Global Television Network facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Global Television Network

Type	Terrestrial television network
Country	Canada
Broadcast area	Canada parts of the United States via cable or antenna, depending on location
Affiliates	See § Global stations
Headquarters	Corus Quay, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Programming
Picture format	1080i HDTV
Ownership
Owner	Corus Entertainment
Key people	Jennifer Abrams (senior vice president, programming and platform, Corus Entertainment)
Sister channels	Home Network Flavour Network W Network Slice National Geographic Nat Geo Wild History Showcase DTour
History
Launched	January 6, 1974; 51 years ago (1974-01-06)
Founder	Al Bruner Peter Hill
Former names	CanWest Global System (used in the 1990s on non-Global branded Canwest stations)

The Global Television Network, often called Global, is a major Canadian TV network. It broadcasts in English across Canada. Global is the second most-watched private TV network in Canada, right after CTV. It has fifteen stations that it owns and operates across the country. Corus Entertainment owns Global, which is part of the media businesses of JR Shaw and his family.

Global started as a local TV station in Southern Ontario in 1974. This station was soon bought by a company called CanWest Global Communications. Over the years, CanWest expanded Global across Canada. They bought other stations and launched new ones. By 1997, all these stations were united under the "Global Television Network" name.

Global's Journey: How It Started

Early Ideas for a New Network

The idea for Global began in 1966 with Ken Soble, a media owner from Hamilton, Ontario. He owned a TV station called CHCH-TV. Soble wanted to create a national TV network. He suggested using a satellite to send TV shows from CHCH to 96 new transmitters across Canada. This would have been Canada's first broadcast satellite.

Soble passed away in December 1966. His wife, Frances, took over his company. Al Bruner, a vice-president, continued working on the network plan. Many people thought the plan was too big and expensive. They also worried it wouldn't have enough local news for smaller cities.

By 1968, the plan was updated to include a French-language service. It also offered free TV space for public channels like CBC Television and Radio-Canada. However, the government decided to launch its own satellites. This meant private companies like Soble's couldn't launch their own. So, the main financial backer pulled out, leaving the network idea in doubt.

Forming Global Communications

Al Bruner was let go from his company in 1969. He then gathered a new group of investors to form Global Communications. This new group continued the plan for a TV network. By 1970, the Canadian TV regulator, the CRTC, asked for new TV stations in several big cities. Global Communications proposed starting with stations only in Ontario. This would be the first step towards a national network. They also asked for a license to launch a new main station in Toronto.

The CRTC approved the network license on July 21, 1972. Global was allowed to launch six transmitters in Southern Ontario, from Windsor to Ottawa. They promised to show a lot of Canadian content (shows made in Canada).

The new Global Television Network, known as CKGN-TV (now CIII-DT), officially started broadcasting on January 6, 1974. Its main studios were in North York (now part of Toronto). Global is still based there today.

Launching the Network

Global's first TV schedule included Canadian shows like Witness to Yesterday and The Great Debate. It also showed some American series.

Just three months after launching, Global faced money problems. Many companies had already spent their advertising money for the season. Also, a change in daylight saving time meant Global's main show, Everything Goes, aired at the same time as a very popular American show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. This led to very low ratings.

To save the network, two companies stepped in: IWC Communications and Global Ventures Western Ltd. One of the key people in Global Ventures was Izzy Asper, who later became a major owner.

Growing Through the Years (1970s–1990s)

Global had to cancel many of its shows in 1974. To fill its schedule, it started buying a lot of American programs. This made Global seem "another CTV" to some viewers. The network focused on its nightly news shows, which were very popular.

The first logo of Global, used from 1974 to 1997.

In 1985, Izzy Asper bought most of Global. He wanted to expand Global into a third national network across Canada. He started by launching new stations in Regina and Saskatoon. He also acquired stations in Vancouver and Halifax. By the early 1990s, Canwest's stations reached seven of Canada's ten provinces. These stations bought many of their shows together, so their schedules were similar. However, they still used their own local names and were seen as a group of independent stations.

Global's second logo, used from 1997 to 2006. This logo appeared when Global became a national network.

In 1997, Canwest bought a TV station in Quebec City, CKMI-TV. With this, Canwest had enough coverage to officially become a national network. On August 18, 1997, all of Canwest's stations were rebranded as the "Global Television Network." This name was previously only used by the Ontario station. CKMI also started broadcasting Global shows in Montreal and Sherbrooke.

Even then, Global wasn't fully national. It didn't have its own stations in Calgary and Edmonton. Instead, other independent stations in those cities showed some Global programs. The same was true for St. John's.

Expanding in the 2000s

In 2000, Canwest bought more TV stations from another company called Western International Communications (WIC). This included stations in Calgary, Edmonton, and Lethbridge, which officially joined Global on September 4, 2000.

The next year, WIC's popular Vancouver station, CHAN-TV, also joined Global. This caused a big change in TV channels in British Columbia. Global's previous Vancouver station, CKVU-TV, was sold.

Global still doesn't have its own over-the-air station in Newfoundland and Labrador. However, a local station there, CJON, shows most of Global's programs.

