CHWI-TV
Encyclopedia
CHWI-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 (and focuses on) Windsor
. CHWI also has offices in Chatham
.
On cable, CHWI can be seen on Cogeco
Windsor channel 6. It is not seen on Comcast
Detroit or Bright House
Livonia.
After being threatened with closure in early 2009, recent CRTC decisions increasing funding for local stations are expected to allow CHWI to remain on the air.
and CKNX-TV
Wingham
from The Blackburn Group
, as their intention was to launch a semi-satellite of CFPL-TV that served Chatham and Windsor. At the time, the only clear signals from Canadian stations were from TVOntario
, the CBC
and Télévision de Radio-Canada
. The station was approved on January 26, 1993, and its first transmissions began on October 19, 1993.
During its tenure as an independent station, it also aired ABC's
Disney's One Saturday Morning schedule (along with, or from, the CTV
affiliate in Kitchener
, CKCO-TV), along with syndicated Disney shows in the afternoons on weekdays (The Disney Afternoon
), such as Bonkers
and Goof Troop
before the 5 PM News, similar to WXON
and WKBD-TV across the river in Detroit. While the station aired many CTV programs, it was never branded as a CTV station directly, but it was labelled as a BBS station instead. For all intents and purposes it was Windsor's CTV affiliate for most of this time, if in programming and not by affiliation or name. Windsor is one of the few major Canadian cities that has never had a CTV affiliate of its own, largely because CTV owns the Canadian rights to a large trove of American programming. The Windsor area is considered part of the Detroit market for purposes of programming rights, and Windsor stations have often had to adjust their coverage or programming under pressure from the Detroit stations. CTV programming is piped in via CKCO-TV on basic cable; its Sarnia
-area translator is the nearest over-the-air source of CTV programming.
It was broadcast on channel 16 only (its Wheatley transmitter) for the first two years. However, the transmitter was located far to the southeast, presumably to protect the Detroit stations. As a result, it was practically unviewable over-the-air in Windsor.
In response to complaints from the Windsor area, Baton applied for a Windsor-area translator on Channel 6, with an effective radiated power
of 87 watts, in 1994. While the CRTC agreed to this request, the Federal Communications Commission
of the United States
refused to sign off on it, citing potential interference with WLNS-TV
from Lansing, Michigan
. However, the FCC recommended Channel 60 instead. The CRTC agreed, and Baton was allowed to place a broadcast translator in Windsor on Channel 60 with an effective radiated power of 580 watts (with the same signal contour
s as channel 6 at 87 watts). However, some parts of the Windsor area, including Tecumseh
, were not (and still are not, as of 2011) reached by the Channel 60 signal, or the Channel 16 signal, and must rely on cable to watch CHWI-TV.
as a result of an affiliation swap which saw BBS gain control of the CTV network. CHUM would re-format the station (along with the other independent stations CHUM acquired in the deal) with a lineup and branding similar to its new sister station CKVR-TV in Barrie
, which would be known as "NewNet". CHWI would be re-branded as The New WI as a part of the reformat.
In 2000, CHUM Limited applied to increase CHWI's power from 580 watts, to 5.8 kilowatts (10 times the strength), and was approved. Its Windsor transmitter stands atop the 34-floor Victoria Park Place
apartment building, currently the tallest building in Windsor.
As a result of CHUM's acquisition of Craig Media (and its re-branding of a series of stations in Western Canada
as Citytv
stations on the same day), the NewNet stations (along with CHWI) were re-branded as A-Channel in August 2005.
In 2006 CTV owner CTVglobemedia had announced that it would be taking over CHUM Limited
for $C
1.7 billion, with plans to divest itself of the A-Channel stations and Alberta educational broadcaster Access.
