CHEK-TV
Encyclopedia
CHEK-DT, channel 6.1, is a television station
based in Victoria, British Columbia
and broadcasting to all of southwestern BC (including Vancouver
). The station has been operating since December 1956 and is the first and oldest privately-owned station in British Columbia
(only CBC-owned
CBUT-DT in Vancouver is older).
CHEK is currently operating as an independent station, broadcasting a schedule consisting of infomercials, news, movies, and other local programming. The station is owned and operated by the CHEK Media Group, a consortium of station employees and local investors.
The station transmits its main terrestrial signal from a tower atop Mount Warburton Pike on Saturna Island. The station is also carried on Bell TV channel 255 and Shaw Direct channel 358 on the classic lineup and 7 on the advanced lineup.
CHEK (which changed its call sign from CKTV prior to going on the air) launched on December 1, 1956 as a CBC affiliate, operating from studios on Epsom Drive in Saanich
and under the ownership of David Armstrong
, who also owned Victoria radio station CKDA. Initially, the radio and television stations shared staff such as Andy Steven (who was CHEK's first news director) and Kieth MacKenzie (sports director). CHEK was the only local television station operating on Vancouver Island
before CHUM Limited's
CIVI-TV
launched in October 2001.
In 1963, CHEK was purchased by businessman Frank Griffiths
, who also owned CTV-affiliated
CHAN-TV
(BCTV) in Vancouver. By September of that year, CHEK's schedule consisted of some CTV programming and simulcasts of CHAN-originated shows mixed in with the CBC network schedule, along with CHEK-based local productions and syndicated programs not aired on CHAN; this setup continued into the late 1960s/early 1970s, when CHAN started to time-shift network shows. CHEK would also air CBC programmes in the afternoon and prime-time while running CTV shows like University of the Air and Canada AM
in the morning (simulcast with CHAN).
In 1972, CHEK, which had simulcast CHAN's News Hour since the Griffiths purchase (and would continue to do so until 2001), began producing its own news program, Vancouver Island News Hour. It aired at 5:30 p.m. before the CHAN News Hour, and at 11:15 p.m. following CBC's The National. At one stage, CHEK used the same flower logo as CHAN, but later reverted back to its own logo.
Starting around the 1978-1979 season, CHEK gradually added more CTV shows in prime-time (time-shifted from CHAN). On January 5, 1981, when CBC launched CBUT
repeater stations at Sooke
and Mount McDonald, CHEK-TV disaffiliated from CBC and became a full-time CTV station.
In 1982, Western International Communications
(WIC) bought 59% of CHEK. They bought the remaining 41% from Selkirk Communications
in 1989 when that company sold most of its broadcasting assets.
On January 8, 1984, CHEK moved from its original studios in Saanich to its present location at 780 Kings Road, a studio which was to have been used by a proposed Victoria CBC Television station (which ultimately never went to air due to lack of funding).
Prior to 2001, CHEK also broadcast many of the same programs as CHAN on a time-shifted basis; as with CHAN, this was a mixture of CTV network programming and WIC-owned programming (usually drawn from the schedule of CHCH
Hamilton
), although the WIC programming usually differed from that aired on CHAN. The launch of Baton Broadcasting's CIVT
in 1997 further complicated the distribution of CTV network programming in southwestern British Columbia, with CIVT becoming the area's third station (after BCTV and CHEK) to carry CTV programming. However, after BCTV strengthened its own morning newscast around 2000, CHEK became the only station in B.C. airing Canada AM
, as CIVT aired its own local morning program.
CHEK came under ownership of Canwest in 2000 after that company's acquisition of WIC. This acquisition set off a major affiliation switch among TV stations in southwestern BC in 2001, with both CHEK and BCTV disaffiliating from CTV, and CIVT becoming the sole CTV station in British Columbia. BCTV and CHEK's affiliation agreements with CTV were originally due to end in 2000; they were extended to expire on September 1, 2001 in view of the uncertainty surrounding the local media landscape.
After disaffiliating from CTV, CHEK became part of Canwest's new CH system. It rebranded as CH Vancouver Island, and took on a schedule similar to CH Hamilton
. CHEK aired 15–20 hours of news programs a week, and often programs usually shown on CHAN that were moved to accommodate their news programming. It also took Sports Page
from former Global O&O
CKVU
, but the program continued to be produced at CHAN until its cancellation in September 2005.
