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CP24

Coordinates: 43°38′59″N 79°23′25″W / 43.649701°N 79.390233°W / 43.649701; -79.390233
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CablePulse 24
CountryCanada
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Ownership
OwnerBell Media

CablePulse24 (CP24) is a Canadian English language Category A specialty news channel owned and operated by Bell Media. Based in Toronto, it focuses on local news from the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario, although it also covers national and international news. It is distributed through cable in Southern Ontario and direct broadcast satellite nationally.

History

Old version of the CP24 logo.

The channel was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1996 as Pulse 24,[1] and launched on March 30, 1998 as CablePulse 24 (CP24) on March 30, 1998, under the ownership of CHUM Limited and minority partner Sun Media, owner of the Toronto Sun daily newspaper. The network was named as an extension of CITY-TV's newscasts, which were then known as CityPulse.

On December 1, 2004 CHUM Limited acquired the remaining interest in CP24 (giving it 100% of its shares), when the Sun's owners sold their 29.9% share in CP24 after acquiring its independent broadcast station Toronto 1 (now Sun News Network), the same day when CHUM Limited took control of Craig Media and its assets.

Acquisition by CTV

See also: 2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment

On July 12, 2006, CTVglobemedia announced a friendly bid to take over CHUM Limited for an estimated $1.7 billion. One year later on June 8, 2007, the CRTC approved the CTV takeover of CHUM. However, the CRTC made the deal conditional on CTVgm selling the Citytv stations. On June 12, 2007, Rogers announced that it had agreed to buy the Citytv stations (including Citytv Toronto) for $375 million. The deal was finalized later that year, with a stipulation that CTV maintain ownership of CHUM's 299 Queen Street West headquarters and studios. CTV ultimately chose to keep CP24 along with the rest of CHUM assets (including the A-Channel stations) it had previously said it would sell.

As a result of the ownership changes, CP24 began to separate its operations from those of CITY-TV. This process began in November 2008, when CP24 established a new studio and newsroom on the second floor of the 299 Queen Street West building,[2] followed by the removal of all CITY-TV programming from its schedule on December 10, 2008 (excluding Breakfast Television), and replacing the 6 PM CityNews simulcast with CFTO-TV's CTV News at Six. Critics had speculated that the latter change was likely as a response to the announcement of the CRTC granting approval to an application by Rogers Media for its own regional news channel focusing on the Greater Toronto Area, CityNews Channel.[3][4][5][6]

On March 26, 2009, Breakfast Television was finally replaced with a new morning show, CP24 Breakfast, marking the final separation of the CP24 newsroom from that of Citytv, which moved to 33 Dundas Street East on September 8, 2009. To coincide with the launch, CTV also re-launched its oldies music radio station 1050 CHUM (another station acquired in the CTV/CHUM merger) as an audio simulcast of CP24, becoming known on-air as CP24 Radio 1050. The move was intended to bring CP24's programming to a new platform and broaden the network's reach as a multi-platform news source. The move did not prove successful, however. Toronto Sun columnist Ted Woloshyn in particular criticized the simulcast for being a poor substitute for an actual all-news radio format, and pointed out several instances demonstrating that no special consideration was taken for CP24's content, which was clearly being produced for television and not radio.[7] This arrangement ended on April 13, 2011, in favour of the launch of a new TSN-branded sports talk radio format, becoming known on-air as TSN Radio 1050, weeks after Bell Canada took control of CTVglobemedia's assets including CP24, with the latter company becoming known as Bell Media.[8][9]

Following the massive layoffs and cost-cutting measures that took place at the Citytv stations across Canada (including the cancellation of Citytv Toronto's CityNews at Five announced on January 19, 2010), CP24 immediately expanded its Live at 5 broadcast from 15 minutes to a full half hour, and added another half-hour newscast following it at 5:30 PM.[10][11] As a result, CP24's late-afternoon talk shows, such as Animal House Calls and Hot Property, which were previously seen weekdays at 5:15 p.m. were moved to a new time slot for 7:15 p.m. effective January 26, 2010.[12]

On March 19, 2011, CP24 introduced a weekend edition of CP24 Breakfast, hosted by Pooja Handa and Gurdeep Ahluwalia, George Lagogianes will be the remote host and Nneka Elliott (who resigned on May 2, 2011, and was replaced by Jamie Gutfreund) will deliver the weather forecasts. The show will run from 7:00 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.[13]

Location and format

CP24's Jamie Gutfreund reports live at TTC's new streetcar mock-up open house at TTC's Hillcrest Complex

CP24 is based at 299 Queen Street West, at the corner of John Street and Queen Street West, previously sharing the newsroom with CITY-TV on the ground floor. In November 2008, CP24 moved its operations to a new studio and newsroom on the second floor of the complex. Coinciding with the new studio, CP24 also adopted an updated on-air appearance, replacing the previous CityNews blue and gold colour scheme with a red, white, and black design.[2][14]

CP24's screen format utilizes a window in the top-left of the screen to show the current program, which is surrounded with a sidebar with weather and traffic reports, along with scrolling news headlines and local entertainment/event information, and tickers for stocks and sports. This format has been described as more closely resembling a website than a conventional television channel, and has been replicated to include a similar look of CP24's enriched screen on its relaunched website.

