TVOntario
Encyclopedia
TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO (call sign
s: CICA, CICE, CICO), 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
. TVO had also operated TFO
, a French public television network prior to its emergence as an independent agency of the Government of Ontario.
Instead of following the model of the federally owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
(CBC), which shows commercials, TVO is instead, like fellow provincial counterpart in Knowledge in British Columbia
and PBS
in the United States
, funded by donations from the public through various avenues including online contributions and on-air pledge drives. Despite viewer donations, the majority of TVO's funding is provided by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Education, which provides $30 million annually.
As well, TVO is also responsible for over-the-air broadcasts of the Ontario Legislative Assembly in some remote Northern Ontario
communities that don't receive cable television
access to the Ontario Parliament Network
.
In 2002, the Ministry of Education transferred responsibility to TVO for the Independent Learning Centre
which provides distance education
at the elementary
and secondary school
level.
TVO used to operate TFO
, a separate similar network for Franco-Ontarian
audiences. Before the launch of TFO, TVO aired French language
programming on Sundays. Even after TFO's launch, TVO and TFO swapped programming on Sundays well into the 1990s. TFO was separated from TVO and incorporated as an independent agency in 2007.
TVOntario's budget is $
60 million (2011).
TVO rebroadcast transmitters have the call letters CICA, CICO or CICE, followed by a number to denote their status as rebroadcasters.
TVO's transmitters are in Ontario, with one exception — its Ottawa transmitter, CICO-TV-24, is based at the Ryan Tower
at Camp Fortune
in Chelsea, Quebec
, where it shares its site with its Quebec counterpart, Télé-Québec
, and with most of the region's television and FM radio signals.
in June that year. At that time, the OECA produced children's and educational programming which was aired on commercial television stations.
The CBC, acting on behalf of the Ontario Ministry of Education's TV branch, eventually applied for and won a licence for the ministry's television station in Toronto, Ontario. CICA, with the mandate of "[using] electronic and associated media to provide educational opportunities for all people in Ontario". The 'CA' in the CICA callsign was derived from the last two letters in the OECA acronym. CBC initially operated the CICA transmitter while the OECA was in charge of programming. OECA assumed all operations of the station, independent of the CBC, when the provincial government declared the Authority an independent corporation in a 1973 Order-in-Council.
CICA Channel 19 began broadcasting on September 27, 1970 with 423,000 watt
s video and 84,600 watts audio. Its studios were located at 1670 Bayview Avenue and its transmitter was located at 354 Jarvis Street on the CBC tower; the height of its antenna was 550 feet. In 1972, the station moved to its permanent studios at 2180 Yonge Street where it remains today. The station's broadcast name was OECA, sharing the name of its parent organization, but began using the on-air brand TVOntario (and later just TVO) beginning in 1974.
In the latter half of the 1970s, the network began adding rebroadcast transmitters in other Ontario communities. Its very first rebroadcast transmitter was added in Ottawa
on October 25, 1975, under the callsign CICO.
In 1987, TVOntario launched La Chaîne française, which became TFO in 1994. In 1995, the Mike Harris
government promised to privatize TVOntario. They never carried through on this plan, but did cut its budget.
becoming CEO. On June 29, 2006, the provincial Ministry of Education announced a major overhaul of TVO: its production capabilities would be upgraded to fully digital systems by 2009 (ministry funding would be allocated for this); and TFO would be spun off into a separate organization.
Moreover, programming changes were announced later that day: thirteen hours of new weekly children's educational programming was added, Studio 2
was replaced by The Agenda
, and More to Life
and Vox were cancelled. The move to digitize services represents a transition; The Globe and Mail
quoted TVOntario CEO Lisa de Wilde saying “While television will remain an important medium for TVO, the days of defining ourselves as only a broadcaster are past.”
In 2002 the Independent Learning Centre
, which is responsible for distance education
at the elementary and secondary school level as well as GED
testing, was transferred from the Ministry of Education to TVOntario.
TVO shows a mixture of original shows, children's programming, British
imports, and movies from around the world. In the evenings, TVO runs a mixture of documentary, drama and public affairs programming for adult audiences, including the popular Saturday Night at the Movies
, which presents classic films with commentary and interview segments. Late at night, TVO shows educational programming that is designed for teachers to tape and show in school.