After 19 years at the station, news anchor Hudson Mack left CHEK in 2004. He joined CIVI as its news director on September 1, and became CIVI's 5pm news anchor on October 11. As a result, Sophie Lui returned from CHAN-TV and joined CIVT's former Victoria bureau chief Ed Watson as the pair became the station's main anchors.
CHEK celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006; as part of the celebrations, it aired vignettes of station promos from the pre-CH era during commercial breaks. Another short vignette was also introduced consisting of CHEK's logos and station IDs through the years, from their first in 1956 to the CH logo it used up until September 7, 2007 when CHEK's news programming adopted the CHEK News brand, a partial reversal of the current trend for Canadian TV networks and systems to use solely network branding for their owned stations as a result of the rebranding of CH to E!.
On August 25, 2008, news production for CHEK News shifted from Victoria to Vancouver, with the addition of a new virtual set, and a launch of a new program, CHEK News: Island 30 focused on news stories outside of Victoria. The program was retweaked months later into a newsmagazine
and renamed to simply Island 30. On January 3, 2009, CHEK began simulcasting CHAN's broadcast of Global National
at 5:30 p.m., the first time CHEK has simulcast its former sister station's programming since the affiliation switch of September 1, 2001.
On July 22, 2009, after failing to find a buyer, Canwest announced it would be closing CHEK as of August 31, 2009, issuing layoff notices to staff. CIVI-TV
would then become the sole terrestrial station in Victoria. Shortly after this, the employees of CHEK announced a takeover plan to acquire 25% of the station and find local investors to own the remaining 75%. They also organized a campaign to support the plan and save CHEK.
On August 27, 2009, CHEK employees announced that they had raised $2.5 million for the buyout plan; however, the following day, Canwest announced that the employee buyout did not meet Canwest's guidelines to keep the station on the air, and the station had no programming and advertising lined up beyond August 31, at which date Canwest would permanently shut down the station. CHEK would have closed down following the late newscast and a retrospective on the station's history.
On its 5 p.m. newscast of August 31, 2009, however, CHEK-TV announced that its shutdown would be put on hold, and that it would continue broadcasting while negotiations between Canwest and the prospective new owners continue. Facing a new deadline of September 4, Canwest announced on that date that it had reached a deal to sell the station to CHEK employees and local investors (known as CHEK Media Group) for $2. Canwest would continue to provide transitional support for CHEK, including some programming, use of its Vancouver studios, and leasing, at "favourable rates," the 780 Kings Road studios to the new owners with the assumption of various station liabilities. The sale was approved by the CRTC on November 9.
After the sale's announcement, station manager John Pollard revealed to CBC News that CHEK would operate as a local independent station, with no plans to simulcast US programming.
CHEK Media Group took control of the station's programming after that announcement on that date, CHEK disaffiliated from E! (which shut down a few days prior), adopted a new schedule includes a mix of movies and older programming (both Canadian and American in origin); syndicated programming; and a greater emphasis on local news, including a new 10PM newscast that launched on September 1, 2009. and reverted to branding itself as simply CHEK. With no plans to simulcast US programming at some point, CHEK would add, in sparse amounts, additional programming during the 2009-2010 season, including Let's Get It On, a mixed martial arts
program; Ed the Sock
's This Movie Sucks!
, a movie show featuring the former MuchMusic
character alongside co-host Liana Kerzner and comedian Ron Sparks; and infomercial
s.
On December 16, 2009, Tony Parsons
anchored his final newscast at Global BC
after 35 years of being the anchor of the News Hour. Tony Parsons began anchoring the 10 PM newscast at CHEK on March 15, 2010.
In April 2010, CHEK and the CBC
started a news sharing agreement, in which both stations would share news stories and resources. Tony Parsons also joined the CBC to anchor CBUT-DT's evening newscast, CBC News: Vancouver, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM; Parsons will fly to Victoria after that program to anchor CHEK's 10 PM newscast. The 6 PM portion of CBC News: Vancouver will be simulcasted on CHEK.
In September 2010, CHEK, for the first time since its purchase by station employees and local investors, began airing American network television series; many of the added shows, including Smallville
, Supernatural
, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Chuck
, and 60 Minutes
were previously seen in the Vancouver/Victoria market on CHNU-TV
and Toronto/Hamilton's CKXT-TV
(that station's owner, Quebecor, which is in the process of replacing its licence with one for an all-news cable channel
, with CKXT's apparent sign off in 2011) . CHEK will also air I Hate Hollywood produced by CHCH-TV
, which has picked up all of the shows mentioned above.
