CTV Television Network facts for kids
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| Type | Terrestrial television network |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | Canada parts of the United States via cable or antenna |
| Affiliates | See § CTV stations |
| Headquarters | 9 Channel Nine Court, Agincourt, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BCE Inc. |
| Parent | Bell Media |
| Key people | Wade Oosterman President, Bell Media Karine Moses Senior Vice-President, Content Development and News Wendy Freeman Vice-President, CTV News |
| Sister channels |
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| History | |
| Launched | October 1, 1961 |
| Founder | Spence Caldwell |
| Former names | Canadian Television Network (CTN) (pre-launch name) |
The CTV Television Network, usually called CTV, is a Canadian English-language TV network. It started in 1961 and is now owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media company. CTV is Canada's biggest privately owned TV network. It has 22 stations across the country that it owns and runs, plus two other stations that are privately owned but show CTV programs. Since 2002, CTV has been the most-watched network in Canada for total viewers and important age groups.
Bell Media also has other TV channels that use the CTV name. These include CTV News Channel, which shows news 24 hours a day, and CTV 2, which is another TV system. The letters "CTV" don't stand for a full name. Before it launched, it was going to be called "Canadian Television Network" (CTN), but the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) didn't like that name.
Contents
History of CTV
How CTV Started
In 1958, the Canadian government created the Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG). This group was in charge of Canadian broadcasting. One of their first big decisions was to allow new "second" TV stations in several major Canadian cities. People wanted more choices than just the CBC's TV service.
Nine new stations were chosen to start broadcasting. They were in cities like Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. These stations started broadcasting between 1960 and 1961. Most of them were privately owned.
Before his station in Toronto even got its license, John W. H. Bassett wanted to help create a second TV network. He thought his Toronto station, CFTO-TV, could be the main station for this new network. He talked to other new station owners about working together to share Canadian TV shows. This led to a group called the Independent Television Organization (ITO) in 1960.
However, another person named Spence Caldwell also wanted to create a network. He was a former CBC executive. The BBG, the group in charge of broadcasting, preferred Caldwell's idea because they worried that a network owned by the stations might be controlled too much by the Toronto station.
Eventually, the BBG gave Caldwell's group, which was called the Canadian Television Network (CTN), a license. But they said CTN had to get at least six of the new private stations to join. Even though Baton, which owned CFTO-TV, was against Caldwell's plan at first, they decided to join. This was because CFTO-TV had won the rights to broadcast Canadian Football League games, and joining CTN would help make sure those games could be shown across the country. Most other stations joined too.
Early Years of the Network
The network officially launched as the CTV Television Network on October 1, 1961. The CBC had objected to the name "Canadian Television Network," so the new network just used the letters "CTV" without a full name.
CTV's first night on air included a documentary about the new network and a preview of its fall shows. The first season had a mix of Canadian and American programs. Some of the Canadian shows included Cross Canada Barndance and Take a Chance. American shows like The Andy Griffith Show and Top Cat were also part of the lineup.
At first, only the main station in Toronto, CFTO, could broadcast shows live. Other stations received programs later. But soon, a second system was set up, allowing live shows to be sent across Canada.
The network faced money problems early on, and the relationship between the network and its stations was not always smooth. This was because CTV was created in a way that felt a bit forced.
Growing and Changing
In 1965, Spence Caldwell left, but CTV still had financial difficulties. By 1966, the network was almost out of money. So, the stations that were part of CTV asked for permission to buy the network and run it together. The BBG was worried that the biggest station, CFTO in Toronto, would control everything. To fix this, the stations promised that each owner would get one vote, no matter how big their station was. The BBG agreed, and by the 1966-67 TV season, the stations owned CTV. The network also started broadcasting in colour on September 1, 1966.
By the mid-1970s, CTV had grown across Canada. Many smaller cities got CTV through special arrangements, and some CBC stations switched to CTV. CTV became well-known for its news when Lloyd Robertson, a popular news anchor from the CBC, joined CTV in 1976. He was the main news anchor until 2011. CTV's newsmagazine show, W5, has been on the air since 1966.
In the 1970s, CTV often used popular songs as theme music for its shows. For example, W5 used a part of Supertramp's "Fool's Overture".
For many years, CTV didn't have a single main schedule for all its shows, except for news. Different stations would show different programs at different times.