In 2007 Omni Television
owner Rogers Media
had announced it would takeover the A-Channel stations, including CHWI, along with SexTV: The Channel, CLT, Access, and CKX-TV
Brandon, Manitoba
in the wake of CTVglobemedia's pending takeover of the CHUM Limited group. The transaction is said to cost $137 million in which will be paid in cash by Rogers. The CRTC later announced its approval of CTVglobemedia's purchase of CHUM Limited, but it added a condition that CTVglobemedia must sell off CHUM's Citytv stations to another buyer. As such, CTVglobemedia retained the A-Channel stations and all of CHUM's specialty channels, and sold the Citytv stations to Rogers Media. Additionally, the A-Channel stations were re-branded simply as "A" in August 2008.
regulations in the United States), CHWI and CKNX-TV—the two smallest stations in the A system—were no longer viable. Even though both stations were losing money for CTV, in the case of CHWI, this comes despite its dominant ratings in local news over CBET.
The stations' transmitters were slated to be shut down entirely, instead of being converted to rebroadcasters of London's A station, CFPL-TV. CFPL is expected to be available on cable, and remain available on satellite, in the affected areas following the shutdown. CTV has planned it will continue news coverage of the southwestern Ontario region through CFPL-TV and CKCO-TV.
The Windsor Star
reported on March 4, 2009 that Windsor City Council
, local Members of Provincial Parliament Sandra Pupatello
and Dwight Duncan
, and federal Members of Parliament
Brian Masse
and Joe Comartin began lobbying the CRTC and CTVglobemedia not to shut down CHWI, as it is the only local privately-owned television station in Windsor.
On April 30, 2009, Shaw Communications
announced that it would purchase CHWI-TV, CKNX-TV, and CKX-TV for one dollar each from CTV, pending CRTC approval. However, it was reported on June 30, 2009 that Shaw had backed out of the deal and was declining to complete the purchase, putting the stations' futures in serious doubt.
On July 6, after the CRTC announced policy changes to increase funding for small-market TV stations (including the likely implementation of carriage fees), CTV said it would "review" its decision to close CHWI. The company announced two days later that CHWI would remain on the air for at least another year, based on temporary increases to the Local Programming Improvement Fund. The other two stations were not as fortunate; however CKNX-TV's transmitter was retained to rebroadcast CFPL-TV, and CKX-TV was closed down in October. In correlation to the reprieve from closure, the CRTC renewed the licenses for CHWI-TV, CKNX-TV and CKX-TV, even though CTV had not filed renewals for these stations.
announced plans to re-acquire 100% of CTVglobemedia, a deal which closed in April 2011. CTVglobemedia was officially replaced by Bell Media on April 1, 2011. One month later, Bell revealed that the A system, including CHWI Windsor and CFPL London would be re-launched as CTV Two for the Fall 2011 television season, A was officially re-launched as CTV Two on August 29, 2011. Alongside the re-launch came the re-branding of CHWI's newscasts as CTV News Windsor
, and the establishment of a high-definition
feed on its new digital signal.
and Supernanny
.
Until 2003, the station broadcast its newscasts from a separate studio at CFPL-TV. Sports and weather are still done from there, while the news is done from Windsor. From 1993 to 1999, the Windsor newsroom was at the corner of Riverside Drive East and Goyeau Street, at the foot of the 75 Riverside Drive apartmentsleft abandoned for 10 years after the move before being replaced by a restaurant. The newsroom now sits at the corner of University and Ouellette Avenue, in the same building as the Palace Cinema.
Weather
Sports
Reporters
, CHWI-TV flash-cut to digital on August 31, 2011, using its former analog channels 16 and 26. CHWI's Windsor repeater had moved its analog signal in January 2011 to channel 26 from channel 60 due to the removal of channels 52 and higher from the television spectrum upon the transition to digital.
In addition, CHWI-TV-60 has been authorised to relocate its analog transmitter to channel 26, and to switch its digital allotment from 25 to 26, due to the phaseout of all channels 52 and up. However, the CRTC decision did not address the situation regarding WLPC-LP
in Detroit, which also broadcast its analog signal on channel 26 (an unprotected frequency), though WLPC-LP has a construction permit with the FCC to move to channel 40 when it converts to digital.
