CP24

CablePulse24 (CP24) is a Canadian English language Category A specialty news channel owned and operated by Bell Media. Based in Toronto, it focuses on local news from the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario, although it also covers national and international news. It is distributed through cable in Southern Ontario and direct broadcast satellite nationally.

History

The channel was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1996 as Pulse 24,^[1] and launched on March 30, 1998 as CablePulse 24 (CP24) on March 30, 1998, under the ownership of CHUM Limited and minority partner Sun Media, owner of the Toronto Sun daily newspaper. The network was named as an extension of CITY-TV's newscasts, which were then known as CityPulse.

On December 1, 2004 CHUM Limited acquired the remaining interest in CP24 (giving it 100% of its shares), when the Sun's owners sold their 29.9% share in CP24 after acquiring its independent broadcast station Toronto 1 (now Sun News Network), the same day when CHUM Limited took control of Craig Media and its assets.

Acquisition by CTV

On July 12, 2006, CTVglobemedia announced a friendly bid to take over CHUM Limited for an estimated $1.7 billion. One year later on June 8, 2007, the CRTC approved the CTV takeover of CHUM. However, the CRTC made the deal conditional on CTVgm selling the Citytv stations. On June 12, 2007, Rogers announced that it had agreed to buy the Citytv stations (including Citytv Toronto) for $375 million. The deal was finalized later that year, with a stipulation that CTV maintain ownership of CHUM's 299 Queen Street West headquarters and studios. CTV ultimately chose to keep CP24 along with the rest of CHUM assets (including the A-Channel stations) it had previously said it would sell.

As a result of the ownership changes, CP24 began to separate its operations from those of CITY-TV. This process began in November 2008, when CP24 established a new studio and newsroom on the second floor of the 299 Queen Street West building,^[2] followed by the removal of all CITY-TV programming from its schedule on December 10, 2008 (excluding Breakfast Television), and replacing the 6 PM CityNews simulcast with CFTO-TV's CTV News at Six. Critics had speculated that the latter change was likely as a response to the announcement of the CRTC granting approval to an application by Rogers Media for its own regional news channel focusing on the Greater Toronto Area, CityNews Channel.^[3][4][5][6]

On March 26, 2009, Breakfast Television was finally replaced with a new morning show, CP24 Breakfast, marking the final separation of the CP24 newsroom from that of Citytv, which moved to 33 Dundas Street East on September 8, 2009. To coincide with the launch, CTV also re-launched its oldies music radio station 1050 CHUM (another station acquired in the CTV/CHUM merger) as an audio simulcast of CP24, becoming known on-air as CP24 Radio 1050. The move was intended to bring CP24's programming to a new platform and broaden the network's reach as a multi-platform news source. The move did not prove successful, however. Toronto Sun columnist Ted Woloshyn in particular criticized the simulcast for being a poor substitute for an actual all-news radio format, and pointed out several instances demonstrating that no special consideration was taken for CP24's content, which was clearly being produced for television and not radio.^[7] This arrangement ended on April 13, 2011, in favour of the launch of a new TSN-branded sports talk radio format, becoming known on-air as TSN Radio 1050, weeks after Bell Canada took control of CTVglobemedia's assets including CP24, with the latter company becoming known as Bell Media.^[8][9]

Following the massive layoffs and cost-cutting measures that took place at the Citytv stations across Canada (including the cancellation of Citytv Toronto's CityNews at Five announced on January 19, 2010), CP24 immediately expanded its Live at 5 broadcast from 15 minutes to a full half hour, and added another half-hour newscast following it at 5:30 PM.^[10][11] As a result, CP24's late-afternoon talk shows, such as Animal House Calls and Hot Property, which were previously seen weekdays at 5:15 p.m. were moved to a new time slot for 7:15 p.m. effective January 26, 2010.^[12]