Changes and Mergers
The way CTV was set up, with stations owning the network, sometimes caused disagreements. Some station owners felt that Baton Broadcasting, which owned the main station CFTO in Toronto, had too much control over creating network shows.
In the mid-1980s, Baton started buying more CTV stations. Even though Baton owned many stations, it still only had one vote in the network's decisions because of the "one owner, one vote" rule.
Around the same time, other CTV station owners were also growing their businesses outside of CTV. After many discussions, the remaining station owners agreed in 1992 to change how the network was owned. In January 1993, CTV became a corporation instead of a cooperative. This change allowed one company to eventually take control.
In 1996, Baton bought more stations and gained more control over CTV. By 1997, Baton had a controlling share of the network. Baton then became the full owner of the CTV network and started using the CTV brand on all its stations. The company even changed its name to CTV Inc. in 1998.
There were some concerns in the past about CTV reducing local news staff in smaller cities. For example, in the late 1990s, news production was cut back at stations in Yorkton and Prince Albert. These stations now show news from bigger cities with only small local updates. Similar changes happened in the Maritime provinces and Northern Ontario, where local news was combined into one main newscast for each region.
The Bell Canada Era
In 2000, BCE Inc., a large Canadian company, bought CTV, along with other media companies and The Globe and Mail newspaper. They combined them into a new media company called Bell Globemedia.
CTV lost some of its reach in British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador in the early 2000s. In Vancouver, a long-time CTV station, CHAN, became a Global station in 2001. CTV then moved its programs to a station it already owned, CIVT-TV. Unlike CHAN, CIVT only covers the main cities and relies on cable and satellite to reach other parts of the province.
In 2002, CJON-TV (known as "NTV") in St. John's stopped being a main CTV station. This happened after a disagreement about how much the station should pay for CTV programs. CJON became an independent station, but it still shows CTV's national news. Most other CTV shows are no longer on NTV.
In 2006, CTV's parent company, Bell Globemedia, announced plans to buy CHUM Limited, another large Canadian broadcaster. Bell Globemedia kept CHUM's radio stations and the A-Channel TV stations. The company was renamed CTVglobemedia in 2007. In 2009, CTV became the first Canadian TV network to offer its shows online in high definition.
In 2010, BCE Inc. bought the rest of CTVglobemedia, and on April 1, 2011, CTVglobemedia was officially renamed Bell Media. In 2014, CKPR-DT in Thunder Bay, Ontario, changed from being a CBC station to a CTV station, bringing CTV back to that city. In 2015, three more CBC stations in Ontario (Peterborough, Oshawa, and Kingston) also switched to CTV. However, these stations later became Global stations in 2018.
What CTV Shows
CTV shows many popular American TV series. It has also had great success with Canadian-made shows like Due South, Corner Gas, Flashpoint, Canadian Idol, MasterChef Canada, and The Amazing Race Canada.
CTV also creates and airs Canadian TV movies, often based on Canadian news stories or history. These are sometimes called CTV Signature Series or CTV Movie.
For news, CTV has the nightly CTV National News. There's also Your Morning for morning news in Eastern Canada and CTV Morning Live for local morning news in Western Canada. Local news shows are called CTV News. Other news shows include W-Five and Question Period, which talks about politics.
In recent years, CTV has also bought the rights to show some American cable TV series. In 2005, CTV broadcast 20 hours of the Live 8 concerts, which were watched by over 10.5 million people in Canada at some point during the day. This was a very high number for a Canadian TV program.
In 2007, CTV and The Comedy Network gained the rights to show programs from Comedy Central. This means that Canadian viewers who try to visit Comedy Central's websites are sent to The Comedy Network's website instead.
On June 5, 2025, CTV announced that its local morning show, CTV Morning Live, would be rebranded starting September 15. Each local broadcast became CTV YOUR MORNING VANCOUVER, CTV YOUR MORNING CALGARY, and so on, depending on the city. The national show, CTV YOUR MORNING, continues to air on CTV East and CTV News Channel. All versions of the show are on weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Sports on CTV
Historically, CTV had its own sports division. But after CTV bought the cable network TSN in 2001, TSN took over all sports broadcasts on CTV.
In 2005, CTV was part of a group that won the rights to broadcast the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. CTV and V (now Noovo) were the main broadcasters, with TSN and other sports channels providing extra coverage. CTV promised to show 22 hours of Olympic events each day during the 2012 Olympics. Regular CTV shows were moved to CTV's second TV system, CTV Two, during the Olympics.
