CISA-DT

CISA-DT is a Canadian television station serving Lethbridge, Alberta, and nearby communities in southern Alberta. It broadcasts on VHF channel 7 over the air and is carried on cable channel 2 in its principal market. The station is owned and operated by the Global Television Network, which is part of Corus Entertainment. Its studios are located in downtown Lethbridge in the Royal Bank building at the intersection of 7 Street South and 4 Avenue South, while its main transmitter is situated near Highway 25 and Range Road 221 outside the city. The station began broadcasting on November 20, 1955, as CJLH-TV. It was established through a partnership between local radio station CJOC and the Lethbridge Herald, with management provided by the owners of CJOC, Taylor Pearson & Carson. At launch, CJLH was affiliated with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation television network. As one of the only television services available in the Lethbridge area, it initially faced the technical limitations of early Canadian broadcasting, including delayed delivery of network programs on kinescope recordings. A direct microwave connection to the CBC network became available in 1958, improving the timeliness of scheduled programming. During its early years, CISA's predecessor combined network entertainment and news with locally produced programs. Local offerings included community news, talent showcases, gardening instruction and historical features about southern Alberta. Programs such as Channel 7 Spotlight, Remember When and Home Gardener helped establish the station as a community institution and contributed to awards received during the 1950s and 1960s. The station also expanded its regional reach through repeaters, including a Burmis transmitter serving the Crowsnest Pass area in 1961 and a Brooks repeater later in the decade. Ownership and affiliation changes shaped the station during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1972, the Lethbridge Herald sold its interest to Selkirk Communications, and the station adopted the call sign CJOC-TV. It became a semi-satellite of Selkirk's Calgary station, CFAC-TV, while continuing to produce local programs. In 1975, the station lost its CBC affiliation when CBC Television launched CBRT and associated rebroadcasting service in the region. The Lethbridge station subsequently used the call sign CFAC-TV-7 and was promoted alongside its Calgary counterpart as “2&7 Lethbridge Television.” The station expanded its technical and production capabilities through the 1970s and 1980s, moving to colour production in 1974 and adding satellite capability in 1988 for video news feeds and Global programming. Its locally oriented productions included community affairs, sports and cultural programs. Some productions achieved recognition beyond Alberta, including Ski West, which was syndicated to other Canadian stations, and community-focused projects such as We Won't Let Him Die, Kids Belong Together and Key to Literacy. Following Selkirk's merger with Maclean Hunter and the subsequent sale of television assets, the station became part of Western International Communications. It adopted the call sign CISA-TV in 1990. WIC's assets were later divided among Canwest, Corus Radio and Shaw Communications after the Griffiths family sold the business. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the transaction in 2000, and CISA became a full-time Global Television Network station on September 4 of that year. It was subsequently branded as Global Lethbridge. CISA-DT carries the Global network schedule and has programming patterns closely aligned with sister stations CICT-DT in Calgary and CITV-DT in Edmonton. It is described as the smallest station in the Global network by market size and remains the only standalone commercial television station in southern Alberta. Its non-news programming is generally integrated with the schedules of its larger sister stations, while its local identity is expressed mainly through regional news and community coverage. The station's news operation has changed over time. In 2008, production of its newscasts shifted from Lethbridge to Calgary and adopted a virtual set. A revised local-news model introduced in 2015 ended locally produced weekend newscasts. The station currently broadcasts approximately seven and a half hours of locally produced weekday news, the lowest local-news output among Global's news-producing owned-and-operated stations. In 2011, CISA became the first television station in southern Alberta to convert its principal transmitter from analogue to digital, retaining VHF channel 7 for its digital signal.