Initially, all dramatic programming was required to have some educational content. Actors, journalists or writers were hired to provide commentary on shows that would place them within an educational context. For instance Tom Grattan's War was bookmarked by segments that would use scenes from the series to discuss film making techniques. Episodes of The Prisoner
were hosted by journalist Warner Troyer
whose segments included interviews with the actors and a discussion of various psychological, philosophical or sociological themes regarding the series. Similarly Doctor Who
was hosted by science fiction
author Judith Merril
who would use discuss each week's episode to explore various themes in science and science fiction. Saturday Night at the Movies continued to follow this format long after the requirement was dropped because of the popularity of its host, Elwy Yost
who's gentle and insightful commentary enriched a generation of viewers.
Although French language programs were shown on TVO since its inception and gradually increased in number since then, they eventually moved to the French arm of TVOntario, TFO (originally known as La Chaîne française). When TFO started, TVO would run its English language shows on that channel on Sundays after noon, while the English TVO channel presented La Chaîne française programming at that time. This was done to give francophones without cable some French service, and discontinued in the 1990s after TFO began launching broadcast transmitters in some Franco-Ontarian
communities.
Programs produced by TVO have been seen outside of Ontario. In the United States, Polka Dot Door
and Parlez-Moi
were carried by PBS stations, while cable channel Nickelodeon
aired Today's Special
during the 1980s. TVO has also been a contributor to programs produced by the US-based Agency for Instructional Technology
(and its prececessors), such as selected episodes of Inside/Out and Thinkabout; these and other AIT programs were also broadcast on TVO for in-school use. Educational programs by TVO have also appeared on ABC1
in Australia.
via a direct-to-cable HD feed. TVO is scheduled to commence over-the-air HD broadcasting by August 2011 in compliance with the CRTC regulations. Not all digital transmitters are currently broadcasting in high definition.
Following analogue television shutdown and digital conversion
, digital television receivers in areas converted to digital will display the local transmitter's virtual channel
(or PSIP
) as "x.1", with "x" being the station's analogue channel number.
TVO has published plans on converting the following transmitters to digital:
Digital Transmission starting August 16, 2011
Digital Transmission starting August 18, 2011
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
s: CICA, CICE, CICO), is a publicly funded, educational 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...
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...
and media organization in the Canadian province of 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....
. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario
Government of Ontario
The Government of Ontario refers to the provincial government of the province of Ontario, Canada. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867....
. TVO had also operated TFO
TFO
TFO is a Canadian French language educational public television network in the province of Ontario. It is the only French-language television network in Canada whose operations are based entirely outside of Quebec....
, a French public television network prior to its emergence as an independent agency of the Government of Ontario.
Governance, funding and other responsibilities
TVO is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, and supported by a network of Regional Councillors from across the province. TVO also reports to the Ontario legislature through the Minister of Education, in accordance with the Ontario Educational Communications Authority Act.Instead of following the model of the federally owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
(CBC), which shows commercials, TVO is instead, like fellow provincial counterpart in Knowledge in 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...
and PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, funded by donations from the public through various avenues including online contributions and on-air pledge drives. Despite viewer donations, the majority of TVO's funding is provided by the Government of Ontario through the Ministry of Education, which provides $30 million annually.
As well, TVO is also responsible for over-the-air broadcasts of the Ontario Legislative Assembly in some remote Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
communities that don't receive 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...
access to the Ontario Parliament Network
Ontario Parliament Network
The Ontario Parliament Network is a television network in the Canadian province of Ontario, established in 1986 to broadcast the parliamentary proceedings of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario...
.
In 2002, the Ministry of Education transferred responsibility to TVO for the Independent Learning Centre
Independent Learning Centre
The Independent Learning Centre is the Canadian province of Ontario's designated provider of distance education and the exclusive provider of General Educational Development Testing in Ontario....
which provides distance education
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
at the elementary
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
and secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
level.
TVO used to operate TFO
TFO
TFO is a Canadian French language educational public television network in the province of Ontario. It is the only French-language television network in Canada whose operations are based entirely outside of Quebec....