On May 22, 2007, CTV announced it had bought the rights to broadcast National Football League (NFL) Sunday games, the full NFL playoffs, and the Super Bowl. This meant the NFL was no longer mainly shown on Global. TSN, which is co-owned with CTV, airs primetime NFL games and helps produce the CTV broadcasts.
During the 2024 CFL season, CTV showed 7 CFL games on Saturday afternoons. CTV also showed the Eastern Semi-final, the Eastern Final, and the 111th Grey Cup at the same time as TSN.
CTV in High Definition and Digital TV
CTV broadcasts its high-definition (HD) signal in 1080i. Many CTV stations are available in HD on digital TV.
On November 19, 2003, CTV started showing its Toronto station, CFTO-DT, in HD. Other CTV stations across Canada have also started broadcasting in HD since then, including Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Halifax.
Local News in High Definition
On May 12, 2009, Toronto's CFTO-DT became the first station in the CTV network to broadcast its local news in high definition. Vancouver's CIVT-DT followed in November 2009. Calgary's CFCN-DT started broadcasting its local news in HD in October 2011, and Edmonton's CFRN-DT upgraded its local news to HD in October 2012.
CTV Stations
CTV Owned and Operated Stations
Since 2005, all CTV stations that are owned and operated by the network use the simple name "CTV" on air. For example, you might hear "CTV Ottawa" or "CTV British Columbia." However, their official legal names are still their callsigns.
Note:
- 1) Italicized channel numbers mean a digital channel set aside for future use by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
| City of license | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Year of affiliation |
Owned since |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary, Alberta | CFCN-DT | 4.1 (29) | 1961 | 1998 |
| Edmonton, Alberta | CFRN-DT | 3.1 (12) | 1961 | 1997 |
| Halifax, Nova Scotia | CJCH-DT | 5.1 (48) | 1961 | 1997 |
| Kitchener, Ontario | CKCO-DT | 13.1 (13) | 1964 | 1998 |
| Lethbridge, Alberta | CFCN-DT | 13.1 (13) | 1968 | 1996 |
| Moncton, New Brunswick | CKCW-DT | 29.1 (29) | 1969 | 1997 |
| Montreal, Quebec | CFCF-DT | 12.1 (12) | 1961 | 2001 |
| North Bay, Ontario | CKNY-DT | 10.1 (12) | 1971 | 1990 |
| Ottawa, Ontario | CJOH-DT | 13.1 (13) | 1961 | 1998 |
| Prince Albert, Saskatchewan | CIPA-TV | 9 (analog only) | 1987 | 1987 |
| Red Deer, Alberta | CFRN-DT | 3.1 (12) | 1973 | 1997 |
| Regina, Saskatchewan | CKCK-DT | 2.1 (8) | 1969 | 1997 |
| Saint John, New Brunswick | CKLT-DT | 9.1 (9) | 1969 | 1997 |
| Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | CFQC-DT | 8.1 (8) | 1971 | 1997 |
| Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario | CHBX-TV | 2 (analog only) | 1977 | 1990 |
| Sudbury, Ontario | CICI-TV | 5 (analog only) | 1971 | 1990 |
| Sydney, Nova Scotia | CJCB-DT | 4.1 (25) | 1972 | 1997 |
| Timmins, Ontario | CITO-TV | 3 (analog only) | 1971 (as rebroadcaster of CKSO/Sudbury) |
1990 |
| Toronto, Ontario | CFTO-DT | 9.1 (8) | 1961 | 1998 |
| Vancouver, British Columbia | CIVT-DT | 32.1 (32) | 2001 | 1997 |
| Winnipeg, Manitoba | CKY-DT | 7.1 (7) | 1961 | 2001 |
| Yorkton, Saskatchewan | CICC-TV | 10 (analog only) | 1971 | 1986 |
Regional Affiliates of CTV
These stations are not owned by CTV but have agreements to show most CTV programs. They control their own advertising and can decide which CTV shows to air.
