| Southwest British Columbia | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| Branding | Citytv Vancouver |
| Slogan | Everywhere! |
| Channels | Digital: 33 (UHF) Virtual: 10.1 (PSIP) |
| Translators | Digital: Victoria Analog: Courtenay / Whistler (See Transmitter Details) |
| Affiliations | Citytv |
| Owner | Rogers Media (Rogers Broadcasting, Ltd.) |
| First air date | September 1, 1976 |
| Call letters' meaning | C K Vancouver UHF (refers to original UHF allocation for analog signal and UHF allocation for digital signal) |
| Sister station(s) | CHNM-DT, CKWX (AM), CKLG-FM, CFUN-FM |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 10 (VHF, 1985-2011) 21 (UHF, 1976-1985) Digital: 47 (UHF, 2010-2011) |
| Former affiliations | Independent (1976-1997) Global (1997-2001) Independent (2001-2002) |
| Transmitter power | 8.3 kilowatts |
| Height | 670 metres |
| Website | Citytv Vancouver |
CKVU-DT (branded on-air as Citytv Vancouver) is a television station based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Owned by Rogers Media (and formerly a Global owned-and-operated station (O&O)), it was the second station to become part of the Citytv system in Canada.
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CKVU's history dates back to 1975, when Western Approaches Ltd. was awarded the third licence for a Vancouver television station by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).[1] The station was originally assigned UHF channel 26, but it was instead given channel 21 prior to its launch. It first went on the air on September 1, 1976, becoming the first station in Vancouver to transmit on UHF. In addition, the station was carried on cable channel 13, an assignment it retains to this day. In its first year of operation, CKVU lost more than $3 million.
In 1979, the station was approaching the break-even point. It was also under the scrutiny of the CRTC at that time for a lack of local programming. According to the CRTC, CKVU did not produce its own newscasts, but instead relayed newscasts from Global in Ontario. That same year, Allarcom purchased 5% common stock and 7% of preferred stock in CKVU.[1] CanWest Pacific, a subsidiary of CanWest Broadcasting, loaned $4 million to Western Approaches so it could thwart a takeover attempt from Allarcom. Three years later, CanWest loaned another $8 million to Western Approaches to reduce the station's debt with the condition that CanWest would have the option to purchase Western Approaches' shares in CKVU.
CKVU started broadcasting a VHF signal on channel 10 on February 13, 1985, which improved the station's coverage and ratings (channel 10 was originally reserved for a proposed CBC Television station in Victoria,[2] but that station never went on the air due to lack of funds, clearing the way for CKVU to switch its channel position). CKVU moved to VHF to avoid interference with KTZZ (on Channel 22) in Seattle, which signed on after CKVU's switch to channel 10. Until it was shut down on August 31, 2011 as part of Canada's digital television transition, CKVU's analog terrestrial signal, transmitted from a very high location on Saltspring Island, could be received throughout much of southwest British Columbia and northwest Washington, as well as in some areas of north Seattle. This analog transmitter was replaced with two UHF transmitters serving Vancouver and Victoria, both with lower coverage areas, but with improved coverage to those particular metropolitan areas. CKVU also has a rebroadcast transmitter west of Courtenay, callsign CKVU-TV-1, which is received over-the-air on North Vancouver Island (off the air since transmitter fire in October 2008).
On December 6, 1985, CanWest announced that it had purchased the majority interest in CKVU, subject to CRTC approval. Western Approaches went to court in an attempt to block the sale, which resulted in a dispute between Western Approaches, Allarcom and CanWest that lasted several years.
On June 19, 1987, the Supreme Court of British Columbia ordered Western Approaches to sell its interest in CKVU to CanWest, subject to CRTC approval.[1] Once the sale was approved and all other legal issues were settled, CanWest gained 100% ownership and control of CKVU on July 13, 1988. Under CanWest's ownership, the station was renamed U.TV, and its audience and profits increased. Before U.TV, the station used the names CKVU 13, VU13, and CKVU.
On Monday, August 18, 1997, after 9 years as U.TV, the station was renamed "Global", as the CanWest Global System (of which CKVU had been a member since its launch in 1990) was relaunched as the Global Television Network.
