 | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Atlantic Canada |
| Network | CTV2 Former affiliations:Citytv (1983–2008; primary) Global (1983-1988; secondary) |
| Headquarters | Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Bell Media Inc. |
| Sister channels | CTV Atlantic (CJCH-DT,CKCW-DT,CKLT-DT,CJCB-TV) |
| History | |
| Launched | May 29, 1983; 42 years ago (1983-05-29) |
| Former names | Atlantic Satellite Network (1983–2008) A Atlantic (2008–2011) CTV Two Atlantic (2011–2018) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
CTV2 Atlantic is aCanadiancabletelevision channel servingAtlantic Canada owned byBell Media, with its studios located inHalifax, Nova Scotia. Owned by theBell Media subsidiary ofBCE Inc., it operates as ade factoowned-and-operated station of its secondaryCTV2television system.
The channel launched as theAtlantic Satellite Network (orASN) in 1983. It is designated by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a "satellite-to-cable television programming undertaking," defined as a local television channel available in the region on basic cable television, and now throughout Canada on manydigital cable systems andsatellite television, but without anyterrestrial transmitters (a small number of other channels, mainly educational broadcasters, are similarly designated). The channel does not appear to have mandatory cable carriage rights,[1] although nearly all cable systems in the region offer it. Nonetheless, it has fullsimultaneous substitution rights in the Atlantic provinces, whereas most non-broadcast channels do not.
Prior to summer 2008, the channel had received much of its programming fromCHUM Limited'sCitytv (now owned byRogers Media) and A-Channel (now CTV2) systems, which did not operate in the region; beginning in the early 2000s, timeshifted CTV programs often aired on the channel as well. CTV acquired CHUM (excluding Citytv) in 2007, and ASN merged with the relaunched A system on August 11, 2008.[2]
On cable in the Halifax area, CTV2 Atlantic can be found onEastLink TV channel 7, andBell AliantFibe TV channel 5. There is also an HD feed on EastLink TV channel 606 and on Bell Aliant Fibe channel 406. Outside Halifax, the station can usually be found on either channel 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, or 13.
The channel launched as theAtlantic Satellite Network on May 29, 1983, under the ownership of CHUM Limited, as a supplementary service to its ATV system of CTV affiliates (now known asCTV Atlantic). ASN initially airedAtlantic Pulse newscasts at alternate times to ATV's newscasts.Atlantic Pulse used ATV reporters, but different anchors and graphics, with a comparatively spartan set located across the newsroom from ATV's. ASN also carried alternative entertainment programming, much of it produced by or otherwise sourced from CHUM's Toronto stationCITY-TV (including a nightly feature film, branded under the titleGreat Movies, as CITY-TV did).
In 1997, as part of a multi-station trade between CHUM andBaton Broadcasting, ATV and ASN became Baton properties; ATV was integrated into the expanded CTV network, while ASN took over the few remaining CHUM programs from ATV. ASN remained, for all intents and purposes, the Citytv affiliate in Atlantic Canada, and for about another decade carried a similar mix of movies and series in primetime. However, by the mid-2000s, the amount of CHUM programming on the ASN schedule had in fact decreased, and CHUM-suppliedsoap operas and movies (aside from a handful of weekend timeslots) were no longer present.
Following the merger between CHUM and CTVglobemedia, it appeared likely that ASN would become the Citytvowned-and-operated station for Atlantic Canada. However, the merger was made conditional on the sale of Citytv to a third party, withRogers Communications being the buyer of thetelevision system; as such, ASN was relaunched as part of the CTV's also recently acquired A system on August 11, 2008, and became known asA Atlantic. On May 30, 2011, Bell Media announced that A Atlantic, along with the rest of the A system would be rebranded as CTV Two, thus becoming known asCTV Two Atlantic. The official relaunch to CTV Two took place on August 29, 2011.[3] CTV Two Atlantic launched ahigh definition feed calledCTV Two Atlantic HD on September 12, 2011 (June 4, 2019 to replace the SD feed onShaw Direct).
ASN also devoted a significant amount of its daytime schedule to educational programming provided by provincial education departments and by local universities. This university-supplied programming came from the Distance University Education via Television (DUET) service offered by ASN, in partnership with participating universities in Atlantic Canada to university students. Some of the university programs offered through DUET includedbusiness administration andgerontology. ASN provided 16 hours of educational programming each weekend from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and ten hours every Monday to Friday morning from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. (in the early years, someTVOntario programs were carried on ASN, such asPolka Dot Door,Today's Special andFast Forward). In September 1992, ASN launched a local version of Citytv'sBreakfast Television, moving educational programs to the weekend and to overnight hours. By 1996, as specialty television began to grow in popularity,Atlantic Pulse gave way to a short-lived scaled-back version calledATV Headline News.ATV Headline News only lasted until early 1998, when ASN's news programming was fully integrated into the ATV (nowCTV Atlantic) news operation.