CHEK-TV is one of two independent stations in Canada that began as a CBC Television
affiliate, and then later a CTV
affiliate (CJON-TV
in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
is the other).
Weather team
Sports team
Reporters
, making it possible to hear CHEK-TV on 87.7 MHz, though at a slightly lower volume than other FM stations - due to technical reasons. CHEK-TV shut down this analog transmitter on October 26, 2011. CHEK-DT cannot be decoded by radios because digital TV signals cannot be decoded by analog FM radio and because CHEK-DT occupies UHF channel 49, which cannot be normally received by FM radios.
for all its programming and pre-recorded parts of its CHEK News broadcasts.
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion
, which took place on August 31, 2011, CHEK-DT began broadcasting on channel 49 at 28 kW. Through the use of PSIP
, digital television receivers display CHEK-DT's virtual channel
as 6.1. Due to technical issues with the digital transmitter, the analog transmitter was not shut down until October 26, 2011
; it was Vancouver's last analogue station operating over-the-air, making Calgary
Western Canada
's largest market to have one of the analogue stations operating over-the-air and also unseating Edmonton
as Canada's second-largest market to be digital-only. While all Vancouver & Victoria TV stations continued operating analogue signals until August 31, CHEK-TV was the only analogue station in the Vancouver/Victoria market, as all of the other other transmitters in these markets shut down by 12:00 am on September 1, 2011, as required. KVOS-TV
of Bellingham, Washington
ceased channel 12 analogue operations on February 17, 2009; it was the first in Vancouver to do so.
CHEK-TV was not the last analog transmitter shut down as part of Canada's August 31, 2011 digital conversion deadline in mandatory markets. A handful of other transmitters in Canada were also late to shut down, though unlike CHEK-DT, the other stations did not have their digital transmitters on-air by August 31, 2011.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
based in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
and broadcasting to all of southwestern BC (including Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
). The station has been operating since December 1956 and is the first and oldest privately-owned station in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
(only CBC-owned
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
CBUT-DT in Vancouver is older).
CHEK is currently operating as an independent station, broadcasting a schedule consisting of infomercials, news, movies, and other local programming. The station is owned and operated by the CHEK Media Group, a consortium of station employees and local investors.
The station transmits its main terrestrial signal from a tower atop Mount Warburton Pike on Saturna Island. The station is also carried on Bell TV channel 255 and Shaw Direct channel 358 on the classic lineup and 7 on the advanced lineup.
CBC and CTV affiliation
Saanich, British Columbia
The District of Saanich is a municipality on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. It is located north of the provincial capital, Victoria. It has a population of 108,265 people, making it the most populous municipality on Vancouver Island, and the seventh most populous in the province...
and under the ownership of David Armstrong
David Armstrong
David Armstrong may refer to:*Dave Armstrong , American Catholic apologist and author*Dave Armstrong , Canadian record producer*Dave Armstrong , New Zealand scriptwriter...
, who also owned Victoria radio station CKDA. Initially, the radio and television stations shared staff such as Andy Steven (who was CHEK's first news director) and Kieth MacKenzie (sports director). CHEK was the only local television station operating on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
before CHUM Limited's
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a media company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada from 1945 to 2007. Immediately prior to its acquisition, it held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems — Citytv and A-Channel — comprising 11 local stations, and one CBC Television affiliate, one...
CIVI-TV
CIVI-TV
CIVI-DT, also known as CTV Two Vancouver Island, is a television station based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Currently owned by Bell Media, the station serves the Vancouver Island area, and operates as part of the CTV Two system...
launched in October 2001.
Frank Griffiths
Frank A. Griffiths was a Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada media mogul through his company, Western International Communications Ltd. ....
, who also owned CTV-affiliated
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
CHAN-TV
CHAN-TV
CHAN-DT is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, broadcasting over-the-air on digital channel 22, and available via cable providers in the area on channel 11. Owned by Shaw Communications as a part of its Shaw Media division, it is the West Coast flagship station of the...
