CHRO-TV

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CHRO-TV (known on-air as CTV Two Ottawa) is a television station serving the National Capital and Ottawa Valley regions of Ontario, Canada. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Two television system.

While the station is licensed to Pembroke, Ontario, its main studios are located at 87 George Street in Ottawa. The station broadcasts in analog on channel 5 in Pembroke and in digital on channel 43 in Ottawa, and airs on cable channel 6 in both cities.

Following a massive fire at CTV Ottawa's longtime home on Merivale Road in Nepean, the station's studios and offices, including newscast production, are now co-located with CTV Two Ottawa and Bell Media's Ottawa radio properties in the "Market Media Mall" building in Downtown Ottawa's ByWard Market.

History

The station went on air in 1961 as CHOV, a CBC Television affiliate owned by Gordon Archibald Ottawa Valley Broadcasting, the owner of AM radio station CHOV. Workers of the station unionized and a labour dispute began. A financial crisis in 1976 led to the station going dark for six days in August of that year. Ottawa Valley sold the station to J. Conrad Lavigne in 1977. Lavigne adopted the CHRO callsign, and launched the station's sales office in Ottawa. Lavigne's company subsequently became part of the MCTV system in 1980.

While most MCTV stations used MCTV, rather than their call letters, as their on-air branding, CHRO continued to use its call sign, although it used the same logo and programming schedule as the other MCTV stations.

CHRO-TV's logo under BBS affiliation, used from 1994-1997. Under the ownership of Baton Broadcasting, the MCTV branding used on CHRO still remained. The previous MCTV logo was dropped in 1994 when all of the other Baton-owned stations adopted a similar logo, the only difference being the call letters. Unlike other Baton-owned stations, the MCTV stations didn't use their call signs on their logos. The logo featured multicoloured rings around the word BBS.

Logo used in 1993.

In 1990, Baton Broadcasting acquired the MCTV stations. Because CHRO was carried by cable television companies in the Ottawa market, this was deemed an ownership conflict for Baton, who already owned Ottawa's CJOH, and would therefore have a de facto twinstick in competition with the CBC's CBOT. However, the station's carriage in Ottawa was also deemed essential to its survival, since Pembroke was too small a market to support the station on its own. Thus, CHRO was disaffiliated from the CBC, becoming a CTV affiliate. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) also ordered strict controls on CHRO's programming, so that Baton could not gain unfair audience advantage in Ottawa by airing shows at different times on CHRO and CJOH. Baton eventually became the sole corporate proprietor of CTV.

As The New RO

Logo used as The New RO from 1998-2005.

In 1997, CHRO was one of several stations transferred to CHUM in exchange for the ATV stations in the Maritime provinces. CHRO did not have an over-the-air transmitter in Ottawa until it came under CHUM's ownership. After being acquired by CHUM, CHRO was re-branded to The New RO in 1998 and joined the NewNet system.

The New RO's first two years on the air originated from a small studio on Kimway Drive, near CJOH's broadcast plant on Merivale Road. The New RO's first anchor team comprised former New VR anchor Robert Maxwell and CHRO's Caroline Redekopp, with Ken Evraire on sports, former Weather Channel anchor Elissa Lansdell on weather and entertainment, and weekend anchor James Hendricks covering traffic and crime from the assignment desk. Cyndi Edwards hosted the "New RO at Noon", an amalgam of news, lifestyles, and entertainment. Reporter Sandra Blaikie, who joined The New RO in 2000, took over from Caroline Redekopp after her departure in 2002. James Hendricks—by now the eleven o'clock anchor—replaced Robert Maxwell after his resignation in autumn 2003. Hendricks also continued to anchor the late news until Cory Atkins (late of CFRN-TV Edmonton) signed on to be the new eleven-oclock anchor in April 2004.

In February 2005, CHUM announced plans to consolidate the master control departments for CHRO, CKVR, CFPL, CHWI and CKNX at 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, and to consolidate the traffic and programming departments at CFPL in London, resulting in the loss of approximately 19 staff members from CHRO. On June 3, 2005, at approximately 10:30 a.m., the Pembroke master control signal came to an end, as the new consolidated master control took to air.

As A-Channel Ottawa

The station was renamed A-Channel on August 2, 2005 along with the rest of the NewNet system, and began using the same logo as the rest of the system as well.

On July 12, 2006, CTV owner Bell Globemedia (now Bell Media) announced plans to purchase CHUM Limited for $C1.7 billion, with plans to divest itself of the A-Channel and Access Alberta stations. On the same date, CHRO cancelled its noon-hour lifestyles program and its 12:30 p.m. weekday newscast, citing low ratings and declining advertising revenues. Anchors James Hendricks and Dave Gross were also let go. A plan was announced to almost fully automate the station's news production system, which would see a few dozen staff members laid off by the start of the new year.

On April 9, 2007, Rogers Media announced an agreement to purchase all of the A-Channel stations including CHRO, SexTV: The Channel, CLT, Access Alberta. The deal was contingent on full approval by the CRTC of the CTVglobemedia takeover of CHUM. With CRTC approval being contingent on the sale of the Citytv stations instead, Rogers bought the Citytv stations and CTV kept the A-Channel stations. The takeover transaction was completed on June 22.

With the CHUM acquisition, CTV became the only English-language private TV broadcaster offering Ottawa news coverage; it owns both CHRO and CJOH-TV, which compete only with the CBC's CBOT in offering local news. The CRTC's decision to allow the joint ownership of CJOH and CHRO appeared to contradict its own rationale for forcing CTV to sell the Citytv stations, specifically that a single company could not own two stations, in the same language, based in the same large urban centre – however, even before CTV confirmed it would keep CHRO, the twinstick was approved by the CRTC on the basis of CHRO's financial situation and the stations' prior common ownership (until 1997).

