CIVT-DT

CIVT-DT is an English-language television station serving Vancouver and the surrounding Lower Mainland in British Columbia, Canada. It operates as the Vancouver outlet of the CTV Television Network and is commonly identified on air as CTV Vancouver. The station broadcasts over the air on digital channel 32 and is widely distributed by cable providers on channel 9 in the Vancouver area. Its studios are in downtown Vancouver at the Robson Street and Burrard Street complex, while its transmitter is located on Mount Seymour in North Vancouver. The station was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in January 1997 after a competitive process involving five applicants. The winning proposal came from the Baton/Electrohome alliance, which promised a locally oriented service with programming reflecting Vancouver's growing multicultural population and a commitment to producing television in British Columbia. The licence filled a long-standing gap in the Vancouver market: CIVT was the first new Vancouver television station in more than two decades. CIVT began broadcasting on September 22, 1997, initially under the brand Vancouver Television, or VTV. Its launch schedule was designed to distinguish it from the established stations in the market. It included a large morning program, local news at several points in the day, talk and public-affairs programming, arts coverage, and entertainment. The station also became a production base for nationally distributed Canadian programs, including the talk show Gabereau Live! and the police drama Cold Squad. Its news operation established bureaus and reporting activity across the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, with an emphasis on communities and immigrant groups that the station believed were underrepresented in local television. The station's history was closely connected to the consolidation of Canadian private television in the late 1990s. At the same time that CIVT was being built, Baton Broadcasting acquired control of the CTV network through a series of transactions involving Electrohome and other shareholders. A separate ownership change affecting Vancouver's long-established BCTV station, later known as CHAN-TV, then set the stage for a major realignment. In 2001, CHAN became associated with the Global Television Network, while CIVT became Vancouver's CTV station and the only CTV network station on Canada's West Coast. The station subsequently adopted CTV branding and shifted its programming toward the broader, somewhat older audience associated with the national network. CIVT's early years involved considerable management and on-air turnover, experimentation with local formats, and criticism that some of its original programming was scheduled in less prominent periods. Nevertheless, its news operation gained recognition, and its presence increased the amount of commercial inventory and locally produced television available in the Vancouver market. Beginning in 1998, the station also carried local telecasts of Vancouver Canucks hockey and Vancouver Grizzlies basketball, strengthening its role as a regional broadcaster. Today, CIVT-DT functions primarily as a CTV network affiliate and local news service. Its core offering consists of CTV network programming, locally produced Vancouver newscasts, weather and traffic information, breaking-news coverage, and digital journalism distributed through the CTV News Vancouver website and related platforms. It is a sister station of Victoria-based CTV2 outlet CIVI-DT, although the two stations have nominally separate operations. CIVT remains an important Bell Media broadcast asset in Western Canada and a principal television source for news and network programming in the Vancouver market.

CIVT-DT emerged from a prolonged effort to expand Vancouver's television market. By the mid-1990s, Vancouver had gone nearly twenty years without receiving a new conventional television station, even as the region's population grew and became more culturally diverse. Existing broadcasters faced criticism for limited representation of immigrant communities and for relying on programming decisions made outside British Columbia. The local production industry also wanted a broadcaster with authority to commission and develop programs in Vancouver rather than sending proposals to Toronto. Rogers Communications and CanWest Global Communications submitted proposals for new services before the CRTC issued a wider call for applications in March 1996. Five proposals were ultimately considered. Rogers proposed a predominantly multicultural service; CanWest proposed a Vancouver Island station; CHUM proposed a West Coast version of its Citytv model; Craig Broadcast Systems proposed a multilingual independent station; and the Baton/Electrohome alliance proposed CIVT-TV, a Vancouver service with local news and a commitment to develop programs that could also be distributed through the applicants' other stations. The CRTC selected the Baton/Electrohome application on January 31, 1997. The commission regarded all three independent-station proposals as strong, but gave particular weight to the winning group's promise to create new Vancouver-produced programs for broader Canadian distribution. Planning began immediately. The station secured premises in a former downtown public library at Robson and Burrard streets, developed a newsroom with reporters positioned in communities across the region, and recruited experienced broadcasting personnel from established British Columbia stations. The launch concept drew inspiration from the energetic, street-level style associated with Citytv, but was adapted to Vancouver's geography and multicultural population. CIVT went to air on September 22, 1997, as Vancouver Television, generally shortened to VTV. The original schedule included Vancouver Breakfast, daytime and evening local news, Vicki Gabereau's Gabereau Live!, political and current-affairs programming, and entertainment. The station also supported nationally visible Canadian productions such as Cold Squad. Its news operation emphasized local communities, including Asian and other immigrant populations, and created bureaus or reporting presence in places such as Victoria, North Vancouver, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, Surrey, and Richmond. The station launched during a period of rapid consolidation in Canadian broadcasting. Baton was simultaneously assembling control of the CTV network. Its purchase of broadcasting assets from Electrohome, subsequent asset transactions, and acquisition of CTV shares held by other owners transformed CTV from a cooperative affiliate network into a centrally controlled private network. These developments weakened the original premise that CIVT would operate as a fully independent Vancouver voice. Several advisers associated with the initial concept resigned, including film director Daryl Duke, who argued that the station's governance had changed substantially from the structure originally presented to the regulator. VTV experienced uneven ratings and frequent personnel changes during its first years. Its local programming attracted awards attention and industry interest, while some critics felt its original shows were placed in low-visibility time slots or emphasized noisy entertainment over deeper local coverage. The news department nevertheless improved its competitive position. The station dropped its noon newscast and added a 5 p.m. edition, while its evening news programs were eventually retitled VTV News. Sports rights, including local broadcasts of Vancouver Canucks hockey and Vancouver Grizzlies basketball, helped establish the station as a regional service. A decisive change came through the 1999 sale of Western International Communications' television assets. CanWest's acquisition of BCTV and its existing ownership of CKVU created a regulatory and competitive restructuring in Vancouver. CHAN-TV, the dominant former CTV affiliate, ultimately became associated with Global, and the CTV network moved its Vancouver affiliation to CIVT in 2001. CIVT adopted CTV branding and became the network's West Coast flagship. This transition shifted the station from a youthful independent-style outlet toward a conventional network station serving a broader and older audience. Under Bell Media, CIVT-DT continues to combine national CTV programming with Vancouver-focused news, weather, traffic, sports, and digital reporting. Its sister relationship with Victoria-based CIVI-DT gives Bell Media two CTV-branded broadcast operations in British Columbia, although the stations are treated as separate services. CIVT's continuing importance rests on its position in Canada's third-largest metropolitan television market and on its role as CTV's principal broadcast presence west of Ontario.

