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CHRO-TV

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

While the station is licensed to Pembroke, Ontario, its main studios are located at 87 George Street in Ottawa. The station broadcasts on channel 5 in Pembroke and channel 43 in Ottawa, and airs on cable channel 6 in both cities. It has also been assigned the transitional digital channels 7 in Pembroke and 17 in Ottawa, although neither of the digital channels are currently in operation as of February 2009.

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. After a labour dispute and financial crisis in 1976 in which the station went 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. [1]

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 while as The New RO, used 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 and joined the NewNet system.

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.

Logo used while as A-Channel, used from 2005-2008.

On July 12, 2006, CTV owner Bell Globemedia (now CTVglobemedia) announced plans to purchase CHUM Limited for $C1.7 billion, with plans to divest itself of the A-Channel and Access Alberta stations[2]. 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. 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.

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 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.[3] 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. This is ironic given the media-diversity rationale for the sale of the Citytv stations; however it has already been approved by the CRTC on the basis of CHRO's financial situation and the stations' prior common ownership (until 1997).[4][5].

On July 26, 2007, CTVglobemedia named Richard Gray the head of news for the A-Channel stations. Gray will report to the CTVgm corporate group, not CTV News, to preserve independent news presentation and management. Gray now oversees the news departments for CHRO-TV, plus CKVR, CFPL, CKNX, CHWI, CIVI-TV. On July 16, 2008, CTVglobemedia announced that Gray was appointed vice-president of Ottawa Radio and A-Channel Ottawa. Gray took over from Chris Gordon, who was appointed president of CHUM Radio in April. Gray began his new position on September 1, 2008. [6]

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.[7].

On March 3, 2009, CTVgm cancelled almost all of CHRO's local news programming except for A Morning, laying off 34 Ottawa employees. CTVgm 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 had their morning shows cancelled; this was likely because CTV's CJOH-TV also owned by CTVglobemedia already produces higher-rated evening newscasts serving the Ottawa market.[8]

In order to comply with the station's CRTC-mandated local programming expectation of 23.5 hours per week,[9] 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 CHUM 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. [10] 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. [11]

Operations

The station's Pembroke building, which once housed its entire operation and produced a number of local shows, now employs only about two staff. One sales representative and one videographer, along with the station's main transmitter. At one point a few years ago, the Ottawa and Pembroke transmitters were licensed to air some separate advertising targeted to their specific communities; this server has since been removed and the Pembroke master control room is now largely unused.[citation needed]

Digital television and high definition

As of January 2009, CHRO-TV-43 has not yet began broadcasting in digital.

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on August 31, 2011 [12], CHRO-TV-43 is required to begin digital broadcasts on its current assigned and analog channel number, 43, however should the station sign-on before the analog shut off date, the station will broadcast on channel 17. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display CHRO-TV-43's virtual channel as 43.1.

Programming

Currently the station's locally produced programs include:

  • A Morning, 6 a.m.-10 a.m. weekdays - with Lianne Laing, Kurt Stoodley, Angie Poirier, Bill Welychka and Tony Grace
  • A Morning Weekend Edition, Saturday 7 - 9 a.m.-with Lianne Laing and Angie Poirier
  • Bob TV - Sunday 10 - 11 a.m.
  • Majic 100 Top 20 Countdown - Sunday 11 a.m. - noon

Special Event Coverage

  • Election Coverage - live specials during local, provincial, or federal elections
  • Help Santa Toy Parade
  • Regional Ottawa Cancer Telethon

Past programming

  • A News at 6 (weekdays) - anchored by Sandra Blaikie, (Ken Evraire on sports, Bill Welychka on weather)
  • A News at 11 (weekdays) - anchored by Tony Grace (Ken Evraire on sports, Bill Welychka on weather)
  • A News Weekend Edition - (Saturday & Sunday, 6 p.m. & 11 p.m.)
  • 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.

Personalities

A Morning Hosts
  • Kurt Stoodley - Host
  • Angie Poirier - Live Eye
  • Lianne Laing - Host/Health and Fitness
  • Annette Goerner - News Anchor
  • Tony Grace - News Anchor & National Affairs Reporter for /A\ stations
Weather
Reporters
  • Laura Lowe - Videographer
  • Jennifer Madigan - Videographer

References

  1. ^ BBS logo on Canadian Trademarks Database
  2. ^ "Bell Globemedia makes $1.7B bid for CHUM". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2006-07-12. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
  3. ^ "CRTC expected to OK Rogers' $137.5M buy of CTVglobemedia TV channels". Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News. 2007-04-09. Retrieved 2007-04-09.
  4. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2007-165, June 8, 2007 (see paragraphs 30-31)
  5. ^ "CTV expected to rebrand A Channel". Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2006-07-05.
  6. ^ CTV Media Site - A Channel
  7. ^ on Tuesday August 5th Edition Of Inside A-Channel Sandra Blaikie confirms "A" debut on Monday August 11th
  8. ^ CTV press release, March 3, 2009
  9. ^ Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2002-328
  10. ^ 'A' channel cuts jobs, drops local newscasts, CBC News, March 3, 2009
  11. ^ Blaikie quits A Channel - Ottawa Citizen
  12. ^ http://www.ic.gc.ca/epic/site/oca-bc.nsf/en/ca02336e.html
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