CHEX-TV
Encyclopedia
CHEX-TV is a television station
in Peterborough, Ontario
, Canada
, and an affiliate of the CBC Television
network. It began broadcasting on March 26, 1955, with an NHL
ice hockey
game. The station broadcasts over-the-air on channel 12.
newspaper and owned radio station CHEX
. The partnership included politician Rupert Davies
, who was also involved in a similar arrangement in Kingston
that established CKWS-TV
. Since April 13, 2000, it has been owned by Canadian media conglomerate Corus Entertainment
.
In early 2006, it agreed to extend its CBC affiliation "for years to come" (http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2006/11/c5529.html), its proximity to Toronto's CBLT means that non-core network programming can be, and often is, preempted without causing a tremendous loss in CBC service to local cable
viewers, as CBLT is carried on cable in Peterborough. CHEX-TV is also carried on digital cable on the eastern edge of the Greater Toronto Area
. As a private CBC affiliate, CHEX-TV airs only the minimum amount of CBC programming, 40 hours per week.
On April 21, 2009, CHEX was the only CBC station to carry a NHL playoff game between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia over a game between St. Louis and Vancouver. They were able to do this because of CBLT's availability on cable. In the 1980s, CHEX would carry the Montreal Canadiens
games on Hockey Night in Canada
, over the relatively nearby Toronto Maple Leafs
. For the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, on April 18, CHEX will broadcast Game 3 of Pittsburgh-Tampa Bay series instead of Game 3 of Boston-Montreal (which will be seen on all other CBC stations. [Information courtesy of websites puckthemedia.wordpress.com and the 506.com.] The main broadcast tower is 1,000 feet (305 m) high, making the top 1,842 feet above sea level
.
CHEX-TV-2
in the Durham Region, formerly a semi-satellite, now airs a very different schedule from the Peterborough station. CHEX originally operated two rebroadcast transmitters on Channels 2 and 10, in Bancroft and Minden, respectively. The Bancroft transmitter, still on the air today, switched to Channel 4 before the Global Television Network
established a transmitter there on Channel 2 in 1974. The Minden transmitter switched to Channel 7 at some point, and shut down in the early or mid-1980s. The Oshawa transmitter was added in 1992 in order to overcome an impaired signal for Channel 12 in that area, and began airing separate programming a year later.
, with its other newscasts replaced with special programming.)
, and therefore CHEX-TV was not required to convert to digital transmissions on the transition date of August 31, 2011.
CHEX-TV began digital HDTV service to cable subscribers in November 2010, and initially had planned to start its over-the-air digital broadcasts in late 2011. Analogue shutoff and CHEX-DT digital HDTV broadcast on existing Peterborough VHF channel 12 are not expected "for the next year or two. Over time, as resources become available, we will be switching our OTA transmitters to digital."
While CHEX-TV is currently available digitally in standard-definition as part of the Bell TV satellite pay-TV package, CHEX-TV plans to provide a HD signal to Cable and Satellite providers in fall 2011.
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 Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough, Ontario
Peterborough is a city on the Otonabee River in southern Ontario, Canada, 125 kilometres northeast of Toronto. The population of the City of Peterborough was 74,898 as of the 2006 census, while the census metropolitan area has a population of 121,428 as of a 2009 estimate. It presently ranks...
, 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...
, and an affiliate of the 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...
network. It began broadcasting on March 26, 1955, with an NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
game. The station broadcasts over-the-air on channel 12.
History
It was founded by a media partnership that already published the Peterborough ExaminerPeterborough Examiner
The Peterborough Examiner is a newspaper that services Peterborough, Ontario and area. The paper started circulation in 1847, and is currently owned by the Sun Media, division of Quebecor Media. At one time, it was edited by Canadian man of letters Robertson Davies. It is the only daily newspaper...
newspaper and owned radio station CHEX
CKRU (AM)
CKRU-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts a classic hits/oldies format on 100.5 FM in Peterborough, Ontario. The station is branded as 100.5 KRUZ FM and is owned by Corus Entertainment.-History:...
