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Channels | |
Branding | Citytv Toronto; Citytv; CityNews Toronto (newscasts) |
Programming | |
Affiliations | Citytv |
Ownership | |
Owner |
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History | |
First air date | September 28, 1972 |
Former call signs | CITY-TV (1972–2011) |
Former channel number(s) |
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Independent (1972–2002) | |
Call sign meaning | "City" |
Technical information | |
Licensing authority | CRTC |
ERP | 49.4 kW |
HAAT | 506 m (1,660 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°38′33″N 79°23′14″W / 43.64250°N 79.38722°W |
Translator(s) | see § Transmitters |
Links | |
Website | Citytv Toronto |
CITY-DT (channel 57), branded as Citytv Toronto or simply Citytv, is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media alongside Omni Television outlets CFMT-DT (channel 47) and CJMT-DT (channel 40). The stations share studios at 33 Dundas Street East on Yonge–Dundas Square in downtown Toronto, while CITY-DT's transmitter is located atop the CN Tower.
The station went on the air on September 28, 1972, by a consortium led by Phyllis Switzer, Moses Znaimer, Jerry Grafstein and Edgar Cowan, as CITY-TV, branded "Citytv" on Queen Street. In 1981, the station was sold to CHUM Limited, who retained Znaimer as an executive and moved to its 299 Queen Street West studios in 1987. For the majority of its early life, CITY-TV operated as an independent station, best known for its unconventional approaches to news and other locally produced programming. After having used syndication to bring its original programming to other Canadian markets, CHUM later used CITY-TV as the basis and flagship station of a television system, acquiring and establishing new stations under the Citytv name.[2]
In 2006, CTVglobemedia announced its intent to acquire CHUM Limited, but was required to divest stations due to conflicts with CTV stations it already owned in Citytv's markets. CTV chose to keep the stations of CHUM's secondary A-Channel system, as well as CITY-TV's sister news channel CP24 and its other cable channels MuchMusic, but divested CITY-TV and its sister stations to Rogers Media. Under Rogers ownership, CITY-TV's programming became more conventional in nature.[3]