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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | Noovo CFTF |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | Noovo |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| CIMT-DT | |
| History | |
First air date | June 28, 1988 |
Former call signs | CFTF-TV (1988-2011) |
Former channel number(s) | Analogue: 29 (UHF, 1988-2011) |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | CRTC |
| ERP | 44 kW |
| HAAT | 345.1 m (1,132 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 47°35′3″N 69°22′8″W / 47.58417°N 69.36889°W |
| Translator(s) | See below |
| Links | |
| Website | Noovo CFTF |
CFTF-DT, virtual and UHF digital channel 29, is a Noovo-affiliated television station licensed to Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada. Owned by Télé Inter-Rives, it is a twinstick to TVA affiliate CIMT-DT. The two stations share studios on Rue de la Chute and Rue Frontenac in Rivière-du-Loup; CFTF-DT's transmitter is located near Chemin du Mont Bleu in Picard.
Like its two sister stations, it operates a second, "nested" low-power transmitter in Rivière-du-Loup. The area's rugged terrain makes the main signal practically unviewable in the lower portions of the city. The rebroadcaster, CFTF-6 (now CFTF-DT-6), signed on in 1999. The reception problem is exacerbated by the station's location on the UHF band (UHF stations have never gotten good reception in rugged terrain), as well as its relatively modest operating power. Its analogue signal only operated at 50,000 watts, and its digital signal operates at only 44,000 watts—roughly equivalent to 220,000 watts in analogue. The main signal is located on channel 29, while the rebroadcaster is on channel 11. It also operates a rebroadcaster in Edmundston, New Brunswick—the only Noovo rebroadcaster located outside of Quebec.
On cable, CFTF-DT is available on Vidéotron channel 5 and in high definition on digital channel 605. By way of its Edmundston rebroadcaster, it can also be seen on nearly all cable systems in northern New Brunswick. The station is also carried on Bell Satellite TV.
The station airs a 15-minute regional newscast at 5:30 p.m. on weekdays from its Rivière-du-Loup studio, with additional reporting from a bureau in Carleton-sur-Mer at co-owned CHAU-DT.
On June 1, 2007, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved a joint application by TQS (predecessor to Noovo) and Télé Inter-Rives to convert the TQS station in Rimouski, CJPC-TV, from a rebroadcaster of CFJP Montreal to a semi-satellite of CFTF. As part of the deal, a news bureau would be built in Rimouski, and a limited amount of local programming would be added on CJPC.
On November 24, 2021, Télé Inter-Rives was granted approval to change the frequency of their CFTF-DT from UHF 29 to VHF 7, with a decrease in power from 26.2 kW (maximum 44 kW) to 7 kW (constant), increasing the height from 341.1 to 345.1 meters, and to move to the former location of defunct sister station CKRT-DT, effectively shutting down the current transmitter and reactivating CKRT-DT. The reasons cited were greater reliability, less power needed (and thus cheaper to operate) on the VHF band, and it would nearly double the station's reception area. In addition, repeater CFTF-DT-11 on UHF 44 would change its application to move to UHF 26 to instead occupy UHF 29, as that would no longer be occupied by its parent station. Accompanying the change in frequency would be a slight reduction in power (dropping from 10,350 to 10,281 watts, with its maximum effective radiated power dropping from 26 kW to 19.5 kW).[1]