CFMT-TV
Encyclopedia
CFMT-DT, channel 47, is a television
station based in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
, with rebroadcasters in Ottawa
and London
. The station broadcasts multicultural programming targeting Europe
an and Latin American communities throughout Southern Ontario
. Part of the Omni Television
group of stations owned by Rogers Media
, it uses the on-air brand OMNI.1. Sister company Rogers Cable
carries OMNI.1 on cable channel 4 in the Greater Toronto Area
.
Among English-speaking television viewers in Southern Ontario, CFMT is likely best known as home to various English language
syndicated talk show
s and sitcom repeats, including The Simpsons
, Friends
, and Family Guy
, airing nightly as counterprogramming
to local newscasts and first-run primetime series on the major networks.
, founder of the Italian language daily newspaper
Corriere Canadese and future recipient of the Order of Canada
, received a license for a multilingual TV station, defeating rival applicants Johnny Lombardi
and Leon Kossar. His company, Multilingual Television (Toronto) Ltd., had been producing multilingual TV programs since 1972. Iannuzzi initially owned 30 percent of the station, and other investors included Jerry Grafstein
, Raymond Moriyama
, Steve Stavro
, Garth Drabinsky
and Nat Taylor
. The call letters CFMT were derived from "Canada's first multilingual television." English language programming was limited to one-third of the station's broadcast hours, with French language programming accounting for seven percent and programming in about two dozen other languages providing the remaining 60 percent. The station was originally going to broadcast on channel 45, but that was changed to channel 47 for technical reasons. The station began broadcasting on September 3, 1979, under the brand name MTV (for Multilingual Television). It dropped that name to avoid confusion due to the 1981 launch of the American
MTV
cable network.
In August 1980, CFMT began broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week and introduced The All-Night Show
three weeks later. In 1985, CFMT became Canada's first TV station to broadcast in stereo. The following year, it was sold to Rogers Communications
. In 1993, CFMT installed rebroadcasters in London
and Ottawa
, on channels 69 and 60, respectively. Under Rogers ownership, the station targeted English-speaking viewers at times that other stations did not aggressively go after viewers.
In 2002, Rogers launched CJMT
, or OMNI.2, to increase multicultural programming, and rebranded CFMT as OMNI.1. CFMT's programming for Asian
and Africa
n communities moved to CJMT, while CFMT kept programming targeted to Europe
an and Latin American groups.
In October 2007, Rogers announced that the OMNI stations would move from 545 Lake Shore Boulevard West to 33 Dundas Street East. The move took place on October 19, 2009. CFMT and CJMT share the facility with Citytv Toronto
, which moved to the building the previous month.
Until around 1990, CFMT was the original Toronto home of Wheel of Fortune
and Jeopardy!
. At that time, both game shows moved to CTV
flagship station CFTO-TV
and stayed there until 2006, when Wheel of Fortune moved to Barrie
A-Channel (later A, now CTV Two) affiliate CKVR-TV
, while Jeopardy! remained on CFTO-TV. In 2008, when CBC Television
acquired the Canadian television rights to the game shows, they both moved once again to CBC flagship station CBLT. In the past, CFMT-TV has identified itself on air as Channel 47/Cable 4 (reflecting both the over the air channel number and its channel position in the Greater Toronto Area through Rogers Cable) and as CFMT International.
A Cantonese newscast was previously aired on CFMT; it was moved to CJMT after that station's launch in 2002.
, which took place on August 31, 2011, CFMT-DT moved from its current pre-transition channel number, 64, to its post-transition and former analog channel number, 47, mainly due to the phaseout of channels 52-69.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
station based in 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...
, with rebroadcasters in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
and London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
. The station broadcasts multicultural programming targeting Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and Latin American communities throughout Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern 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...
