Videon Cablesystems
Encyclopedia
Videon Cablesystems was a Cable television
service in Manitoba
, Alberta
, and for a short period northwest Ontario
, Canada
. The origins of Videon date back to October 1959 when original General Manager Claude Boucher applied to the Lakehead Public Utilities Board in Port Arthur, Ontario
(now Thunder Bay
) to provide cable television service to the town through the new company Lakehead Videon. The cable system was built and was sold to Maclean-Hunter
in July 1970. This was done because the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had complained that Famous Players had 50% ownership of Lakehead Videon and Metro Videon, which in turn was primarily American owned. CRTC rules stated that Canadian cable companies must be at least 80% Canadian-owned.
Videon Cablesystems, Inc. (also Videon Cable-tv, Winnipeg Videon Inc., Metro Videon Community Antenna Television Inc.) was a
cable television
company serving Winnipeg
on the west side of the Red River
from August 14, 1968 until 2002. The company was owned by the Moffat family through their company Moffat Communications Ltd. Randall L. Moffat was its president.
, KCND
, and CJAY
, started broadcasting in 1960.
The initial partners were Randy Moffat, owner of CKY (radio); Ralph Misener, owner of CJAY
Channel 7 television; Famous Players theatres, owner of several cable tv systems including the one at Thunder Bay
, Ontario
; and Claude Boucher, Videon's first general manager.
They expanded service to Pinawa, Manitoba
before approaching the federal Department of Transport
for a license to operate in Winnipeg.
Metro Videon had waited to apply for a cable-tv license because the Department had "frozen" new applications for community antenna (CATV) companies to serve towns and cities so they could draw up regulations for this type of service. But yet at the same time, the company was so confident that everything would work out, that prior to the announcement of the service, they pre-purchased and installed large amounts of coaxial cable underground in parts of Tuxedo, Fort Garry, and Assiniboia
. They paid a rental rate of 60 cents per 100 feet of coax. to Manitoba Telecom Services
(MTS). This saved Videon money because MTS was placing their telephone cables
underground at the same time.
Preliminary negotiations with MTS for use of telephone poles and underground right-of-way to string coaxial cable
through the western half of metropolitan Winnipeg went from 1963
to 1967
. Later in the year, Videon had started to construct the headend and cable tv infrastructure. Videon had hoped to include the suburbs east of the Red River, but this fell to another company, Greater Winnipeg Cablevision.
The new cable company announced that they would charge $10 to connect to their service, and $5 per month to subscribe to the signals. This low fee remained much in effect until the advent of Canadian pay television in 1983.
Videon's first administrative offices were located at 2 Donald St. South, but moved to 651 Stafford St. around January 1976.
For a short while in 1976, Videon carried the audio of CJOB-FM
on cable 6, CBW-FM
on cable 7, CKY-FM
on cable 9. The CRTC did not allow this and Videon had to discontinue the service in early April 1976.
A month later Videon had to pull a special closed-circuit program signal between Health Sciences Centre
and the St. Boniface Hospital because the CRTC did not allow "point-to-point undertakings."
In 1978 Videon applied to the CRTC for a 50 cent fee increase, the first since the cable company began operations in Winnipeg.
After the major rebuild of 1987, Videon added the Assiniboia Downs
Racing Network on January 23, 1988. This made possible for the first time so-called "off track" betting.
proper, Assiniboia
, St. James, Brooklands
, West Kildonan, Old Kildonan
, Fort Garry, Charleswood
, and Tuxedo. Videon also served West and North Edmonton
.
The first area to receive cable-tv was St. Norbert
in August 1968.
The headend and administrative offices were located in a former A&P
supermarket building at 651 Stafford St. until 1995 when Videon moved to a suburban location at 22 Scurfield
Blvd. in Fort Garry
.
The headend and administrative offices for Edmonton were located in the current West Edmonton
Shaw Cable building at 10450-178 St.
"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.
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, 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 others 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."
Videon carried coverage of the CBC licence renewal hearings in October 1978 on VPW13, which is considered one of the first Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearings carried via cable television in Canada.
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 canceled when SHAW purchased Videon in 2001.
For a time in the 1980s they used a song from the 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 90's Videon lost its corporate commitment to community programming and with the permission of the CRTC, cut its programming staff in half. 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.
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 new programming.
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.
, Community Committees, Manitoba Legislature Question Period, House of Commons Proceedings, Canada Day celebrations.
