9 Channel Nine Court
Encyclopedia
9 Channel Nine Court is the civic address of an office and studio complex of Bell Media (previously CTVglobemedia) in the Agincourt
neighbourhood of Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
, alternatively known as the CTV Toronto Studios, CFTO-TV Studios or Bell Media Agincourt. Before the creation of the "megacity" of Toronto in 1998, it was located in Scarborough
.
, its local station CFTO-TV
, and several other Bell Media properties including TSN
, Canada's 24-hour sports news service. Previously the building also served as the official corporate head office of CTVglobemedia until it was relocated to 299 Queen Street West in 2008.
The building's "vanity" civic address refers to the over-the-air channel on which CFTO, the building's original tenant, broadcasts. It is located at the northwest corner of the junction of Highway 401
and McCowan Road. The CTV network began to use the CFTO facilities for CTV News
broadcasts beginning in the mid-1960s, but its head offices were located in Downtown Toronto
until after its acquisition by CFTO's parent, Baton Broadcasting, in 1997. Operations for several other TV channels have been centralized there since then.
In the past, excess space in the large facility was used for filming TV specials, series, and films, including portions of Network
. Much of this space is now used by other channels in the Bell Media family, such as TSN
.
The lottery draws for Lotto 6/49
and Lotto Super 7
(predecessor of Lotto Max
) were also held in the building until 2008, even though CFTO had stopped airing those drawings several years prior.
The complex also houses the master control
facilities for several other CTV stations in Eastern Canada, specifically:
were based at the Agincourt complex. Sportsnet, originally controlled by CTV before the latter's acquisition of TSN in 2000, had been based there since its launch in 1998, but did not move out immediately after TSN moved in.
Hence, when on-air hosts, such as Darren Dreger
, moved from one channel to the other, it was referred to as "crossing the parking lot
" or, less commonly, "crossing the street". Some at Sportsnet had complained about feeling like "poor country cousins" to CTV and TSN at Agincourt.
This peculiarity had been made light of by a couple of notable hosts on Rogers Sportsnet. Bob McCown
, a radio host on Rogers-owned The Fan 590, had constantly commented on his show Prime Time Sports
(a simulcast of his radio show on The Fan 590) that Sportsnet executives throw bottles across the street at the TSN studios. In addition, Sportsnet Connected
anchor Sean McCormick
had openly stated on-air that he drives to work with his wife, Jennifer Hedger
, who anchors SportsCentre
on TSN.
This arrangement ended on April 30, 2008, when Rogers Sportsnet moved broadcast operations from the Agincourt complex to a new studio in the Rogers Building
, a cluster of buildings in the Mount Pleasant-Jarvis Street area of Downtown Toronto
.
Agincourt, Toronto
Agincourt is a very diverse neighbourhood in the Scarborough district of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is centred along Sheppard Avenue between Kennedy and Markham Roads...
neighbourhood of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, alternatively known as the CTV Toronto Studios, CFTO-TV Studios or Bell Media Agincourt. Before the creation of the "megacity" of Toronto in 1998, it was located in Scarborough
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
.
Current usage
It is currently home to the offices and main studios of the CTV Television NetworkCTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, its local station CFTO-TV
CFTO-TV
CFTO-DT, broadcast on channel 9 and cable 8, is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. Currently branded as CTV Toronto, it is the flagship station of the CTV Television Network, and was one of the charter members of the network when it was launched in 1961. It...
, and several other Bell Media properties including TSN
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
, Canada's 24-hour sports news service. Previously the building also served as the official corporate head office of CTVglobemedia until it was relocated to 299 Queen Street West in 2008.
The building's "vanity" civic address refers to the over-the-air channel on which CFTO, the building's original tenant, broadcasts. It is located at the northwest corner of the junction of Highway 401
Highway 401 (Ontario)
King's Highway 401, also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway and colloquially as the four-oh-one, is a 400-Series Highway in the Canadian province of Ontario stretching from Windsor to the Quebec border...
and McCowan Road. The CTV network began to use the CFTO facilities for CTV News
CTV News
CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name CTV News is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations , which are closely tied to the national news division...
broadcasts beginning in the mid-1960s, but its head offices were located in Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...
until after its acquisition by CFTO's parent, Baton Broadcasting, in 1997. Operations for several other TV channels have been centralized there since then.
In the past, excess space in the large facility was used for filming TV specials, series, and films, including portions of Network
Network (film)
Network is a 1976 American satirical film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about a fictional television network, Union Broadcasting System , and its struggle with poor ratings. The film was written by Paddy Chayefsky and directed by Sidney Lumet...
. Much of this space is now used by other channels in the Bell Media family, such as TSN
The Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
.
