CIIT-DT

CIIT-DT is a religious independent television station licensed to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It broadcasts on digital channel 35, while its principal cable placement in Winnipeg has historically been channel 11. The station is currently branded FaithTV and is owned by ZoomerMedia, the media company controlled by Moses Znaimer. Its studios are located in Winnipeg on Osborne Street and Wardlaw Avenue, and its transmitter is situated near Courchaine Road, close to Manitoba Provincial Road 200 in southern Winnipeg. The station originated with a February 2002 licence granted to Trinity Television Inc. for a religious service in Winnipeg. Trinity initially planned to launch the station under the NowTV name, a brand also associated with its Vancouver operation, but the proposed September 2004 launch did not occur. Before the Winnipeg service went on air, Rogers Communications acquired Trinity Television and assumed control of the licence. Rogers subsequently launched the station on February 6, 2006, as Omni 11, making use of CIIT’s channel 35 allocation. The launch made CIIT Winnipeg’s first UHF television station. CIIT’s ownership and programming identity changed several times during its first years. In 2007, Rogers received approval to acquire the Citytv stations, including Winnipeg’s CHMI-TV. Because Canadian broadcasting rules restricted Rogers from owning multiple stations serving the same language in one market, Rogers was required to divest CIIT and Vancouver station CHNU-TV. Rogers announced the sale of both stations to S-VOX in November 2007. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the transaction in March 2008, and S-VOX completed the acquisition and assumed control of CIIT later that year. After leaving the Omni system in July 2008, the station briefly used the CIIT11 identity before joining S-VOX’s newly created Joytv brand. It became Joytv 11 in September 2008. Joytv combined religious programming with selected syndicated entertainment, including sitcoms, dramas, and U.S. programs not acquired by other Canadian networks. In 2009, S-VOX announced the sale of its broadcasting assets to ZoomerMedia. Regulatory approval followed in March 2010, and ZoomerMedia assumed control on June 30, 2010. CIIT changed direction again in late August 2013, relaunching as Hope TV. The station dropped its general-entertainment schedule and adopted a traditional religious format consisting entirely of faith-based programming. Audience measurement reported in the station’s reference history showed a substantial decline in weekly viewing hours after this change, followed by a partial recovery, indicating the narrower religious format served a smaller television audience than the earlier mixed schedule. In September 2018, the service was rebranded FaithTV, the identity associated with its current operation. The station’s programming has primarily consisted of religious broadcasts, televangelist programs, and religion-oriented talk shows. During the Omni and Joytv periods, these programs appeared alongside general entertainment and syndicated content; after the Hope TV relaunch, the schedule became exclusively religious. CIIT also completed Canada’s mandatory-market digital television transition by flash-cutting its digital signal on August 31, 2011. In Winnipeg, the station has been carried by cable providers including Shaw and MTS TV, and it has also been available on Rogers digital cable in Ontario.

CIIT-DT’s history began with a religious television licence granted to Trinity Television Inc. in February 2002. Trinity proposed launching the Winnipeg station as NowTV in September 2004, but the planned launch was delayed. Rogers Communications acquired Trinity Television before the service went on air and took control of the licence. The station eventually launched on February 6, 2006, as Omni 11. Its digital allocation was channel 35, making it Winnipeg’s first UHF television station. Rogers’ ownership was short-lived. After Rogers received approval in 2007 to acquire the Citytv stations, including Winnipeg’s CHMI-TV, it was required to sell CIIT and CHNU-TV in Vancouver to comply with Canadian ownership restrictions concerning multiple same-language stations in a market. Rogers announced the sale to S-VOX in November 2007. The CRTC approved the transaction on March 31, 2008, the sale closed on April 30, and S-VOX assumed operational control on June 30. In July 2008, CIIT departed the Omni system and used the CIIT11 identity. S-VOX then placed the station within the Joytv brand, and CIIT became Joytv 11 on September 1, 2008. During this period, the schedule combined faith-oriented programming with syndicated sitcoms, dramas, and U.S. programming that had not been selected by other Canadian networks. S-VOX announced in June 2009 that it would sell its broadcasting assets to ZoomerMedia. The CRTC approved the transaction on March 30, 2010, and ZoomerMedia assumed control on June 30. ZoomerMedia is controlled by Moses Znaimer, although no station-level executive information is established in the supplied reference material. The most significant programming change occurred in late August 2013, when CIIT relaunched as Hope TV. It removed secular and general-entertainment programming and adopted a fully religious schedule. Available audience figures cited in the station’s reference history show weekly viewing hours falling from 84,000 in fall 2012 to 28,000 in fall 2013, with a rise to 42,000 in fall 2014. In September 2018, Hope TV was renamed FaithTV. The station has also faced broadcast-standards scrutiny. In 2017, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council reprimanded CIIT for airing an episode of Truth of God in which a pastor used offensive descriptions of U.S. lawmakers and homophobic slurs in a discussion of bathroom legislation. The incident is the principal regulatory controversy identified in the supplied material. CIIT completed the mandatory-market transition from analogue to digital broadcasting on August 31, 2011, using a digital signal on UHF channel 35. Its Winnipeg cable placement has generally been channel 11, while Shaw moved its former community-access service away from that position. The station has also been carried on Rogers digital cable in Ontario. It remains a Winnipeg-based religious independent station under the FaithTV name.