(BCTV) in Vancouver. By September of that year, CHEK's schedule consisted of some CTV programming and simulcasts of CHAN-originated shows mixed in with the CBC network schedule, along with CHEK-based local productions and syndicated programs not aired on CHAN; this setup continued into the late 1960s/early 1970s, when CHAN started to time-shift network shows. CHEK would also air CBC programmes in the afternoon and prime-time while running CTV shows like University of the Air and Canada AM
Canada AM
Canada AM is a Canadian breakfast television news show, which has aired on the CTV Television Network since 1972. It is currently hosted by Beverly Thomson and Seamus O'Regan, with Marci Ien reporting from the headline news desk and Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports...
in the morning (simulcast with CHAN).
In 1972, CHEK, which had simulcast CHAN's News Hour since the Griffiths purchase (and would continue to do so until 2001), began producing its own news program, Vancouver Island News Hour. It aired at 5:30 p.m. before the CHAN News Hour, and at 11:15 p.m. following CBC's The National. At one stage, CHEK used the same flower logo as CHAN, but later reverted back to its own logo.
CBUT
CBUT-DT is the CBC's television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the flagship CBC Television station for the Pacific Time Zone. The station transmits its main terrestrial signal from a tower atop Mount Seymour....
repeater stations at Sooke
Sooke, British Columbia
Sooke is a district municipality situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada. About a 45 minute drive from the city of Victoria , Sooke is considered the westernmost of the Greater Victoria region's "Western Communities." It is situated to the north and west of the Sooke...
and Mount McDonald, CHEK-TV disaffiliated from CBC and became a full-time CTV station.
Western International Communications
WIC Western International Communications Ltd.The apparent occurrence of "RAS syndrome" here was in fact part of the company's legal name. was a Canadian media company that operated from 1982 to 2000, with operations including broadcast and specialty television, radio, and satellite distribution via...
(WIC) bought 59% of CHEK. They bought the remaining 41% from Selkirk Communications
Selkirk Communications
Selkirk Communications was a Canadian radio and television broadcasting company, which operated from 1959 to 1989. Evolving out of Taylor, Pearson & Carson, a local broadcaster in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company grew to own 14 radio stations, six television stations and cable television...
in 1989 when that company sold most of its broadcasting assets.
On January 8, 1984, CHEK moved from its original studios in Saanich to its present location at 780 Kings Road, a studio which was to have been used by a proposed Victoria CBC Television station (which ultimately never went to air due to lack of funding).
CHCH-TV
CHCH-DT, channel 11, is a television station originating in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with transmitters located throughout Ontario. CHCH currently operates as an independent station, having previously served as a CBC Television affiliate, and more recently as the flagship station of the...
Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
), although the WIC programming usually differed from that aired on CHAN. The launch of Baton Broadcasting's CIVT
CIVT-TV
CIVT-DT is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Television Network...
in 1997 further complicated the distribution of CTV network programming in southwestern British Columbia, with CIVT becoming the area's third station (after BCTV and CHEK) to carry CTV programming. However, after BCTV strengthened its own morning newscast around 2000, CHEK became the only station in B.C. airing Canada AM
Canada AM
Canada AM is a Canadian breakfast television news show, which has aired on the CTV Television Network since 1972. It is currently hosted by Beverly Thomson and Seamus O'Regan, with Marci Ien reporting from the headline news desk and Jeff Hutcheson presenting the weather forecast and sports...
, as CIVT aired its own local morning program.
Canwest takes ownership
After disaffiliating from CTV, CHEK became part of Canwest's new CH system. It rebranded as CH Vancouver Island, and took on a schedule similar to CH Hamilton
CHCH-TV
CHCH-DT, channel 11, is a television station originating in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with transmitters located throughout Ontario. CHCH currently operates as an independent station, having previously served as a CBC Television affiliate, and more recently as the flagship station of the...
. CHEK aired 15–20 hours of news programs a week, and often programs usually shown on CHAN that were moved to accommodate their news programming. It also took Sports Page
Sports Page
Sports Page was a sports highlights television program that aired on CKVU-TV Vancouver from September 1977 until August 31, 2001, and later on CHEK-TV Victoria, British Columbia, from September 2, 2001 until September 2, 2005...
from former Global O&O
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
CKVU
CKVU-TV
CKVU-DT is a television station based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Owned by Rogers Media , it was the second station to become part of the Citytv system in Canada.-History:CKVU's history dates back to 1975, when Western Approaches Ltd...
