| Lethbridge and Southern Alberta | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Lethbridge, Alberta |
| Branding | Global Lethbridge |
| Channels | Digital: 7 (VHF) Virtual: 7.1 (PSIP) |
| Translators | see below |
| Affiliations | Global (secondary 1988-2000, primary since 2000) |
| Owner | Shaw Media (Shaw Television Limited Partnership) |
| First air date | November 20, 1955 |
| Call letters' meaning | Canadian Independent Southern Alberta |
| Sister station(s) | CICT-TV |
| Former callsigns | CJLH-TV (1955-1972) CJOC-TV (1972-1976) CFAC-TV-7 (1977-1990) CISA-TV (1990-2011) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog: 7 (1955-2011) |
| Former affiliations | CBC (1955-1976) independent (1976-2000) |
| Transmitter power | 19.7 kW |
| Height | 201.4 m |
| Website | Global Lethbridge |
CISA-DT is a Canadian television station serving Lethbridge, Alberta. It is owned by Shaw Media, and is affiliated to their Global Television Network. It is branded as Global Lethbridge and transmits on channel 7 and cable channel 5 in Lethbridge. Its high-definition/digital signal is available on Shaw HD on channel 211.
CISA's programming is similar to CICT-TV, the Global O&O in Calgary. CISA's master control is also based out of CICT, along with all the rest of Shaw's television stations. The station carries the full Global network schedule.
Contents |
The station began as CJLH-TV, broadcasting for the first time on November 20, 1955. It broadcast on channel 7 with a power output of 167,000 watts visual and 33,400 watts aural from a 638-foot tower located at what was the city limits of Lethbridge.
The station was a joint venture between local radio station CJOC (the CJ in the call sign) and the Lethbridge Herald (the LH). It was managed by CJOC's owners, Taylor Pearson and Carson, and began life as an affiliate of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) television network. Network programs on kinescope arrived within a few days to a week after they went to air live in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, or the U.S. networks.
Three months after CJLH went to air, measurement services showed that the station had a potential audience of 9,400 homes, but within a year, that grew to 19,200, and of those, 16,000 had bought TV sets. At the time, CJLH was the only station in the Lethbridge area.
Local programming at the time included:
These programs (amongst others) earned the station many awards, including seven Liberty Magazine awards in the 1950s and 1960s.
In 1958, the Eastern Time problem the station had in relation to networked programming was eliminated when it was connected to the network and the Calgary time-delay centre. The problem still existed for live sports events, such as hockey and football.
In 1961, CJLH expanded into the Crowsnest Pass area, by opening a repeater station at Burmis on channel 3. In 1967, The Lethbridge Herald sold its 50% holding to Selkirk Holdings Ltd, the successor to Taylor Pearson & Carson. Also that year, an application from CFCN-TV Calgary to open a repeater station in Lethbridge was unsuccessful.
However, a year later in 1968, an agreement was reached between CFCN and CJLH to share space on the CJLH tower and building for technical equipment. On September 3, CFCN went on the air with a repeater station on channel 13. Also in 1968, the station's first 2-inch black and white video tape recorder was installed, and a repeater in Brooks was made operational, transmitting on channel 3 at low power.
In 1970, production was increased significantly when they became a two-camera operation. Two years later, in 1972, CJLH changed its call sign to CJOC-TV, and continued local production with shows such as
In 1974, CJOC went full colour with two colour cameras and three colour 1" VTRs. CFCN moved out of the CJOC building and into its own that year.
In 1975, CFAC-TV in Calgary, also owned by Selkirk, disaffiliated from the CBC, and became an independent station. CFAC and CJOC co-operated to protect local advertisers when CFAC was put on local cable services. In 1976, CJOC disaffiliated from the CBC and became a semi-satellite of CFAC, with the calls CFAC-TV-7. It added a satellite dish to get a news feed from Global Television. The station took on the same branding as CFAC Calgary, known as 2&7 Lethbridge Television. In 1979, the station increased its power to 167,000 watts video and 33,400 watts audio.
Local programming continued to play an important role at the station, with successful shows such as:
In 1989, Maclean Hunter bought Selkirk Communications Ltd., and CFAC-TV-7 was purchased by Western International Communications, and joined the Westcom TV Group. A year later, the station became a full-fledged station once again as CISA-TV.
Through the years, CISA's commitment to local programming has continued to reap both industry awards, making it one of the country's most awarded stations, and audience numbers in its local area.
In 1998, the Griffiths family sold WIC to Shaw Communications and Canwest. In 1999, agreements were lodged with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to split WIC assets between Canwest, Corus Radio and Shaw. The CRTC approved the purchase in 2000: WIC Television was sold to Canwest, and CISA-TV became Global Lethbridge on September 4 that year.
CISA was the last Global station to have its website integrated into the canada.com network. On September 10, 2008, news production for CISA shifted from Lethbridge to Calgary, with the addition of a new virtual set.
The station produces newscasts originating from Lethbridge at 6 p.m. (titled News Hour) and 11 p.m. (titled News Final). On weekends, the station's newscasts air at 6 p.m. (titled Evening News) and 11 p.m. (titled News Final).
The station also simulcasts the weekday morning Morning News, the Noon News Hour, and the 5 p.m. Early News from Global Calgary.
+ denotes CICT-TV personnel
Anchors
Weather team
Sports team
Traffic
Reporters
July 27, 2011, the station shut down its Lethbridge analog transmitter and flash cut to digital. They were the first station in Southern Alberta to convert to digital. CISA-DT broadcasts on channel 7.[3] Digital television receivers will display CISA-DT's virtual channel as 7.1, with the use of PSIP.
The following translators will continue to offer the analog signal after CISA's main Lethbridge transmitter is converted to digital.
| Station | City of licence | Channel | ERP | HAAT | Transmitter Coordinates |
| CISA-TV-1 | Burmis | 3 (VHF) | 0.409 kW | 128 m | |
| CISA-TV-2 | Brooks | 3 (VHF) | 0.01 kW | NA | |
| CISA-TV-3 | Coleman | 12 (VHF) | 0.01 kW | NA | |
| CISA-TV-4 | Waterton Park | 12 (VHF) | 0.001 kW | NA | |
| CISA-TV-5 | Pincher Creek | 9 (VHF) | 0.001 kW | NA |
(All transmitters in Montana are owned either by local governments or television associations.)
| Station | City of licence | Channel | ERP |
| K65BR | Chinook | 65 | 0.07 kW |
| K12DJ | Conrad | 12 | 0.01 kW |
| K08IU | East Glacier Park | 8 | 0.01 kW |
| K63AQ | Sweetgrass | 63 | 0.24 kW |
| K36DK | Toole | 36 | 1.26 kW |
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