CP24

Last updated

CP24
CountryCanada
Broadcast areaCanada
Headquarters 299 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Programming
Picture format 1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
Owner CHUM Limited (1998–2007, 70.1% to 2004)
Sun Media (1998–2004, 29.9%)
CTVglobemedia (CTV Limited) (2007–2011, 80% to 2008)
Rogers Media (2007–2008, 20%)
BCE Inc. (2011–present)
Parent Bell Media
Sister channelsTV: BNN Bloomberg, CTV News Channel, Much, CTV Drama Channel, Discovery, CFTO-DT, CKVR-DT (Barrie)
Radio: CFRB, CHUM, CHUM-FM, CKFM-FM
History
LaunchedMarch 30, 1998;26 years ago (1998-03-30)
Former namesCablePulse24
Links
Website cp24.com

CP24 is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by Bell Media, a subsidiary of BCE Inc. and operated alongside the Bell-owned CTV Television Network's owned-and-operated television stations CFTO-DT (CTV Toronto) and CKVR-DT (CTV 2 Barrie). The channel broadcasts from 299 Queen Street West in Downtown Toronto.

Contents

It was first originally launched on March 30, 1998, under the name CablePulse24 by its owners CHUM Limited and Sun Media. The channel was named as an extension of CITY-TV (Citytv Toronto)'s newscasts, which were then known as CityPulse . CHUM acquired Sun Media's interest in 2004 after acquiring the assets of Craig Media. In 2006, Bell Globemedia acquired CP24 and its parent CHUM Limited, but regulatory limits in media ownership forced CHUM to sell off the Citytv stations to avoid conflicts with CTV stations in the same markets. CTVglobemedia retained the ownership of CP24 and the small market A-Channel stations, but subsequently sold the Citytv stations including CITY-TV, to Rogers Media in mid-2007, which held a 20% stake until 2008.

The channel focuses on local news from the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario, while also covering national and international news. It is distributed through cable in Southern Ontario and direct broadcast satellite nationally.

As of 2023, CP24 streams free worldwide on its website with no subscription required.

History

Old version of the CP24 logo, used from 1998 to 2003 CablePulse24 old.svg
Old version of the CP24 logo, used from 1998 to 2003

Under CHUM

The channel was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1996 as Pulse 24, described as "a 24-hour-a-day specialty television service devoted to news and information, with a focus on southern Ontario local and regional news and information", [1] and launched on March 30, 1998, as CablePulse 24, under the ownership of CHUM Limited, the parent company of CITY-TV and minority partner Sun Media, owner of the Toronto Sun daily newspaper. For the first 10 years after its inception, CP24's programming was anchored and featured reports from Citytv personalities, live CityPulse news broadcasts were immediately repeated on CP24 after their initial broadcast on CITY-TV (except for breaking news coverage), and special coverage was simulcast between the channel and the television station. Select programming from other CHUM stations would also be featured on the channel, including The NewMusic and Fashion Television ; another program, 24Ontario, featured news stories from CHUM's NewNet stations elsewhere in the province.

Overnight broadcasts on CP24 featured vintage CityPulse news broadcasts from CITY-TV during the 1970s & 1980s branded as Rewind. The rebroadcasts were accompanied by a graphic on the top right corner of the screen that read "Rewind", supplemented with the original airdate below it.

On December 1, 2004, CHUM Limited acquired the remaining interest in CP24 (giving it 100% of its shares), when the Sun's owners sold their 29.9% share in CP24 after acquiring its independent broadcast station CKXT-TV, the same day that CHUM Limited took control of Craig Media and its assets also.

Under CHUM ownership, Mark Dailey of CITY provided continuity voice announcements on CP24.

Under CTV

Logo used from 2003 to 2012. Cablepulse24.svg
Logo used from 2003 to 2012.

On July 12, 2006, Bell Globemedia (the latter which became CTVglobemedia in 2007) announced a friendly bid to take over CHUM Limited for an estimated $1.7 billion. One year later on June 8, 2007, the CRTC approved the CTV takeover of CHUM. However, the CRTC made the deal conditional on CTV selling the Citytv stations. On June 12, 2007, Rogers announced that it had agreed to buy the Citytv stations (including Citytv Toronto) for $375 million. The deal was finalized later that year, with a stipulation that CTV maintain ownership of CHUM's 299 Queen Street West headquarters and studios. CTV chose to keep CP24, and the rest of CHUM assets (including the A-Channel stations) it had said it would sell.