, but the program continued to be produced at CHAN until its cancellation in September 2005.
After 19 years at the station, news anchor Hudson Mack left CHEK in 2004. He joined CIVI as its news director on September 1, and became CIVI's 5pm news anchor on October 11. As a result, Sophie Lui returned from CHAN-TV and joined CIVT's former Victoria bureau chief Ed Watson as the pair became the station's main anchors.
CHEK celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006; as part of the celebrations, it aired vignettes of station promos from the pre-CH era during commercial breaks. Another short vignette was also introduced consisting of CHEK's logos and station IDs through the years, from their first in 1956 to the CH logo it used up until September 7, 2007 when CHEK's news programming adopted the CHEK News brand, a partial reversal of the current trend for Canadian TV networks and systems to use solely network branding for their owned stations as a result of the rebranding of CH to E!.
Newsmagazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published piece of paper, magazine or a radio or television program, usually weekly, featuring articles or segments on current events...
and renamed to simply Island 30. On January 3, 2009, CHEK began simulcasting CHAN's broadcast of Global National
Global National
Global National is the national newscast of Canada's Global Television Network. Dawna Friesen anchors the program's weekday edition from the Global BC studios; Robin Gill currently anchors the weekend edition...
at 5:30 p.m., the first time CHEK has simulcast its former sister station's programming since the affiliation switch of September 1, 2001.
Ownership by CHEK Media Group
On February 5, 2009, Canwest announced it would explore "strategic options", including possible sale, for CHEK and its other E! stations, saying "a second conventional TV network is no longer key to the long-term success" of the company.On July 22, 2009, after failing to find a buyer, Canwest announced it would be closing CHEK as of August 31, 2009, issuing layoff notices to staff. CIVI-TV
CIVI-TV
CIVI-DT, also known as CTV Two Vancouver Island, is a television station based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Currently owned by Bell Media, the station serves the Vancouver Island area, and operates as part of the CTV Two system...
would then become the sole terrestrial station in Victoria. Shortly after this, the employees of CHEK announced a takeover plan to acquire 25% of the station and find local investors to own the remaining 75%. They also organized a campaign to support the plan and save CHEK.
On August 27, 2009, CHEK employees announced that they had raised $2.5 million for the buyout plan; however, the following day, Canwest announced that the employee buyout did not meet Canwest's guidelines to keep the station on the air, and the station had no programming and advertising lined up beyond August 31, at which date Canwest would permanently shut down the station. CHEK would have closed down following the late newscast and a retrospective on the station's history.
On its 5 p.m. newscast of August 31, 2009, however, CHEK-TV announced that its shutdown would be put on hold, and that it would continue broadcasting while negotiations between Canwest and the prospective new owners continue. Facing a new deadline of September 4, Canwest announced on that date that it had reached a deal to sell the station to CHEK employees and local investors (known as CHEK Media Group) for $2. Canwest would continue to provide transitional support for CHEK, including some programming, use of its Vancouver studios, and leasing, at "favourable rates," the 780 Kings Road studios to the new owners with the assumption of various station liabilities. The sale was approved by the CRTC on November 9.
After the sale's announcement, station manager John Pollard revealed to CBC News that CHEK would operate as a local independent station, with no plans to simulcast US programming.
CHEK Media Group took control of the station's programming after that announcement on that date, CHEK disaffiliated from E! (which shut down a few days prior), adopted a new schedule includes a mix of movies and older programming (both Canadian and American in origin); syndicated programming; and a greater emphasis on local news, including a new 10PM newscast that launched on September 1, 2009. and reverted to branding itself as simply CHEK. With no plans to simulcast US programming at some point, CHEK would add, in sparse amounts, additional programming during the 2009-2010 season, including Let's Get It On, a mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
program; Ed the Sock
Ed the Sock
Ed the Sock is a puppet, created and voiced by Steven Kerzner, that became a Canadian television personality in the 1990s, best known for his appearances hosting programming on MuchMusic and his own talk show, Ed's Night Party, later renamed Ed & Red's Night Party...
's This Movie Sucks!
This Movie Sucks!
This Movie Sucks! is a Canadian comedy television series hosted by Ed the Sock, premièring on May 28, 2010, two years after Ed's Night Party went off the air. The show is similar to another former Ed the Sock series, Ed's Nite In...