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...
television station
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...
owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Two system. The station is licensed to Wheatley
Wheatley, Ontario
Wheatley is a community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, within the municipality of Chatham-Kent. It lies about east of Leamington. Nearby parks include Two Creeks Conservation Area, which has 15 km of hiking and bicycling paths, Kopegaron Woods Conservation Area, Hillman Marsh Conservation...
, 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....
, but operates out of (and focuses on) Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
. CHWI also has offices in Chatham
Chatham, Ontario
Chatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on...
.
On cable, CHWI can be seen on Cogeco
Cogeco
Cogeco Inc. is a Canadian media and communications company. The name is an acronym for Compagnie Générale de Communication .-History:...
Windsor channel 6. It is not seen on Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
Detroit or Bright House
Bright House Networks
Bright House Networks is a cable television company, the seventh largest cable operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse, headquartered in Syracuse, New York...
Livonia.
After being threatened with closure in early 2009, recent CRTC decisions increasing funding for local stations are expected to allow CHWI to remain on the air.
Beginnings: independent and BBS
Baton applied to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a licence on for the Wheatley area, to serve both Chatham and Windsor with an independent local television station. This application was related to, and directly dependent on, Baton's purchase of CFPL-TV LondonLondon, 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 CKNX-TV
CKNX-TV
CKNX-TV was a television station owned by CTVglobemedia which served mid-western Ontario, Canada. It was part of the A television network. The station was broadcast from Wingham and had offices in Wingham...
Wingham
Wingham, Ontario
Wingham is a community located in the municipality of North Huron, Ontario, Canada, which is located in Huron County...
from The Blackburn Group
Blackburn Radio
Blackburn Radio is a Canadian radio broadcasting group, which owns several radio stations in Southwestern Ontario. Headquartered in London, Ontario, the company is owned by 2061302 Ontario Limited, which is majority owned by Cogent Investments....
, as their intention was to launch a semi-satellite of CFPL-TV that served Chatham and Windsor. At the time, the only clear signals from Canadian stations were from TVOntario
TVOntario
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...
, the CBC
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...
and Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada
Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...
. The station was approved on January 26, 1993, and its first transmissions began on October 19, 1993.
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
Disney's One Saturday Morning schedule (along with, or from, the 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...
affiliate in Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, CKCO-TV), along with syndicated Disney shows in the afternoons on weekdays (The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon was a created-for-syndication two-hour television programming block which aired from September 10, 1990, until Fall 1999. At that time, it was taken out of syndication, and a new Disney weekday afternoon block was started on UPN. The Disney Afternoon was produced by The Walt...
), such as Bonkers
Bonkers (TV series)
Bonkers is an animated American television series that aired from September 4, 1993 to February 23, 1994 in first-run syndication . The syndicated run was available both separately, and as part of The Disney Afternoon...
and Goof Troop
Goof Troop
Disney's Goof Troop is an American animated television series from The Walt Disney Company featuring Goofy as a father figure and bonding with his son Max.-Premise:...
before the 5 PM News, similar to WXON
WMYD
WMYD is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Southeast Michigan licensed to Detroit. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 21 from a transmitter on Eight Mile Road in Oak Park along the Oakland and Wayne County line. The station can also be seen on Comcast...
and WKBD-TV across the river in Detroit. While the station aired many CTV programs, it was never branded as a CTV station directly, but it was labelled as a BBS station instead. For all intents and purposes it was Windsor's CTV affiliate for most of this time, if in programming and not by affiliation or name. Windsor is one of the few major Canadian cities that has never had a CTV affiliate of its own, largely because CTV owns the Canadian rights to a large trove of American programming. The Windsor area is considered part of the Detroit market for purposes of programming rights, and Windsor stations have often had to adjust their coverage or programming under pressure from the Detroit stations. CTV programming is piped in via CKCO-TV on basic cable; its Sarnia
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
-area translator is the nearest over-the-air source of CTV programming.