As a result of the ownership changes, CP24 began to separate its operations from those of CITY-TV. This process began in 2008, with the introduction of new CP24-only personalities (which meant they were no longer seen anchoring/reporting on the CityNews side), new live eye trucks (also known as Breaking News Vehicles) which were outfitted with white and black design bearing the CP24 and red "Breaking News" decals, the establishment of a new studio and newsroom on the second floor of the 299 Queen Street West building in November of that year, [2] and the removal of nearly all Citytv's news simulcasts from its schedule few weeks later on December 10 of that year, (excluding Breakfast Television ), and replacing the 6 p.m. CityNews simulcast with CFTO's CTV News Toronto at Six. [lower-alpha 1]

On March 26, 2009, Breakfast Television was replaced with the launch of its own new morning show, CP24 Breakfast , which marked the completion of CP24's separation from Citytv. Also coinciding with the launch, included the rebranding of its oldies music radio station 1050 CHUM (another station which was acquired in the CTV/CHUM acquisition) to a news talk radio format which operated as an audio simulcast of CP24 called "CP24 Radio 1050". The move was intended to broaden the network's reach as a multi-platform news source, but did not prove successful; Toronto Sun columnist Ted Woloshyn in particular pointed out that the station was simply airing a straight simulcast of CP24 television content that was not properly formatted for radio. [lower-alpha 2] [9]

Following the layoffs and cost-cutting measures that took place at the Citytv stations across Canada (including the cancellation of Citytv Toronto's CityNews at Five announced on January 19, 2010), CP24 immediately expanded its Live at 5 newscast (which had been airing for 15 minutes since its launch in 2008) to 30 minutes along with the launch of another half-hour newscast, Live at 5:30. [10] [11] As a result, CP24's late-afternoon talk shows, such as Animal House Calls and Hot Property, which had been seen weekdays at 5:15 p.m. were moved to a new 7:15 p.m. time slot on January 26, 2010. [12]

Under Bell

CP24 studio in Toronto 299 Queen Street West 2022.jpg
CP24 studio in Toronto

On September 10, 2010, BCE (a minority shareholder in CTVglobemedia) announced that it planned to acquire 100% interest in CTVglobemedia for a total debt and equity transaction cost of $3.2 billion CAD. [13] The deal which required CRTC approval, was approved on March 7, 2011 [14] and closed on April 1 of that year, on which CTVglobemedia was rebranded Bell Media. [15]

On March 19, 2011, CP24 introduced a weekend edition of CP24 Breakfast, hosted by Pooja Handa and Gurdeep Ahluwalia, George Lagogianes is the remote host and Nneka Elliott (who resigned on May 2, 2011, and was replaced by Jamie Gutfreund) delivers the weather forecasts. The show runs from 7:00–10:15 a.m. [16]

CP24 and Much are the two remaining surviving CHUM-branded channels that maintained its name, since a number of former CHUM-owned sister networks were either rebranded, sold or ceased operations.

On June 20, 2024, Bell announced that CP24 would move studios from 299 Queen Street West, where it was based since its inception, to Bell Media's 9 Channel Nine Court building in Scarborough (which houses the operations of several Bell-operated television stations such as CTV News Channel, TSN, Discovery Channel Canada and the local news operations for CTV Toronto) in October 2024. [17] However, as of November 5th, 2024, it is unknown if CP24 has moved or still intends to move locations, with no statement from Bell on the matter.

Location and format

CP24's Breaking News truck at 299 Queen Street West. This was originally painted in the CityPulse livery. CP24 Truck at Queen Street West (20190101114831) (cropped).jpg
CP24's Breaking News truck at 299 Queen Street West. This was originally painted in the CityPulse livery.
CP24's reporter report outside Old Toronto City Hall CP24 reporter report 2023.jpg
CP24's reporter report outside Old Toronto City Hall

CP24 is based at 299 Queen Street West, at the corner of John Street and Queen Street West. It used to share the newsroom with CITY-TV on the ground floor (which are now the facilities of Bell Media's 24-hour business news channel, BNN Bloomberg). As with CITY-TV, CP24 had no news desk for the most part while anchors read the news standing up.

