Citytv

Citytv is an urban television brand owned by CHUM Limited. Most commonly it refers to a system of five English language television stations in Canada which use that brand, all owned by CHUM, although the name has also been licensed to stations outside Canada.

The Canadian stations (CITY in Toronto, CKVU in Vancouver, CHMI in Winnipeg, CKAL in Calgary and CKEM in Edmonton) are treated as independent stations which share common branding and some common programming, and not as a television network.

Moses Znaimer, who developed the original format, once described the system's philosophy by saying, "It's not the show, it's the flow."

History

The original Citytv station (granted callsign CITY-TV by the CRTC) was founded in Toronto in 1972 and began broadcasting for the first time on September 28 of that year. Known through its first decade as channel 79 on the UHF dial, programming shifted to channel 57 in 1983, where it remains to this day.

In 1987 Citytv moved to its current headquarters at the CHUM-City Building, making it one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city.

Citytv gained a second station in Vancouver when CHUM bought CKVU-TV from Global in 2001. The station became Citytv Vancouver on July 22, 2002.

In 2004, CHUM bought Craig Media Inc., parent of the _1997-2005 system in Manitoba and Alberta. These stations were rebranded as Citytv on August 2, 2005.

On July 12, 2006, Bell Globemedia announced they were to make a friendly takeover bid to buy CHUM Limited, with plans to maintain the Citytv system separate from its own CTV. CHUM's A-Channel stations (for clarity, not including the Citytv stations previously known as A-Channel) are expected to be sold. On the same day that the takeover was announced, Citytv cancelled its supper hour, late night, and weekend newscasts at most of its affiliated stations, laying off dozens of news department staff.

Programming

Citytv is best known for its unconventional approach to news and local programming. With a lack of a news desk (anchors read the news standing up) and laid-back yet hard-hitting presentation, Citytv Toronto's CityNews, formerly known as CityPulse, has developed a large following, and other stations around the world have tried to imitate its format to varying degrees of success. However, Citytv itself was unsuccessful in expanding its audience to other markets; as of July 12, 2006, traditional newscasts have been discontinued on all Citytv stations other than the Toronto station. ^*

Citytv (specifically the Toronto station) also produces more local programs than any other television station in Canada, such as Speakers' Corner, CityLine, FashionTelevision, SexTV, and MediaTelevision.

The station also attracted attention and controversy by airing Baby Blue Movies, or soft-core pornography, on Friday nights after midnight. Although this programming strategy was discontinued in the 1980s, it has recently been reinstated.

As well, CITY was one of the first television stations in Canada to implement a diversity policy in hiring its on-air staff. Znaimer originally described the policy as wanting the station to "look like Toronto".

Citytv stations

The CTV-owned ASN in Atlantic Canada may also be considered a Citytv "affiliate" of sorts, as it airs a localized version of Breakfast Television and a mix of programming similar to the Citytv stations in Alberta and Manitoba and the A-Channel stations in Ontario and British Columbia. ASN was previously owned by CHUM and continues to sublicense the Atlantic rights to various CHUM-controlled programmes. ASN's analog to CityPulse was called AtlanticPulse, which was discontinued in the mid-90s.

CHUM also owns CKX in Brandon, Manitoba, a CBC affiliate formerly owned by Craig Media, which rebroadcasts some Citytv programming.

CHUM has also licensed the Citytv name and brand identity to local television stations in Bogotá, Colombia (Citytv Bogotá) and Barcelona, Spain (Citytv Barcelona). The latter station's license agreement expired in 2006, and the station was renamed TD8.

Recently, CHUM has signed an agreement with WRUA channel 34 in Fajardo, Puerto Rico to establish a Citytv franchise on that channel -- a first on American soil. ^*

Former Citytv employees

Producer Ivan Reitman (Producer with Citytv Toronto)
Actor Dan Aykroyd (Citytv Toronto's first on-air announcer)
Anchor John Roberts (Hosted Citytv Toronto's The New Music, using the name J.D. Roberts)
Journalist Bill Cameron (Anchored late-night edition of CityPulse in the early 1980's before moving on to the CBC)
Terrilyn Joe former reporter
Sharon Navarro former reporter
Harold Hussein former weatherman for 25 years (1981-2006)

References

External links