, a separate similar network for Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
audiences. Before the launch of TFO, TVO aired French language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
programming on Sundays. Even after TFO's launch, TVO and TFO swapped programming on Sundays well into the 1990s. TFO was separated from TVO and incorporated as an independent agency in 2007.
TVOntario's budget is $
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...
60 million (2011).
Distribution
TVO is Canada's oldest educational television service. It established the country's first UHF TV channel in 1970 at Toronto. It has larger over-the-air coverage in Ontario than the CBC, reaching 98.5% of Ontario with 216 transmitters. TVO is also broadcast on the Bell TV satellite service on channel 265, and on the Shaw Direct satellite service on channel 353.TVO rebroadcast transmitters have the call letters CICA, CICO or CICE, followed by a number to denote their status as rebroadcasters.
TVO's transmitters are in Ontario, with one exception — its Ottawa transmitter, CICO-TV-24, is based at the Ryan Tower
Ryan Tower
Ryan Tower is a tall guyed mast on the Clifford Slope of Camp Fortune in Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. Erected in 1968, its top is above sea level, making it the highest point in the Ottawa/Gatineau area and an easy-to-spot landmark....
at Camp Fortune
Camp Fortune
Camp Fortune is a commercial alpine ski center. It is located in the Gatineau Hills north of Gatineau, Quebec, approximately 15 minutes from Downtown Ottawa, Ontario....
in Chelsea, Quebec
Chelsea, Quebec
Chelsea is a municipality located immediately north of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada and about 7 miles north of Ottawa. Chelsea is located within Canada's National Capital Region. In 2006 the population was 6,703....
, where it shares its site with its Quebec counterpart, Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec
Télé-Québec is a French language public educational television network in the Canadian province of Quebec. Known legally as Société de télédiffusion du Québec , it is a provincial crown corporation owned by the Government of Quebec...
, and with most of the region's television and FM radio signals.
1970s
CICA's history dates back to 1970, when its parent organization, the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, was created by then Education Minister Bill DavisBill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
in June that year. At that time, the OECA produced children's and educational programming which was aired on commercial television stations.
CICA Channel 19 began broadcasting on September 27, 1970 with 423,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s video and 84,600 watts audio. Its studios were located at 1670 Bayview Avenue and its transmitter was located at 354 Jarvis Street on the CBC tower; the height of its antenna was 550 feet. In 1972, the station moved to its permanent studios at 2180 Yonge Street where it remains today. The station's broadcast name was OECA, sharing the name of its parent organization, but began using the on-air brand TVOntario (and later just TVO) beginning in 1974.
In the latter half of the 1970s, the network began adding rebroadcast transmitters in other Ontario communities. Its very first rebroadcast transmitter was added 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...
on October 25, 1975, under the callsign CICO.
1980s-1990s
Mike Harris
Michael Deane "Mike" Harris was the 22nd Premier of Ontario from June 26, 1995 to April 15, 2002. He is most noted for the "Common Sense Revolution", his Progressive Conservative government's program of deficit reduction in combination with lower taxes and cuts to government...
government promised to privatize TVOntario. They never carried through on this plan, but did cut its budget.
2000s
The positions of chair and CEO were divided in 2005 with film producer Peter O'Brian being appointed chair and Lisa de WildeLisa de Wilde
Lisa de Wilde is a Canadian film and television executive and has been the CEO of TVOntario since 2005. She has previously worked for Astral Media and with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission . She is a graduate of McGill University and is a member of the Law Society of...
becoming CEO. On June 29, 2006, the provincial Ministry of Education announced a major overhaul of TVO: its production capabilities would be upgraded to fully digital systems by 2009 (ministry funding would be allocated for this); and TFO would be spun off into a separate organization.
Studio 2
Studio 2 was a daily current affairs newsmagazine on TVOntario in Ontario, Canada. The show won several Gemini Awards, and was hosted by Steve Paikin and Paula Todd , and first aired in 1994. TVOntario announced the program's termination on June 29, 2006...
was replaced by The Agenda
The Agenda
The Agenda with Steve Paikin is the flagship current affairs program of TVOntario, Ontario’s public broadcaster. The show practises what anchor and senior editor Steve Paikin calls "long-form" journalism. Each hour-long program tackles no more than two topics, and often only one...