In 2001, Canwest also bought newspaper companies. This led to Global promoting its newspapers, and journalists from the newspapers appearing on Global's news shows. This practice has mostly stopped since Canwest broke up in 2010.

In late 2004, Global changed its look and hired new leaders. A new logo was introduced on February 5, 2006. This new logo replaced the old "crescent" design. News shows and network promotions also got new designs.

On April 10, 2008, Global announced that its Toronto and Vancouver stations would start broadcasting in high definition (HD). They officially began HD broadcasts on April 18, 2008. Other stations in Calgary and Edmonton also started broadcasting in HD by July 2009.

Global Today (2010s)

In late 2009, Canwest faced financial difficulties. Shaw Communications bought Canwest's TV businesses on October 27, 2010. These businesses became a new part of Shaw called Shaw Media, with Global as its main channel.

On April 1, 2016, Shaw Media became part of Corus Entertainment, which is another company owned by the Shaw family.

What to Watch: Global's Programs

Global News: Keeping You Informed

Global News is the part of Global that handles news and current events. It is based in Vancouver. Global's main national news show is Global National. They also have newsmagazine shows like 16x9.

Global's owned-and-operated stations also have their own local news programs. These local news shows often have morning, noon, and evening broadcasts. Some major cities also have local public affairs shows called Focus.

Corus also runs several Global-branded news radio stations across Canada.

Entertainment Shows

Global's schedule can vary quite a bit from one station to another, especially for entertainment shows. This is because of time zone differences, local programming, and how well non-Global shows perform.

Global often shows popular entertainment programs from the United States. It has sometimes been criticized for not investing enough in Canadian content (shows made in Canada). Some Canadian shows on Global, like The Outer Limits, were made to appeal to international audiences.

From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, Global aired more Canadian entertainment shows. These included the drama Traders, the animated comedy Bob and Margaret, and the police drama Blue Murder. They also had a daily improvised drama called Train 48 and a sitcom The Jane Show.

Global bought the rights to create a Canadian version of the entertainment news show Entertainment Tonight. ET Canada launched on September 12, 2005. Global also produces a Canadian version of the reality show Big Brother.

Global, like other Canadian broadcasters, benefits from a rule called simultaneous substitution (or "simsub"). This rule means that if Global is showing the same American program at the same time as a U.S. network, Canadian cable viewers will see Global's broadcast. This helps Canadian networks earn more advertising money to fund Canadian shows.

Sports on Global

Global has not had its own sports production team like some other networks. Sports broadcasts are often shown at the same time as American networks or are produced by other companies. Global used to broadcast National Football League (NFL) games in Canada, including the Super Bowl, but CTV took over these rights in 2007.

Many Global stations used to have local late-night sports highlight shows. However, most of these were cancelled by 2005 due to fewer viewers. Global Ontario's sports program was cancelled in 2007. Some Global stations outside Ontario still have local sports segments in their news.

In 2015, Global broadcast university football championship games from the Canada West conference.

Watching Shows Online

Global offers live and on-demand shows through its website and apps. You can watch them on mobile devices and digital media players. In 2020, the Global apps were updated to include streaming for subscribers of many of Corus Entertainment's other specialty channels.

Global in High Definition

In October 2004, Global launched a 1080i high definition (HD) version of its Toronto station, CIII-TV. It started showing some American programs in HD. Later, some Canadian shows like Falcon Beach were also shown in HD.

On April 18, 2008, Global officially started broadcasting its Toronto station in HD over-the-air. Its Vancouver station (CHAN-TV) also launched an HD broadcast on the same day.

Global HD is available across Canada through satellite and digital cable. You can also watch it for free over-the-air using a regular TV antenna and a digital tuner.

Here are some cities where Global HD is available over-the-air:

All these transmitters were updated to digital by August 31, 2011. Shaw Communications, which bought Global in 2011, promised to convert all of Global's analog transmitters to digital by 2016.

Global Stations Across Canada

Global's network is more spread out than CBC or CTV. Each station often has its own local ads, even though all Global stations have their main control in Calgary since 2006. Since August 29, 2022, the main control hub for all owned-and-operated stations is in Toronto.

Stations Owned by Global

Global owns and operates many stations across Canada. These are called "owned-and-operated stations" (O&Os). Notes:

1) Two boldface asterisks (**) mean a main station of the Global Television Network;

2) Two boldface plus signs (++) mean a station that was part of the Canwest Global System before it became part of the Global Television Network in 1997;

Many of these stations existed before Global started in 1974. Some were originally affiliates of CBC Television or CTV.

Other Stations Showing Global Programs

Some stations are not owned by Global but still show its programs.

Past Global Stations

Global has had other stations that are no longer part of its network.

Previously Owned by Global

Other Past Affiliates

Other Channels with the Global Brand

Global used to have a second TV system similar to CTV 2. It was called CH and later "E!". This system showed programs from U.S. networks that didn't fit on Global's main schedule. The E! TV system stopped operating on September 1, 2009, due to financial problems.

Other channels that used the Global brand included the Global Reality Channel (for reality shows) and channels like Prime, DejaView, and Mystery TV.

See also

In Spanish: Global Television Network para niños

• List of Global Television Network personalities
• 2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment
• CBS
• CITV