Until 1991 Videon replayed City Council meetings on Saturday mornings. However, for some unknown reason they stopped doing this after signing a multi-year contract with the City Hall Clerk's Department.
Also, until the early 1990s Videon carried Live coverage of Community Committee meetings. These are no longer carried.
The Airport Channel was combined into a new channel 51 on September 1, 1999. After the change, Videon received 6,000 customer service calls to bring back the old Environment Canada weather channel.
(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 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.
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, 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 , and instead replaced them with other stations, first from Toledo, Ohio
, and later from Minneapolis, Minnesota
.
, 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.
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 (1).
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).
A sample cable line-up from 1995 would be:
network.
For business users, Videon had FiberLink, a SONET
-based voice, data communications line, which has the ability to interconnect LAN
s and PBX's.
.
They also purchased a cable company in Alberta.
the Moffat family sold Videon Cable-tv Inc. to SHAW Cable
of Calgary
, Alberta
.
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
service in Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, and for a short period northwest Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The origins of Videon date back to October 1959 when original General Manager Claude Boucher applied to the Lakehead Public Utilities Board in Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur, Ontario
Port Arthur was a city in Northern Ontario which amalgamated with Fort William and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Port Arthur was the district seat of Thunder Bay District.- History :...
(now Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
) to provide cable television service to the town through the new company Lakehead Videon. The cable system was built and was sold to Maclean-Hunter
Maclean-Hunter
Maclean-Hunter was a Canadian communications company, which had diversified holdings in radio, television, magazines, newspapers and cable television distribution....
in July 1970. This was done because the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had complained that Famous Players had 50% ownership of Lakehead Videon and Metro Videon, which in turn was primarily American owned. CRTC rules stated that Canadian cable companies must be at least 80% Canadian-owned.
Videon Cablesystems, Inc. (also Videon Cable-tv, Winnipeg Videon Inc., Metro Videon Community Antenna Television Inc.) was a
cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
company serving Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
on the west side of the Red River
Red River of the North
The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...
from August 14, 1968 until 2002. The company was owned by the Moffat family through their company Moffat Communications Ltd. Randall L. Moffat was its president.
History
Metro Videon Community Antenna Television Inc. was formed "quietly" in 1962, after three additional television signals — CBWFTCBWFT
CBWFT is Radio-Canada's French language television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is broadcast locally on channel 3 cable 10, and on Bell TV channel 118.-History:...
, KCND
KCND-TV
KCND-TV was a television station located in Pembina, North Dakota, USA with offices also located at 2031 Portage Avenue in Winnipeg, Canada. KCND-TV was established by the Community Radio Corporation, the parent company of KNOX-TV and KNOX-AM in Grand Forks, N.D., after being granted a...
, and CJAY
CKY-TV
CKY-DT is a television station based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Television Network....
, started broadcasting in 1960.
The initial partners were Randy Moffat, owner of CKY (radio); Ralph Misener, owner of CJAY
CKY-TV
CKY-DT is a television station based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Television Network....
Channel 7 television; Famous Players theatres, owner of several cable tv systems including the one at Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay
-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
; and Claude Boucher, Videon's first general manager.
They expanded service to Pinawa, Manitoba
Pinawa, Manitoba
Pinawa is a small Canadian community of about 1500 residents located in southeastern Manitoba, 110 kilometres north-east of Winnipeg. The town is situated on the Canadian Shield within the western boundary of Whiteshell Provincial Park, which lies near the Manitoba-Ontario provincial boundary...
before approaching the federal Department of Transport
Department of Transport
Department of Transport may refer to:* The Irish government department, see Department of Transport * The UK government department formerly known as the Department of Transport, see Department for Transport...
for a license to operate in Winnipeg.
Metro Videon had waited to apply for a cable-tv license because the Department had "frozen" new applications for community antenna (CATV) companies to serve towns and cities so they could draw up regulations for this type of service. But yet at the same time, the company was so confident that everything would work out, that prior to the announcement of the service, they pre-purchased and installed large amounts of coaxial cable underground in parts of Tuxedo, Fort Garry, and Assiniboia
Assiniboia
Assiniboia refers to a number of different locations and administrative jurisdictions in Canada. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.- District of Assiniboia:...
. They paid a rental rate of 60 cents per 100 feet of coax. to Manitoba Telecom Services
Manitoba Telecom Services
Manitoba Telecom Services Inc. , or MTS , formerly Manitoba Telephone System, is the primary telecommunications carrier in the Canadian province of Manitoba and the fourth largest telecommunications provider in Canada with 7000 employees...
