-and-operated station in British Columbia, and currently uses the on-air brand Global BC, and was previously known as BCTV. The station is available throughout British Columbia through a large network of translators, and its 6:00 p.m. News Hour is the highest-rated newscast in the province and the highest-rated local newscast in Canada.[1] It is also carried on Bell TV channel 252, Shaw Direct channel 336 on the classic lineup and channel 5 on the advanced lineup, and Rogers Personal TV channel 119.
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CHAN began broadcasting on October 31, 1960 at 4:45 p.m. as an independent station,[2] joining CTV upon the new network's launch on October 1, 1961. Temporary studios were housed in Downtown Vancouver, at 1219 Richards Street, until its current studios on Enterprise Street in Burnaby were completed in early 1961. Soon after launch, the station began installing relay transmitters across the province, and now reaches 96 percent of British Columbia. Via OTA channel 8, CHAN also reaches an American audience in neighbouring Whatcom County, Washington.
In 1963, local entrepreneur Frank Griffiths, the owner of radio station CKNW, purchased the station from original owner Vantel Broadcasting, along with nearby CBC affiliate station CHEK-TV, based in Victoria on Vancouver Island, from its original owner, David Armstrong. CHEK then began airing a few CTV shows, usually at different times from CHAN. It would become a full CTV affiliate in 1981, but aired a shuffled schedule. Griffiths' Western Broadcasting Co. later sold a minority share to Selkirk Communications, buying back full control in 1989.
As early as 1971, CHAN began unofficially using the on-air name BCTV.[4][5] In 1973, BCTV became CHAN's official on-air brand, which it used until 2001, when it became Global BC. BCTV was retained for its local news programs up until February 2006, but the branding was so effective that many people still call the station by that name today.
CHAN was one of the backbones of the CTV network for many years and one of the network's most successful affiliates. However, it was always somewhat hostile toward CTV. Management believed that the network's flagship station, CFTO-TV in Toronto, received favouritism in the production of CTV's Canadian programming in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
In the 1990s, CHAN's goal became the production of a new, early-evening national newscast from its studios. In fact, several newscast pilots were produced at CHAN, suggesting the network was seriously considering such a move. However, that newscast never materialized; instead, CHAN began producing Canada Tonight, which aired on most WIC-owned stations beginning in the mid-nineties.
Nonetheless, until 1997, CHAN bought the provincial rights to several popular series from CFTO's parent company, Baton Broadcasting. However, tensions were exacerbated that year when Baton won a license for a new station in Vancouver, CIVT-TV. Baton became sole owner of CTV soon after CIVT's launch, and it became an open secret that CIVT would eventually replace CHAN as the CTV station for Vancouver. CHAN had signed a long-term contract several years prior that would not expire until 1999, but was extended to 2001. However, outside of the 40 hours of programming per week that this allowed for, and CHAN's own local news, the station had to rely on lower-profile programming supplied by parent company WIC. A small amount of CHUM Limited-produced programming also aired on CHAN at times during the 1997-2001 period, including CityLine.
In 2000, WIC's stations were purchased by Canwest, and as a result, CHAN was due to become the British Columbia O&O station of the Global Television Network. When BCTV's affiliation with CTV expired on September 1, 2001, a major shakeup in British Columbia television occurred:
CHAN-DT currently produces a total of 45 hours of local newscasts each week (with seven hours on weekdays, 5½ hours on Saturdays and 4½ hours on Sundays), along with an additional 3½ hours with Global's Vancouver-based national evening newscast Global National; unlike most Global stations that carry midday newscasts, CHAN airs its noon newscast seven days a week. The station's newscast schedule is very similar to that of an affiliate of the Big Three television networks in the United States (ABC, CBS or NBC). CHAN's news operation is well respected in the industry. Ever since the station decided to produce a one hour news bulletin in the late 1960s, a major part of the station's cash flow has gone into its news programming, and it has garnered high ratings and major awards since then. The station's on-air news style was even used as an inspiration for Ted Turner's CNN, as both use the newsroom as a backdrop during the broadcast.
In 1975, the current newsroom was constructed. It was rebuilt in the early nineties, moving the studio out of the newsroom, but keeping it as a backdrop, and remodelled again in 2001 and 2006. In addition to its various local newscasts, CHAN also produced Canada Tonight, an early-evening newscast focusing on national news. Two versions were produced: one for BC itself, hosted by CKNW radio commentator Bill Good (who later went to CIVT-TV, CTV's current Vancouver O&O station, and retired in December 2010) and a national version, hosted by Tony Parsons, who also presented CHAN's nightly news program, the News Hour. When Canwest purchased CHAN, the stories that were once sourced from CTV's other affiliates throughout the country, were replaced by stories sourced from Global's affiliates.
From 2001, when the station became Global BC, the news organization underwent a minor name change - BCTV News on Global. CHAN opted to keep the BCTV name for its newscasts, since the BCTV brand was still very well respected in the province. It also wanted to keep CIVT from using the name itself, as it contained the letters "CTV". In addition, CHAN became home to Global's national news centre and a new national newscast, Global National -- thus fulfilling its longstanding dream of producing a national newscast, currently anchored by former CTV and NBC correspondent Dawna Friesen (originally Kevin Newman beforehand). The program goes live from tape from Vancouver at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific Time Zone), and is followed by the News Hour at 6:00 p.m. with Chris Gailus. Carolyn Jarvis and Robin Gill share the anchoring duties on the weekend edition of Global National, followed by Robin Stickley, who anchors the weekend edition of the News Hour.