In 2000, Canwest acquired Western International Communications, the parent company of CHAN (BCTV) in Vancouver and CHEK in Victoria. The CRTC approved the purchase on July 6, 2000 on the condition that Canwest divest CKVU.[3] The CRTC further approved the transfer of CKVU to a CanWest subsidiary, CKVU Sub Inc., on December 21, placing the station in a blind trust while CanWest looked for a buyer.[4]
CHUM Limited applied to the CRTC to acquire CKVU Sub Inc. on July 26, 2001[5] for $175 million, with the intention of making it a Citytv station similar to CITY in Toronto, Ontario. CHUM planned on spending $8.03 million on British Columbia-based independent productions, $5.95 million on local news and information, and $1.37 million on local culture, social policy and talent development over a period of seven years.
A large network shuffle occurred on September 1, when CHAN's contract with CTV expired. CHAN, now under Canwest ownership, switched affiliations from CTV to Global. As a result, CIVT, an independent station owned by Baton Broadcasting, became a CTV owned-and-operated station (O&O), while CKVU was renamed ckvu13. While CKVU began airing CHUM programming immediately following the switch, the station remained in trust pending regulatory approval of the sale.
CHUM gained CRTC approval for its acquisition of CKVU Sub Inc. on October 15, 2001.[6] Because CHUM owned CIVI (part of the NewNet system, later A-Channel then A and now CTV Two) in Victoria, the CRTC imposed its usual licence conditions for large-market twinsticks: CKVU was prohibited from airing more than 10% of the programming aired on CIVI, and newscasts were required to be separately managed.
At 6 a.m. PDT on July 22, 2002, CKVU dropped the ckvu13 branding and became part of the Citytv system. A new morning program (Breakfast Television) launched immediately after the rebrand, and the station's 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts were rebranded CityPulse on the same day (renamed CityNews in 2005).
In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (later known as CTVglobemedia and now Bell Media) acquired CHUM Limited and its assets, including CKVU and the Citytv family. The acquisition was approved by the CRTC on June 8, 2007, on the condition that CTVglobemedia sell off CHUM's Citytv stations (including CKVU) to another buyer due to the fact they have CIVT-DT in the same base as this station;[7] Rogers Communications announced its intention to purchase the five Citytv stations three days later.[8] The transaction was approved by the CRTC on September 28, and Rogers became the official owner of CKVU on October 31, 2007.
On October 25, 2008, a fire at CKVU's transmitter site southwest of Courtenay took the station's channel 5 signal off the air. It is currently unknown if the station will attempt repairs to the transmitter or simply delete it from its licence altogether.
Currently, CKVU produces a total of 17½ hours of local newscasts each week, all consisting of Citytv's 3½ hour-long local morning news franchise Breakfast Television.
The station's news operations underwent significant changes in July 2006 following the announcement of Bell Globemedia's acquisition of CHUM Limited;[9] CKVU's CityNews 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts were cancelled, while its Breakfast Television morning show was expanded from three hours to four hours.
On January 19, 2010, Rogers Communications announced that it was laying off six employees at CKVU. The layoffs also resulted in the cancellation of local productions Lunch Television and The CityNews List, while Breakfast Television was cut from four hours to three.[10]
Breakfast Television
| Station | City of licence | Transmitter Type | Channel | ERP | HAAT | Transmitter Coordinates |
| CKVU-TV-1 | Courtenay | Analog | 5 (VHF) | 17.7 kW | 82.5 m | |
| CKVU-DT-2 | Victoria | Digital | 27 (UHF) Virtual: 27.1 (PSIP) |
2.75 kW | 99.6 m | |
| CJWM-TV | Whistler | Analog | 21 (UHF) | 0.001 kW | N/A |
Note: The Courtenay transmitter has been off-air since a fire that occurred in October 2008.
| Broadcasting in Digital | Yes (Vancouver and Victoria transmitters) |
| Programs in HD | Yes |
| News in HD | No (Widescreen SD) |
| PSIP Functioning Properly | No |
On February 23, 2010, the station received approval from the CRTC to broadcast in digital from Mount Seymour rather than from its current analog transmitter on Saltspring Island.[16] This transmitter improved signal coverage for the Vancouver and Fraser Valley areas, but reception in Victoria was reduced. CKVU-DT signed on the air on March 2, 2010.[17]
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which took place on August 31, 2011,[18] CKVU shut down its analog signal. On that date, it began broadcasting in digital on channel 33 instead of channel 47 from Mount Seymour. Until August 31, 2011, channel 33 was used by CIVT-DT. CKVU improved its digital coverage on August 31, 2011, by broadcasting from a new transmitter in Victoria, which had been approved by the CRTC.[19] These two digital transmitters replaced the majority of the coverage area previously covered by its channel 10 analog transmitter and improved coverage within the Vancouver and Victoria metropolitan areas.
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