is a
Television Station based in
Victoria, British Columbia . Owned by
CHUM Limited , the station serves the
Vancouver Island area as part of the
A-Channel system. It is seen on cable channel 12 on most cable systems in southwestern BC.
CIVI's signal spills into
Vancouver . As a result, the station is mandated by the
CRTC to broadcast no more than 10% of the programs shown on sister station
Citytv Vancouver .
At the end of the
1990s , CHUM Limited only owned over-the-air television stations in
Ontario . Similarly,
Craig Media only had stations in the
Canadian Prairies . Both companies looked to expand their national presence, and both submitted a bid when the CRTC issued a call for application for a new TV license in Victoria. CHUM was awarded the license in
2000 , and CIVI launched on
October 4 ,
2001 as CHUM's first original station to be part of the
NewNet system.
Known on the air as ''The New VI'', the station started off with much pomp and circumstance. It boasted a large lineup of personalities, including former
NDP cabinet minister
Moe Sihota . The station's news anchors walked around the studio instead of sitting behind a desk, mimicking the format used at sister station
Citytv Toronto and other NewNet outlets. However, the station struggled to compete against
CHEK-TV , a station which had essentially held a monopoly over the television industry on Vancouver Island for more than four decades. Gradually, personalities from the original roster were replaced by new faces, and some were let go without replacements.
The station received a boost in
2004 , when longtime CHEK-TV anchor
Hudson Mack joined the station as its new chief anchor and news director. Changes were introduced to the station's newscasts, and they appear to have been effective: though still ranking behind CHEK-TV, the ratings gap between the two has been narrowed.
Since Mack's arrival, the station has been honoured with a number of industry arwards. In 2006 it received three Edward R. Murrow Awards from RTNDA International, for Best Newscast, Best Investigative Reporting and an Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Sports Reporting. It was the second straight year the station won Murrows for its newscast and investigative reporting. In 2005 the station won eight industry awards, including two Edward R. Murrow Awards from RTNDA International, for Best Newscast and Best Investigative Reporting; and top news honours from the BC Association of Broadcasters.
The station was re-branded as
A-Channel on
August 2 ,
2005 , along with the rest of the NewNet system. Incidentally, the station would likely have been named
A-Channel at its launch had Craig won the license in 2000.
Hudson Mack ''(A-Channel News at 5 and 6)'', Cheryl Bloxham ''(A-Channel News at Eleven)'', Erick Thompson ''(A-Channel Morning)''
Bruce Williams
Jason Pires, Mira Laurence
Stephen Andrew , Jonathan Bartlett, Astrid Braunschmidt,
Meribeth Burton , Peter Chura, Tara Fedun, Gord Kurbis, Shachi Kurl, Moira MacLean, Howard Markson, Adam Sawatsky,
