CFTO-TV

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CFTO-TV
Toronto, Ontario
Branding	CTV Toronto
Slogan	Toronto's number one newscast
Channels	Analog: 9 (VHF) Digital: 40 (UHF)
Affiliations	CTV
Owner	CTVglobemedia CTV Television Inc.
Founded	December 31, 1960
Call letters’ meaning	Canada's Foremost, Toronto's Own
Former affiliations	none
Website	www.ctvtoronto.ca

CFTO-TV (now identifying as CTV Toronto) is a Canadian television station, licensed to, and serving Toronto, Ontario, and surrounding areas. It is the flagship station of the CTV Television Network and was one of the charter members of the network when it was launched in 1961. It broadcasts from the CN Tower in Toronto on channel 9 (cable 8) with a power output of 316 kW, with two repeater stations:

• Orillia (CFTO-TV-21, on channel 21 with 207.6 kW ERP)
• Peterborough (CFTO-TV-54, on channel 54, with 223.2 kW ERP)

Prior to 1995, CFTO only had one main transmitter (similar to CFCF and CIVT now), but with its two repeater stations, its signal now reaches all of Central Ontario.

It also transmits on the Bell ExpressVu (channels 212 SD and 800 HD) and Star Choice (channel 313) satellite systems. The station shares its premises with the network's headquarters, which includes studios for the network's news programming (Canada AM, CTV National News and the CTV Newsnet channel), along with CTV's specialty channels. This arrangement had existed even before CFTO's founder, Baton Broadcasting, purchased the network.

CFTO is one of several television stations in Toronto that broadcast descriptive video services for the blind on the Secondary Audio Program.

[edit] Coverage

CFTO-TV can be viewed in these stations on the following cable providers, on the channel(s) shown below:

[edit] United States

In the United States, CFTO-TV is carried in Western New York on two cable providers:

[edit] Programming

Being the flagship station of the CTV network, its schedule is the main CTV schedule. This schedule is also seen on the other CTV stations in Southern Ontario, as CFTO acts as the master control for these stations.

[edit] News

CFTO's news programming is aired at noon (Monday to Friday), 6 p.m. and at 11:30 p.m. (all week, 11:30 p.m. bulletin repeated at 5:55 a.m. Monday to Friday before Canada AM begins). CTV News at 6 is the highest rated local newscast in Toronto - getting approximately 500,000 viewers each newscast. CTV News Toronto is also known for having the most live trucks in the market (multiple satellite and microwave trucks). CFTO is one of three television stations in Canada to lease a news helicopter which can broadcast live at 1500 feet above land. CFTO's twin chopper is in Vancouver at CTV's CIVT. CTV News also has the most advanced weather technology compared to other Canadian stations which incorporates WSI's TrueView technology and real time doppler radar with zoom and pan capabilities. Moreover, CFTO has bureaus at City Hall, Queen's Park, and downtown Toronto (Front St.). CTV News Toronto has the support of the entire CTV National News Team; it is not uncommon to see live reports from any one of CTV National News bureaus.

• Noon anchors
  • Tim Weber
  • Christine Bentley
• 6 p.m. anchors
  • Ken Shaw - formerly of CHFI FM
  • Christine Bentley
• 11:30 p.m. anchors
  • Bill Hutchison
  • Pauline Chan - formerly of Global TV
• Weekend anchors
  • Tom Hayes
  • Andria Case
• Fill-in anchors
  • Tom Gibney - retired as main evening news anchor
  • Janice Golding
  • Alicia Kay-Markson - on maternity leave
  • Austin Delaney
  • Galit Solomon
  • Paul Bliss
  • Dana Levenson