The lottery draws for Lotto 6/49
Lotto 6/49
Lotto 6/49 is one of Canada's two national lottery games. Winning numbers are drawn by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation every Wednesday and Saturday. Launched on June 12, 1982, Lotto 6/49 was the first nationwide Canadian lottery game to allow players to choose their own numbers...
and Lotto Super 7
Lotto Super 7
Lotto Super 7 was a national lottery game in Canada, operated by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation . It was launched in 10 June 1994, and its last draw was on 18 September 2009....
(predecessor of Lotto Max
Lotto Max
Lotto Max is a Canadian lottery game that began sales on September 19, 2009. The first set of winning numbers were drawn on September 25, 2009, and subsequent draws have been held every Friday. It replaced Lotto Super 7 in September 2009....
) were also held in the building until 2008, even though CFTO had stopped airing those drawings several years prior.
Operations
In addition to CTV and CFTO, channels based at the Agincourt complex include:- CTV News Channel
- TSNThe Sports NetworkThe Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
, - TSN2TSN2TSN2 is a secondary feed of the Canadian English language Category C specialty channel TSN, owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc., a joint venture of Bell Media and ESPN...
, - Discovery Channel, and its offshoot affliliates
The complex also houses the master control
Master control
Master control is the technical hub of a broadcast operation common among most over-the-air television stations and television networks. It is distinct from a production control room in television studios where the activities such as switching from camera to camera are coordinated...
facilities for several other CTV stations in Eastern Canada, specifically:
- CJOH-TVCJOH-TVCJOH-DT is a television station serving Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and the surrounding region. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Television Network....
Ottawa - CKCO-TVCKCO-TVCKCO-DT is a television station broadcasting on channel 13 in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by Bell Media, it is a part of the CTV Television Network and has been branded CTV Southwestern Ontario since 2005.-History:...
Kitchener (Southwestern Ontario) - CFCF-TVCFCF-TVCFCF-DT is a CTV-owned and operated station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
Montreal - CKY-TVCKY-TVCKY-DT is a television station based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Television Network....
Winnipeg - CTV Northern OntarioCTV Northern OntarioCTV Northern Ontario, formerly known as MCTV, is a system of four television stations in Northern Ontario, Canada, owned and operated by the CTV Television Network, a division of Bell Media.These stations are:...
- In addition the building also serves as the new home for the technical operations of Bell Media's all-sports radio station in Toronto TSN Radio 1050CHUM (AM)CHUM, branded as TSN Radio 1050, broadcasting at 1050 kHz in the AM band, is a Canadian radio station licensed to Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media....
which launched on April 13, 2011.
TSN, Sportsnet, and the "parking lot"
From 2001 until early 2008, both TSN and its main competitor Rogers SportsnetRogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
were based at the Agincourt complex. Sportsnet, originally controlled by CTV before the latter's acquisition of TSN in 2000, had been based there since its launch in 1998, but did not move out immediately after TSN moved in.
Hence, when on-air hosts, such as Darren Dreger
Darren Dreger
Darren Dreger is a Canadian sportscaster for TSN. He serves as hockey insider on the NHL on TSN, and is the host of Leafs Lunch on AM640 Toronto Radio...
, moved from one channel to the other, it was referred to as "crossing the parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
" or, less commonly, "crossing the street". Some at Sportsnet had complained about feeling like "poor country cousins" to CTV and TSN at Agincourt.
This peculiarity had been made light of by a couple of notable hosts on Rogers Sportsnet. Bob McCown
Bob McCown
Robert "Bob" McCown is a Canadian sports talk show personality and the host of a late afternoon/early evening radio talk show called Prime Time Sports. The program is broadcast from the Toronto-based studio of the Fan 590 and is syndicated nationally in Canada...
, a radio host on Rogers-owned The Fan 590, had constantly commented on his show Prime Time Sports
Prime Time Sports
Prime Time Sports is a sports radio talk show produced from the studios of The FAN 590 in Toronto, Canada. The show is hosted by Bob McCown.The program is broadcast weekdays from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET on The FAN 590...
(a simulcast of his radio show on The Fan 590) that Sportsnet executives throw bottles across the street at the TSN studios. In addition, Sportsnet Connected
Sportsnet Connected
Sportsnet Connected is the flagship sports news program on Sportsnet in Canada. Originally known as Sportscentral and later Sportsnetnews, it was re-branded as Sportsnet Connected on January 7, 2008 with an emphasis on more local coverage of sports teams...
anchor Sean McCormick
Sean McCormick
Sean McCormick is a Canadian television sportscaster, who hosts Sportsnet Connected on Rogers Sportsnet...
had openly stated on-air that he drives to work with his wife, Jennifer Hedger
Jennifer Hedger
Jennifer Frances Hedger is a Canadian television personality, the co-host of TSN's nightly sports news program SportsCentre...