In November 2008, CP24 moved its operations to a new studio and newsroom on the second floor of the complex. Coinciding with the new studio, CP24 also adopted an updated on-air appearance, replacing the previous blue and gold colour scheme with a red, white and black design. [2] [18]

CP24 van. CP24.JPG
CP24 van.

CP24's screen format uses a window in the top-left of the screen to show the current program, which is surrounded with a sidebar with weather and traffic reports, scrolling news headlines and local entertainment/event information, and tickers for stocks and sports. This format has been described[ by whom? ] as more closely resembling a website than a conventional television channel, and has been replicated with a similar look of CP24's enriched screen on its website. This format was referred to as "NewStyle NewsFlow" during the CHUM era.

On September 27, 2012, CP24 again updated its on-air appearance as the channel began broadcasting in high definition. The relaunched enriched screen includes several changes such as:

Programming

Former Programming

Other affiliations

CP24 shares news resources with other Bell Media-owned outlets, including the news/talk radio affiliate CFRB "Newstalk 1010", sports updates with TSN (and CHUM "TSN Radio 1050"), business news updates with BNN Bloomberg and entertainment news updates with eTalk . From its inception prior to its acquisition by CTV, CP24 was closely integrated with CITY-DT's newsroom, which had shared programming, anchors and hosts at the time. CP24, is now available on iHeartRadio Canada effective December 2017.

Carriage and popularity

CP24 is seen on cable channel 24 on most cable providers that carry the channel. It is not carried on any analogue cable system outside of Central or Southern Ontario, although it is available on direct broadcast satellite and IPTV television providers in some markets. The channel is available across Canada on Bell Satellite TV, on which the station is part of the service's "News" package. It is also available in the "FYI" package provided to Shaw Direct customers.

Because of its diverse, localized and partially text-based content, the channel is among the most popular choices in the Greater Toronto Area and much of Southern Ontario (outside of Ottawa) for screening in public places such as waiting areas, train stations, restaurants, and lounges.

Remote camera use

In addition to the Freeway Management System – COMPASS and RESCU cameras, CP24 operates EYES cameras located at:

Chopper 24

Since 2008, CP24 has leased a Bell 206L-4 Long Ranger (C-FCTV) news helicopter which can broadcast live at 1500 feet above land; nicknamed Chopper 24, which is supplied by its sister station, CTV Toronto and is painted with CTV's colouring and logo.

Remote truck use

CP24 operates a fleet of remote transmission trucks that use digital microwave and satellite uplink systems to do live news reports throughout the region. Known as "Breaking News Vehicles" the custom-built 2008 Chevrolet Suburbans were outfitted by Frontline Communications of Clearwater, Florida, USA. The vehicles use a red, white and black paint scheme with the channel's logo and the "Breaking News!" slogan also included in the design.

Beat the Traffic

In 2009, CP24 became the first station in Canada to introduce a new Beat the Traffic system showing a three-dimensional animated map displaying traffic flow, roadwork, accidents and current highway travel times. [20]

CP24 HD

The CRTC approved an application by then-owners CHUM Limited in June 2007 to launch a high-definition simulcast of CP24. On September 27, 2012, CP24 began broadcasting in HD (with the SD feed letterboxed) initially on Bell Fibe TV coinciding with it, a new enhanced on-air appearance. The HD feed was also added on the Bell Satellite TV service in December 2012. On June 25, 2013, CP24 began broadcasting in HD on Rogers Cable, shortly after the competing Rogers Media-owned CityNews Channel, which had been available in HD on Rogers Cable since launch, announced it would be shutting down. On March 1, 2017, Shaw Direct added the HD version to its lineup, it was only available in SD until then on that provider. Bell MTS has not yet launched the feed in HD.

CP24 GO

In December 2013, CP24 (along with several other Bell Media television channels) launched a TV Everywhere service known as CP24 GO, which is offered for free to Bell TV customers. It can be accessed from a computer or on a mobile app such as a tablet or smartphone. However, CP24 continues to offer its occasional free live streaming of some major news events on its website.

