is a
System of five
English Language Television Stations in
Canada , owned by the
CHUM Limited group.
The 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 , head of Citytv for many years, once described the system's philosophy by saying, "It's not the show, it's the flow."
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 system in
Manitoba and
Alberta . These stations were rebranded as Citytv on
August 2 ,
2005 .
and several Citytv vehicles.]]
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's ''
CityNews '', formerly known as City''Pulse'', has developed a large following, and other stations around the world have tried to imitate its format to varying degrees of success.
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
Night s 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".
''See also:
List Of Programs Broadcast By Citytv ''
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. 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.
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