. Part of the Omni Television
OMNI Television
Omni Television, corporately styled as OMNI Television, is a Canadian television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications. It consists of the company's conventional television stations in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta which are licensed as multicultural stations...
group of stations owned by Rogers Media
Rogers Media
Rogers Media Inc is a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., which owns Canada's largest publishing company, Rogers Publishing Limited, which has more than 70 consumer and business publications. Rogers Media Inc...
, it uses the on-air brand OMNI.1. Sister company Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
carries OMNI.1 on cable channel 4 in the Greater Toronto Area
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
.
Among English-speaking television viewers in Southern Ontario, CFMT is likely best known as home to various English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
syndicated talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
s and sitcom repeats, including The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, and Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, airing nightly as counterprogramming
Counterprogramming
In Broadcast programming, counterprogramming is the practice of offering television programs to attract an audience from another television station airing a major event.-Television:...
to local newscasts and first-run primetime series on the major networks.
History
In December 1978, station founder Dan IannuzziDan Iannuzzi
Daniel Andrèa Iannuzzi, CM, O.Ont was a Canadian entrepreneur, journalist, and broadcaster.A third generation Italian Canadian, Iannuzzi was born in Montreal. He moved to Toronto in 1954 and founded the Italian-Canadian newspaper Corriere Canadese...
, founder of the Italian language daily newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
Corriere Canadese and future recipient of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, received a license for a multilingual TV station, defeating rival applicants Johnny Lombardi
Johnny Lombardi
Johnny Barbalinardo Lombardi, CM, O.Ont was a pioneer of multicultural broadcasting in Canada. He has received many decorations and honours....
and Leon Kossar. His company, Multilingual Television (Toronto) Ltd., had been producing multilingual TV programs since 1972. Iannuzzi initially owned 30 percent of the station, and other investors included Jerry Grafstein
Jerry Grafstein
Jerahmiel S. "Jerry" Grafstein is a former Canadian Senator and lawyer.He is married to Carole and has two children, Laurence Stephen and Michael Kevin....
, Raymond Moriyama
Raymond Moriyama
Raymond Moriyama, CC, O.Ont is a Japanese-Canadian architect. He has designed several buildings at Brock University from the 1970s through the latest campus expansion and is the University's former chancellor....
, Steve Stavro
Steve Stavro
Steve Atanas Stavro, CM , born Manoli Stavroff Sholdas, was a Macedonian Canadian businessman, grocery store magnate, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, sports team owner, and a noted philanthropist....
, Garth Drabinsky
Garth Drabinsky
Garth Howard Drabinsky, OC is a former Canadian film and theatrical producer and entrepreneur. In 2009, he was convicted and sentenced to prison for fraud and forgery. His sentence is stayed, pending appeal.-Biography:...
and Nat Taylor
Nat Taylor
Nathan A. Taylor was a Canadian inventor. As head of Twentieth Century Theatres, an Ontario branch of Famous Players Canadian Corporation, he built one of the world's first cineplex movie theatres in Ottawa, Ontario at the Elgin Theatre. The Elgin's second screen opened in December 1947 on a patch...
. The call letters CFMT were derived from "Canada's first multilingual television." English language programming was limited to one-third of the station's broadcast hours, with French language programming accounting for seven percent and programming in about two dozen other languages providing the remaining 60 percent. The station was originally going to broadcast on channel 45, but that was changed to channel 47 for technical reasons. The station began broadcasting on September 3, 1979, under the brand name MTV (for Multilingual Television). It dropped that name to avoid confusion due to the 1981 launch of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
cable network.
In August 1980, CFMT began broadcasting 24 hours a day, seven days a week and introduced The All-Night Show
The All-Night Show
The All-Night Show was a television series starring Chas Lawther and produced by Jeff Silverman which ran from September 1980 to August 1981 on CFMT-TV in Toronto.The show ran live nightly from the end of other programming until 6 am...
three weeks later. In 1985, CFMT became Canada's first TV station to broadcast in stereo. The following year, it was sold to Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is one of Canada's largest communications companies, particularly in the field of wireless communications, cable television, home phone and internet with additional telecommunications and mass media assets...