| City of license/market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Year of affiliation |
Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunder Bay, Ontario | CKPR | 2.1 (2) | 2014 | Dougall Media |
Past Affiliates of CTV
| City of license | Station | Year of affiliation | Year of disaffiliation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamestown/Buffalo, New York, United States | WNYP-TV | 1966 | 1969 | Left the network after other TV stations took legal action. |
| Kenora, Ontario | CJBN-TV | 1980 | 2011 | Left the network and became a Global station; stopped broadcasting on January 27, 2017. |
| Kingston, Ontario | CKWS-DT | 2015 | 2018 | Left the network and is now a Global station. |
| Oshawa, Ontario | CHEX-TV-2 | 2015 | 2018 | Left the network and is now a Global station. |
| Pembroke/Ottawa, Ontario | CHRO-TV | 1991 | 1997 | Now a CTV 2 station. |
| Peterborough, Ontario | CHEX-DT | 2015 | 2018 | Left the network and is now a Global station. |
| Thunder Bay, Ontario | CHFD-DT | 1972 | 2010 | Left the network and became a Global station. In 2014, another station in Thunder Bay, CKPR-DT, became a CTV affiliate. |
| St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador | CJON-DT | 1964 | 2002 (primary) | Left the network but still shows CTV news. It is now an independent station. |
| Vancouver, British Columbia | CHAN-DT | 1961 (secondary) 1965 (primary) |
2001 | Became a Global station. |
| Victoria, British Columbia | CHEK-DT | 1963 (secondary) 1981 (primary) |
2001 | Became an independent station. |
| Lloydminster, Alberta/Saskatchewan | CITL-DT | 1976 | 2025 | Left the network when the station stopped broadcasting on May 13, 2025. |
Other Channels with the CTV Name
Besides CTV News Channel, other channels have also used the CTV name.
After CTVglobemedia bought A-Channel in 2007, people thought CTV might change its name. Bell officially announced on May 30, 2011, that the A-Channel network would be renamed "CTV Two." This change happened on August 29, 2011. CTV Two has stations in Ontario and British Columbia, and also cable channels in Atlantic Canada and Alberta. It shows different programs than the main CTV network.
In June 2018, Bell Media announced plans to rename four of its special channels using the CTV brand. These channels were relaunched as CTV Drama Channel, CTV Comedy Channel, CTV Life Channel, and CTV Sci-Fi Channel on September 12, 2019. In December 2018, Bell also launched two free online video services, CTV Movies and CTV Throwback, which offer movies and classic TV shows.
It was also announced that content from CTV and its new genre channels would be available in one main online streaming place. The new CTV app was released in July 2020.
In October 2024, Bell Media announced that Animal Planet, Discovery Science, and Discovery Velocity would be relaunched as CTV Wild Channel, CTV Nature Channel, and CTV Speed Channel on January 1, 2025.
CTV Logos
The first CTV logo, used from 1961 to 1966, was an oval-shaped letter "C" with "CTV" inside. In 1966, when colour TV started, a new logo was introduced. It had a red circle with a "C", a blue square with a "T", and a green upside-down triangle with a "V". This logo design is still used today, but it has changed a bit over time.
In 1967, the letters "CTV" were made thicker and rounder. In 1975, the colours of the shapes were made brighter. In 1990, the letters "CTV" were angled. In 1998, CTV introduced a new "ribbons" look that lasted until 2018.
The red ribbon and circle in the logo used to represent entertainment, the blue ribbon and square represented news, and the green ribbon and triangle represented sports. Over time, the logo got colour gradients to make it look 3D. This 3D version became the official logo in 2004. In 2011, the 3D shapes looked even more realistic to reflect the name change from A to CTV Two.
On September 24, 2018, CTV introduced a new logo and branding that looked flatter and more "digital," with brighter colours and updated letter shapes.
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CTV's original logo (1961–1966)
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Original version of CTV's geometrical shape logo (1966–1967)
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The logo in use the late 1960s retains the colors, still in use today, to the shapes, with the letters being rounded (1968-1975)
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The logo in use in the 1970s and 1980s added the colours, still in use today, to the shapes, with the letters being rounded and a white half-square representing a television picture tube (1975–1985)
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The logo in use in the late 1980s adds three diagonal stripes to the geometrical shape logo (1985–1990)
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The version in use from 1990 to 2018 drops any additional designs to the geometrical shape logo with letters being angled and tweaked. In 1998, the network added colour gradients to the shapes to create a 3D effect before that variant became the network official logo in 2004, although the plain version remained in use in print publications where the colour gradients could not be rendered.
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The 2018 logo switched exclusively to a flat version, with brighter colours and refined letter shapes. (2018–present)
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More About CTV
- List of CTV personalities
- Television in Canada
- Media in Canada
- Simultaneous substitution
See also
In Spanish: CTV Television Network para niños