[edit] Staff

• General reporters:
  • Janice Golding
  • Alicia Kay-Markson - on maternity leave
  • Galit Solomon
  • Tom Hayes
  • Marcia MacMillan (Occasionally anchors at CTV Newsnet) and formerly with the The Weather Network
  • Andria Case
  • Bill Hutchison
  • Dana Levenson
  • Chris Eby
  • Austin Delaney
  • Jim Junkin - crime and police reporter
  • John Musselman
  • Paul Bliss
  • Mairianna Bachynsky
  • Roger Petersen - formerly with Citytv in Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Naomi Parness - formerly with CTVglobemedia's A-Channel/CKVR in Barrie, ON
  • Jacqueline Milczarek - formerly with Global News in Toronto, ON
  • Karlene Nation - diversity producer and reporter

• Entertainment reporters:
  • Jacintha Wesselingh - on maternity leave
  • Andria Case

• Consumer affairs reporter:
  • Pat Foran

• Lifetime/Health reporter:
  • Monica Matys

• Weather:
  • Dave Devall[1]
  • Tom Brown - formerly of CKCK-TV, (CTV Regina)
  • Dana Levenson
  • Anwar Knight - formerly of Global TV
  • Mairianna Bachynsky occasional fill-in

• Sports:
  • Lance Brown
  • Joe Tilley
  • Claude Feig
  • Suneel Joshi - formerly of Citytv

• Business:
  • Michael Hainsworth
  • Linda Sims

The station brands its bulletin as CTV News Toronto, in line with all of CTV's other owned and operated stations, using generic CTV News graphics.

[edit] Former reporters and program hosts

• Glenn Cochrane - retired and living in the The Beaches area of Toronto
• Ali Velshi - now with CNN as business anchor
• Tom Clark - now CTV Washington Bureau Chief, and fill in anchor for Lloyd Robertson and/or Sandie Rinaldo
• Gail Smith
• Anne Brodie - now writes a daily film column for Sympatico MSN and reviews films for Monsters and Critics
• Jim Wicks - now Executive Producer, Wicks Films, West Palm Beach, Florida
• Fraser Kelly - founding partner and Senior Associate - CorpWorld Group Incorporated, Toronto
• Arthur Vaile - business reporter, now deceased
• Teresa Roncon - now handling PR for Ontario Lottery Corp.
• Garth Turner - now Liberal Member of Parliament
• George Bryson - sports reporter now with Rogers Television in Barrie, Ontario as First Local news anchor
• Mary Ito - now with TVOntario
• Christine Crosbie - formerly with CIII (Global) in Toronto and The Weather Network
• Steve Jacobs (2005-?) Chief Meteorologist at KIII-TV in Corpus Christi, Texas^{[citation needed]}
• Pat Marsden - former Sports Editor, now deceased
• Sharon Caddy - former weekend weather anchor, quit CFTO August 14, 2006; now on CTS
• Sharon Navarro - former reporter with Citytv; now senior consultant with Punch Communications
• Bobby Ash - host of the The Uncle Bobby Show, now deceased
• John Lancaster - now reporter for CBLT in Toronto, Ontario
• Vic Phillips - 1960s and 70s anchor and crime reporter, wrote best-selling novel "The Heroin Merchants" and is Chief Correspondent for the nationally-syndicated Travel Hour with Stephen Pickford and Friends (formerly Travel World Radio Show)
• Ted Stuebing -- legendary long-time CFTO News Director
• Wayne Dayton -- currently consulting with radio and television stations across North America on format shifts and personnel selection
• Tony Parsons - late 1960s reporter, early 1970s late night news anchor. Currently longtime News Hour anchor at Global BC, a position he's held since 1975.
• Carla Collins - now an actor, host and comedienne in Los Angeles and Toronto
• Tim Ryan - (1960-1967) Assistant sports director, Play by Play announcer for Toronto Marlboros games, and host of Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Toronto Argonauts home games. ^{[1] [2]}

[edit] History

An early-1990s version of CFTO's longtime multicoloured iris logo, first introduced during the transition to colour TV in 1965. This version was later used as the basis for the BBS logo.

