CJCB-DT

CJCB-DT (channel 4) is a repeater television station in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station has a transmitter in Blacketts Lake southwest of the city. It operated a TV studio in Sydney from 1954 until 2021, with all production and master control work now done in Halifax at CJCH-DT.

On August 1, 2012, CJCB-DT—at the time known as CJCB-TV—became the only terrestrial broadcaster in the market. CBC repeater station, CBIT-TV, was closed the previous evening. CJCB-TV became CJCB-DT in January 2022 when it switched to digital broadcasting.

CJCB-DT is part of the CTV Atlantic regional system in the Maritimes, carrying the same programming as sister station CJCH-DT at all times, except for some commercials and an annual telethon. Mass for Shut-ins is the last original program still associated with the station that is still broadcasting. Currently, it is a two-person news bureau covering Cape Breton Island for CTV News.

History

CBC affiliate

CJCB-TV was the first television station to broadcast in Nova Scotia, when it signed on for the first time on October 9, 1954, beating CBHT-TV in Halifax by two months.<ref name="CJCB first in NS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nate Nathanson named the station after his wife and the island he lived on. So, its call sign means "Canada Jennie Cape Breton" (CJCB) which originated at its sister radio station CJCB (AM).<ref name="Nathanson Family" /> It was originally a CBC affiliate. It joined the Trans Canada Microwave network on July 1, 1958, linking all CBC stations between Sydney to British Columbia.<ref name = "Trans Canada Microwave">Template:Cite journal</ref> Prior to the microwave connection, programming was either from live local studio productions or kinescope 16mm film copies of CBC network shows.<ref name = "CJCB Programming first year">Template:Cite news</ref>

Ownership, CTV affiliation

CJCB was originally owned by the Nathanson family, who also owned CJCB radio at the time.<ref name = "Nathanson Family">Template:Cite news</ref> CHUM Limited, owner of CJCH-TV, bought CJCB-TV in 1971 and applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to switch it to the CTV network.<ref name="CTV Switch">Template:Cite news</ref> The switch occurred on September 26, 1972, when the CBC put CBIT-TV on the air in Sydney.<ref name="CJCB first in NS"/><ref name="CBIT-TV history">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After the switch occurred, it immediately joined the newly formed Atlantic Television Network (ATV), CHUM's network of CTV affiliates in the Maritimes.

As part of CBIT's licence, it was not allowed to show local advertising, leaving CJCB with a monopoly in local advertising. CJCB's monopoly was reaffirmed in a CRTC decision in 1985 that denied a CBIT request to enter that part of the market.<ref name="CBIT-TV history" /> CHUM continued to own CJCB-TV until February 26, 1997, when it swapped the entire ATV group to Baton Broadcasting.<ref name = "Baton buys CJCB">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name ="Baton Buysout CHUM">Template:Cite news</ref> The CRTC approved the deal on August 28, 1997.<ref name = "CRTC decision DB97-527"> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> With the deal approved by CRTC, Baton became the majority owner of CTV.<ref name = "Baton buys CJCB"/><ref name="Hami970830">Template:Cite news</ref>

Baton changed its name to CTV Inc. and was bought by Bell Canada Enterprises Inc. (BCE) in 2000 but BCE divested most of its shares in 2005.<ref name = "CTV bought by BCE 2000">Template:Cite news</ref> In October 2005, all CTV owned-and-operated stations stopped using their call sign as their brand name, meaning CJCB-TV became "CTV Sydney".<ref name = "CTV Sydney">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> BCE purchased 100 percent of CTV Inc.'s shares in a $1.3 billion CAD deal and changed the name of its division that dealt with CTV and CJCB-TV to Bell Media when the acquisition was finalized on April 1, 2011.<ref name = "BCE Buys CTV Again 2011">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name = "BCE/CTV Deal Completed>Template:Cite news</ref>

Facilities

CJCB-TV maintained offices, studios and the main transmitter tower at 1283 George Street in Sydney since it opened in 1954. It was the last of the three ATV stations to get colour production equipment. The station fully converted to NTSC colour production in 1975, though it was able to transmit colour programming originated through the network starting in September 1966.<ref name ="ATV Network">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The offices and studio were permanently closed in February 2021, after being temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.<ref name="CJCB-TV building closes">Template:Cite news</ref> After the switch to ATSC digital broadcasting, in January 2022, the old analogue NTSC transmitter was turned off.<ref name="DTV Switch 2022" /> Bell Media had the unmaintained Template:Convert tower demolished in July 2023.<ref name = "CJCB-TV Tower Demolished">Template:Cite news</ref> The current Template:Convert digital transmitter tower is located at 345 McMillan Road, in Blacketts Lake, southwest of Sydney.<ref name = "Digital Transmitter Info">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Programming

