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|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | CHAT TV |
| Programming | |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | |
| History | |
First air date | September 14, 1957 (1957-09-14) |
Last air date |
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Call sign meaning | Medicine Hat (taken from itssister radio station) |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | CRTC |
| ERP | 58kW |
| HAAT | 202.7 m (665 ft) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 50°9′45″N110°57′23″W / 50.16250°N 110.95639°W /50.16250; -110.95639 |
| Translator(s) | see§ Transmitters |
CHAT-TV (analogue channel 6) was atelevision station inMedicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, last affiliated withCitytv. Owned by theJim Pattison Broadcast Group, the station had studios at 10 Boundary Road SE in the nearby town ofRedcliff, and its transmitter was located near theTrans-Canada Highway and Range Road 80, northwest of Redcliff.
CHAT signed on the air on September 14, 1957, byMonarch Broadcasting Company Ltd. as aCBC Television affiliate serving Medicine Hat. It was then acquired by Jim Pattison Broadcasting in 2000 when it acquired the assets of Monarch. In 2008, CHAT became affiliated withCanwest'sE! television system, sinceCICT (Global Calgary) was also available on cable systems in Medicine Hat; but when E! collapsed in 2009, Pattison transferred CHAT's affiliation toRogers Media's Citytv system, adopting the scheduling grid ofCKAL. In June 2025, the station ceased operations due to financial troubles by its parent.[2]
This station also operated rebroadcasters inPivot (CHAT-TV-1, channel 4) andMaple Creek, Saskatchewan (CHAT-TV-2, channel 6).
CHAT-TV began broadcasting on September 14, 1957, onVHF channel 6, with a transmitter power output of 5,700 watts. The station was owned byMonarch Broadcasting Company Ltd., which was operated by J. H. "Hop" Yuill, and was co-owned with local radio stationCHAT (1270 AM, now on 94.5 FM). CHAT-TV was the fourth television station in Alberta to sign on the air, and its launch was presided over by then-premierErnest Manning.
CHAT-TV's first general manager was R.J. "Bob" Buss. The station operated from a modernized studio and office building, and transmitted from a 403-foot (123 m) tower located at Redcliff. Sid Gaffney was the first chief engineer, and Merv Stone was the production manager. In the beginning, the station began its daily operations at 5:30 p.m., with the only live programming being the 6 p.m. news bulletin. The remainder of programming arrived via train and consisted of16 mmkinescope films ofCBC programming that had originated one or two weeks earlier.[3] Around 10% of the local commercials were done live, with the announcers having to ad-lib enough to last the full 60 seconds.
Other early CHAT-TV staff members include Bernie Pascall, Gary Buss, George Lund, Mike Darow and Duff Roman. Early local productions of note includeSock-Hop, a teenage dance show,quiz shows such asTeen Challenge andCartoon Quiz,cooking shows, farming programs, and two music programs,Country Roundup (concentrating on western music), andMusic For the Moderns, featuring local musicians.
Later that year, the station joined theTrans Canada Microwave relay,[4] increasing the station's broadcast hours to from 10 a.m. to midnight. In 1961, a full-power rebroadcast transmitter was installed near Pivot, near the Alberta–Saskatchewan border, which improved the station's signal reach. In 1967,colour programming from the CBC arrived on CHAT, and local colour programs started in 1972.[5]
In 1981, the main transmitter was relocated toBowell, Alberta, and its power was increased to 58,000 watts.[3] Other rebroadcasters were added inMaple Creek, Saskatchewan, and atOyen, Alberta (which was owned by the community).
In 1992, W. H. "Bill" Yuill, son of "Hop" Yuill, became the owner and president of Monarch Communications, which had expanded into other broadcasting andcable properties in Alberta andBritish Columbia. Over the years, Bob Buss was followed as general manager by Orv Kope, Dwaine Dietrich, Brian Bolli, Brian Ellis, and again by Dwaine Dietrich in 1996. David Sherwood took over in 2007 following the retirement of Dwaine Dietrich.
In 2000, theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the sale of Monarch's radio and television holdings (including CHAT-TV) to the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, a division of theJim Pattison Group.
On February 28, 2008, the CRTC announced the approval of disaffiliation of CHAT from the CBC effective August 31, 2008. Documents filed with the CRTC indicate the station would then receive programming fromCanWest Global.[6]Global'sCalgary stationCICT-TV is available on cable in Medicine Hat; however, it does not reach the market over-the-air, while CHAT aired select Global programs simultaneously with CICT. On September 1, 2008, CHAT became the market'sE! affiliate. Medicine Hat was the only over-the-air market served by E!, where a Global affiliate was not available locally.
It was announced that the transmitters of CHAT would not be replaced by the CBC. The market now receives CBC programming throughCBRT, which is available on cable and satellite in Medicine Hat, as well as on CBCA-TV-1 12 inEtzikom, which previously rebroadcast CHAT-TV before the affiliation switch. Despite the region's tiny francophone population,Radio-Canada stationCBXFT inEdmonton operated a rebroadcaster in Medicine Hat until the CBC shut down all of its analog transmitters on July 31, 2012.
On July 14, 2009, Pattison announced that CHAT and its other E! affiliates would begin receiving programming fromRogers Media'sCitytv system starting September 1, although the stations did not begin to utilize any form of "Citytv" branding.[7] Canwest had previously announced it would sell or close its E! stations, leaving the Pattison stations without a programming source.
On May 3, 2012, Rogers announced the renewal of the Citytv affiliation agreement with Jim Pattison Group, originally slated to expire in August 2012; under the agreement, CHAT began carrying 90% of Citytv's prime time schedule and the majority of its morning and daytime lineup (including a simulcast of the Calgary edition ofBreakfast Television), largely following CKAL's schedule (with breakaways for CHAT's locally produced midday and evening newscasts) on September 1, 2012.[8]
Historically, CHAT airedHockey Night in Canada dating back to the days of CBC affiliation. However, when Rogersbought the national rights to theNHL in November 2013, the Pattison affiliates began to airHockey Night once again in October 2014.
On June 3, 2025, Pattison Media announced that it would discontinue CHAT's operations, citing what it called "insurmountable" financial challenges.[9] The station signed off at 9:30 a.m. that day.[10]
CHAT-TV carried 15 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with three hours each weekday); the station did not produce any weekend newscasts. CHAT-TV's local newscasts were titledCHAT News; the station aired a 30-minute lunch hour newscast at noon with a repeat from 12:30 to 1 p.m., and a two-hour early evening news block from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. A half-hour review of the week's news stories was seen Saturdays at 6 p.m., with repeat broadcasts on Sundays at 6 p.m. and Mondays at 6:30 a.m.
CHAT-TV never broadcast adigital signal.
According to a 2009 CRTC decision, CHAT-TV was not required to activate its digital signal, as Medicine Hat was not a mandatory market fordigital conversion,[11] which took place in most other markets on August 31, 2011.[12] CHAT-DT had been allocated toUHF channel 36.
| Station | City of licence | Channel | ERP | HAAT | Transmitter coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHAT-TV-1 | Pivot | 4 (VHF) | 4.9 kW | 191.1 m | 50°24′14″N110°3′10″W / 50.40389°N 110.05278°W /50.40389; -110.05278 (CHAT-TV-1) |
| CHAT-TV-2 | Maple Creek, SK | 6 (VHF) | 0.01 kW | NA | 49°55′22″N109°27′42″W / 49.92278°N 109.46167°W /49.92278; -109.46167 (CHAT-TV-2) |
The station's end came at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday after financial pressures proved too much to remain on the air, said the president of the station's owner, Pattison Media.