On March 19, 2011, CP24 introduced a weekend edition of CP24 Breakfast, hosted by Pooja Handa and Gurdeep Ahluwalia, George Lagogianes will be the remote host and Nneka Elliott (who resigned on May 2, 2011, and was replaced by Jamie Gutfreund) will deliever the weather forecasts. The show will run from 7:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.^[13]

Location and format

CP24 is based at 299 Queen Street West, at the corner of John Street and Queen Street West, previously sharing the newsroom with CITY-TV on the ground floor. In November 2008, CP24 moved its operations to a new studio and newsroom on the second floor of the complex. Coinciding with the new studio, CP24 also adopted an updated on-air appearance, replacing the previous CityNews blue and gold colour scheme with a red, white, and black design.^[2][14]

CP24's screen format utilizes a window in the top-left of the screen to show the current program, which is surrounded with a sidebar with weather and traffic reports, along with scrolling news headlines and local entertainment/event information, and tickers for stocks and sports. This format has been described as more closely resembling a website than a conventional television channel, and has been replicated to include a similar look of CP24's enriched screen on its relaunched website.

Other affiliations

CP24 also shares news resources with other Bell Media-owned outlets, including sports updates with TSN (and TSN Radio 1050), business news updates with BNN, MTV News with MTV Canada and entertainment news updates with eTalk; in addition CP24 also sometimes shares news reporters with CTV and CTV Two. Before its acquisition by CTV, CP24 was integrated with CITY-TV's newsroom, and shared some programming.

Carriage and expansion plans

CP24 is seen on cable channel 24 on most cable systems that carry the channel. It is not carried on any analogue cable system outside of Central or Southern Ontario, although it is available on direct broadcast satellite and IPTV television providers in some markets. The channel is available across Canada on Bell TV, on which the station is part of the service's "News" package. It is also available in the "FYI" package provided to Shaw Direct customers.

Programs

Animal Housecalls

hosted by Ann Rohmer. A phone-in show with guests about animals. Airs on CP24 and Animal Planet Tuesdays at 7:10 p.m.

AutoShop

a phone-in show about automobiles. Hosted by Kyle Christie. Airs 8 p.m. Sundays.

App Central

on BNN and on CP24,^[15]

• Michael Hainsworth, co-host
• Amber MacArthur, co-host
• Kris Abel, reporter
• Daniel Bader, contributor
• Maurice Cacho, contributor
• Simon Cohen, contributor
• Ian Hardy, contributor
• Winston Sih, contributor
• Doug Stephens, contributor
• Andy Walker, contributor

Before Breakfast

airs weekdays at 5:00 a.m.

• Lindsey Deluce host/news anchor

CP24 Breakfast

airs weekdays at 6 a.m.

• Lindsey Deluce, news anchor
• Steve Anthony, co-host
• Melissa Grelo, co-host
• Nalini Sharma, remote host/weather specialist
• Mika Midolo, Traffic/Transit Specialist
• Bob Summers, Traffic Specialist
• Cam Woolley, Traffic/Safety Specialist & Lead Reporter

CP24 Breakfast Weekend Edition

airs weekends at 7 a.m effective March 19, 2011.

• Gurdeep Ahulwalia, news anchor/co-host
• Pooja Handa, news anchor/co-host/traffic reporter
• Katie Simpson, reporter
• Jamie Gutfreund, weather specialist

24 Dayside

Daytime newsflow hosted by various CP24 anchors

24 Nightside

Evening newsflow hosted by various CP24 anchors

CP24 Early News Edition

first half-hour of CP24 Breakfast, airs weekdays at 5:30 a.m.

CTV News at 6

the 6:00 news anchored by Christine Bentley and Ken Shaw; simulcast of CFTO-TV.

CTV News at 6 Weekend

the 6:00 p.m. news anchored by rotating anchors; simulcast of CFTO-TV.

CTV News at 11:30

the 11:30 p.m. news anchored by Bill Hutchison; simulcast of CFTO-TV.

CTV News at 11:30 Weekend

same anchors as the 6:00 p.m. newscast; simulcast of CFTO-TV.