The BCTV brand was finally dropped when Global launched its new look on February 6, 2006. CHAN's local news brand became Global BC at this point. In 2006, Global struck a deal with the Canadian Traffic Network to supply the station with a Robinson R44 news helicopter with gyroscopic camera mounts. It will be shared with CKNW - the second news helicopter in Vancouver after that used by CIVT. [4] Global has named the helicopter Global 1 - the same designation used for the news helicopters of other Global stations.
On December 16, 2009, Tony Parsons anchored his final newscast at Global BC after 34 years as anchor of the News Hour.[7] It was expected that he would remain until after the 2010 Winter Olympics, but due to unknown reasons, Tony Parsons left the station much earlier than expected. Tony Parsons began anchoring CHEK Victoria's 10 PM newscast March 15, 2010 and also began anchoring the evening newscasts at CBUT on April 12, 2010.[8] [9]
Global BC debuted a new HD virtual set on October 4, 2010, but HD newscasts launched along with Global National's new anchor Dawna Friesen on September 20, which will utilize the same set with minor changes to the desk. A new graphics package also debuted. CHAN-DT uses Betacam SP analogue videotape for all of its local advertisements and non-live parts of their newscasts. MPEG-2 transmission is used in nearly all non-local broadcasts. The station is slowly moving away from Betacam SP and moving to a digital format.
Anchors
Global National
Weather team
Sports team
Traffic
Reporters
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For the most part, CHAN-DT airs a typical Global network schedule, but with a few differences.
CHAN operates the single largest private transmitter network in North America, with roughly one hundred transmitters (some of which are community-owned) serving 97 percent of British Columbia. Therefore, the network relies exclusively on cable and satellite in the remaining municipalities (including most where CFCN and CFRN were already available over-the-air before 2001).
Semi-satellites are in bold italics.
Note that the transmitters in Kelowna and area (CHKL-TV) are in addition to CHBC-TV, a separate Global station in Kelowna that originates its own local evening newscasts, but which carries Global BC's programming at virtually all other times.
| Station | City of license | Channel | ERP | HAAT | Transmitter Coordinates |
| CHAN-TV-1 | Chilliwack | 11 (VHF) | 0.009 kW | NA | |
| CHAN-TV-2 | Bowen Island | 3 (VHF) | 0.009 kW | NA | |
| CHAN-TV-3 | Squamish | 7 (VHF) | 0.009 kW | NA | |
| CHAN-TV-4 | Courtenay | 11 (VHF) | 2.55 kW | 402.6 m | |
| CHAN-TV-5 | Brackendale | 9 (VHF) | 0.01 kW | NA | |
| CHAN-TV-6 | Wilson Creek | 23 (UHF) | 19.3 kW | 174.3 m | |
| CHAN-TV-7 | Whistler | 9 (VHF) | 0.01 kW | NA | |
| CHKL-TV | Kelowna | 5 (VHF) | 7 kW | 509.6 m | |
| CHKL-TV-1 | Penticton | 10 (VHF) | 1.08 kW | 358 m | |
| CHKL-TV-2 | Vernon | 12 (VHF) | 0.564 kW | 176.2 m | |
| CHKL-TV-3 | Revelstoke | 7 (VHF) | 0.001 kW | NA | |
| CHKM-TV | Kamloops | 6 (VHF) | 4 kW | 152.7 m | |
| CHKM-TV-1 | Pritchard | 9 (VHF) | 0.008 kW | NA | |
| CHRP-TV-2 | Revelstoke | 9 (VHF) | 0.005 kW | NA | |
| CHSH-TV-2 | Chase | 13 (VHF) | 0.01 kW | NA | |
| CIFG-TV | Prince George | 12 (VHF) | 4.7 kW | 474 m | |
| CISR-TV | Santa Rosa | 68 (UHF) | 0.1 kW | NA | |
| CISR-TV-1 | Grand Forks | 7 (VHF) | 0.009 kW | NA | |
| CITM-TV | 100 Mile House | 3 (VHF) | 1.3 kW | 584.3 m | |
| CITM-TV-1 | Williams Lake | 13 (VHF) | 0.005 kW | NA | |
| CITM-TV-2 | Quesnel | 8 (VHF) | 0.005 kW | NA | |
| CKKM-TV | Oliver/Osoyoos | 3 (VHF) | 0.93 kW | 964 m | |
| CKTN-TV | Trail | 8 (VHF) | 18 kW | 480.4 m | |
| CKTN-TV-1 | Castlegar | 5 (VHF) | 0.009 kW | NA | |
| CKTN-TV-2 | Taghum | 23 (UHF) | 0.009 kW | NA | |
| CKTN-TV-3 | Nelson | 3 (VHF) | 0.33 kW | -569 m | |
| CKTN-TV-4 | Creston | 12 (VHF) | 0.01 kW | NA |
| Broadcasting in Digital | Yes (Vancouver transmitter only) |
| Programs in HD | Yes |
| News in HD | Yes |
| PSIP functioning properly | No |
CHAN has been broadcasting in digital since April 11, 2008 on channel 22[18] and will continue to do so on this channel after the digital transition deadline of August 31, 2011. On June 29, 2011, CHAN-DT increased its effective radiated power (ERP) from 8.3 kW to its post-transitional allotment of 40 kW. Note that the Vancouver transmitter is the station's only one required to go digital by the transition deadline. Shaw Communications has committed to converting all of the other over-the-air transmitters to digital by 2016.
Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display CHAN-DT's virtual channel as 8.1.
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