As A Ottawa

The station was renamed A on August 11, 2008, along with the rest of the A-Channel system. The A soft launch began earlier in June 2008 in CHRO-TV's press materials and local newscasts.

Due to a major fire at CTV's CJOH-TV newsroom on February 7, 2010, CHRO and CJOH are now both operating from the A studios at 87 George Street in Ottawa's ByWard Market. This would be the first time since the studios had any nighttime newscasts since the cancellation of A News for CHRO in 2009.

As CTV Two Ottawa

On August 29 2011, CHRO was rebranded as CTV Two as part of the rebranding of A, thus A Ottawa became CTV Two Ottawa upon rebranding. In addition, CHRO's morning show, A Morning was re-named CTV Morning Live. In addition, CHRO started broadcasting in HD as part of the re-launched system on August 31, 2011.

Operations

The station's Pembroke facility, which once housed its entire operation and produced a number of local shows, now employs only about one staff - an on-call engineer. As of November 2011, the Pembroke transmitter remains in operation, and the otherwise vacant studio building is now occupied by the Upper Ottawa Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Digital television and high definition

On August 31, 2011, as part of the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, CHRO's Ottawa transmitter, CHRO-TV-43, stopped broadcasting in analog and began broadcasting in digital on the same channel. CHRO's main transmitter in Pembroke is not yet required to switch to digital, since the CRTC did not designate Pembroke as a mandatory market.

Programming

Currently the station's locally produced programs include:

• CTV Morning Live, 6 a.m.-10 a.m. weekdays - with Lianne Laing, Kurt Stoodley and Jeff Hopper.
• Bob TV - Sunday 10 - 11 a.m.
• Majic 100 Top 20 Countdown - Sunday 11 a.m. - noon

Past programming

• A News This Week (Sundays at 6:30 p.m. - a pre-recorded wrap of the week's top stories)
• Ottawa Senators Hockey (20 regular-season games a year of the Canadian capital city's NHL team, which were usually, but not always, broadcast on Thursday evenings) - with Dean Brown as play-by-play announcer and Gord Wilson as commentator. Games were broadcast through the 2007-08 season; all local/regional Senators broadcasts now air on Rogers Sportsnet East.
• Senators Primetime (post-game show for CHRO's Ottawa Senators broadcasts through the 2007-08 season, produced in the A studios and from various live locations) - hosted by Ken Evraire and Lianne Laing.

News operation

In January 2007, CHRO began producing its newscasts with a new system called "Ross Overdrive" - an automated production system that replaced the need for a switcher, VTR operator, graphics operator and many other staffers. Some 25 staffers were affected by the change, which had been announced some six months earlier.

On March 3, 2009, CTVglobemedia cancelled almost all of CHRO's local news programming except for A Morning, laying off 34 Ottawa employees. CTVglobemedia cited the current recession as a reason for cancelling the local news programming. In contrast, the A stations in Victoria, Barrie and London kept their evening newscasts but instead, had their morning shows cancelled; this was likely because CTV's CJOH-TV also owned by CTVglobemedia (now Bell Media) already produces higher-rated evening newscasts serving the Ottawa market.

In order to comply with the station's CRTC-mandated local programming expectation of 23.5 hours per week, the morning show was extended to four hours a day on weekdays, with a two-hour Saturday edition added as well (CHRO also continues two one-hour weekend music video programs co-branded with local Bell Media Radio stations). Some high-profile CHRO personalities such as Sandra Blaikie, Tony Grace and Bill Welychka were moved to the extended morning show following the March 2009 layoffs. In December 2009, anchor Sandra Blaikie left the station to pursue other interests outside of broadcasting, because of the uncertain future of local television in Canada. In September 2010, late-show anchor and national reporter Tony Grace left the station to assume the 6:00 p.m. anchor position at A Barrie. In August 2011, Bill was let go from A-Channel Ottawa. No explanation was given to viewers.

News/station presentation

Newscast titles

• CHRO Newswatch (1981–1991)
• CHRO News: (Early/Midday/Weekend) Report (1991–1996)
• CHRO News: (Midday/Evening/Late/Weekend) Edition (1996–February 1998)
• CHRO News On Six (February–August 1998)
• News Six Ottawa (August 1998–2005)
• A-Channel News (2005–2008)
• A News (2008–2011)

• A Morning (morning newscast; 2005–2011)

• CTV Morning Live (morning newscast; 2011–present)

Station slogans

• "This is Ottawa's News" (1997–2005)
• "The Team to Trust" (2006–2007)
• "Ottawa's Fastest Growing News Hour" (2007–2008; promotion for 6 p.m. newscast)
• "Ottawa's News Hour" (2008–2009; promotion for 6 p.m. newscast)
• "Ottawa's # 1 Morning Show" (2008–present; promotion for morning newscast)

On-air staff

CTV Morning Live

Hosts

• Kurt Stoodley - weekday morning host
• Lianne Laing - weekday morning host
• Annette Goerner - weekday morning news anchor/reporter
• Angie Poirier - Saturday morning host

Weather

• Jeff Hopper - weekday morning weather specialist

Reporter

• Sarah Freemark - general assignment reporter
• Melissa Lamb - general assignment reporter
• Jennifer Madigan - CTV News national affairs reporter

External links

• CTV Morning Live - Ottawa
• CTV Ottawa
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CHRO-TV History
• CHRO-TV in the REC Canadian station database
• Template:TV Fool