 | |
| Type | Broadcast television system |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Craig Media (1997-2004); CHUM Limited (2004-2005) |
| Parent | A-Channel, Inc. |
| Key people | Drew Craig |
| History | |
| Launched | September 18, 1997 |
| Closed | August 2, 2005 |
| Replaced by | |
| Former names | The Alberta Channel (proposed) |
A-Channel (proposed as The Alberta Channel) was a Canadian television system initially owned by Craig Media from September 1997 to 2004, then by CHUM Limited from 2004 to 2005 through A-Channel, Inc. It consisted of Craig's television stations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton and was the company's unsuccessful attempt to build a national network.
A-Channel launched on September 18, 1997, in Edmonton (CKEM-TV) and September 20 in Calgary (CKAL-TV); Craig's Winnipeg-market station, MTN in Portage la Prairie, rebranded as A-Channel in 1999. The stations were similar in style to Citytv, with an aggressive, urban, street-level, and younger approach to local news and entertainment, including long morning shows and—in Edmonton—midweek telecasts of Edmonton Oilers hockey. In addition, CHUM Limited, owner of Citytv, provided A-Channel with most of its non-local entertainment programming. A-Channel slowly built an audience in its first several years of operation, settling into third place in prime time news ratings and audience.
Craig attempted to expand beyond, particularly to the Vancouver market, but lost out on multiple occasions to other applicants. In 2002, it successfully obtained a licence for a new Toronto station, Toronto 1. However, Craig lost money in startup costs for the new service; at the same time, it grappled with a five-month-long strike at the Edmonton A-Channel station that saw their local news ratings drop by more than half. In January 2004, Craig Media put itself on the market. CHUM Limited, which had been highly desirous of an entry into the Alberta market for some time, acquired the three A-Channel stations. On August 2, 2005, CHUM folded the stations into the Citytv network. On the same date, the A-Channel name was transferred to the stations collectively referred to as NewNet in Southern Ontario and on Vancouver Island, which are currently operated by Bell Media under the CTV 2 banner. The three original Craig Media A-Channel (now Citytv) stations are now owned by Rogers Sports & Media.