Медицин Хэт қаласының CHAT телеарнасы тарихы

Citytv affiliate in Medicine Hat, Alberta

CHAT TV (analogue channel 6) is a television station in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada, affiliated with Citytv. Owned by the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, the station has studios at 10 Boundary Road SE in the nearby town of Redcliff, and its transmitter is located near the Trans Canada Highway and Range Road 80, northwest of Redcliff. CHAT also operates rebroadcasters in Pivot (CHAT TV 1, channel 4) and Maple Creek, Saskatchewan (CHAT TV 2, channel 6).

CHAT TV began broadcasting on September 14, 1957, on VHF channel 6, with a transmitter power output of 5,700 watts. The station was owned by Monarch Broadcasting Company Ltd., which was operated by J. H. "Hop" Yuill, and was co owned with local radio station CHAT (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 premier Ernest 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 feet (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 of 16 mm kinescope films of CBC programming that had originated one or two weeks earlier. 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 include Sock Hop, a teenage dance show, quiz shows such as Teen Challenge and Cartoon Quiz, cooking shows, farming programs, and two music programs, Country Roundup (concentrating on western music), and Music For the Moderns, featuring local musicians. Later that year, the station joined the Trans Canada Microwave relay, increasing the station's broadcast hours to from 10:00 a. m. to 12:00 a. m. 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. In 1981, the main transmitter was relocated to Bowell, Alberta, and its power was increased to 58,000 watts. Global's Calgary station CICT TV is available on cable in Medicine Hat; however, it does not reach the market over the air, while CHAT presently airs selected Global programs simultaneously with CICT. On September 1, 2008, CHAT became the market's E! 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 through CBRT, which is available on cable and satellite in Medicine Hat, as well as on CBCA TV 1 12 in Etzikom, which previously rebroadcast CHAT TV before the affiliation switch. Despite the region's tiny francophone population, Radio Canada station CBXFT in Edmonton 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 from Rogers Media's Citytv system starting September 1, although the stations did not begin to utilize any form of "Citytv" branding. 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 of Breakfast Television), largely following CKAL's schedule (with breakaways for CHAT's locally produced midday and evening newscasts) on September 1, 2012. Historically, CHAT aired Hockey Night in Canada dating back to the days of CBC affiliation. However, when Rogers bought the national rights to the NHL in November 2013, the Pattison affiliates began to air Hockey Night once again in October 2014.

CHAT TV presently broadcasts 15 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with three hours each weekday); the station does not produce any weekend newscasts. CHAT TV's local newscasts are titled CHAT News; the station carries a 30 minute lunch hour newscast at noon with a repeat from 12:30–1:00 p. m., and a two hour early evening news block from 5:30–7:30 p. m. A half hour review of the week's news stories airs Saturdays at 6 p. m., with repeat broadcasts at 6 p. m. on Sunday evenings and Monday mornings at 6:30 a. m.

As of 2020, CHAT has not yet begun broadcasting a digital signal. According to a 2009 CRTC decision, CHAT TV is not required to activate its digital signal, as Medicine Hat is not a mandatory market for digital conversion, which took place in most other markets on August 31, 2011. When CHAT DT signs on its digital signal, the station will broadcast on UHF channel 40, using PSIP to list CHAT DT's virtual channel as 6.

Station City of licence Channel ERP HAAT Transmitter Coordinates CHAT TV 1 Pivot 4 (VHF) 4.9 kW 191.1 m CHAT TV 2 Maple Creek, SK 6 (VHF) 0.01 kW NA