CHAT-TV
Encyclopedia
CHAT-TV is a television station
in Medicine Hat, Alberta
. It is owned by Jim Pattison Group
, and operates on VHF channel 6 and cable
channel 3. It is a privately owned affiliate of Rogers
television system Citytv
.
It also operates translators in Pivot (CHAT-TV-1, channel 4), Maple Creek
, Saskatchewan
(CHAT-TV-2, channel 6) and Richmound, Saskatchewan
(CHAT-TV-6, channel 4). The station is also carried regionally on Bell TV Channel 248.
Its news program is called CHAT News, and is seen 12-12:30 pm, 5:30-7:30 pm and 11-11:30 pm weekdays (with repeat broadcasts at 6:30 & 8:00 am Tuesday-Friday). A 30 minute review of the week's news airs Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings, as well as Monday mornings at 6:30 am.
CHAT-TV's first general manager was R.J. "Bob" Buss. The station operated from a modern studio and office building, and transmitted from a 403-foot tower located at Redcliff
, six miles northwest of Medicine Hat. Sid Gaffney was the first chief engineer, and Merv Stone was the production manager.
In the beginning, the station began its daily operations at 5:30 pm, with the only live programming being the 6 pm news bulletin, and the rest of the programming either on film
or kinescope
from the CBC. Around 10% of the local commercials were done live, with the announcers having to ad-lib enough to last the full 60 seconds.
Other early CHAT-TV staff members include Bernie Pascall, Gary Buss, George Lund, Mike Darow and Duff Roman.
Early local productions of note include Sock-Hop, a teenage dance show, quiz shows such as Teen Challenge and Cartoon Quiz, cooking shows, farming programs, and two music programs, Country Roundup (concentrating on western music), and Music For the Moderns, featuring local musicians.
Later that year, the station joined the CBC's microwave network on December 15, increasing the station's operating hours to 10:00 am through to 12:00 midnight.
In 1961, a high power re-broadcaster was installed near Pivot, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, which improved the station's signal reach.
In 1967, colour programming from the CBC arrived on CHAT, and local colour programs started in February 1971.
In September 1979, the main transmitter was re-located to Bowell, Alberta, and the power output was increased to 36,000 watts video and 3,000 watts audio.
Other re-broadcasters were added in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, and at Oyen, Alberta
(owned by the community).
In 1992, W.H. "Bill" Yuill, son of "Hop" Yuill, became the owner and president of CHAT's parent company Monarch Communications Group, which had expanded into other broadcasting and cable
properties in Alberta and British Columbia
.
Over the years, Bob Buss was followed as general manager by Orv Kope, Dwaine Dietrich, Brian Bolli, Brian Ellis, and again by Dwaine Dietrich in 1996. David Sherwood took over in 2007 following the retirement of Dwaine Dietrich.
In 2000, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the sale of Monarch's radio and television holdings (including CHAT-TV) to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, a division of the Jim Pattison Group
.
On February 28, 2008, the CRTC announced the approval of disaffiliation of CHAT from the CBC effective on August 31, 2008. Documents filed with the CRTC indicate the station would henceforth receive programming from CanWest Global. Global
's Calgary
station CICT-TV
is available on cable in Medicine Hat. However, it does not reach the market over-the-air, while CHAT presently airs selected Global programs simultaneously with CICT. In September of that year, CHAT acted as an E! affiliate after the disaffiliation. Medicine Hat is the only over-the-air market served by E! but no Global affiliate. It was announced that the transmitters of CHAT will not be replaced by the CBC, and no transmitters are scheduled to be installed for the future. CBRT is now available on cable and satellite in Medicine Hat, as well as on CBCA-TV-1 12 in Etzikom, which previously rebroadcast CHAT-TV before the affiliation switch. CHAT officially joined E! on September 1, 2008.
It was announced that the transmitters of Jim Pattison Group-owned future E! affiliate CKPG-TV
Prince George will not be replaced by the CBC, and no transmitters are scheduled to be installed for the future in this area. This has already been the case with Jim Pattison Group owned CFJC-TV
Kamloops. All three areas are to be served by Jim Pattison Group and one other television network. However, despite the light Francophone population in the absence of an Anglophone network, Radio-Canada stations CBXFT
Edmonton is still available over-the-air in Medicine Hat, and CBUFT
Vancouver is still available in Prince George
and Kamloops
.
On July 14, 2009, Pattison announced that CKPG and its other E! affiliates would begin receiving programming from Rogers Media
starting September 1, although it does not appear the stations will carry any form of "Citytv" branding. Canwest had previously announced it would sell or close its E! stations, leaving the Pattison stations without a programming source. However, there is already CKAL-TV
available in Medicine Hat on cable 11. CHAT and CKAL will continue to operate separately, and CHAT simulcasts CKAL's primetime lineup (with programming in different timeslots) at times.
, CHAT-DT has not signed on the air.