In response to complaints from the Windsor area, Baton applied for a Windsor-area translator on Channel 6, with an effective radiated power
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...
of 87 watts, in 1994. While the CRTC agreed to this request, the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
refused to sign off on it, citing potential interference with WLNS-TV
WLNS-TV
WLNS-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central Michigan licensed to Lansing. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 36 from a transmitter on Van Atta Road in Meridian. The station can also be seen on Comcast channel 6 and Broadstripe channel 13...
from Lansing, Michigan
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...
. However, the FCC recommended Channel 60 instead. The CRTC agreed, and Baton was allowed to place a broadcast translator in Windsor on Channel 60 with an effective radiated power of 580 watts (with the same signal contour
Contour
Contour may refer to:* an outline or silhouette* a contour line on a contour map, or the corresponding line on the ground or sea bed* Contour , a phonetic sound* Pitch contour , a melody shape...
s as channel 6 at 87 watts). However, some parts of the Windsor area, including Tecumseh
Tecumseh, Ontario
Tecumseh is a town on Lake St. Clair east of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It has a population of just over 24,000.Tecumseh enjoys long summers and mild winters...
, were not (and still are not, as of 2011) reached by the Channel 60 signal, or the Channel 16 signal, and must rely on cable to watch CHWI-TV.
CHUM and The New WI
In 1997, the station was sold by Electrohome and Baton Broadcasting to CHUM LimitedCHUM Limited
CHUM 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...
as a result of an affiliation swap which saw BBS gain control of the CTV network. CHUM would re-format the station (along with the other independent stations CHUM acquired in the deal) with a lineup and branding similar to its new sister station CKVR-TV in 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...
, which would be known as "NewNet". CHWI would be re-branded as The New WI as a part of the reformat.
In 2000, CHUM Limited applied to increase CHWI's power from 580 watts, to 5.8 kilowatts (10 times the strength), and was approved. Its Windsor transmitter stands atop the 34-floor Victoria Park Place
Victoria Park Place
Victoria Park Place is Windsor, Ontario's second tallest building , standing at 34 storeys . Its construction started in 1979 and was a jointly built venture by Danzig Enterprises Limited & Wonsch Construction. The building uses reinforced concrete construction and concrete plank...
apartment building, currently the tallest building in Windsor.
As a result of CHUM's acquisition of Craig Media (and its re-branding of a series of stations in Western Canada
A-Channel (Craig Media)
A-Channel was a Canadian television system owned by Craig Media from 1997 to 2004 and CHUM Limited from 2004 to 2005. It consisted of Craig's television stations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton, and was the company's unsuccessful attempt to build a national network.CHUM Limited, which acquired...
as Citytv
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian English language television system owned and operated by Rogers Communications under its Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. division...
stations on the same day), the NewNet stations (along with CHWI) were re-branded as A-Channel in August 2005.
Sale to CTV
CHUM Limited
CHUM 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...
for $C
Canadian dollar
The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. As of 2007, the Canadian dollar is the 7th most traded currency in the world. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies...
1.7 billion, with plans to divest itself of the A-Channel stations and Alberta educational broadcaster Access.
In 2007 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...
owner 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...
had announced it would takeover the A-Channel stations, including CHWI, along with SexTV: The Channel, CLT, Access, and CKX-TV
CKX-TV
CKX-TV was a television station in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, formerly affiliated with CBC Television. Owned and operated by CTVglobemedia, it was the first privately owned television station in Manitoba...
Brandon, Manitoba
Brandon, Manitoba
Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, Canada, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba. The city is located along the Assiniboine River. Spruce Woods Provincial Park and CFB Shilo are a relatively short distance...
in the wake of CTVglobemedia's pending takeover of the CHUM Limited group. The transaction is said to cost $137 million in which will be paid in cash by Rogers. The CRTC later announced its approval of CTVglobemedia's purchase of CHUM Limited, but it added a condition that CTVglobemedia must sell off CHUM's Citytv stations to another buyer. As such, CTVglobemedia retained the A-Channel stations and all of CHUM's specialty channels, and sold the Citytv stations to Rogers Media. Additionally, the A-Channel stations were re-branded simply as "A" in August 2008.
