CICT-TV

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CICT-TV
CICT-TV's Current Logo
Calgary
City of license Calgary, Alberta
Branding Global Calgary
Slogan Think. Global.
Hello Calgary!
Channels Analog: 2 (VHF)
Digital: 41 (UHF)
Virtual: 2.1 (PSIP)
Translators see below
Affiliations Global (secondary 1988-2000, sole affiliate 2000-present)
Owner Shaw Communications
(Shaw Media Inc.)
First air date October 8, 1954
Call letters' meaning Canadian
Independent
Calgary
Television or
Calgary
Independent
Channel
Two
Sister station(s) CISA-TV
Former callsigns CHCT-TV (1954-1968)
CFAC-TV (1968-1990)
CKKX-TV (1990-1993)
Former affiliations CBC (1954-1975)
independent (1975-2000)
Transmitter power 100 kW (analogue)
50 kW (digital)
Height 301.5 m (analog)
378 m (digital)
Transmitter coordinates 51°4′21.1″N 114°15′38.3″W / 51.072528°N 114.260639°W / 51.072528; -114.260639
Website Global Calgary
For the present-day CHCT in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, see CHCT-TV.

CICT-TV (known on-air as Global Calgary) is a Canadian television station, licensed to and serving Calgary, Alberta. It is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network. It transmits on channel 2 and cable 7 in Calgary, and on the Bell TV (channel 244), Rogers Personal TV (channel 118), and Shaw Direct (channel 338) services.

The station first went on air in 1954, making it Global's oldest station. It serves as the master control hub for all Global owned and operated stations across Canada.

Contents

[edit] History

CICT-TV signed on October 8, 1954 as CHCT, an affiliate of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and the first television station in Alberta. The studios, offices and antenna were located on a hill seven miles (11 km) west of the city. The station’s owners, Calgary Television Ltd., were a consortium of the three Calgary radio stations CFCN, CFAC and CKXL. The CT in CHCT stood for Calgary Television.

During the construction of the transmitter, the 70 foot, 5 ton antenna was being hoisted on the top of the 600-foot (180 m) tower when the cable snapped and the antenna fell all the way down the tower to imbed itself 15 feet (4.6 m) in the ground. Fortunately no one was injured, and the antenna was able to be repaired, but the station’s launch was delayed by 10 days. A year later, CHCT moved its studios and offices from the transmitter site on Old Banff Coach Road, to a renovated badminton club/sea cadet drill hall on 955 Rideau Road S.W. Calgary.

CICT-TV's logo montage of its different logos over the years, from the station's website

Notable productions at the original studio include:

In 1957, CKXL Ltd. sold its share in Calgary Television Ltd., to Fredrick Shaw, who had recently sold his share in CKXL-AM to Tel-Ray Ltd. CFCN sold off its share in 1961 when it opened its own station, CFCN-TV. In 1968, Selkirk Broadcasting, owner of CFAC-AM, became sole owner of the station, and its call sign was accordingly changed to CFAC-TV.

On September 1, 1975, after the CBC launched its own station in Calgary, CBRT, CFAC-TV disaffiliated from CBC and became independent. In 1979, the station branded itself as Channel 2&7, referring to its cable location. For a number of years afterwards, it continued to use the old CFAC "star" logo alongside the 2&7 logo.

In 1981, the station moved to its new home, the Calgary Television Center, a move reflecting its growth since its disaffiliation from the CBC. After obtaining the television rights to the Calgary Flames National Hockey League franchise the year before, the station purchased a seven camera mobile unit soon after. The station has been the Flames’ television partner since 1980.

In the fall of 1982, the station began broadcasting 24 hours a day, a first for Calgary. Overnight shows consisted of Late Night movies and reruns of the Jackie Gleason Show amongst others.

In 1989, Maclean-Hunter purchased Selkirk Communications, but due to ownership regulations at the time (Maclean-Hunter already owned CFCN-TV), CFAC-TV was sold to Western International Communications (WIC).

A year after WIC bought channel 2, it changed the calls to CKKX-TV. In 1992, CKKX’s news operations were expanded with the acquisitions of a satellite uplink truck and a fleet of electronic news gathering microwave trucks.

On September 7, 1993, CKKX was recalled CICT-TV, and also took on the brand of Calgary 7, referring to the station’s cable channel.

Logo used while Calgary 7, used from the 1990s to 2000. For logos used while as Global, refer to the Global Television Network article.

WIC's properties were split between Shaw Communications Inc. and Canwest in 1998. This move required Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approval, the plans for which were filed in 1999 and approved in 2000. Canwest acquired WIC's television assets, including CICT, which Shaw later bought Canwest's assets decades later becoming Shaw Media (which is based in the same city) amidst seeking creditor protection.

On September 4, 2000, CICT joined the Global Television Network, along with fellow Alberta stations CITV-TV and CISA. By 2001, CICT-TV began relays in Drumheller (CICT-TV-1) and Banff (CICT-TV-2). The station had been airing some Global shows since 1988.

On April 11, 2007, the station became the first in Calgary with a news helicopter. Named Global 1, it provides traffic reports on the Morning News in combination with studio traffic segments. It is also intended to provide breaking news coverage. The helicopter is also shared with AM 770 CHQR during the morning and afternoon rush hour.

Global Calgary became the first television station in Calgary, and the second television station in the province of Alberta, to shoot and transmit its local newscasts in High Definition on November 22, 2010.

[edit] Current On-Air Staff

Meghan Beveridge with the Bow Riverkeeper organization is interviewed by Global Calgary reporter Louis Koutis at a rally on April 13, 2007 in Downtown Calgary
Carolyn Kury de Castillo reporting for Global Calgary at City Hall in 2008

Global Calgary airs 38 hours of local news a week.

[edit] Anchors

[edit] Weather

[edit] Sports

[edit] Traffic

[edit] Reporters

[edit] Former on-air staff

[edit] Programming

CICT airs the same schedule as Global Edmonton. All non-news programming and some Calgary-based newscasts are also aired on Global Lethbridge.

[edit] Transmitters

Station City of licence Channel ERP HAAT Transmitter Coordinates
CICT-TV-1 Drumheller 8 (VHF) 0.009 kW NA 51°27′1″N 112°44′10″W / 51.45028°N 112.73611°W / 51.45028; -112.73611 (CICT-TV-1)
CICT-TV-2 Banff 13 (VHF) 0.009 kW NA 51°11′53″N 115°36′47″W / 51.19806°N 115.61306°W / 51.19806; -115.61306 (CICT-TV-2)

[edit] Digital television and high definition

CICT-DT received a construction permit for channel 41 on March 5, 2009 and began broadcasting on May 25, 2009.[1] Digital television receivers will display CICT-DT's virtual channel as 2.1.

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which takes place on August 31, 2011 [2], CICT-DT will remain on UHF channel 41.

CICT began broadcasting newscasts in high definition on November 22, 2010, as well as introducing a brand new Digital Studio.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-119, CICT-TV Calgary – Transitional digital television
  2. ^ http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/oca-bc.nsf/en/ca02336e.html

[edit] External links

v · d · eBroadcast television in Alberta
Calgary

CICT 2 (Global) • CFCN 4 (CTV) • CKAL 5 (Citytv) • CBRT 9 (CBC) • CIAN 13 (Edu/A) • CBRFT 16 (Radio-Canada) • CKCS 32 (CTS) • CJCO 38 (Omni)
Edmonton
Other areas
Cable-only
Defunct station
v · d · eGlobal Television Network
Owned and operated stations
Affiliates
Secondary carriers
See also
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CICT-TV"
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