Other affiliations

CP24 also shares news resources with other Bell Media-owned outlets, including sports updates with TSN (and TSN Radio 1050), business news updates with BNN, MTV News with MTV Canada and entertainment news updates with eTalk; in addition CP24 also sometimes shares news reporters with CTV and CTV Two. Before its acquisition by CTV, CP24 was integrated with CITY-TV's newsroom, and shared some programming.

Carriage and expansion plans

CP24 is seen on cable channel 24 on most cable systems that carry the channel. It is not carried on any analogue cable system outside of Central or Southern Ontario, although it is available on direct broadcast satellite and IPTV television providers in some markets. The channel is available across Canada on Bell TV, on which the station is part of the service's "News" package. It is also available in the "FYI" package provided to Shaw Direct customers.

Programs

+ denotes simulcast of local news programming from sister station CFTO-TV

Newscasts

  • 24 Dayside - Daytime newsflow hosted by various CP24 anchors
  • 24 Nightside - Evening newsflow hosted by various CP24 anchors
  • Before Breakfast - airs weekdays at 5 a.m.
  • Farah Nasser - host/news anchor
  • Farah Nasser - news anchor
  • Steve Anthony - co-host
  • Melissa Grelo - co-host
  • Bill Coulter - meteorologist
  • Mika Midolo - traffic/transit specialist
  • Bob Summers - traffic specialist
  • Cam Woolley - traffic/safety specialist and lead reporter
  • CP24 Breakfast Weekend Edition - airs weekends at 7 a.m.
  • Gurdeep Ahulwalia - news anchor/co-host
  • Pooja Handa - news anchor/co-host/traffic reporter
  • Katie Simpson - reporter
  • Jamie Gutfreund - weather specialist
  • CP24 Early News Edition - first half-hour of CP24 Breakfast, airs weekdays at 5:30 a.m.
  • CP24 Live at Noon - hosted by Ann Rohmer and Stephen LeDrew on weekdays; airs weekdays at noon, this title is also used during the noon-hour newsflow on the weekends
  • + CTV News at 6 - 6 p.m. newscast, anchored by Christine Bentley and Ken Shaw
  • + CTV News at 6 Weekend - weekend 6 p.m. newscast, anchored by Andria Case and Colin D'Mello
  • + CTV News at 11:30 - 11:30 p.m. newscast, anchored by Bill Hutchison
  • + CTV News at 11:30 Weekend - weekend 11:30 p.m. newscast, anchored by Andria Case
  • Live at 5 - 5 p.m. newscast, originally running 15 minutes since its launch on January 14, 2008. Expanded to 30 minutes on January 19, 2010, after Rogers Media, the owners of Citytv announced cost-cutting measures at the Citytv stations across Canada including the cancellation of their 5 p.m. newscast for Toronto; hosted by Nathan Downer
  • Live at 5:30 - hosted by Nathan Downer; this program was added to the CP24 schedule on January 19, 2010, in response to the budget cuts at the Citytv stations across Canada which included the cancellation of their 5 p.m. newscast for Toronto; airs weekdays at 5:30 p.m.

Specialty programming

  • Animal Housecalls - hosted by Ann Rohmer, a phone-in show with guests about animals; airs on CP24 and Animal Planet Tuesdays at 7:10 p.m.
  • AutoShop - a phone-in show about automobiles airs at 8 p.m. Sundays.
  • App Central - airs weekends on BNN and on CP24[15]
  • Hot Property - real estate program, hosted by Ann Rohmer; airs Thursdays at 7:15 p.m.
  • On the Quarter - hosted by Ann Rohmer and TD Waterhouse money expert Patricia Lovett Reid; airs every three months

Special events

Remote camera use

In addition to the Freeway Management System - COMPASS and RESCU cameras, CP24 operates EYES cameras located at:

Chopper 24

Since 2008, CP24 has leased a (Bell 206L-4 Long Ranger (C-FCTV) news helicopter which can broadcast live at 1500 feet above land; nicknamed Chopper 24, which is supplied by its sister station, CTV Toronto and is currently painted with CTV's colouring and logo.

Remote truck use

CP24 operates a fleet of remote transmission trucks that use digital microwave and satellite uplink systems to do live news reports throughout the region known as Breaking News vehicles. The vehicles are painted with the station's logo CP24 and a black, white and red paint scheme with the Breaking News sign.