(MTS). This saved Videon money because MTS was placing their telephone cables
Twisted pair
Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring in which two conductors are twisted together for the purposes of canceling out electromagnetic interference from external sources; for instance, electromagnetic radiation from unshielded twisted pair cables, and crosstalk between neighboring pairs...
underground at the same time.
Preliminary negotiations with MTS for use of telephone poles and underground right-of-way to string coaxial cable
Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis...
through the western half of metropolitan Winnipeg went from 1963
1963 in Canada
-Incumbents:*Monarch: Elizabeth II*Governor General: Georges Vanier*Prime Minister: John Diefenbaker then Lester B. Pearson*Premier of Alberta: Ernest Manning*Premier of British Columbia: W.A.C...
to 1967
1967 in Canada
1967 is remembered as one of the most notable years in Canada. It was Canada's centenary and celebrations were held throughout the nation. The most prominent event was Expo 67 in Montreal, the most successful World's Fair ever and one of the first events to win international acclaim for the country...
. Later in the year, Videon had started to construct the headend and cable tv infrastructure. Videon had hoped to include the suburbs east of the Red River, but this fell to another company, Greater Winnipeg Cablevision.
The new cable company announced that they would charge $10 to connect to their service, and $5 per month to subscribe to the signals. This low fee remained much in effect until the advent of Canadian pay television in 1983.
Videon's first administrative offices were located at 2 Donald St. South, but moved to 651 Stafford St. around January 1976.
For a short while in 1976, Videon carried the audio of CJOB-FM
CJKR-FM
CJKR-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 97.5 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The station airs an active rock format branded as Power 97. It shares a studio location at 1440 Jack Blick Avenue in Polo Park, Winnipeg, with sister stations CJOB 680 and CJGV-FM "Groove FM". Currently CJKR-FM is...
on cable 6, CBW-FM
CBW-FM
CBW-FM is the callsign of the CBC Radio 2 station in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The station broadcasts at 98.3 on the FM dial.-History:Winnipeg's second FM station launched on December 10, 1962 as a commercial classical music station with the call sign CFMW...
on cable 7, CKY-FM
CITI-FM
CITI-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts classic rock at 92.1 MHz on the FM dial in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is owned by Rogers Radio, and shares studios with sister station CKY-FM....
on cable 9. The CRTC did not allow this and Videon had to discontinue the service in early April 1976.
A month later Videon had to pull a special closed-circuit program signal between Health Sciences Centre
Health Sciences Centre (Winnipeg)
The Health Sciences Centre is the largest hospital in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It serves the residents of Northwest Ontario and Nunavut as both a teaching hospital and as a research centre. The Health Sciences Center is a tertiary care hospital, encompassing many different specialty medical...
and the St. Boniface Hospital because the CRTC did not allow "point-to-point undertakings."
In 1978 Videon applied to the CRTC for a 50 cent fee increase, the first since the cable company began operations in Winnipeg.
After the major rebuild of 1987, Videon added the Assiniboia Downs
Assiniboia Downs
Assiniboia Downs is a Canadian horse race track opened in June 1958 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The main track is a six-and-one-half furlong oval....
Racing Network on January 23, 1988. This made possible for the first time so-called "off track" betting.
Coverage area
Videon served WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
proper, Assiniboia
Assiniboia
Assiniboia refers to a number of different locations and administrative jurisdictions in Canada. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation.- District of Assiniboia:...
, St. James, Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
, West Kildonan, Old Kildonan
Old Kildonan
Old Kildonan is a city ward of Winnipeg, Manitoba, represented by a member of Winnipeg City Council. Before the City of Winnipeg Act of 1972, it was an independent rural municipality...
, Fort Garry, Charleswood
Charleswood, Manitoba
Charleswood is a residential community within the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern part of the city, and is bordered by the Assiniboine River to the north, the Rural Municipality of Macdonald to the south, the Rural Municipality of Headingley on the west and the...
, and Tuxedo. Videon also served West and North 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...
.
The first area to receive cable-tv was St. Norbert
St. Norbert, Manitoba
St. Norbert is a bilingual neighbourhood in the southernmost part of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. While outside the Perimeter Highway, , it is still part of the city. The population is just over 5,000. Each summer, the community is home to the St...
in August 1968.