• 2001

  Becomes Vancouver's CTV station

  [1]CIVT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Following the Canadian television realignment, CIVT replaced CHAN as the CTV network's Vancouver outlet and adopted the CTV identity.

• 1998

  Adds Vancouver professional sports coverage

  [1]CIVT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station obtained local telecast rights for Vancouver Canucks hockey and Vancouver Grizzlies basketball.

• 1997

  Baton–Electrohome application approved

  [1]CIVT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The CRTC awarded the new Vancouver commercial television licence to the Baton/Electrohome alliance.

• 1997

  CIVT begins broadcasting

  [1]CIVT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CIVT launched on September 22 as Vancouver Television, using the VTV identity and a schedule centered on local news and original programming.

• 1995

  Applications for a new Vancouver-area station begin

  [1]CIVT-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Rogers and CanWest submitted proposals for new television services in the Vancouver–Victoria market, prompting a broader regulatory application process.

A major-market English-language broadcaster combining CTV network programming with locally focused news and regional coverage for Vancouver and British Columbia.

• Local television news

  CTV News Vancouver

  CIVT's principal local-news service, covering Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, British Columbia politics, public safety, transportation, weather, business, culture, and community affairs. The service is delivered through scheduled television newscasts and complementary digital articles, video, and live coverage.

• Network television · 2001

  CTV network programming

  As CTV's Vancouver station, CIVT carries the network's national schedule, including news, entertainment, scripted programming, reality formats, specials, and other centrally acquired content, subject to Canadian broadcast scheduling and regulatory requirements.

• Original television programming · 1997

  VTV local programming

  The station's original launch-era identity included Vancouver Breakfast, Vancouver Live newscasts, talk and public-affairs programs, and arts or entertainment features. The VTV period established CIVT as a local production platform before the station became CTV Vancouver.

• Sports broadcasting · 1998

  Regional sports telecasts

  CIVT carried local telecasts of Vancouver Canucks hockey and Vancouver Grizzlies basketball during the late 1990s, expanding the station's regional relevance beyond news and general entertainment.

• 2001

  Transitions from VTV to CTVStrategy

  Background

  A major Canadian television ownership and affiliation realignment moved the CTV affiliation in Vancouver away from CHAN-TV.

  Action taken

  CIVT became the CTV station for Vancouver and British Columbia's principal CTV network outlet, changing its public identity from VTV to CTV.

  Aftermath

  The station shifted toward a broader network audience and became CTV's West Coast flagship.

  Source

• 1997

  Launches with a youthful, multicultural local-service strategyOther

  Background

  The new station entered a Vancouver market criticized for limited diversity and a shortage of locally controlled television production.

  Action taken

  Baton and Electrohome launched CIVT as Vancouver Television, emphasizing local news, community reporting, original programs, and a younger presentation style.

  Aftermath

  The format attracted attention and awards recognition but faced ratings pressure, programming criticism, and substantial personnel turnover.

  Source

1. 1CIVT-DTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2CTV News Vancouverctvnews.ca