Hot Property

a real estate show hosted by Ann Rohmer. Airs Thursdays at 7:15 p.m.

CP24 Live at Noon

hosted by Ann Rohmer and Stephen LeDrew on weekdays. Airs weekdays at noon, this title is also used during the noon-hour newsflow on the weekends.

Live at 5

5 p.m. newscast, originally running 15 minutes since its launch on January 14, 2008. Expanded to 30 minutes on January 19, 2010, after Rogers Media, the owners of Citytv announced cost-cutting measures at the Citytv stations across Canada including the cancellation of their 5 p.m. newscast for Toronto. Hosted by Nathan Downer.

Live at 5:30

hosted by Nathan Downer. This program was added to the CP24 schedule on January 19, 2010, in response to the budget cuts at the Citytv stations across Canada which included the cancellation of their 5 p.m. newscast for Toronto. Airs weekdays at 5:30 p.m.

On the Quarter

hosted by Ann Rohmer and TD Waterhouse money expert Patricia Lovett Reid. Airs every three months.

Wylde on Health

hosted by homeopath Bryce Wylde. Airs Fridays at 7:10 p.m.

• Toronto Santa Claus Parade since 2010

Remote camera use

In addition to the Freeway Management System - COMPASS and RESCU cameras, CP24 operates EYES cameras located at:

• CN Tower
• Yorkdale
• Toronto Pearson International Airport
• Dome
• East
• Don Valley Parkway
• Polson Street
• 299 Queen Street West

Chopper 24

Since 2008, CP24 has leased a (Bell 206L-4 Long Ranger (C-FCTV) news helicopter which can broadcast live at 1500 feet above land; nicknamed Chopper 24, which is supplied by its sister station, CTV Toronto and is currently painted with CTV's colouring and logo.

Beat The Traffic

In 2009, CP24 became the first and only station in Canada to introduce a new Beat The Traffic system showing a three-dimensional animated map displaying traffic flow, roadwork, accidents and current highway travel times.^[16]

CP24 HD

The CRTC approved an application by CHUM Limited (the station's former owner) back in June 2007, to launch an High-Definition simulcast of CP24, as of December 2011, the channel has not been broadcasting in HD.

On-air staff

Current on-air staff

Note: Some names are repeated because they do more than one job.

Anchors

• Gurdeep Ahluwalia
• Kyle Christie
• Lindsey Deluce
• Melissa Grelo
• Pooja Handa
• Rena Heer
• Jee Yun Lee
• Farah Nasser
• Ann Rohmer
• Sue Sgambati
• Devon Soltendieck
• Karman Wong
• Nathan Downer, Substitute
• George Lagogianes, Substitute

Reporters

• Hal Banfield, General Reporter
• Rena Heer, General Reporter
• George Lagogianes, General Reporter
• Nathan Downer, General Reporter
• Gurdeep Ahluwalia, General Reporter
• Pooja Handa, General Reporter
• Farah Nasser, General Reporter
• Sue Sgambati, General/Crime Reporter
• Devon Soltendieck, General Reporter
• Karman Wong, General Reporter
• Jee Yun Lee, General Reporter
• Kyle Christie, General Reporter
• Katie Simpson, General Reporter
• Cam Woolley, General/Traffic & Safety Reporter
• Amber MacArthur, New Media Specialist/Web Specialist
• Bryce Wylde, Health Specialist
• Stephanie Smyth, Senior Breaking News Reporter
• Andrea Hartling, Senior Assignment Editor
• Nalini Sharma, General Reporter
• Sandie Benitah, CP24.com Reporter (on-air)
• Chris Kitching, CP24.com Reporter (on-air)

Weather

• Bill Coulter (metorologist)
• Chris Potter (metorologist)
• Jamie Gutfreund
• Patricia Jaggernauth (freelance reporter)
• Mika Midolo
• Nalini Sharma

Traffic

• Bob Summers
• Amber Payie
• Mika Midolo
• Jamie Gutfruend
• Pooja Handa, Substitute