. In 1993, CFMT installed rebroadcasters in London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
and Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, on channels 69 and 60, respectively. Under Rogers ownership, the station targeted English-speaking viewers at times that other stations did not aggressively go after viewers.
In 2002, Rogers launched CJMT
CJMT-TV
CJMT-DT is a Canadian television station, which broadcasts multicultural programming in Toronto, Ontario. As one of the Omni Television stations owned by Rogers Media, it uses the on-air brand OMNI.2, and is a sister station to CFMT ....
, or OMNI.2, to increase multicultural programming, and rebranded CFMT as OMNI.1. CFMT's programming for Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n communities moved to CJMT, while CFMT kept programming targeted to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an and Latin American groups.
In October 2007, Rogers announced that the OMNI stations would move from 545 Lake Shore Boulevard West to 33 Dundas Street East. The move took place on October 19, 2009. CFMT and CJMT share the facility with Citytv Toronto
CITY-TV
CITY-DT, Channel 57 , is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada owned and operated by Rogers Media...
, which moved to the building the previous month.
Until around 1990, CFMT was the original Toronto home of Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
and Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
. At that time, both game shows moved to CTV
CTV 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...
flagship 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 stayed there until 2006, when Wheel of Fortune moved to Barrie
Barrie, Ontario
Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, located on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, approximately 90 km north of Toronto. Although located in Simcoe County, the city is politically independent...
A-Channel (later A, now CTV Two) affiliate CKVR-TV
CKVR-TV
CKVR-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...
, while Jeopardy! remained on CFTO-TV. In 2008, when CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
acquired the Canadian television rights to the game shows, they both moved once again to CBC flagship station CBLT. In the past, CFMT-TV has identified itself on air as Channel 47/Cable 4 (reflecting both the over the air channel number and its channel position in the Greater Toronto Area through Rogers Cable) and as CFMT International.
Newscasts
OMNI.1 currently carries two local newscasts aimed at specific ethnic demographics:- Omni NewsOmni NewsOmni News is the name of national and local newscasts in various languages on the Omni Television system in Canada.-National:...
: PortuguesePortuguese languagePortuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
Edition - weeknights at 9:30 p.m.- Anchors/Reporters: Clara Abreu, João Vicente, Luís Medeiros
- Omni News: ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
Edition - weeknights at 8:00 p.m.- Anchor: Vincenzo Somma
- Sports Anchor: Dino Cavalluzzo
A Cantonese newscast was previously aired on CFMT; it was moved to CJMT after that station's launch in 2002.
Transmitters
| Station | City of licence City of license A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.... |
Channel Channel (broadcasting) In broadcasting, a channel is a range of frequencies assigned by a government for the operation of a particular radio station, television station or television channel. In common usage, the term also may be used to refer to the station operating on a particular frequency.-See also:*Broadcast... |
ERP Effective radiated power In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains... |
HAAT Height above average terrain Height above average terrain is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is actually much more important than effective radiated power in determining the range of broadcasts... |
Transmitter Coordinates |
| CFMT-DT-1 | London London, Ontario London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city... |
48 (UHF Ultra high frequency Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres... ) Virtual Virtual channel In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels.... : 69.1 (PSIP Program and System Information Protocol The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch... ) |
25 kW | 197.6 m | 42°57′16"N 81°21′17"W |
| CFMT-DT-2 | Ottawa Ottawa Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario... |
27 (UHF Ultra high frequency Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres... ) Virtual Virtual channel In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels.... : 60.1 (PSIP Program and System Information Protocol The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch... ) |
15 kW | 202.3 m | 45°13′2"N 75°33′49"W |
Digital television and high definition
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversionDigital television in Canada
Digital television in Canada is transmitted using the ATSC standards developed for and in use in the United States. Because Canada and the U.S...
, which took place on August 31, 2011, CFMT-DT moved from its current pre-transition channel number, 64, to its post-transition and former analog channel number, 47, mainly due to the phaseout of channels 52-69.