CBCT-DT

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CBCT-DT is the call sign for the CBC's television station in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, broadcasting on terrestrial channel 13 and local cable channel 11. It is the only full-fledged television station based in Prince Edward Island. All other television service in the province is provided by repeaters of stations from New Brunswick.

History

CBCT first went on the air on July 1, 1956 as CFCY-TV, under the ownership of the Rogers family and their company, Island Broadcasting, along with CFCY radio (AM 630, now FM 95.1). Family patriarch Col. Keith Rogers had begun laying the groundwork to bring television to PEI earlier in the decade, but died two years before channel 13 went on the air. His widow Flora Rogers, daughter Betty Rogers Large and son-in-law Bob Large took over his dream and signed on the station as a Dominion Day present to Prince Edward Island.

By the late 1960s, it was obvious that PEI's population was too small to warrant a second full-fledged television station. With this in mind, CJCH-TV in Halifax made plans to set up a rebroadcaster in hopes of bringing CTV to the island. The Rogerses feared that they would not be able to compete with CTV, and sold CFCY-TV to the CBC in 1968. The CBC closed on the purchase on August 1 of that year and changed its calls to CBCT. As it turned out, CBCT would remain the only television station in the province until CKCW-TV in Moncton set up a rebroadcaster in Charlottetown in 1972.

News programming

The flagship local newscast, CBC News: Compass, is anchored by Bruce Rainnie, and enjoys very high ratings throughout Prince Edward Island. As the only PEI-specific newscast in the province, it consistently outdraws CTV's local newscasts in the ratings by a wide margin. The program airs each weeknight from 6pm to 7pm.

In addition to Compass, CBCT also co-produces and simulcasts pan-regional newscasts for the Maritimes. Maritimes at 11 (Sunday - Friday) and Maritimes Saturday (7pm, Saturday) are broadcast from CBHT-DT in Halifax also along with CBAT-DT from Fredericton.

Transmitters

CBCT had two analog rebroadcasters located in St. Edward and Elmira.

Due to federal funding reductions to the CBC, in April 2012, the CBC responded with substantial budget cuts, which included shutting down CBC's and Radio-Canada's remaining analog transmitters on July 31, 2012. However, almost no one in PEI lost access to CBCT due to the extremely high penetration of cable and satellite in the province.

External links

• CBC Prince Edward Island
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CBCT History
• CBCT in the REC Canadian station database
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