The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasting and telecommunications. It was created in 1976 when it took over responsibility for regulating telecommunication carriers. Prior to 1976, it was known as the Canadian Radio and Television Commission, which was established in 1968 by the Parliament of Canada to replace the Board of Broadcast Governors. Its headquarters is located in the Central Building of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière in Gatineau, Quebec.
Terrestrial television or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the signal transmission occurs via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an antenna. The term terrestrial is more common in Europe and Latin America, while in Canada and the United States it is called over-the-air or simply broadcast. This type of TV broadcast is distinguished from newer technologies, such as satellite television, in which the signal is transmitted to the receiver from an overhead satellite; cable television, in which the signal is carried to the receiver through a cable; and Internet Protocol television, in which the signal is received over an Internet stream or on a network utilizing the Internet Protocol. Terrestrial television stations broadcast on television channels with frequencies between about 52 and 600 MHz in the VHF and UHF bands. Since radio waves in these bands travel by line of sight, reception is generally limited by the visual horizon to distances of 64–97 kilometres (40–60 mi), although under better conditions and with tropospheric ducting, signals can sometimes be received hundreds of kilometers distant.
Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transmitter power output to a smaller service area than "full power" stations within the same region. It is often distinguished from "micropower broadcasting" and broadcast translators. LPAM, LPFM and LPTV are in various levels of use across the world, varying widely based on the laws and their enforcement.
CITY-DT 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.
CKXT-DT was a broadcast television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that broadcast to much of southern and eastern Ontario. It was owned by Quebecor Media through its Groupe TVA unit. Although beginning as a general interest independent station carrying a typical schedule of entertainment and information programming, by the time of the station's closure on November 1, 2011, the station had been converted into an over-the-air simulcast of Quebecor's cable news channel, Sun News Network. The station transmitted on channel 52 in Toronto.
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.
CHCH-DT is an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Hamilton; prior to 2021, it was located near the corner of Jackson and Caroline streets in downtown Hamilton for nearly 65 years. The station has additional offices at the Marriott on the Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Its transmitter is located on First Road West in the former city of Stoney Creek.
CHWI-DT is a television station licensed to Wheatley, Ontario, Canada, broadcasting CTV 2 programming to the Windsor area. Owned and operated by Bell Media, the station has studios at the Bell Canada Building in downtown Windsor with a secondary office in Chatham; its transmitter is located on Zion Road in Chatham.
CHNU-DT is a religious independent television station serving southwestern British Columbia, Canada, including Greater Vancouver, Victoria, the Fraser Valley and surrounding areas. Licensed to the Fraser Valley Regional District, the station is owned by ZoomerMedia and is branded on air as Joytv. CHNU-DT's studios are located on 192 Street/Highway 10 in Surrey, and its transmitter is located on Mount Seymour.
The All-Channel Receiver Act of 1962 (ACRA), commonly known as the All-Channels Act, was passed by the United States Congress in 1961, to allow the Federal Communications Commission to require that all television set manufacturers must include UHF tuners, so that new UHF-band TV stations could be received by the public. This was a problem at the time since most affiliated stations of the Big Three television networks were well-established on VHF, while many local-only stations on UHF were struggling for survival.
CKAL-DT is a television station in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, part of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media alongside Omni Television station CJCO-DT. Both stations share studios at 7 Avenue and 5 Street Southwest in Downtown Calgary, while CKAL-DT's transmitter is located near Old Banff Coach Road/Highway 563.
CIII-DT is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the Global Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment, CIII-DT maintains studios at 81 Barber Greene Road in the Don Mills district of Toronto, and its transmitter is located atop the CN Tower in downtown Toronto.
CBEFT was the Radio-Canada owned-and-operated television station serving Franco-Ontarians in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Previously licensed as a standalone television station, it later operated as a semi-satellite of Toronto station CBLFT-DT. It broadcast an analogue signal on UHF channel 35 from a transmitter near Concession Road 12 in Essex.
CJCB-DT is a television station in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station maintains studios on George Street/Trunk 22 in Sydney, and its transmitter is located on McMillan Road southwest of the city.
CKLN-FM was a community radio station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
CBLFT-DT is an Ici Radio-Canada Télé station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which broadcasts programming to the province's Franco-Ontarian population. It is part of a twinstick with CBC Television flagship CBLT-DT. Both stations share studios at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre on Front Street West in downtown Toronto, while CBLFT-DT's transmitter is located atop the CN Tower.
Omni Television is a Canadian television system and specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. It currently consists of all six of Canada's conventional multicultural television stations, which are located in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and an affiliate in Quebec. The system's flagship station is CFMT in Toronto, which was the first independent multicultural television station in Canada.
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 outlet 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.
Digital terrestrial television in Canada is transmitted using the ATSC standard. Because Canada and the U.S. use the same standard and frequencies for channels, people near the Canada–United States border can watch digital television programming from television stations in either country where available. The ATSC standards are also used in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, and South Korea.
The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is a Canadian specialty channel. Established in 1992 and maintained by governmental funding to broadcast in Canada's northern territories, APTN acquired a national broadcast licence in 1999. It airs and produces programs made by, for and about Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, it is the first network by and for North American indigenous peoples.