CFTO went on the air for the first time on December 31, 1960 at 10.00 p.m. The first official day of programming was January 1, 1961. The opening program was a telethon hosted by Joel Aldred, complete with a fireworks ceremony. The telethon was for what was then known as the Ontario Association for Retarded Children.

The station was originally owned by Baton-Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting, made up of:

• Telegram Corp (Bassett and Eaton families)
• Aldred-Rogers Broadcasting Ltd (Joel Aldred & E.S. Rogers)
• Foster Hewitt Broadcasting Ltd (CKFH Radio)

The station's original studios and transmitter were located at 1550 McCowan Road.

In March 1961, Joel Aldred sold his interest in CFTO, and on October 1 that year, the station joined the CTV Television Network. In 1970, Ted Rogers sold his interest in CFTO and the Bassett-Eaton group sold their interest in Rogers Cable.

On May 31, 1976, CFTO began broadcasting from the CN Tower, while studios remained in Agincourt. CFTO began broadcasting in stereo in 1985.

In 1994, the station became part of the Baton Broadcast System, a subsystem within the CTV network.

In 1995, CFTO began operating rebroadcast stations at Orillia (channel 21) and Bobcaygeon (near Peterborough, channel 54).

On January 27, 1998, the Eaton family sold its 41% interest in Baton. On the same day the Baton Broadcast System merged into CTV.

With rumours of a takeover impending, Bell Canada Enterprises proposed to buy CTV Inc. for $2.3 billion. This was approved by the CTV board in March 2000. The deal still required CRTC approval, but with the promise of the largest benefits package ever presented to the regulators, the deal was approved on December 7 that year. BCE later sold most of its interest in CTV, with the parent company renamed CTVglobemedia.

The station began providing a digital signal on satellite on November 17, 2003, and on January 30, 2004, CFTO was granted a digital television channel signal, transmitting on channel 40VU from the CN Tower with an ERP of 17,400 watts. In mid 2005, CFTO's CN Tower transmitter began transmitting HDTV over the air. As this is presently the only HDTV feed of the CTV network emanating from eastern or central Canada, CFTO-DT is sometimes known as CTV HD East.

[edit] Logos

CFTO-TV's logo from 1974

Before the CTV Acquisition (1994-1998).

CFTO-TV's former logo (1998-2005). As of October 2005 logos with the stations' callsigns are no longer used on CTV stations; instead they all use the main CTV logo.

[edit] Chronology

[edit] Shows produced at CFTO's studios

The CTV Toronto studios at the 9 Channel Nine Court are also the main headquarters for the CTV national network and the main headquarters for CTVglobemedia (the parent of CTV).

• CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson
• CTV Newsnet
• Canada AM
• TSN Sportscentre
• CTV National News with Sandie Rinaldo - weekends
• W-FIVE
• Countdown with Mike Duffy - certain seasons; others produced in Ottawa
• The Uncle Bobby Show

The studio scenes in the 1976 film Network were filmed at CFTO.

CablePulse24 (CP24) Canada's only 24-hour local newschannel in Toronto which is now owned by CTVglobemedia but currently shares most of its news content with Rogers-owned Citytv Toronto is currently based at the CHUM-City Building at Queen and John Streets along with other former CHUM Limited channels now owned by CTVglobemedia such as MuchMusic, Star!, Bravo! and Space are based.

The Lotto 6/49 and Lotto Super 7 drawings are also held at CFTO studios, although the live draws are not televised on CFTO.

[edit] References

1. ^ NewspaperARCHIVE.com - Search old newspaper articles online
2. ^ http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/sportsonradioandtv/CFL_The_TV_Years.html

[edit] External links

• CTV Toronto
• CTV Main Website
• CTV Media website
• CTVglobemedia
• Canadian Communications Foundation (source)
• NelsonMedia (source)
• CFTO sign-ons, sign-offs and station IDs at MediaCanada

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