, who anchors SportsCentre
SportsCentre
SportsCentre is a sports news program airing on the Canadian network TSN. As TSN's flagship program, it airs several times daily, and beginning in the 2008 season it also began to be aired on sister network CTV as its post-game program for early NFL games....
on TSN.
This arrangement ended on April 30, 2008, when Rogers Sportsnet moved broadcast operations from the Agincourt complex to a new studio in the Rogers Building
Rogers Building (Canada)
The Rogers Building, located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is the corporate head office of Canadian media conglomerate Rogers Communications, as well as the home of most, but not all, of the company's Toronto operations....
, a cluster of buildings in the Mount Pleasant-Jarvis Street area of Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...
.
Other Bell Media facilities in Toronto
Alongside 9 Channel Nine Court, several other Bell Media properties are operated from other facilities in the Toronto area:- Several other Bell Media television channels, mainly including those acquired from CHUM LimitedCHUM LimitedCHUM Limited was a media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1945 to 2007. Immediately prior to its acquisition, it held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems — Citytv and A-Channel — comprising 11 local stations, and one CBC Television affiliate, one...
such as MuchMusicMuchMusicMuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
, MuchMore, MTV2, CP24, BNNBusiness News NetworkBusiness News Network ' is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel. BNN broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. As of December 2010, the station is based from 299 Queen Street West in Downtown Toronto and is owned by Bell Media...
, Space, E!E! (Canadian TV channel)E! Entertainment Television is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel which is owned and operated by Bell Media. E! is devoted to entertainment programming including entertainment news, film, television, celebrities, and fashion...
, The Comedy NetworkThe Comedy NetworkThe Comedy Network a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media specializing in comedy programming.The channel operates two time shifted feeds, East and West ....
and Comedy Gold, are operated from 299 Queen Street West, formerly known as the CHUM-City Building'. This location also serves as the current home of CTV's entertainment news program eTalkETalketalk is a Canadian entertainment news show hosted by Ben Mulroney and Tanya Kim. It airs weekdays weeknights at 7 p.m. ET on CTV, at 1:30 p.m. ET on CTV Two and at 6 p.m. ET and 11:30 p.m. ET on E!...
, the corporate head office of Bell Media, the CFTO Downtown Toronto news bureau, and the master control operations for the CTV Two television stations in Southern OntarioSouthern OntarioSouthern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
(including WindsorCHWI-TVCHWI-DT is a Canadian television station owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Two system. The station is licensed to Wheatley, Ontario, but operates out of Windsor. CHWI also has offices in Chatham....
, LondonCFPL-TVCFPL-DT is a television station based in London, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media. Part of the CTV Two television system, the station serves London, Sarnia and much of southwestern Ontario north of London, including Wingham since its former sister station, CKNX-TV which ceased operations and...
, BarrieCKVR-TVCKVR-DT, is a television station in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, owned by Bell Media, it serves as the flagship station of Bell Media's secondary television service, CTV Two, with facilities located at 33 Beacon Road in Barrie...
, and OttawaCHRO-TVCHRO-TV is a television station serving the National Capital and Ottawa Valley regions of Ontario, Canada. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Two television system....
).
- MTV Canada's studios are located at the Masonic TempleMasonic Temple (Toronto)The Masonic Temple, also known as the CTV Temple or the MTV Temple, is a six-storey building on the north-west corner of Davenport Road and Yonge Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
at Davenport Road and Yonge StreetYonge StreetYonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
.
- Studios for Bell Media's radio channels including TSN Radio 1050CHUM (AM)CHUM, branded as TSN Radio 1050, broadcasting at 1050 kHz in the AM band, is a Canadian radio station licensed to Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media....
, 104.5 CHUM-FMCHUM-FMCHUM-FM is a Canadian radio station licensed to Toronto, Ontario and operated by Bell Media. It broadcasts at 104.5 MHz with a hot adult contemporary format that leans towards rhythmic adult contemporary...
and Flow 93.5CFXJ-FMCFXJ-FM is a Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario, which uses the on-air brand FLOW 93.5. It first aired in 2001 as Canada's first urban music station...
are currently located at 250 Richmond Street West250 Richmond Street West250 Richmond Street West is a studio complex in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building now serves as the new headquarters of Bell Media Radio's national operations, a division of Bell Media and to the studios of the company's Toronto radio stations, CHUM , CHUM-FM as well as Bell Media's...
at Richmond and Duncan streets which is adjacent to 299 Queen Street West.