According to a 2009 CRTC decision, CHAT-TV is not required to activate its digital signal, as Medicine Hat is not a mandatory market for digital conversion
, which takes place in most other markets on August 31, 2011. When CHAT-DT signs on its digital signal, the station will broadcast on channel 40, using PSIP to list CHAT-DT's virtual channel as 6.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
in Medicine Hat, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. It is owned by Jim Pattison Group
Jim Pattison Group
The Jim Pattison Group is Canada’s third largest privately held company and, in a recent survey by the Financial Post, The Jim Pattison Group was ranked as Canada’s 62nd largest company. Jim Pattison, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur is the Chairman, President, CEO, and sole owner of the Jim Pattison...
, and operates on VHF channel 6 and cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
channel 3. It is a privately owned affiliate of Rogers
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...
television system Citytv
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
.
It also operates translators in Pivot (CHAT-TV-1, channel 4), Maple Creek
Maple Creek, Saskatchewan
-History:After the North-West Mounted Police had been established at Fort Walsh, settlers began to explore the Cypress Hills area, living along the creeks and doing small-scale ranching. The Department of the Interior was operating a First Nations farm on the Maple Creek, a few miles south from...
, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
(CHAT-TV-2, channel 6) and Richmound, Saskatchewan
Richmound, Saskatchewan
-External links:*********-Footnotes:...
(CHAT-TV-6, channel 4). The station is also carried regionally on Bell TV Channel 248.
Its news program is called CHAT News, and is seen 12-12:30 pm, 5:30-7:30 pm and 11-11:30 pm weekdays (with repeat broadcasts at 6:30 & 8:00 am Tuesday-Friday). A 30 minute review of the week's news airs Saturday and Sunday afternoons and evenings, as well as Monday mornings at 6:30 am.
History
CHAT-TV commenced operations on September 14, 1957, with a power output of 5,700 watts visual power and 3,000 watts aural power, on channel 6. The station was owned by J.H. "Hop" Yuill's Monarch Broadcasting Company Ltd, and was co-owned with local station CHAT AM. CHAT-TV was the fourth television station in Alberta to open, and its launch was presided over by then-premier E.C. Manning.CHAT-TV's first general manager was R.J. "Bob" Buss. The station operated from a modern studio and office building, and transmitted from a 403-foot tower located at Redcliff
Redcliff, Alberta
Redcliff is a town in southern Alberta, Canada within Cypress County. Bordering the City of Medicine Hat to the south and east, the town is bisected by Highway 1 and is located on the north bank of the South Saskatchewan River....
, six miles northwest of Medicine Hat. Sid Gaffney was the first chief engineer, and Merv Stone was the production manager.
In the beginning, the station began its daily operations at 5:30 pm, with the only live programming being the 6 pm news bulletin, and the rest of the programming either on film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
or kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
from the CBC. Around 10% of the local commercials were done live, with the announcers having to ad-lib enough to last the full 60 seconds.
Other early CHAT-TV staff members include Bernie Pascall, Gary Buss, George Lund, Mike Darow and Duff Roman.
Early local productions of note include Sock-Hop, a teenage dance show, quiz shows such as Teen Challenge and Cartoon Quiz, cooking shows, farming programs, and two music programs, Country Roundup (concentrating on western music), and Music For the Moderns, featuring local musicians.
Later that year, the station joined the CBC's microwave network on December 15, increasing the station's operating hours to 10:00 am through to 12:00 midnight.
In 1961, a high power re-broadcaster was installed near Pivot, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, which improved the station's signal reach.
In 1967, colour programming from the CBC arrived on CHAT, and local colour programs started in February 1971.
In September 1979, the main transmitter was re-located to Bowell, Alberta, and the power output was increased to 36,000 watts video and 3,000 watts audio.
Other re-broadcasters were added in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, and at Oyen, Alberta
Oyen, Alberta
-Demographics:The population of the Town of Oyen according to its 2009 municipal census is 1,190.In 2006, Oyen had a population of 1,015 living in 404 dwellings, a 0.5% decrease from 2001. The town has a land area of and a population density of .-External links:...
(owned by the community).
Cable
A cable is two or more wires running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics cables, otherwise known as wire ropes, are used for lifting, hauling and towing or conveying force through tension. In electrical engineering cables are used to carry...
properties in Alberta and British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Over the years, Bob Buss was followed as general manager by Orv Kope, Dwaine Dietrich, Brian Bolli, Brian Ellis, and again by Dwaine Dietrich in 1996. David Sherwood took over in 2007 following the retirement of Dwaine Dietrich.
In 2000, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the sale of Monarch's radio and television holdings (including CHAT-TV) to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, a division of the Jim Pattison Group
Jim Pattison Group
The Jim Pattison Group is Canada’s third largest privately held company and, in a recent survey by the Financial Post, The Jim Pattison Group was ranked as Canada’s 62nd largest company. Jim Pattison, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur is the Chairman, President, CEO, and sole owner of the Jim Pattison...
