is a
Television Station in
Medicine Hat ,
Alberta . It is owned by
Jim Pattison Group , and operates on
VHF channel 6 and
Cable channel 3.
It is a private affiliate of the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation .
It also operates translators in
Pivot (, channel 4) and
Maple Creek Saskatchewan ('''CHAT-TV-2''', channel 6). Its signal is also transmitted via a CBC-owned repeater in
Etzikom ('''CBCA-TV-1''', on channel 12). The station is not carried on the
Bell ExpressVu and
Star Choice satellite services.
Its programs are sourced mainly from the CBC, but programs from
Global , including its
Soap Operas , can be seen on the station. Its news program is called ''NewsWatch'', and is seen live at 5.30pm and 11.00pm, and repeated at 6.30am weekdays.
CHAT-TV commenced operations in
September 14 ,
1957 , with an power output of 5,700 watts visual power and 3,000 watts aural power, on channel 6. The station was owned by
J.H. "Hop" Yuill 's
Monarch Broadcasting Company Ltd, and was co-owned with local station
CHAT-AM . The station's launch was presided over by then-premier
E.C. Manning , and was the forth television station in Alberta to open.
CHAT-TV's first general manager was
R.J. "Bob" Buss , operating from an modern studio and office building, and a 403-foot tower located ar
Redcliffe , six miles northwest of Medicine Hat. Along with Bob,
Sid Gaffney was the first Chief Engineer and
Merv Stone was the Production Manager.
In the beginning, the station began its daily operations at 5.30pm, with the only live programming being the 6pm news bulletin, with the rest of the programming either on
Film or
Kinescope from the CBC. Around 10% of the local commercials were done live, with the announcers having to ad-lib enough to last the full 60 seconds.
Other early CHAT-TV staff members that have gone on to bigger and better things include
Bernie Pascal ,
Gary Buss ,
George Lund ,
Mike Darow and
Duff Roman .
Early local productions of note include ''Sock-Hop'', a teenage dance show, quiz shows such as ''View the Clue'' and ''Cartoon Quiz'', cooking shows, farming programs, and two music programs, ''Country Roundup'' (concentrating on western music), and ''Music For the Moderns'', featuring local musicians.
Later that year, the station joined the CBC's microwave network on
December 15 , increasing the station's operating hours to 10:00am through to 12:00 midnight.
In
1961 , a high powered re-broadcaster was located near Pivot, near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, which improved the station's signal reach.
In
1967 , colour programming from the CBC arrived on CHAT, and local colour programs started in
February 1971 .
In
September 1979 , the main transmitter was re-located to
Bowell, Alberta , and the power output was increased to 36,000 watts video and 3,000 watts audio.
Other re-broadcasters were added in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, and at
Oyen, Alberta (owned by the community).
In
1992 ,
W.H. "Bill" Yuill , son of "Hop" Yuill, became the owner and president of CHAT's parent company Monarch Communications Group, which had expanded into other broadcasting and
Cable properties in Alberta and
British Columbia .
Over the years, Bob Buss was followed as General Manager by
Orv Kope ,
Dwaine Dietrich ,
Brian Ellis , and again by Dwaine Dietrich in
1996 .
In
2000 , the CRTC approved the purchase of Monarch's radio and television holdings (including CHAT-TV) to the
Jim Pattison Group .