Threatened closure and reprieve
On February 25, 2009, CTV announced that, given the ongoing structural problems facing the conventional television sector in Canada and the current global economic crisis, it will not be applying to the CRTC for renewal of the licences of CHWI-TV, CKNX-TV and CKX-TV. CTV said that with the CRTC's decision to bar broadcasters from charging cable systems to carry their stations (similar to retransmission consentRetransmission consent
Retransmission consent is an option granted to US television stations as part of the law that granted such stations the option to elect must-carry rights. Under retransmission consent, a full-power US television station may elect to negotiate with a cable system operator for carriage of its...
regulations in the United States), CHWI and CKNX-TV—the two smallest stations in the A system—were no longer viable. Even though both stations were losing money for CTV, in the case of CHWI, this comes despite its dominant ratings in local news over CBET.
The stations' transmitters were slated to be shut down entirely, instead of being converted to rebroadcasters of London's A station, CFPL-TV. CFPL is expected to be available on cable, and remain available on satellite, in the affected areas following the shutdown. CTV has planned it will continue news coverage of the southwestern Ontario region through CFPL-TV and CKCO-TV.
The Windsor Star
Windsor Star
The Windsor Star is the regional newspaper of Windsor, Ontario , and is owned by the Postmedia Network Inc. Since 1923, the publication's main office is located at 167 Ferry Street in the downtown area...
reported on March 4, 2009 that Windsor City Council
Windsor City Council
The Windsor City Council is the governing body of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.The council consists of the mayor plus ten elected city councillors representing the city as a whole.*Mayor: Eddie Francis*Ward 1: Dave Brister, Drew Dilkens...
, local Members of Provincial Parliament Sandra Pupatello
Sandra Pupatello
Sandra Pupatello was a politician in Ontario, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 to 2011 as a member of the Ontario Liberal Party, serving as a Minister in the government of Dalton McGuinty....
and Dwight Duncan
Dwight Duncan
Dwight Duncan, MPP is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1995, and is the Minister of Finance in the government of Dalton McGuinty...
, and federal Members of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Brian Masse
Brian Masse
Brian S. Masse is a Canadian politician. He has served in the Canadian House of Commons since 2002, representing the riding of Windsor West as a member of the New Democratic Party....
and Joe Comartin began lobbying the CRTC and CTVglobemedia not to shut down CHWI, as it is the only local privately-owned television station in Windsor.
On April 30, 2009, Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
announced that it would purchase CHWI-TV, CKNX-TV, and CKX-TV for one dollar each from CTV, pending CRTC approval. However, it was reported on June 30, 2009 that Shaw had backed out of the deal and was declining to complete the purchase, putting the stations' futures in serious doubt.
On July 6, after the CRTC announced policy changes to increase funding for small-market TV stations (including the likely implementation of carriage fees), CTV said it would "review" its decision to close CHWI. The company announced two days later that CHWI would remain on the air for at least another year, based on temporary increases to the Local Programming Improvement Fund. The other two stations were not as fortunate; however CKNX-TV's transmitter was retained to rebroadcast CFPL-TV, and CKX-TV was closed down in October. In correlation to the reprieve from closure, the CRTC renewed the licenses for CHWI-TV, CKNX-TV and CKX-TV, even though CTV had not filed renewals for these stations.