, and More to Life
More to Life
More to Life was a daily afternoon television show produced and broadcast by TVOntario. The show first premiered in 1997. The first host was Maureen Taylor...
and Vox were cancelled. The move to digitize services represents a transition; The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
quoted TVOntario CEO Lisa de Wilde saying “While television will remain an important medium for TVO, the days of defining ourselves as only a broadcaster are past.”
In 2002 the Independent Learning Centre
Independent Learning Centre
The Independent Learning Centre is the Canadian province of Ontario's designated provider of distance education and the exclusive provider of General Educational Development Testing in Ontario....
, which is responsible for distance education
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
at the elementary and secondary school level as well as GED
GED
General Educational Development tests are a group of five subject tests which, when passed, certify that the taker has American or Canadian high school-level academic skills...
testing, was transferred from the Ministry of Education to TVOntario.
Chairs and CEOs of TVOntario
- Thomas Ranald "Ran" IdeThomas IdeThomas Ranald "Ran" Ide, OC was a Canadian educator and the founding Chairman of TVOntario.- Biography :...
(1970–1979) - Dr. Jim ParrJim ParrJames Gordon Parr was an academic, broadcaster and provincial civil servant in the province of Ontario, Canada.Parr was an engineer by training specializing in metallurgy and he once hosted a programme on CBC Radio called The Mad Metallurgist aimed at popularizing the discipline...
(1979–1985) - John RadfordJohn Radford (broadcaster)John Radford is a Canadian broadcaster who briefly served as chairman of TVOntario.Radford was private broadcaster owning radio stations in eastern Ontario. Radford had served on the board of TVOntario for nine years before being appointed the broadcaster's chairman of TVO in May 1985 by the...
(1985) - Bernard OstryBernard OstryBernard A. Ostry, was a Canadian author, philanthropist, and civil servant, who is best known for being chair and CEO of TVOntario....
(1985–1991) - Peter HerrndorfPeter HerrndorfPeter A. Herrndorf, OC, O.Ont is a Canadian lawyer and media businessman. He is the president and chief executive officer of the National Arts Centre....
(1992–1999) - Isabel BassettIsabel BassettIsabel Bassett is a Canadian broadcaster and former politician. From 1999 until 2005 she was the chair and CEO of TVOntario/TFO, Ontario's provincial public television network. She has been a controversial figure at times, but is also a highly regarded pioneer in Canadian...
(1999–2005) - Peter O'Brian, chair (2005–Present); Lisa de WildeLisa de WildeLisa de Wilde is a Canadian film and television executive and has been the CEO of TVOntario since 2005. She has previously worked for Astral Media and with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission . She is a graduate of McGill University and is a member of the Law Society of...
, CEO (2005–present)
Programming
TVO shows a mixture of original shows, children's programming, British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
imports, and movies from around the world. In the evenings, TVO runs a mixture of documentary, drama and public affairs programming for adult audiences, including the popular Saturday Night at the Movies
Saturday Night at the Movies
Saturday Night at the Movies is a weekly television series on TVOntario, the public educational television network in Ontario, Canada. The series presents classic movies, followed by interview and feature segments with directors, actors and other people involved in making the films presented...
, which presents classic films with commentary and interview segments. Late at night, TVO shows educational programming that is designed for teachers to tape and show in school.
Initially, all dramatic programming was required to have some educational content. Actors, journalists or writers were hired to provide commentary on shows that would place them within an educational context. For instance Tom Grattan's War was bookmarked by segments that would use scenes from the series to discuss film making techniques. Episodes of The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
were hosted by journalist Warner Troyer
Warner Troyer
Warner Troyer was a Canadian broadcast journalist and writer.Troyer was born in Cochrane, Ontario, the son of Gordon Troyer, a Presbyterian circuit minister...
whose segments included interviews with the actors and a discussion of various psychological, philosophical or sociological themes regarding the series. Similarly Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
was hosted by science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author Judith Merril
Judith Merril
Judith Josephine Grossman , who took the pen-name Judith Merril about 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist....
who would use discuss each week's episode to explore various themes in science and science fiction. Saturday Night at the Movies continued to follow this format long after the requirement was dropped because of the popularity of its host, Elwy Yost
Elwy Yost
Elwy McMurran Yost, CM was a television host, best known for hosting CBC Television's weekday Passport to Adventure series from 1965–67, and TVOntario's weekday Magic Shadows, from 1974 until the mid-1980s, and Saturday Night at the Movies from 1974–99.-Early life:Born in Weston, Ontario, the son...
who's gentle and insightful commentary enriched a generation of viewers.
