Canadian Press Cable Service
Encyclopedia
The Canadian Press Cable Service (formerly CableStream) is a text-only
headline news
service provided by the Canadian Press
and distributed by Canadian
cable television
companies. The service is also commonly known as "Broadcast News", after the former CP division originally responsible for CableStream.
The CP Cable Service usually appears as a dedicated cable channel, either as scrolling text or a series of text panels. However, the service does not have a uniform appearance, as its presentation varies from one cable company to the next, and it may appear with or without advertising. Typically it is accompanied with Muzak
-type background music
. As alphanumeric data, the CP Cable Service has never been subject to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licensing.
In the early days of cable TV, many Canadian cable companies would carry the service on a "restricted" channel, i.e. a frequency on which a local TV station was broadcasting over-the-air. Since the broadcast station might interfere with whatever channel was placed at that position by the cable company, CableStream provided an easy, low-risk means of filling that position. However, with increased pressures on analog cable capacity since the late 1990s, many systems have dropped the channel or moved it to digital cable
.
In St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
, Cable Atlantic
(and later Rogers Cable
) used CableStream until 2006 in place of blacked-out commercial breaks on the regional cable channel ASN, due to a since-removed CRTC condition of licence intended to protect local station NTV
.
Alphanumeric
Alphanumeric is a combination of alphabetic and numeric characters, and is used to describe the collection of Latin letters and Arabic digits or a text constructed from this collection. There are either 36 or 62 alphanumeric characters. The alphanumeric character set consists of the numbers 0 to...
headline news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
service provided by the Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
and distributed by Canadian
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...
cable television
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...
companies. The service is also commonly known as "Broadcast News", after the former CP division originally responsible for CableStream.
The CP Cable Service usually appears as a dedicated cable channel, either as scrolling text or a series of text panels. However, the service does not have a uniform appearance, as its presentation varies from one cable company to the next, and it may appear with or without advertising. Typically it is accompanied with Muzak
Muzak
Muzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1934, Muzak Holdings is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
-type background music
Background music
Although background music was by the end of the 20th century generally identified with Muzak or elevator music, there are several stages in the development of this concept.-Antecedents:...
. As alphanumeric data, the CP Cable Service has never been subject to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licensing.
In the early days of cable TV, many Canadian cable companies would carry the service on a "restricted" channel, i.e. a frequency on which a local TV station was broadcasting over-the-air. Since the broadcast station might interfere with whatever channel was placed at that position by the cable company, CableStream provided an easy, low-risk means of filling that position. However, with increased pressures on analog cable capacity since the late 1990s, many systems have dropped the channel or moved it to digital cable
Digital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
.
In St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
, Cable Atlantic
Cable Atlantic
Cable Atlantic Inc. was a cable television provider serving much of the population of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador...
(and later 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...
) used CableStream until 2006 in place of blacked-out commercial breaks on the regional cable channel ASN, due to a since-removed CRTC condition of licence intended to protect local station NTV
CJON-TV
CJON-DT is a Canadian English language television station broadcasting on channel 21 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, with additional transmitters and cable coverage throughout the province. It is known on-air as NTV, for Newfoundland Television...
.