Notable on-air staff

Former

Notes

  1. ↑ Critics had speculated that the latter change was likely as a response to the announcement of the CRTC granting approval to an application by Rogers Media for its own regional news channel focusing on the Greater Toronto Area, the CityNews Channel. [3] [4] [5] [6]
  2. ↑ This arrangement ended on April 13, 2011, with the launch of a new TSN-branded sports talk format, "TSN Radio 1050", (which became the first station of the new national TSN Radio network) few weeks after Bell Canada took control of CTVglobemedia's assets including CP24, with the latter company becoming known as Bell Media. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citytv</span> Canadian television network owned by Rogers Communications

Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consists of six owned-and-operated (O&O) television stations located in the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, a cable-only service that serves the province of Saskatchewan, and three independently owned affiliates serving smaller cities in Alberta and British Columbia. There is also one station using the brand name serving Bogotá, Colombia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHUM Limited</span> Canadian media company

CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHUM had expanded to and owned 33 radio stations across Canada under its CHUM Radio Network division and also owned other radio stations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">299 Queen Street West</span> Headquarters of Bell Media in Toronto

299 Queen Street West, also known as Bell Media Queen Street or Bell Media Studios, is the headquarters of the television/radio broadcast hub of Bell Canada's media unit, Bell Media, and is located at the intersection of Queen Street West and John Street in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building previously served as the headquarters of CTVglobemedia until Bell Canada acquired CTV again in 2011 as well as CHUM Television, a division of CHUM Limited, until CTV acquired CHUM in 2007, and was once known as the CHUM-City Building. It is now head offices and downtown Toronto studios for Bell Media.

CKVR-DT is a television station in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Toronto-based CTV flagship CFTO-DT, channel 9 ; it is also sister to 24-hour regional news channel CP24. CKVR-DT's studios and transmitter are co-located at 33 Beacon Road in Barrie.

CFPL-DT is a television station in London, Ontario, Canada, part of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside Kitchener-based CTV station CKCO-DT, although the two stations maintain separate operations. CFPL-DT's studios and local transmitter are located on Communications Road on the southwestern side of London, and its Wingham-area rebroadcast transmitter is located on Tower Road in South Bruce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CITY-DT</span> Citytv flagship station in Toronto

CITY-DT, 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 and CJMT-DT. 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.

CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cable television channels, one in Atlantic Canada and the other in Alberta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKNX-TV</span> Former TV station in Wingham, Ontario, Canada

CKNX-TV was a television station owned by CTVglobemedia which served mid-western Ontario, Canada. It was part of the A television system. The station's offices, studios, and transmission facilities were located at Carling Terrace corner John Street in Wingham. A bureau in Owen Sound closed down in late 2004.

CHRO-TV is a television station licensed to Pembroke, Ontario, Canada, serving the capital city of Ottawa as part of the CTV 2 system. It is owned and operated by Bell Media alongside CTV outlet CJOH-DT. The two stations share studios with Bell's Ottawa radio properties at the Market Media Mall building on George Street in downtown Ottawa's ByWard Market; CHRO-TV's transmitter is located on TV Tower Road near Pembroke. The station operates a digital-only rebroadcaster in Ottawa, CHRO-DT-43, with transmitter in the city's Herbert Corners section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHMI-DT</span> Citytv station in Portage la Prairie/Winnipeg, Manitoba

CHMI-DT is a television station licensed to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, broadcasting the Citytv network to the Winnipeg area. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media, the station has studios at 8 Forks Market Road in downtown Winnipeg, and its transmitter is located adjacent to Bohn Road in Cartier.

CTV 2 Atlantic is a Canadian cable television channel serving Atlantic Canada owned by Bell Media, with its studios located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc., it operates as a de facto owned-and-operated station of its secondary CTV 2 television system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CKVU-DT</span> Citytv station in Vancouver

CKVU-DT is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media alongside Omni Television station CHNM-DT. The two stations share studios at the corner of West 2nd Avenue and Columbia Street in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver; CKVU-DT's transmitter is located atop Mount Seymour in the district municipality of North Vancouver, with additional transmitter link facilities on the roof of the Century Plaza Hotel in Downtown Vancouver.

<i>Breakfast Television</i> Canadian morning program television brand

Breakfast Television (BT) is a Canadian morning television program that is broadcast by Citytv. Currently hosted by Sid Seixeiro and Meredith Shaw and first premiering in 1989, the program originated as the morning show of the network's original station CITY in Toronto.

