Distant signals
From August 14, 1968, until March 1986 Videon carried two Fargo, North Dakota stations, KTHI-TV 11 (ABC then NBC), and KXJB-TV 4 (CBS). The distance to the headend was long and Videon applied to the CRTC for a microwave link, which was approved on July 5, 1974, and installed at Tolstoi, Manitoba to pick up these two stations [10] directly from Fargo. However, during very hot and humid summer weather, the signal quality would degrade to the point of being unwatchable. Later on Videon received KXJB via a translator at Glasston, North Dakota (K58BP).
On July 9, 1975, Videon added the signal of KGFE (PBS) Grand Forks. Initially Videon tested the channel on 3 and 7 to find out which had the least interference from local over the air channels (CBWFT and CKY-TV respectively). They later went with cable 3. [11]
After several years of complaints of poor signal quality, Videon applied to the CRTC to replace its NBC and CBS affiliates with those of WDIV 4 and WJBK 2, both from Detroit, Michigan via Anik satellite, [12] and in March, 1986 the Fargo stations were replaced with those from Detroit. However, by 1993, complaints over the level of crime reporting on the commercial Detroit stations lead Videon to not renew its agreement to carry WDIV and WJBK, [13] and instead replaced them with other stations, first from Toledo, Ohio, and later from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Between August, 1968 and 1976, Videon used to have a simple B&W camera housed on a track go back and forth to display the weather on analog dials. At the end of one way was a small poster for advertising. This was cablecast on channel 13 until 1976 when Videon went to an all electronic text system which is still used today.
The Broadcasting Act, passed by Parliament in 1968, made CATV systems an integral part of the broadcasting system and established the Canadian Radio Television Commission to regulate and supervise all aspects on the Broadcasting system, with a view to implementing the broadcasting policy enunciated in the act.
The commission recognized the need for a medium of local expression and took positive steps to fill this need. The CRTC summarized its policy as follows:
Cable television, which began as a service to remote communities with reception difficulty, has now become a major factor in the Canadian Broadcasting System, and has a potential for a wide range of services in all communities. These community programming services can be of a complementary, rather than a competitive nature to those already provided by other broadcasting services.
The CRTC mandated that cable companies across Canada provide a channel for the use of the community. They had the revolutionary idea that Canadian airwaves belong to the Canadian people. The cable companies were expected to spend ten per cent of their income on a Community Channel.
At that time, the CRTC had policies for the operation of the Community Channel, but no regulations. They wanted people across the country to experiment with various ideas before regulations were put into place.
In September 1972, Winnipeg Videon Inc. hired a program manager to search the community for individuals and groups who would be interested in, or benefit from, programming on the channel. [14]
Videon provided two community channels: 1. Public Access - Programs produced by the public, using Videon's facilities and staff. Individuals were trained in the use of the equipment. 2. Informational Programming - National Film Board material and tapes and film provided locally. When mobile facilities became available later, Videon took suggestions from the community as to what event to cover, but reserved to make the choice.
VPW began on channel 9 and moved to channel 13 in September 1975 when CKND went on the air, [15] then channel 11 after CHMI moved to channel 8 from 13. Videon had a program sharing agreement with Greater Winnipeg Cablevision to retransmit programming on each other's community channel.
Videon wanted to cablecast the monthly Community Committee meetings, and they appeared at the Fort Rouge meeting in April, 1977 to request that their recording equipment be allowed. The first cablecast meeting took place at the VPW studio at 657 Stafford St. on June 21, although later meetings were held at the regular Community Committee rooms. A newspaper article at the time quotes politician June Westbury saying "I support the idea because the more coverage we have, the more community involvement we can hope for." [16]
Videon carried coverage of the CBC licence renewal hearings in October 1978 on VPW13, which were one of the first CRTC hearings carried via cable television in Canada. [17]
From 1996 till 2001 Videon produced a weekly public affairs phone-in program, Insight, mainly hosted by Kelly Parker. It featured topics, such as downtown revitalization, urban crime, and other local issues. One of its most noted episodes was the WREB Mayoral Forum of October 1998, held at the Walker Theatre in downtown Winnipeg. However this program was cancelled when SHAW purchased Videon in 2001.
For a time in the 1980s they used a song from The Alan Parsons Project, "Where's the Walrus", while a narrator, Richard Hersley, told of the community programming services offered by Videon Cable-TV in Winnipeg. Prior to that the title theme from the movie Benji was used as background music to the VPW13 daily open.
In the early 1990s Videon lost its corporate commitment to community programming and with the permission of the CRTC, cut its programming staff in half. The layoffs were a sad "how not to do a mass layoff" chapter in the history of the company. As the staff were informed off-site, the locks on the doors were changed and the remaining staff were not allowed into the building until "job re-entrance interviews" were conducted. Most jobs were changed and neither the staff nor the programming was ever the same. What once was a leader in community programming, became another victim of corporate greed.
Early in 1979, the CRTC allowed Canadian companies to purchase TVRO equipment and use it to receive and then transmit Canadian broadcasts. In September 1979 Winnipeg was the first city in Canada to receive the House of Commons via the Anik-B satellite and cablecast on VSP-7.
On October 30, 1982, Videon transferred some of its programming from VPW-13 such as city hall, community committee meetings and created a secondary community access channel, VSP-7.
Later in the decade it carried Manitoba Educational Television, Genesis Storytime.
In 1982 there was a consumer info show and another segment on law, produced by the Public Legal Education Association.
And in 1983 a program called Health and Wellness aired Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. and replayed Sundays at 6:30 p.m.
When VSP-7 wasn't cablecasting video programming, it would function as the Community Billboard channel.
Tiering
By 1989 the CRTC allowed MuchMusic and TSN to be part of basic cable rather than pay television stations. So Videon created a tier of services beginning in July 1989 called the Variety Pak. It was sold for $5.95/month and included TSN, CNN, WTVS 56 Detroit, A&E, TNN, TV5, and MuchMusic. This package was to become known as Tier 1.
On January 1, 1995, several new Canadian satellite-cable (also called specialty) networks started broadcasting. These were Bravo!, Discovery Channel Canada, NCN, Life Network, and WTN. Réseau de l'information (RDI) was part of basic cable. This was Tier 2. And by this time, people in other cities such as Toronto and Vancouver were starting to get annoyed at the high cost of cable-TV, threatening to disconnect their cable service and get a grey-market DirecTv satellite service instead.
Tier 3 was implemented in stages between September 1997 and October 1998, beginning with CTV News1, MuchMoreMusic, ROBtv, Star!, and TalkTv.
Pay television
In 1983 Videon had two channels left for pay-TV. It used just one of them, choosing to offer the national First Choice service on channel 22. Videon claimed at the time that they might be able to make channel 23 (J) available for another pay-TV service, having to choose between C-Channel or Superchannel. But they did not follow through on this, possibly because of co-channel interference.
A long-time dispute between Videon Cable-TV and MTS over ownership of the wiring and poles used to carry the signal caused Videon to get far behind other cablecos. in offering an expanded channel lineup. Both parties were very stubborn for several years, hindering the growth of cable TV service in Winnipeg.
However, it wasn't until a full cable rebuild in the summer of 1987 that Videon was able to offer the other pay television services.
Videon used the Zenith Z-Tac cable scrambling system to keep its pay-TV signals from theft. This was an advanced addressable system where each descrambler has an ID, similar to an IP address on a computer today.
Beginning June 28, 1991, Videon added three U.S. Superstations to its pay-TV lineup: WTBS Atlanta (cable 33), WGN Chicago (cable 34), and WSBK Boston (cable 35). [18]