Hosts

• Melissa Grelo - CP24 Breakfast
• Steve Anthony - CP24 Breakfast
• Lindsey Deluce - CP24 Breakfast
• Pooja Handa - CP24 Breakfast Weekend Edition
• Gurdeep Ahluwalia - CP24 Breakfast Weekend Edition
• Ann Rohmer - Animal House Calls, Hot Property and On the Quarter
• Kyle Christie - Autoshop
• Sue Sgambati - The Chief/The Commish
• Cam Woolley - Know your Rights
• Stephen LeDrew - Live at Noon, LeDrew Live
• Amber MacArthur - App Central
• Bryce Wylde - Wylde on Health

Notable former presenters

Presenters also included those working both from CityNews and CP24 prior to the CTV/CHUM acquisition in 2007

• Cynthia Loyst, host, Sex Matters
• Matte Babel, former CP24 Remote Host on CP24 Breakfast
• Nneka Elliott, former CP24 anchor/weather specialist.
• Omar Sachedina, former CP24 anchor/reporter, now with CTV News as corrospondent
• Bob Hunter. Founder of Greenpeace, later died of cancer.
• Thalia Assuras, later moved to ABC and then CBS
• Bill Cameron, who later moved to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
• Denise Donlon, later CEO of Sony Canada
• Mary Garofalo, later moved to WNYW-TV in New York; now hosting 16x9: The Bigger Picture on Global
• Avi Lewis, later moved to CBC and is now with Al Jazeera English
• Stephen Lewis provided a commentary program until his appointment as Canadian ambassador to the United Nations
• David Onley, former anchor, CP24; host, Homepage; appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in 2007.
• Beatrice Politi, former CP24 political specialist, now with Global Ontario.
• Dini Petty, former CityPulse/CP24 Anchor, later became host of CityLine, moved to CTV for the Dini Petty Show and now retired.
• Tonya Rouse, former fitness specialist and host of CP24's Perfect Fit.
• Lance Chilton former reporter.
• Alex Pierson former reporter with CP24/CityTV and Global News in Toronto; moving to Sun News Network.
• John Roberts (credited as J.D. Roberts), former entertainment reporter and weekend anchor now with CNN's American Morning News
• John Saunders, former sportscaster. Now at to ESPN
• Tracy Moore, former reporter, now hosting Citytv's CityLine
• Lorne Honickman, former CP24 Legal Specialist.
• Francis D'Souza, former CityNews/CP24 anchor/reporter, also former CityNews at Six Anchor. Now on CityNews
• Merella Fernandez, former CityNews/CP24 anchor/reporter along with host of '"AutoShop (before Hugh Burril).
• Dwight Drummond, former CityNews/CP24 crime reporter, former host of The Chief. Now he will join CBC News Toronto on Oct 12/10
• Anne Mroczkowski, former CityNews/CP24 anchor/reporter, CityNews at Six Anchor also former host of The Mayor. Now at Global Toronto
• Gord Martineau, former CityNews/CP24 anchor/reporter, former CityNews at Six Anchor for CP24, also former anchor of CityNews International Now on CityNews
• Mark Dailey, former CityNews/CP24 anchor/reporter, former host of CityNews Tonight and anchor for CP24. He passed away on December 6, 2010, after a long battle with prostate cancer.^[17]
• Hugh Burrill, former CityNews/CP24 Sports Anchor along with host of AutoShop. Now on CityNews
• Cynthia Mulligan, former CityNews/CP24 anchor/reporter. Now on CityNews
• Jim McKenny, former CityNews/CP24 sports anchor. Now retired
• Pam Seatle, former CityNews/CP24 anchor/reporter. Now general assignment reporter with CityNews.
• Kris Reyes. former CityNews/CP24 reporter, also former host of City OnLine.
• Larysa Harapyn, former entertainment reporter for both CityNews/CP24.

References

External links

• CP24
• CP24 Mobile