• 2018

  FaithTV rebrand

  [1]CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station changed its on-air identity from Hope TV to FaithTV.

• 2013

  Hope TV relaunch

  [1]CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station adopted an exclusively religious schedule and relaunched as Hope TV.

• 2011

  Digital transition completed

  [1]CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CIIT flash-cut its digital signal on UHF channel 35 during Canada’s mandatory-market transition.

• 2010

  ZoomerMedia assumes control

  [1]CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  ZoomerMedia took control of S-VOX’s broadcasting assets on June 30.

• 2008

  S-VOX ownership begins

  [1]CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  S-VOX completed its acquisition and assumed control of CIIT in June.

• 2008

  Joytv 11 branding introduced

  [1]CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  After leaving Omni, CIIT became part of the Joytv system and adopted the Joytv 11 identity.

• 2006

  Station launches as Omni 11

  [1]CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CIIT went on air on February 6 under the Omni 11 brand.

• 2002

  Religious television licence granted

  [1]CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Trinity Television Inc. received a licence for a religious television station serving Winnipeg.

A local religious independent television service focused on faith-based broadcasting for Winnipeg and surrounding Manitoba audiences.

• Religious television station · 2018

  FaithTV

  The station’s current on-air service and brand, FaithTV provides religious programming to Winnipeg and surrounding audiences through digital terrestrial transmission and cable distribution. Its schedule is centered on faith-based broadcasts, televangelist content, ministry programs, and religion-oriented talk programming.

• Television station brand · 2008

  Joytv 11

  CIIT used the Joytv 11 identity from 2008 until its conversion to Hope TV in 2013. Under this format, the station combined religious programming with syndicated entertainment, including sitcoms, dramas, and selected U.S. programs.

• Television station brand · 2006

  Omni 11

  Omni 11 was the station’s launch identity under Rogers Communications. Although its schedule included faith-based programming, the Omni-era service also carried broader syndicated and network-related entertainment content.

• 2017

  Broadcast-standards reprimand over Truth of God

  The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council reprimanded CIIT after the station aired a Truth of God episode containing a pastor’s offensive references to U.S. lawmakers, including homophobic slurs, during a discussion of bathroom legislation.

  Source

Read more

• 2018

  FaithTV rebrandStrategy

  Background

  The station continued its religious independent format after the Hope TV relaunch.

  Action taken

  Hope TV was rebranded FaithTV in September 2018.

  Aftermath

  FaithTV became the station’s continuing on-air identity.

  Source

• 2013

  Conversion to an exclusively religious formatStrategy

  Background

  ZoomerMedia’s CIIT operation changed direction after the Joytv period, emphasizing a traditional religious identity rather than a mixed religious and entertainment schedule.

  Action taken

  CIIT relaunched as Hope TV and removed general-entertainment programming.

  Aftermath

  Weekly viewing hours declined from 84,000 in fall 2012 to 28,000 in fall 2013, then recovered to 42,000 in fall 2014 according to figures cited in the station’s reference history.

  Source

• 2008

  Departure from Omni and adoption of JoytvStrategy

  Background

  Following S-VOX’s acquisition of the station, CIIT was removed from the Omni television system and prepared for inclusion in S-VOX’s new Joytv brand.

  Action taken

  The station first used CIIT11 and then relaunched as Joytv 11 in September 2008.

  Aftermath

  CIIT operated as a faith-oriented station with a mixed schedule of religious and syndicated general-entertainment programming until its 2013 format change.

  Source

1. 1CIIT-DTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2FaithTV official websitefaithtelevision.ca