The headend and administrative offices were located in a former A&P
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, is a supermarket and liquor store chain in the United States. Its supermarkets, which are under six different banners, are found in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. A&P's liquor stores, known as...
supermarket building at 651 Stafford St. until 1995 when Videon moved to a suburban location at 22 Scurfield
Ralph Thomas Scurfield
Ralph Thomas Scurfield, B.Sc , the son of Ralph and Ann Scurfield . He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba in 1948. He was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Nu-West Group Limited , and was an original owner of the Calgary Flames...
Blvd. in Fort Garry
Fort Garry
Fort Garry, also known as Upper Fort Garry, was a Hudson's Bay Company trading post at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers in what is now downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1822 on or near the site of the North West Company's Fort Gibraltar. Fort Garry was named after Nicholas...
.
The headend and administrative offices for Edmonton were located in the current West 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...
Shaw Cable building at 10450-178 St.
Management
- Claude R. Boucher (first General Manager, 1967–1969)
- Sid BoylingSid BoylingSid Boyling was a Canadian broadcaster.Boyling worked at radio station CHAB shortly after graduating. From October 1969 to 1979 Boyling was General Manager of Winnipeg Videon...
(second "VP/General Manager", 1969–1979) - Jack BaigrieJack BaigrieJack E. Baigrie was most known as the General Manager of Winnipeg Videon from 1979 to about 1991.Prior to working at Videon, he was employed at MTS in different positions in the Inside Plant Division...
(third General Manager, 1978 (Assistant GM), 1979–?) - R. Vaughn Tozer, (fourth General Manager, early 1990s)
- Charron Kerr, (fifth General Manager, mid 1990s)
- Richard Guertin, Marketing Manager (late 1980s)
- Dorthi Dunsmore,Programming Manager of VPW and VSP (1970s)
- Richard EdwardsRichard EdwardsRichard Edwards may refer to:* Richard Edwards , Commodore for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador for 1745* Richard Edwards Richard Edwards may refer to:* Richard Edwards (Royal Navy officer) (?–1773), Commodore for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador for 1745*...
, Programming Manager of VPW and VSP (1980s)
Community programming
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.
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, 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 others 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
June Westbury
June Westbury was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1979 to 1981, sitting as a Liberal....
saying "I support the idea because the more coverage we have, the more community involvement we can hope for."
Videon carried coverage of the CBC licence renewal hearings in October 1978 on VPW13, which is considered one of the first Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearings carried via cable television in Canada.
From 1996 till 2001 Videon produced a weekly public affairs phone-in program, Insight, mainly hosted by Kelly Parker
Kelly Parker
Kelly Parker is a Canadian soccer midfielder who plays for Atlanta Beat and the Canadian national team.-Career:Prior to joining SC Freiburg, Parker played for Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer, UTEP Miners, Ottawa Fury and F.C. Indiana.Parker played for W-League winners Buffalo Flash in...
. 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 canceled when SHAW purchased Videon in 2001.
For a time in the 1980s they used a song from the The Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project
The Alan Parsons Project was a British progressive rock band, active between 1975 and 1990, consisting of singer Eric Woolfson and keyboardist Alan Parsons surrounded by a varying number of session musicians....
, "Where's the Walrus
Stereotomy
Stereotomy is the penultimate album by The Alan Parsons Project.Although generally considered better musically than its predecessor, Vulture Culture, it was not as successful commercially, perhaps due to much fewer vocals from Eric Woolfson...
", 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
Benji
Benji is the name of a fictional dog who has been the focus of several movies from 1974 through the 2000s. It is also the title of the first film in the Benji series....
was used as background music to the VPW13 daily open.
In the early 90's Videon lost its corporate commitment to community programming and with the permission of the CRTC, cut its programming staff in half. 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.
VPW personalities
- The CosmopolitansThe CosmopolitansThe Cosmopolitans are a United States New Wave band that were based in New York from 1979 until 82. The band was best known for songs “ Husband Happy” and “Wild Moose Party” released in 1980, as well as its quirky choreography and lyrics, which were often based on tabloid news stories...
(CARRIED by VPW but originated at Greater Winnipeg Cablevision) — a duo of middle aged women playing organ and drum. - Guy MaddinGuy MaddinGuy Maddin, OM is a Canadian screenwriter, director, cinematographer and film editor of both features and short films from Winnipeg, Manitoba...
— Winnipeg film-maker. - Kelly ParkerKelly ParkerKelly Parker is a Canadian soccer midfielder who plays for Atlanta Beat and the Canadian national team.-Career:Prior to joining SC Freiburg, Parker played for Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer, UTEP Miners, Ottawa Fury and F.C. Indiana.Parker played for W-League winners Buffalo Flash in...