Although French language programs were shown on TVO since its inception and gradually increased in number since then, they eventually moved to the French arm of TVOntario, TFO (originally known as La Chaîne française). When TFO started, TVO would run its English language shows on that channel on Sundays after noon, while the English TVO channel presented La Chaîne française programming at that time. This was done to give francophones without cable some French service, and discontinued in the 1990s after TFO began launching broadcast transmitters in some Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
communities.
Programs produced by TVO have been seen outside of Ontario. In the United States, Polka Dot Door
Polka Dot Door
Polka Dot Door was a long-running children's television series produced and broadcast by TVOntario from 1971 until 1993. The show, which aired Monday to Friday, was set in a large playhouse...
and Parlez-Moi
Parlez-moi
Parlez-moi was an educational television series which was produced and broadcast by TVOntario from 1978 to 1980, with repeat broadcasts for several years afterwards...
were carried by PBS stations, while cable channel Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
aired Today's Special
Today's Special
Today's Special is a Canadian children's television show produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario from 1982 to 1987. It also ran on Nickelodeon and the Faith and Values Channel as well as many PBS stations throughout the United States. It was set in a department store, based on the flagship...
during the 1980s. TVO has also been a contributor to programs produced by the US-based Agency for Instructional Technology
Agency for Instructional Technology
The Agency for Instructional Technology is a non-profit organization in the United States that produces, sells and distributes educational and instructional television programs, and other multimedia materials, to schools in the United States and Canada....
(and its prececessors), such as selected episodes of Inside/Out and Thinkabout; these and other AIT programs were also broadcast on TVO for in-school use. Educational programs by TVO have also appeared on ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
in Australia.
Digital television and high definition
In August 2010, TVO began broadcasting in high-definitionHigh-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...
via a direct-to-cable HD feed. TVO is scheduled to commence over-the-air HD broadcasting by August 2011 in compliance with the CRTC regulations. Not all digital transmitters are currently broadcasting in high definition.
Following analogue television shutdown and 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...
, digital television receivers in areas converted to digital will display the local transmitter's virtual channel
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....
(or 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...
) as "x.1", with "x" being the station's analogue channel number.
TVO has published plans on converting the following transmitters to digital:
Digital Transmission starting August 16, 2011
- CICO-DT-18 LondonLondon, OntarioLondon 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...
(channel 18) - CICO-DT-28 KitchenerKitchener, OntarioThe 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...
(channel 28) - CICO-DT-24 OttawaOttawaOttawa 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...
(channel 24) - CICO-DT-9 Thunder BayThunder Bay, OntarioThunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario, and the second most populous in Northern Ontario after Greater Sudbury...
(channel 9)
Digital Transmission starting August 18, 2011
- CICO-DT-53 BellevilleBelleville, OntarioBelleville is a city located at the mouth of the Moira River on the Bay of Quinte in Southern Ontario, Canada, in the Quebec City-Windsor Corridor. It is the seat of Hastings County, but is politically independent of it. and the centre of the Bay of Quinte Region...
(channel 26, PSIP 53) - CICO-DT-59 Chatham (channel 33, PSIP 59)
- CICO-DT-92 CloyneCloyne, OntarioCloyne is a small village in the township of Addington Highlands, Lennox and Addington County, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Ontario Highway 41 about by road north of Kaladar at the crossroads of Highway 41 with Ontario Highway 7, with the settlements of Bishop Corners and Northbrook in...
(channel 44) - CICO-DT-32 WindsorWindsor, OntarioWindsor 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...
(channel 32) - CICA-DT Toronto (channel 19)
External links
- TVO
- TVOntario Corporate
- TVO KIDS
- CLASSIC TVO KIDS SHOWS
- TVOntario sign-off - 1991
- Canadian Communications Foundation - CICA-TV/TVOntario History
- (Recnet links cover all repeaters using the above call signs)