CISA-DT traces its history to CJLH-TV, which began broadcasting from Lethbridge on November 20, 1955. The station was created by local radio broadcaster CJOC and the Lethbridge Herald. Taylor Pearson & Carson, the company associated with CJOC, managed the operation. CJLH initially operated as a CBC television affiliate and used a high-power VHF transmitter on channel 7. In its first years, much of the network schedule arrived through kinescope recordings, sometimes days after live broadcasts from eastern Canada or the United States. The station's potential audience expanded rapidly as television ownership increased in the region. Local programming was central to the station's early identity. The schedule included news and community features, Channel 7 Spotlight, the historical program Remember When and the gardening series Home Gardener. These programs reflected the station's role as the only television service available locally at launch and helped connect the broadcaster with southern Alberta organizations, performers and civic life. Several productions received industry recognition, including awards from Liberty magazine during the 1950s and 1960s. A microwave connection to the CBC network through Calgary's time-delay centre was established in 1958, reducing the delays associated with network programming. The station broadened its regional footprint in 1961 by opening a repeater at Burmis to serve the Crowsnest Pass. In 1968, CFCN-TV launched a Lethbridge repeater after an arrangement that allowed it to use space on CJLH's tower and premises. A Brooks repeater also began operating during the late 1960s. Technical development continued with the installation of the station's first two-inch black-and-white videotape recorder in 1968. In 1970, CJLH increased its production capacity by becoming a two-camera operation. The Lethbridge Herald sold its interest to Selkirk Communications in 1972, and the station changed its call sign to CJOC-TV. It became a semi-satellite of Selkirk's Calgary station, CFAC-TV, while preserving a local production schedule that included programs such as Time Out, Ski Reports, Our Town, Sunday Hour, Thought for the Day, Focus on University, College Campus and other specials. The station adopted colour production in 1974 with two colour cameras and three one-inch video recorders. The CBC affiliation ended in 1975 after CBC Television launched CBRT in Alberta and established a Lethbridge rebroadcaster. CJOC-TV subsequently changed its call sign to CFAC-TV-7 in 1976 and adopted the shared “2&7 Lethbridge Television” identity used with the Calgary station. Although its call sign resembled that of a rebroadcaster, it continued to operate under a full-station licence. Transmitter power was increased in 1979. In 1988, the station installed a satellite dish to receive video news feeds from Global Television and began carrying portions of Global's entertainment schedule alongside programming from its Calgary sister station. The station maintained a strong local-production tradition during this period. Ski West was distributed to stations including CHCH-TV, BCTV and CFCF-TV and was recognized as a leading syndicated Canadian program at the time. Other productions, including We Won't Let Him Die, Kids Belong Together and Key to Literacy, received awards for community involvement or production achievement. Selkirk Communications merged with Maclean Hunter in 1989. Maclean Hunter then sold most of Selkirk's television assets to Western International Communications, which changed the Lethbridge station's call sign to CISA-TV in 1990. The broadcaster continued to operate as a local commercial station while sharing some programming with its Calgary counterpart. A later corporate restructuring followed the sale of Western International Communications assets by the Griffiths family. The assets were divided among Canwest, Shaw Communications and Corus Radio through agreements reviewed by the CRTC. After regulatory approval in 2000, CISA became a full-time Global Television Network station on September 4 of that year. It adopted the Global Lethbridge brand and eventually became part of the Global network's owned-and-operated station group under Corus Entertainment. CISA's modern schedule combines Global's national programming with local news for Lethbridge and southern Alberta. Its non-news programming is generally scheduled in line with CICT-DT in Calgary and CITV-DT in Edmonton. In 2008, news production was moved from Lethbridge to Calgary and a virtual set was introduced. In 2015, Global implemented a new local-news model that removed locally produced weekend newscasts. The station now produces approximately seven and a half hours of local weekday news, making it the smallest news-producing Global owned-and-operated station by local-news volume. The station completed its analogue-to-digital transition on July 27, 2011, ahead of the mandatory-market transition deadline. Its main transmitter continued using VHF channel 7 for digital broadcasts. CISA-DT remains headquartered in downtown Lethbridge and continues to serve as the only standalone commercial television station in southern Alberta, with additional regional reach through translators.

• 2015

  Local-news model revised

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  A new production model eliminates locally produced weekend newscasts.

• 2011

  Digital conversion completed

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CISA shuts down its analogue transmitter and begins digital broadcasting on VHF channel 7.

• 2008

  News production moves to Calgary

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station transfers news production from Lethbridge to Calgary and introduces a virtual studio set.

• 2000

  CISA joins Global full time

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Following regulatory approval of the WIC asset transactions, CISA becomes a full-time Global Television Network station on September 4.

• 1990

  Station becomes CISA-TV

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Western International Communications changes the station's call sign from CFAC-TV-7 to CISA-TV.