.
On February 28, 2008, the CRTC announced the approval of disaffiliation of CHAT from the CBC effective on August 31, 2008. Documents filed with the CRTC indicate the station would henceforth receive programming from CanWest Global. Global
Global Television Network
Global Television Network is an English language privately owned television network in Canada, owned by Calgary-based Shaw Communications, as part of its Shaw Media division...
's Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
station CICT-TV
CICT-TV
CICT-DT is a Canadian television station, licensed to and serving Calgary, Alberta. It is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network...
is available on cable in Medicine Hat. However, it does not reach the market over-the-air, while CHAT presently airs selected Global programs simultaneously with CICT. In September of that year, CHAT acted as an E! affiliate after the disaffiliation. Medicine Hat is the only over-the-air market served by E! but no Global affiliate. It was announced that the transmitters of CHAT will not be replaced by the CBC, and no transmitters are scheduled to be installed for the future. CBRT is now available on cable and satellite in Medicine Hat, as well as on CBCA-TV-1 12 in Etzikom, which previously rebroadcast CHAT-TV before the affiliation switch. CHAT officially joined E! on September 1, 2008.
It was announced that the transmitters of Jim Pattison Group-owned future E! affiliate CKPG-TV
CKPG-TV
CKPG-TV is a television station in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It is owned by Jim Pattison Group, and operates on VHF channel 2 and cable channel 3...
Prince George will not be replaced by the CBC, and no transmitters are scheduled to be installed for the future in this area. This has already been the case with Jim Pattison Group owned CFJC-TV
CFJC-TV
CFJC-TV is a television station in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, that is owned by the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group. It is an affiliate of Rogers Media's Citytv system....
Kamloops. All three areas are to be served by Jim Pattison Group and one other television network. However, despite the light Francophone population in the absence of an Anglophone network, Radio-Canada stations CBXFT
CBXFT
CBXFT-DT is Radio-Canada's television station serving Franco-Albertans in Edmonton and some parts of Alberta.The station also has rebroadcast transmitters in Bonnyville, Falher, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Hinton, Red Deer, Jean Côté, Lac la Biche, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Peace River.The...
Edmonton is still available over-the-air in Medicine Hat, and CBUFT
CBUFT
CBUFT-DT is Radio-Canada's television station in Vancouver, serving the French-speaking population of British Columbia.The station also has rebroadcast transmitters in Chilliwack, Dawson Creek, Kamloops, Kelowna, Kitimat, Lillooet, Logan Lake, Prince George and Terrace.CBUFT was launched on...
Vancouver is still available in Prince George
Prince George, British Columbia
Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...
and Kamloops
Kamloops, British Columbia
Kamloops is a city in south central British Columbia, at the confluence of the two branches of the Thompson River and near Kamloops Lake. It is the largest community in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and the location of the regional district's offices. The surrounding region is more commonly...
.
On July 14, 2009, Pattison announced that CKPG and its other E! affiliates would begin receiving programming from 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...
starting September 1, although it does not appear the stations will carry any form of "Citytv" branding. Canwest had previously announced it would sell or close its E! stations, leaving the Pattison stations without a programming source. However, there is already CKAL-TV
CKAL-TV
CKAL-DT is a television station based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is part of the Citytv system as of August 2, 2005, and was previously branded as A-Channel. The station is owned by Rogers Media through its Rogers Broadcasting, Ltd. division...
available in Medicine Hat on cable 11. CHAT and CKAL will continue to operate separately, and CHAT simulcasts CKAL's primetime lineup (with programming in different timeslots) at times.
Digital television
As of 20092009 in Canadian television
- Events :- Debuts :- Ending this year :- Television shows :-1950s:*Hockey Night in Canada *The National -1960s:...
, CHAT-DT has not signed on the air.
According to a 2009 CRTC decision, CHAT-TV is not required to activate its digital signal, as Medicine Hat is not a mandatory market for digital conversion
Digital 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 takes place in most other markets on August 31, 2011. When CHAT-DT signs on its digital signal, the station will broadcast on channel 40, using PSIP to list CHAT-DT's virtual channel as 6.
On-air staff and Reporters
- Liam Nixon: Noon & Evening Anchor/Producer
- Kyle Bakx: Reporter
- Breanna Karstens-Smith: Reporter
- Robert Buffam: Late-Night Anchor/Producer
- Yvonne Raymond: TV/Radio Reporter
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 |
| CHAT-TV-1 | Pivot | 4 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
4.9 kW | 191.1 m | 50°24′14"N 110°3′10"W |
| CHAT-TV-2 | Maple Creek Maple Creek, Saskatchewan -History:After the North-West Mounted Police had been established at Fort Walsh, settlers began to explore the Cypress Hills area, living along the creeks and doing small-scale ranching. The Department of the Interior was operating a First Nations farm on the Maple Creek, a few miles south from... |
6 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
0.01 kW | NA | 49°55′22"N 109°27′42"W |