, a movie show featuring the former MuchMusic
MuchMusic
MuchMusic is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media. MuchMusic is dedicated to music-related programs, pop and youth culture.-History:...
character alongside co-host Liana Kerzner and comedian Ron Sparks; and infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
s.
On December 16, 2009, Tony Parsons
Tony Parsons (Canadian journalist)
Tony Parsons is a longtime Canadian broadcaster whose career has spanned more than 50 years, and he has anchored the second most-watched local evening TV newscast in North America, the News Hour on CHAN-TV in Vancouver, British Columbia...
anchored his final newscast at Global BC
CHAN-TV
CHAN-DT is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, broadcasting over-the-air on digital channel 22, and available via cable providers in the area on channel 11. Owned by Shaw Communications as a part of its Shaw Media division, it is the West Coast flagship station of the...
after 35 years of being the anchor of the News Hour. Tony Parsons began anchoring the 10 PM newscast at CHEK on March 15, 2010.
In April 2010, CHEK and the CBC
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
started a news sharing agreement, in which both stations would share news stories and resources. Tony Parsons also joined the CBC to anchor CBUT-DT's evening newscast, CBC News: Vancouver, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM; Parsons will fly to Victoria after that program to anchor CHEK's 10 PM newscast. The 6 PM portion of CBC News: Vancouver will be simulcasted on CHEK.
In September 2010, CHEK, for the first time since its purchase by station employees and local investors, began airing American network television series; many of the added shows, including Smallville
Smallville
Smallville is the hometown of Superman in comic books published by DC Comics. While growing up in Smallville, the young Clark Kent attended Smallville High with best friends Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan and Pete Ross...
, Supernatural
Supernatural (TV series)
Supernatural is an American supernatural and horror television series created by Eric Kripke, which debuted on September 13, 2005 on The WB, and is now part of The CW's lineup. Starring Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester and Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester, the series follows the brothers as they...
, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
, and 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
were previously seen in the Vancouver/Victoria market on CHNU-TV
CHNU-TV
CHNU-DT is an English language television station based in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The station is licensed to the Fraser Valley Region, and also serves Metro Vancouver, Victoria and surrounding areas. CHNU is owned by ZoomerMedia, and is an owned and operated station of the Joytv...
and Toronto/Hamilton's CKXT-TV
CKXT-TV
CKXT-DT was a broadcast television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and serving much of southern and eastern Ontario, owned by Quebecor Media through its Groupe TVA unit. At the time of the station's closure on November 1, 2011, the station was serving as an over-the-air simulcast of...
(that station's owner, Quebecor, which is in the process of replacing its licence with one for an all-news cable channel
Sun TV News Channel
Sun News Network is an English language Category C news and opinion channel owned and operated by Quebecor Media through a partnership between two of its subsidiaries, TVA Group Inc. and Sun Media Corporation...
, with CKXT's apparent sign off in 2011) . CHEK will also air I Hate Hollywood produced by CHCH-TV
CHCH-TV
CHCH-DT, channel 11, is a television station originating in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, with transmitters located throughout Ontario. CHCH currently operates as an independent station, having previously served as a CBC Television affiliate, and more recently as the flagship station of the...
, which has picked up all of the shows mentioned above.
CHEK-TV is one of two independent stations in Canada that began as a CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
affiliate, and then later a CTV
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
affiliate (CJON-TV
CJON-TV
CJON-DT is a Canadian English language television station broadcasting on channel 21 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, with additional transmitters and cable coverage throughout the province. It is known on-air as NTV, for Newfoundland Television...
in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. It is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. With a population of 192,326 as of July 1, 2010, the St...
is the other).
Newscast titles
- News Hour (1968–2001?; early evening newscast)
- Noon News Hour (1970s?; noon newscast)
- Early News (1980s?; 5 p.m. newscast)
- Morning News (1990s?; morning newscast)
- Wake Up! (1997–2001; morning newscast)
- CHEK-TV News (1997–2001)
- CH News (2001–2007)
- CHEK News (2007–present)
Station slogans
- "Island Television, Channel 6 from Victoria" (1981?)
- "Changing, You Belong!" (1985?)
- "Come on Over! CHEK 6 First" (1986–1997?)