Beat The Traffic

In 2009, CP24 became the first and only station in Canada to introduce a new Beat The Traffic system showing a three-dimensional animated map displaying traffic flow, roadwork, accidents and current highway travel times.[17]

CP24 HD

The CRTC approved an application by CHUM Limited (the station's former owner) in June 2007 to launch an High-Definition simulcast of CP24. As of September 2012, the channel is not broadcasting in HD, however an HD feed is scheduled to launch later in 2012.

On-air staff

Current on-air staff[18]

Anchors

  • Gurdeep Ahluwalia - anchor/host; CP24 Breakfast (weekend mornings), also reporter
  • Steve Anthony - anchor/host; CP24 Breakfast (weekday mornings)
  • Kyle Christie - also reporter
  • Farah Nasser - anchor/host; Before Breakfast/CP24 Breakfast (weekday mornings)
  • Lindsey Deluce - anchor/host Before Breakfast/CP24 Breakfast (weekday mornings) (currently on maternity leave)
  • Nathan Downer - Live at 5/Live at 5:30 (weeknights); also reporter and substitute anchor
  • Melissa Grelo - anchor/host; CP24 Breakfast (weekday mornings)
  • Pooja Handa - CP24 Breakfast (weekend mornings); also reporter and traffic specialist
  • Rena Heer - also reporter
  • George Lagogianes - substitute anchor; also reporter
  • Stephen LeDrew - Live at Noon (weekdays)
  • Jee Yun Lee - also reporter
  • Ann Rohmer - Live at Noon (weekdays)
  • Devon Soltendieck - also reporter
  • Karman Wong - also reporter

Local program hosts

  • Stephen LeDrew - host of LeDrew Live
  • Amber MacArthur - host of App Central
  • Ann Rohmer - host of Animal House Calls, Hot Property and On the Quarter
  • Sue Sgambati - host of The Chief and The Commish
  • Devon Soltendieck - host of Autoshop
  • Cam Woolley - host of Know Your Rights

Weather team

  • Bill Coulter (CMOS-endorsed weathercaster) - meteorologist; weekday mornings CP24 Breakfast
  • Jamie Gutfreund - weather specialist; weekend mornings CP24 Breakfast
  • Patricia Jaggernauth - freelance reporter
  • Mika Midolo - weather specialist
  • Chris Potter - meteorologist

Traffic

  • Jamie Gutfruend - traffic specialist
  • Mika Midolo - traffic/transit specialist
  • Amber Payie - traffic/safety specialist and lead reporter
  • Bob Summers - traffic specialist
  • Andrea Hartling - substitute traffic specialist

Reporters

  • Sandie Benitah - CP24.com reporter (on-air)
  • Andrea Hartling - senior assignment editor
  • Chris Kitching - CP24.com reporter (on-air)
  • Katie Simpson - general assignment reporter
  • Stephanie Smyth - senior breaking news reporter
  • Cam Woolley - general assignment, traffic and safety reporter
  • Sue Sgambati - general assignment & crime specialist

Notable former presenters

Presenters also include those working of both CITY-TV's CityNews Toronto and CP24 prior to the CTV/CHUM acquisition in 2007.

References

  1. ^ CRTC Decision 96-609
  2. ^ a b CP24.com Exciting times as CP24 launches cutting-edge newsroom
  3. ^ CP24 broadcasts Toronto's Number One Local 6pm Newscast
  4. ^ CRTC Broadcasting Notice 2008-9
  5. ^ http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2008/db2008-347.htm
  6. ^ What Happened To CityNews On That Cable Channel?
  7. ^ Ted Woloshyn, "CP24 Radio is a disaster". Toronto Sun, March 28, 2009.
  8. ^ "Ground shifting as broadcasters brace for sports war". Toronto Star, January 21, 2011.
  9. ^ "TSN Radio a reality". The Globe and Mail, January 21, 2011.
  10. ^ CP24 Now Offers Toronto Viewers More Early News With LIVE AT 5 and LIVE AT 5:30 CTVglobemedia press release, January 19, 2010,
  11. ^ CP24 now offering more news at 5 p.m. CP24.com, published January 19, 2010
  12. ^ TalkTV shows move to better time-slot CP24.com, puiblished January 26, 2010,
  13. ^ CP24 BREAKFAST Served Fresh Seven Days A Week CTV press release, March 14, 2011
  14. ^ CP24 November 18 press release for new on-air look and new cutting-edge newsroom
  15. ^ BNN and CP24 Launch a Brand New Program APP CENTRAL CTV press release, March 23, 2011.
  16. ^ "App Central - About the Show". Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  17. ^ CP24's Beat The Traffic system online
  18. ^ CP24 Reporter Bios, CP24.com. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  19. ^ A Legend Lost: Toronto Mourns The Death Of Mark Dailey

43°38′59″N 79°23′25″W / 43.649701°N 79.390233°W / 43.649701; -79.390233

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