While ATV aired some syndicated programming from the United States that was shown onCITY-TV inToronto (such asFriends andSeinfeld repeats), ASN aired programs associated with CTV in the rest of the country, such asWheel of Fortune,Jeopardy! andCamilla Scott. ASN was also the original home ofThe Oprah Winfrey Show until it moved to ATV in 1991 and 11 years later onNTV in 2002 fromSt. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. BothWheel of Fortune andJeopardy! are currently broadcast byHamilton, Ontario-basedCHCH-DT as of September 2012.
Over the years, ASN/A Atlantic has occasionally aired selected CTV network programming. In some cases, this would be live programming that had been scheduled for times that were inconvenient for either or both of ATV and NTV, such as weekend afternoon sports programming that might interfere with local news. From fall 2005 to fall 2008, ASN had also carried same‑night rebroadcasts of CTV programs on most nights at 11:00 p.m. AT (10:00 p.m. ET). This appeared to be to maximize the network'ssimultaneous substitution coverage; since 1997, CTV Atlantic had aired series from the final hour of U.S. primetime earlier in the evening in order to accommodate newscasts at 11:00 p.m. AT.
Since NTV's 2002 slow disaffiliation from CTV, ASN/A Atlantic has also shown selected high-profile CTV network programs that are likely to be of interest to viewers inNewfoundland and Labrador, but would not otherwise be widely available in that province due to the lack of an alternate CTV affiliate on basic cable. This has included the first three seasons ofCanadian Idol, which NTV began to carry in 2006, as well as sports programming such as CTV's coverage of the2010 Winter Olympics. In these cases, the programs would continue to air onCTV Atlantic as well. Such occurrences are currently rare since most CTV programs are available on analog cable in Newfoundland on other channels, either through simulcasts on U.S. network affiliates, or through repeats on CTV's analog specialty channels likeThe Comedy Network.
Despite the then-pending CTVglobemedia/CHUM merger, CHUM content was actually lowered during the 2006–07 season compared to previous years, with other series from the CTV library – including repeats, "shelf" series likeWhat About Brian, programming fromMTV Canada, and timeshifted CTV programming forsimsub purposes – making up the balance.
CTV2 Atlantic presently broadcasts 15 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with three hours each weekday). The joint ownership of ATV and ASN was approved in 1983 without any restrictions on duplicated programming or news coverage between the two channels. This has beengrandfathered into the CRTC's current policy, which has required most newer large-market "twinsticks" to maintain separate programming and news content on both component stations.
Since 1997, ASN's local programming has been cut back significantly. At its peak,Breakfast Television aired for two and a half hours daily; it now airs for two hours, broadcasting from 7 to 9 a.m. The format of the channel's signature morning showBreakfast Television and its logo somewhat resembled the format and branding used by the Citytv stations. Also, while ASN still carried a noon newscast and an early-morning rebroadcast of CTV'sLive at 5, both are branded asCTV News programs. In mid-October 2005, ASN stopped carrying a late newscast, due to the additional CTV programming noted below.
Currently, CTV2 Atlantic carries a late local newscast (a rebroadcast of CTV Atlantic's late news at midnight), previously the rebroadcast was taken off the schedule in 2005 but has been brought back[when?]; as well as the aforementionedCTV News at Noon. CTV Two Atlantic's morning program also retained the nameBreakfast Television instead ofA Morning during the A era. The show subsequently dropped the name, when the station was rebranded as CTV Two and the morning show became known asCTV Morning Live.
Until fall 2006, the CRTC required that "commercial messages that are likely to have a negative impact on (NTV) be deleted from the ASN service distributed inSt. John's andMount Pearl (and area)" byRogers Cable and its pre-2000 predecessor,Cable Atlantic.[4] For several years, Rogers or Cable Atlantic aired scrolling text fromBroadcast News in its place, and was faulted on several occasions for untimely malfunctions of the automated equipment that performed the deletion (i.e., entire segments ofCanadian Idol being blocked). In spring 2006, Rogers applied to have this condition removed, citing these complaints among other reasons.[5] This was approved in fall 2006.
Since the channel's inception, ASN/CTV Two Atlantic has not been permitted to solicit local advertising in the Halifax area, due to (in the CRTC's opinion) insufficient support for local advertising.[6] As part of the approval for Rogers's request to remove the commercial blackouts in St. John's, the channel also agreed not to solicit local advertising in that area either.[7] CTV Two Atlantic is permitted to solicit local advertising in the rest of Atlantic Canada, as well as regional and national advertising; moreover the ban onsolicitation does not necessarily prevent the channel fromaccepting local ad sales from the aforementioned areas.
The licensee is authorized to distribute,at its option, the programming service Atlantic Satellite Network (ASN), received via satellite, provided that it is distributed on an unrestricted channel of the basic service.(emphasis added)
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