. The partnership included politician Rupert Davies
William Rupert Davies
Rupert Davies was a Canadian author, editor, newspaper publisher, and politician.Following a successful career as publisher of the Kingston Whig-Standard, Davies was appointed to the Senate on 19 November 1942 on the recommendation of William Lyon Mackenzie King...
, who was also involved in a similar arrangement in Kingston
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
that established CKWS-TV
CKWS-TV
CKWS is an affiliate of the CBC Television Network in Kingston, Ontario, providing coverage to Eastern Ontario from Campbellford to Morrisburg and from Perth to Oswego, New York in the United States....
. Since April 13, 2000, it has been owned by Canadian media conglomerate Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's...
.
In early 2006, it agreed to extend its CBC affiliation "for years to come" (http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/May2006/11/c5529.html), its proximity to Toronto's CBLT means that non-core network programming can be, and often is, preempted without causing a tremendous loss in CBC service to local 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...
viewers, as CBLT is carried on cable in Peterborough. CHEX-TV is also carried on digital cable on the eastern edge of 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...
. As a private CBC affiliate, CHEX-TV airs only the minimum amount of CBC programming, 40 hours per week.
On April 21, 2009, CHEX was the only CBC station to carry a NHL playoff game between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia over a game between St. Louis and Vancouver. They were able to do this because of CBLT's availability on cable. In the 1980s, CHEX would carry the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
games on Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada
Hockey Night in Canada is the branding used for CBC Sports' presentations of the National Hockey League...
, over the relatively nearby Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
. For the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, on April 18, CHEX will broadcast Game 3 of Pittsburgh-Tampa Bay series instead of Game 3 of Boston-Montreal (which will be seen on all other CBC stations. [Information courtesy of websites puckthemedia.wordpress.com and the 506.com.] The main broadcast tower is 1,000 feet (305 m) high, making the top 1,842 feet above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
.
CHEX-TV-2
CHEX-TV-2
CHEX-TV-2, branded as Channel 12 Durham , is a CBC-affiliated television station in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, serving the Durham Region. The station's affiliation is despite the fact the Durham region is within the broadcast area of Toronto's CBLT...
in the Durham Region, formerly a semi-satellite, now airs a very different schedule from the Peterborough station. CHEX originally operated two rebroadcast transmitters on Channels 2 and 10, in Bancroft and Minden, respectively. The Bancroft transmitter, still on the air today, switched to Channel 4 before the Global Television Network
CIII-TV
CIII-DT-41 is a television station owned by Shaw Communications that serves much of the population of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a flagship station of the Global Television Network...
established a transmitter there on Channel 2 in 1974. The Minden transmitter switched to Channel 7 at some point, and shut down in the early or mid-1980s. The Oshawa transmitter was added in 1992 in order to overcome an impaired signal for Channel 12 in that area, and began airing separate programming a year later.
News operation
Local newscasts, branded as Newswatch, air weeknights at 5:30, 6:00, and 11:00 p.m, with repeats the next morning. (On public holidays, CHEX's 6PM newscasts are replaced with CBLT's CBC News: Toronto at SixCBC News at Six
CBC News produces a variety of local newscasts for CBC Television's owned-and-operated stations throughout Canada. On most stations, the local news operation is currently titled CBC News: [city/province name], such that the 6:00 p.m. newscast on CBLT is named CBC News: Toronto at 6...
, with its other newscasts replaced with special programming.)
Digital television and high definition
As of September 2011, CHEX-TV has not yet begun broadcasting in digital. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has not listed Peterborough as one of its mandatory markets for analogue 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...
, and therefore CHEX-TV was not required to convert to digital transmissions on the transition date of August 31, 2011.
CHEX-TV began digital HDTV service to cable subscribers in November 2010, and initially had planned to start its over-the-air digital broadcasts in late 2011. Analogue shutoff and CHEX-DT digital HDTV broadcast on existing Peterborough VHF channel 12 are not expected "for the next year or two. Over time, as resources become available, we will be switching our OTA transmitters to digital."
While CHEX-TV is currently available digitally in standard-definition as part of the Bell TV satellite pay-TV package, CHEX-TV plans to provide a HD signal to Cable and Satellite providers in fall 2011.