CKX-TV

CKX-TV
Brandon, Manitoba
Branding	CKX Television
Channels	Analog: 5 (VHF) Digital: allocated 49 (UHF)
Translators	see below
Affiliations	CBC
Owner	CTVglobemedia, Inc. (CTV Limited)
First air date	January 28, 1955
Transmitter Power	100 kW
Height	406.9 m
Transmitter Coordinates	49°40′6″N 100°0′41″W / 49.66833, -100.01139
Website	CKX Television

CKX-TV is a television station in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, affiliated with CBC Television. Owned and operated by CTVglobemedia, it was the first privately owned television station in Manitoba. It shares its call letters with its former sister station, CKX-FM, owned and operated by Astral Media (formerly Standard Radio).

As a private affiliate of the CBC the station airs most CBC network programming, although CBWT is available on digital cable channel 62 in Brandon, but also airs some A programming.

History

The station was founded by John Craig and went on the air on January 28, 1955, a day which marked Craig Media's start in television broadcasting.

In February 1959, CKX asked Manitoba Telecom Services (MTS) to apply to the CBC to extend ther television signals to four additional Manitoba communities — Dauphin, Swan River, The Pas, and Flin Flon.^[1]

For nearly half a century, the station remained under the ownership of Craig Media. In 2004, Craig Media announced a deal to sell its broadcasting assets to CHUM Limited. The sale was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on November 19, 2004, and became official on December 1.

CKX Studios in Brandon, MB

CHUM relaunched the original Craig Media A-Channel stations as new affilities of Citytv on August 2, 2005, at the same time when the existing NewNet stations picked up the A-Channel name. It generally left CKX's programming alone, though the A-Channel logo is occasionally seen during primetime programming.

On January 15, 2007, master control for CKX-TV was moved back from Portage La Prairie to Brandon.^[2]

Ownership changed hands once again when on June 22, 2007, CHUM Limited was sold to CTVglobemedia, Originally CTVglobemedia wanted to retain CHUM's Citytv system and sell CKX-TV along with CHUM's A-Channel stations and several speciality channels to Rogers Communications, however this was denied by the CRTC as CTV was forced to sell CHUM's Citytv stations to another buyer. As such CTV retained CKX along with CHUM's A-Channel stations and all of CHUM's speciality channels and sold CHUM's Citytv stations to Rogers Communications. Richard Gray was named the head of news for CKX-TV and the A-Channel stations. Gray reports to the CTVgm corporate group, as opposed to CTV News. CKX-TV is CTV's first CBC affiliate since selling their CBC stations in Northern Ontario and Saskatchewan to the CBC in 2002. ^[3]

News

CKX airs a one hour local noon program, The Noon Show, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. daily while it also airs a pre-taped one hour evening newscast, CKX News at 6, from 6 to 7 p.m. every weekday. CKX used to air a late-night half-hour newscast from 11 to 11:30 p.m. until cuts were made to the station in the 1990s and 2000. CKX news programming generally lags in the ratings behind CKYB.

Current CKX personalities

• [[]] CKX News at Six Anchor
• [[]] CKX Noon Show News Anchor
• Jesse Carlson CKX Sports Anchor/Reporter
• Tyler Crayston CKX Sports Anchor/Reporter
• Megan Batchelor CKX News Reporter
• Matt Packwood CKX News Reporter
• Karen Chrest CKX Noon Show Host

Former CKX personalities

• Brent Fitzpatrick, evening news anchor.
• Leah Hextall, former sports anchor, now with CKY-TV
• Ron Thompson former CKX-TV and CHMI-TV meteorologist.
• Lewellyn Laycock, former evening news anchor.
• Jill Officer, former reporter
• Rayla Hamricut, former reporter

Transmitters

References

External links

• CKX Television
• Canadian Communications Foundation - CKX-TV History
• Query the REC's Canadian station database for CKX-TV