CityNews is the title of news and current affairs programming on Rogers Sports & Media's Citytv network in Canada. The newscast division was founded on September 28, 1975 as CityPulse as a standalone local newscast on the network's Toronto station owned by CHUM Limited. Through the acquisitions of the Edmonton, Winnipeg and Calgary A-Channel stations in 2004, it was relaunched under the CityNews brand on August 2, 2005 and later expanded to Montreal in 2012. The remaining Citytv stations airs the news headlines segments during each station's Breakfast Television morning show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CHUM (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Toronto

CHUM is a Canadian AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario. The station is owned and operated by Bell Media. CHUM's studios are co-located with TSN at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt neighbourhood of Scarborough, with its transmitter array located in the Clarkson neighbourhood of Mississauga. TSN 1050 is simulcast on Bell Satellite TV channel 989, and on Shaw Direct channel 867. The station is also carried on the 3rd HD digital subchannel of CKFM-FM.

CFTO-DT is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Barrie-based CTV 2 flagship CKVR-DT, channel 3. CFTO-DT's studios are located at 9 Channel Nine Court in Agincourt, and its transmitter is located atop the CN Tower in Downtown Toronto. The station shares the Agincourt studio complex with CTV's headquarters, which includes studios for the network's news programming, along with most of Bell Media's specialty channels.

In 2007, significant ownership changes occurred in Canada's broadcast television industry, involving nearly every private English-language network and television system. In addition to the shuffling of network affiliations and mergers involving various networks, several new television stations and rebroadcast transmitters also signed on the air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9 Channel Nine Court</span> Bell Media/CTV studio complex in Toronto

9 Channel Nine Court is an office and studio complex owned by Bell Media in the Agincourt neighbourhood of Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The civic address of the complex refers to the over-the-air channel on which CFTO-TV, the building's original tenant, broadcast. It is located at the northwest corner of the intersection of Highway 401 and McCowan Road near the Scarborough City Centre.

<i>CP24 Breakfast</i> 2009 Canadian TV series or program

CP24 Breakfast is a Canadian morning television news show that airs on CP24 weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. as of June 2024.

CityNews Channel was a Canadian English language specialty digital cable television channel from 2011 to 2013. It was owned by the Rogers Media division of Rogers Communications, and primarily focused on the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The channel was only available in Ontario and broadcast a single feed in high definition which was also accessible through standard definition televisions.

References

  1. ↑ CRTC Decision 96-609
  2. 1 2 CP24.com Exciting times as CP24 launches cutting-edge newsroom
  3. ↑ CP24 broadcasts Toronto's Number One Local 6pm Newscast
  4. ↑ CRTC Broadcasting Notice 2008-9
  5. ↑ "ARCHIVED – CITY News (Toronto) – Category 2 specialty service". December 10, 2008.
  6. ↑ "What Happened To CityNews On That Cable Channel?". Archived from the original on December 14, 2008. Retrieved December 11, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Ground shifting as broadcasters brace for sports war". Toronto Star , January 21, 2011.
  8. ↑ "TSN Radio a reality". The Globe and Mail , January 21, 2011.
  9. ↑ Ted Woloshyn, "CP24 Radio is a disaster". Toronto Sun , March 28, 2009.
  10. ↑ CP24 Now Offers Toronto Viewers More Early News With LIVE AT 5 and LIVE AT 5:30 Archived July 19, 2011, at the Wayback Machine CTVglobemedia press release, January 19, 2010,
  11. ↑ CP24 now offering more news at 5 p.m. CP24.com, published January 19, 2010
  12. ↑ TalkTV shows move to better time-slot CP24.com, puiblished January 26, 2010
  13. ↑ Bell Canada (September 10, 2010). "Bell to acquire 100% of Canada's No.1 media company CTV". CNW Group. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  14. ↑ CRTC approves BCE's purchase of CTVglobemedia Archived June 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ Bell completes acquisition of CTV, launches Bell Media business unit Archived April 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine CNW April 1, 2011
  16. ↑ CP24 BREAKFAST Served Fresh Seven Days A Week Archived March 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine CTV press release, March 14, 2011
  17. ↑ Takagi, Andy (June 20, 2024). "CP24 leaving Queen Street, moving to Bell Media's Scarborough studios in October". Toronto Star. Retrieved June 21, 2024.
  18. ↑ "CP24 November 18 press release for new on-air look and new cutting-edge newsroom". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
  19. ↑ CP24 launches enhanced HD screen www.cp24.com, published on September 27, 2012
  20. ↑ "CP24's Beat The Traffic system online". Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2009.

43°38′59″N79°23′25″W / 43.649701°N 79.390233°W / 43.649701; -79.390233

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.