One of Canada's longest-running TV programs, Mass for Shut-ins, originates at CJCB-TV.<ref name = "Shut-ins at 50">Template:Cite news</ref> It premiered on March 3, 1963.<ref name = "Shut-ins 2015">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Since before the closure of the TV studio, in 2021, the show is recorded at various churches in Cape Breton and on the eastern mainland.<ref name = "Shut-ins 2024">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The program continues to be telecast across the CTV Atlantic system.<ref name = "Shut-ins Renewed 62nd Season">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Shantytown was another TV program that originated at CJCB-TV; it was aimed at children and ran from 1978 to 1984. Like Mass for Shut-ins, it was also telecast to all three Maritime provinces. Characters include Sam the Sailor, Katie the Craft Lady, Marjorie the Music Lady and their puppet friends.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Local broadcaster, and occasional CBC-TV Front Page Challenge panelist, Anne Terry, worked on many programs from the station's debut, until she left broadcasting in August 1972. She was known for hosting "women's feature" and interview programs at CJCB.<ref name = "Anne Terry">Template:Cite news</ref>

CJCB had an evening weekday newscast until 1980, when all newscasts were centralized at ATV’s studios in Halifax.<ref name="ATV Network" /> Until the pandemic, the CJCB studio was used for filing reports from the various reporters that worked on Cape Breton stories. When Bell Media closed the Sydney studio, in 2021, it only had two reporters remaining. Bell went through many rounds of layoffs in January and February 2024, and that caused CTV Sydney to lose reporter Kyle Moore. The remaining reporter is Ryan MacDonald, and a producer.<ref name = "Layoffs 2024">Template:Cite news</ref>

Technical information

Subchannel

Subchannel of CJCB-DT<ref name="Digital Transmitter Info" />

Channel	Res.	Aspect	Short name	Programming
4.1	1080i	16:9	CJCB	CTV

Analogue-to-digital conversion

The station ceased broadcasting in analogue NTSC on January 28, 2022, and began broadcasting in digital ATSC on the same date.<ref name = "DTV Switch 2022">Template:Cite news</ref>

Transmitters

The station has analogue rebroadcast transmitters in the following communities:

Rebroadcasters of CJCB-DT (NTSC)<ref name="Digital Transmitter Info" />

Station	City of licence	Channel	ERP	HAAT	Transmitter coordinates	Notes
CJCB-TV-1	Inverness	6 (VHF)	9.4 kW	310 m	Template:Coord
CJCB-TV-2	Antigonish	9 (VHF)	260 kW	274.9 m	Template:Coord	formerly CFXU-TV; DTV conversion pending at CRTC
CJCB-TV-6	Port Hawkesbury	3 (VHF)	15 kW	89.6 m	Template:Coord

Former rebroadcasters of CJCB-TV (NTSC)

Station	City of licence	Channel	ERP	HAAT	Transmitter coordinates	Notes
CJCB-TV-3	Dingwall	9 (VHF)	0.008 kW	NA	Template:Coord	Closed 2021<ref name = "CRTC decision 2019-268/>
CJCB-TV-4	New Glasgow	2 (VHF)<ref name = "CJCB-TV-4 Facts"> Template:Cite journal</ref>	0.005 kW<ref name = "CJCB-TV-4 Facts"/>	NA	-	Closed 2012<ref name = "CRTC decision 2011-231/>
CJCB-TV-5	Bay St. Lawrence	7 (VHF)	0.001 kW	NA	Template:Coord	Closed 2017<ref name = "CRTC decision 2017-149/>

The station originally operated CJCB-TV-4 (channel 2) in New Glasgow, until that transmitter closed in late 2010. The transmitter was closed down for years, as the area was also being served by the CJCB-TV-2 transmitter in nearby Antigonish.<ref name = "CRTC decision 2011-231>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

During the CRTC's licence renewal period in 2016, Bell Media applied for its regular license renewals, which included applications to delete 40 rebroadcast transmitters, including CJCB-TV-5. Bell Media's rationale for deleting these analog repeaters was they were costly to operate and maintain; they did not generate much revenue; and viewers mostly had direct-to-home satellite subscriptions that carried these same signals.<ref name = "CRTC decision 2017-149> {{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On July 30, 2019, Bell Media was granted permission to close down an additional transmitter as part of Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2019-268. The transmitter for CJCB-TV-3 was shut down in 2021.<ref name = "CRTC decision 2019-268>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

External links

• CTV Atlantic
• Template:RecnetCanada
• View from the top of the former analogue transmitter tower as it is dismantled