Sale to Bell, CTV Two
On September 10, 2010, Bell CanadaBell Canada
Bell Canada is a major Canadian telecommunications company. Including its subsidiaries such as Bell Aliant, Northwestel, Télébec, and NorthernTel, it is the incumbent local exchange carrier for telephone and DSL Internet services in most of Canada east of Manitoba and in the northern territories,...
announced plans to re-acquire 100% of CTVglobemedia, a deal which closed in April 2011. CTVglobemedia was officially replaced by Bell Media on April 1, 2011. One month later, Bell revealed that the A system, including CHWI Windsor and CFPL London would be re-launched as CTV Two for the Fall 2011 television season, A was officially re-launched as CTV Two on August 29, 2011. Alongside the re-launch came the re-branding of CHWI's newscasts as CTV News Windsor
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...
, and the establishment of a high-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
feed on its new digital signal.
Programming
CHWI's programming is almost identical to that of CFPL, including popular American television series such as FringeFringe (TV series)
Fringe is an American science fiction television series created by J. J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. The series follows a Federal Bureau of Investigation "Fringe Division" team based in Boston, Massachusetts under the supervision of Homeland Security...
and Supernanny
Supernanny
Supernanny is a reality TV programme which originated in the United Kingdom about parents struggling with their children's behaviour. The UK version has aired on Channel 4 with E4 showing repeats since 2004. The program returned in 2010...
.
News operation
The former A Morning show had a contributor from Windsor, however, only the news anchor and weather anchor are based at their downtown Windsor studio. Prior to 2009, weather reports were based at CFPL. Sports news continue to be based out of the studios at CFPL in London. Prior to 2003, the CHWI newscasts were produced entirely out of studios at CFPL, and presently the weekend newscasts are simulcast with CFPL.Until 2003, the station broadcast its newscasts from a separate studio at CFPL-TV. Sports and weather are still done from there, while the news is done from Windsor. From 1993 to 1999, the Windsor newsroom was at the corner of Riverside Drive East and Goyeau Street, at the foot of the 75 Riverside Drive apartmentsleft abandoned for 10 years after the move before being replaced by a restaurant. The newsroom now sits at the corner of University and Ouellette Avenue, in the same building as the Palace Cinema.
Newscast titles
- NewsNow (1993–2005)
- A-Channel News (2005–2008)
- A NewsA News (TV series)A News was the name of local newscasts on the A television system in Canada. A News programming was produced in markets which were not directly served by a local CTV News service....
(2008–2011) - CTV NewsCTV NewsCTV 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...
(2011–present)
News team
Anchors- Jim Crichton - weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.
- Sean Irvine - weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.; also weeknight reporter
Weather
- Arms Bumanlag - weather specialist; weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m.
Sports
- Norman James - lead sports anchor; weeknights at 6 p.m., also sports editor
- Bob Bellacicco - sports anchor; weekends at 6 and 11 p.m.
Reporters
- Christie Bezaire - videographer
- Chris Campbell - general assignment reporter
- Gina Chung - general assignment reporter
- Rich Garton - general assignment reporter
- Christina Howorun - general assignment reporter
- Sacha Long - videographer
- Michelle Maluske - general assignment reporter
- Rick Walker - general assignment reporter
Digital television
As part of Canada's transition to digital televisionDigital 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...
, CHWI-TV flash-cut to digital on August 31, 2011, using its former analog channels 16 and 26. CHWI's Windsor repeater had moved its analog signal in January 2011 to channel 26 from channel 60 due to the removal of channels 52 and higher from the television spectrum upon the transition to digital.
In addition, CHWI-TV-60 has been authorised to relocate its analog transmitter to channel 26, and to switch its digital allotment from 25 to 26, due to the phaseout of all channels 52 and up. However, the CRTC decision did not address the situation regarding WLPC-LP
WLPC-LP
WLPC-LD is a local low-powered religious television station in Detroit, Michigan, broadcasting in digital on UHF channel 40. The station was originally affiliated with America One from 1986 until 1998. It also carried Worship Network in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
in Detroit, which also broadcast its analog signal on channel 26 (an unprotected frequency), though WLPC-LP has a construction permit with the FCC to move to channel 40 when it converts to digital.