- "It's Here" (1998–2001)
- "CH Has it All" (2001–2005)
- "Closer to You!" (2001–2007)
- "Everything Entertainment" (2007–2009; localized version of E! ad campaign)
- "Your Island's Own" (2007–present)
News team
Anchors- Dana Hutchings - co-host of Island :30; host of CHEK Point (currently on maternity leave)
- Tony ParsonsTony Parsons (Canadian journalist)Tony Parsons is a longtime Canadian broadcaster whose career has spanned more than 50 years, and he has anchored the second most-watched local evening TV newscast in North America, the News Hour on CHAN-TV in Vancouver, British Columbia...
- weeknights at 10 p.m. - Stacy Ross - co-host of Island :30
- Skye Ryan - CHEK News Update (weekends), weekends at 5 and 10 p.m.
- Tess Van Straaten - CHEK News Update (weekends)
Weather team
- Ed Bain - chief weather anchor; weeknights at 5, 6:30 and 10 p.m.
- Gordie Tupper - weather anchor; CHEK News Update (weekdays)
Sports team
- Jeff King - sports director; weeknights at 5, 6:30 and 10 p.m., also co-host of Game On!
- Paul Haysom - sports anchor; weekends at 5 and 10 p.m., also co-host of Game On!
- Mike Walker - sports reporter and substitute sports anchor
Reporters
- Vee Cooper
- Mary Griffin
- Kendall Hanson - Mid-Vancouver Island video journalist
- Dana Hutchings
- Bruce Kirkpatrick - senior reporter
- Kristen Robinson
- Skye Ryan
- Kylie Stanton - video journalist
- Dean Stoltz - North Vancouver Island video journalist
- Gordie Tupper
- Tess Van Straaten
Past notable on-air staff
- Scott Fee (now at Global CalgaryCICT-TVCICT-DT is a Canadian television station, licensed to and serving Calgary, Alberta. It is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network...
) - Mi-Jung LeeMi-Jung LeeMi-Jung Lee is a Korean Canadian television personality, based in Vancouver. She most recently served as co-host of the Western Canada edition of the breakfast television program Canada AM, until its cancellation in June 2008. Earlier in her career, she was a news anchor for CHEK-TV in Victoria...
(now at CTV VancouverCIVT-TVCIVT-DT is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Television Network...
) - Hudson Mack (now at CTV Two Vancouver IslandCIVI-TVCIVI-DT, also known as CTV Two Vancouver Island, is a television station based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Currently owned by Bell Media, the station serves the Vancouver Island area, and operates as part of the CTV Two system...
) - Pamela MartinPamela MartinPamela Martin is an American-born television reporter on Canadian TV. She formerly co-anchored the weekday 6pm newscasts on CTV British Columbia alongside Bill Good....
- Harvey OberfeldHarvey OberfeldHarvey Oberfeld is a Canadian journalist. Now retired, he maintains a personal blog featuring personal anecdotes and opinion pieces about current events.-Life and career:...
- Michaela PereiraMichaela PereiraMichaela Pereira is a Canadian television personality best known as being an anchor for KTLA in Los Angeles.- Biography :...
(now at KTLA in Los Angeles) - Judi Tyabji
Past local programming
The following is a partial list of local programs that formerly aired on CHEK:
|
Sports Page Sports Page was a sports highlights television program that aired on CKVU-TV Vancouver from September 1977 until August 31, 2001, and later on CHEK-TV Victoria, British Columbia, from September 2, 2001 until September 2, 2005... (sports highlights - produced at CHAN-TV) Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,... hockey (sports) Memphis Grizzlies The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's... basketball (sports) |
Notable past foreign programming
- From August 1995 to August 1999, CHEK carried the Late Show with David LettermanLate Show with David LettermanLate Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
weekday afternoons at 4:30pm. Other channels which have carried the show, including originating U.S. network CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, have aired the program in the late evening (11:35pm ET/PT).
CHEK-TV on FM
Before the transition from analog to digital, CHEK-TV could be heard on FM radios. The frequency range for analog television channel 6 is at the lower end of the FM broadcast bandFM broadcast band
The FM broadcast band, used for FM broadcast radio by radio stations, differs between different parts of the world. In Europe and Africa , it spans from 87.5 to 108.0 megahertz , while in America it goes only from 88.0 to 108.0 MHz. The FM broadcast band in Japan uses 76.0 to 90 MHz...