• 1988

  Global programming and satellite news feeds added

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  A satellite dish enables video-news reception and allows the station to carry selected Global entertainment programming.

• 1976

  Call sign changes to CFAC-TV-7

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station adopts the CFAC-TV-7 call sign and the shared “2&7 Lethbridge Television” branding.

• 1975

  CBC affiliation ends

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station leaves the CBC network after CBRT and its Lethbridge rebroadcaster begin providing CBC service in the region.

• 1974

  Colour production begins

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station upgrades local production with colour cameras and one-inch video recorders.

• 1972

  Ownership passes to Selkirk Communications

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The Lethbridge Herald sells its station interest to Selkirk Communications, which changes the call sign to CJOC-TV.

• 1968

  Video and regional infrastructure expand

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CJLH installs its first two-inch videotape recorder, shares infrastructure with a CFCN repeater and adds a low-power Brooks repeater.

• 1961

  Burmis repeater opens

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station expands coverage into the Crowsnest Pass area with a channel 3 repeater at Burmis.

• 1958

  Microwave connection to the CBC network

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  A direct microwave link through Calgary improves the timeliness of CBC network programming received by the station.

• 1955

  CJLH-TV signs on

  [1]CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The Lethbridge station begins broadcasting on November 20 as a CBC television affiliate created by CJOC and the Lethbridge Herald.

A small-market Global Television Network station combining national network programming with local news and community coverage for Lethbridge and southern Alberta.

• Local television news

  Global Lethbridge local news

  CISA-DT's principal locally oriented offering is its Global Lethbridge news operation, covering Lethbridge and surrounding southern Alberta communities. The station currently produces approximately seven and a half hours of local weekday newscasts. News production was moved to Calgary in 2008, and a revised model introduced in 2015 removed locally produced weekend newscasts. The service remains the station's main point of differentiation from the national Global schedule.

• Network television programming · 2000

  Global Television Network programming

  CISA-DT carries the full Global Television Network schedule, including national news, entertainment and other network programming. Its schedule is closely coordinated with sister station CICT-DT in Calgary and CITV-DT in Edmonton. The network schedule gives the Lethbridge station access to nationally distributed programming while local news provides market-specific coverage.

• Broadcast transmission · 2011

  Digital terrestrial television transmission

  The station's main Lethbridge transmitter broadcasts digitally on VHF channel 7. CISA completed its analogue-to-digital conversion in July 2011, ahead of the broader Canadian transition deadline. The station also maintains or is associated with regional translator facilities, including a translator operated by a local television association in Montana.

• 2015

  Revision of the local-news production modelStrategy

  Background

  Global introduced a new local-news operating model for CISA.

  Action taken

  The station eliminated locally produced weekend newscasts while retaining weekday local-news output.

  Aftermath

  CISA's local news service continued with approximately seven and a half hours of weekday programming and a more centralized production structure.

  Source

• 2011

  Analogue-to-digital transmission conversionGeneration change

  Background

  Canadian television broadcasters were transitioning from analogue to digital transmission in markets designated by the CRTC.

  Action taken

  CISA shut down its analogue Lethbridge transmitter on July 27 and flash-cut to a digital signal on VHF channel 7.

  Aftermath

  The station became the first television broadcaster in southern Alberta to complete its principal digital conversion.

  Source

• 2008

  Centralization of news productionStrategy

  Background

  Global changed the operating model for the Lethbridge station's local news service.

  Action taken

  News production was moved from Lethbridge to Calgary and a virtual set was introduced.

  Aftermath

  CISA continued to deliver local news for southern Alberta while relying on a centralized production arrangement.

  Source

• 2000

  Integration into the Global Television NetworkM&A

  Background

  The restructuring and sale of Western International Communications assets led to the division of its television holdings among several companies. Regulatory approval allowed CISA to move from its earlier ownership and affiliation structure into the Global network.

  Action taken

  CISA became a full-time Global Television Network station on September 4, 2000, under the Global Lethbridge identity.

  Aftermath

  The station adopted a network-owned-and-operated role within the Global schedule and became part of the broadcast assets associated with Corus Entertainment.

  Source

1. 1CISA-DTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Global Lethbridgeglobalnews.ca
3. 3CISA-DT at the History of Canadian Broadcastingbroadcasting-history.ca