Editing Baton Broadcast System (section)

===Background===
During its years as a cooperative, CTV did not broadcast a complete primetime schedule. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, it broadcast 60 hours of common programming each week, with a few gaps in primetime for affiliates to schedule locally; in some cases stations could even pick when to air network programs.<ref>[http://www.friends.ca/Resource/schedules.asp Friends of Canadian Broadcasting television schedule archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070529161427/http://www.friends.ca/Resource/schedules.asp |date=2007-05-29 }} (comparison of different CTV affiliates' spring 1990 schedules)</ref>

During this same period, CTV's profits began to decline, and by the early 1990s the network was posting losses, largely due to increased competition from the [[Global Television Network|CanWest Global System]] and other independent stations. Many affiliate groups, such as Baton and [[Western International Communications|WIC]] &ndash; the latter already owning several independent stations &ndash; decided they would prefer to buy and air more of their own programming. Accordingly, as part of CTV's 1993 restructuring, network programming was reduced to 42.5 hours (and soon after to 40), including 12 hours in primetime.<ref>[http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1994/DB94-33.HTM Decision CRTC 94-33] (1994 CTV network licence renewal)</ref> From this point on (until 1998), CTV network programming only took up about half of affiliates' primetime schedules.