, making it possible to hear CHEK-TV on 87.7 MHz, though at a slightly lower volume than other FM stations - due to technical reasons. CHEK-TV shut down this analog transmitter on October 26, 2011. CHEK-DT cannot be decoded by radios because digital TV signals cannot be decoded by analog FM radio and because CHEK-DT occupies UHF channel 49, which cannot be normally received by FM radios.
Transmitters
| Station | City of licence City of license A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.... |
Channel Channel (broadcasting) In broadcasting, a channel is a range of frequencies assigned by a government for the operation of a particular radio station, television station or television channel. In common usage, the term also may be used to refer to the station operating on a particular frequency.-See also:*Broadcast... |
ERP Effective radiated power In radio telecommunications, effective radiated power or equivalent radiated power is a standardized theoretical measurement of radio frequency energy using the SI unit watts, and is determined by subtracting system losses and adding system gains... |
HAAT Height above average terrain Height above average terrain is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is actually much more important than effective radiated power in determining the range of broadcasts... |
Transmitter Coordinates |
| CHEK-TV-1 | Sooke Sooke, British Columbia Sooke is a district municipality situated on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada. About a 45 minute drive from the city of Victoria , Sooke is considered the westernmost of the Greater Victoria region's "Western Communities." It is situated to the north and west of the Sooke... |
13 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
0.01 kW | N/A | 48°21′27"N 123°41′15"W |
| CHEK-TV-3 | Port Alberni | 11 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
0.01 kW | N/A | 49°17′4"N 124°43′20"W |
| CHEK-TV-5 | Campbell River Campbell River, British Columbia Campbell River is a coastal city in British Columbia on the east coast of Vancouver Island at the south end of Discovery Passage, which lies along the important coastal Inside Passage shipping route... |
13 (VHF Very high frequency Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency... ) |
3 kW | 455 m | 49°44′54"N 125°14′58"W |
| CHWM-TV-1 | Whistler Whistler, British Columbia Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver... |
18 (UHF Ultra high frequency Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres... ) |
0.001 kW | N/A | 50°7′18.84"N 123°1′26.4"W |
Videotape Format
CHEK-TV uses shoots on DVC-Pro tapesDV
DV is a format for the digital recording and playing back of digital video. The DV codec was launched in 1995 with joint efforts of leading producers of video camcorders....
for all its programming and pre-recorded parts of its CHEK News broadcasts.
Digital television and high definition
| Broadcasting in Digital | Yes |
| Programs in HD | No |
| News in HD | No |
| PSIP functioning properly | Yes |
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion
Digital television in Canada
Digital television in Canada is transmitted using the ATSC standards developed for and in use in the United States. Because Canada and the U.S...
, which took place on August 31, 2011, CHEK-DT began broadcasting on channel 49 at 28 kW. Through the use of PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
, digital television receivers display CHEK-DT's virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
as 6.1. Due to technical issues with the digital transmitter, the analog transmitter was not shut down until October 26, 2011
2011 in Canadian television
- January :- February :- March :- April :- May :- June :- August :- Seoptember :- October :- November :- Debuts :Series currently listed here have been announced by their respective networks as scheduled to premiere in 2011...
; it was Vancouver's last analogue station operating over-the-air, making Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
's largest market to have one of the analogue stations operating over-the-air and also unseating Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
as Canada's second-largest market to be digital-only. While all Vancouver & Victoria TV stations continued operating analogue signals until August 31, CHEK-TV was the only analogue station in the Vancouver/Victoria market, as all of the other other transmitters in these markets shut down by 12:00 am on September 1, 2011, as required. KVOS-TV
KVOS-TV
KVOS-TV is television station licensed in Bellingham, Washington and is an affiliate of Me-TV. The station's over-the-air transmissions are on digital channel 35, though through PSIP the station remaps to its former analog channel 12...
of Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is the twelfth-largest city in the state. Situated on Bellingham Bay, Bellingham is protected by Lummi Island, Portage Island, and the Lummi Peninsula, and opens onto the Strait of Georgia...
ceased channel 12 analogue operations on February 17, 2009; it was the first in Vancouver to do so.
CHEK-TV was not the last analog transmitter shut down as part of Canada's August 31, 2011 digital conversion deadline in mandatory markets. A handful of other transmitters in Canada were also late to shut down, though unlike CHEK-DT, the other stations did not have their digital transmitters on-air by August 31, 2011.