— Hosted Videon Insight 1995-2001. Now with Winnipeg's 99.9 BOB FMCFWM-FMCFWM-FM is a radio station based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The station, broadcasting at 99.9 FM, uses the on-air brand and format Bob FM. Its studios are located at 1445 Pembina Highway, along with sister stations, FAB 94.3 and TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg....
. - Natalie Pollock — Hosted Pollock & Pollock in the 1980s.
- Marty Green — Hosted Math With Marty in the late 1980s. Moved to Thunder BayThunder Bay-In Canada:Thunder Bay is the name of three places in the province of Ontario, Canada along Lake Superior:*Thunder Bay District, Ontario, a district in Northwestern Ontario*Thunder Bay, a city in Thunder Bay District*Thunder Bay, Unorganized, Ontario...
, OntarioOntarioOntario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in the 1990s. - Mario RaimondiMario RaimondiMario Raimondi is a Swiss football player. He currently plays for BSC Young Boys.He joined Young Boys on 5 July 2005.-External links:*...
— was the host of "Italiani in Winnipeg" which featured news and information about the Italian community
VSP-7
In September 1979 Winnipeg was the first city in Canada to receive the House of CommonsCanadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
via the Anik-B
Anik (satellite)
The Anik satellites are geostationary communications satellites launched by Telesat Canada for television in Canada. In Inuktitut, Anik means "little brother".-The Satellites:-Anik A:...
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 new programming.
Later in the decade it carried Manitoba Educational Television, Genesis Storytime
Genesis Storytime
Genesis Storytime was a cable TV channel founded in 1983 in Canada by Art Doerksen and Greg Stetski and distributed to several cable TV systems throughout the USA....
.
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.
Live coverage events
City CouncilCity council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
, Community Committees, Manitoba Legislature Question Period, House of Commons Proceedings, Canada Day celebrations.
Until 1991 Videon replayed City Council meetings on Saturday mornings. However, for some unknown reason they stopped doing this after signing a multi-year contract with the City Hall Clerk's Department.
Also, until the early 1990s Videon carried Live coverage of Community Committee meetings. These are no longer carried.
Alphanumeric channels
On May 15, 1990 Videon added four alphanumeric channels to their lineup:- 21 BN Newswire
- 29 Prevue Guide EPG
- 39 Airport Arrivals & Departures
- 40 Stock Market Channel (Telidon-based)
The Airport Channel was combined into a new channel 51 on September 1, 1999. After the change, Videon received 6,000 customer service calls to bring back the old Environment Canada weather channel.
Distant signals
From August 14, 1968 until March 1986 Videon carried two Fargo, North Dakota stations, KTHI-TV 11KVLY-TV
KVLY-TV, is an NBC affiliated television station in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. It broadcasts on ATSC channel 44, which redirects to former NTSC channel 11 via PSIP. In addition to its main studio in Fargo, it operates a satellite studio in...
(ABC then NBC), and KXJB-TV 4
KXJB-TV
KXJB-TV is a CBS affiliated television station in Fargo, North Dakota, USA, serving Eastern North Dakota and Northwestern Minnesota. It broadcasts on ATSC channel 38, which redirects to former NTSC channel 4 via PSIP. It is licensed to nearby Valley City...
(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
Tolstoi, Manitoba
Tolstoi is a small town in the Rural Municipality of Franklin, Manitoba, Canada. It is part of the Pembina Valley region.The closest weather station to Tolstoi is at Emerson....
to pick up these two stations 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
Glasston, North Dakota
Glasston is a small farming town located in Saint Thomas Township in North Dakota's Pembina County. It consists of a post office, a general store, and a handful of houses. It was established in 1886 as a station along the Great Northern Railroad. Originally called Baltimore, the site was later...
(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
CBWFT
CBWFT is Radio-Canada's French language television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is broadcast locally on channel 3 cable 10, and on Bell TV channel 118.-History:...
and CKY-TV
CKY-TV
CKY-DT is a television station based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Television Network....
respectively). They later went with cable 3.
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
WJBK
WJBK is the Fox–owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan broadcasting on digital channel 7...
2, both from Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
via Anik
Anik
Anik may refer to:* Anik , satellites launched by Canadian telecommunications company Telesat* Anik Bissonnette, a Canadian ballet dancer* Anik Matern, a Canadian actress and founder of the Dynamic Theater Factory* Anik Mountain...
satellite, 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 , and instead replaced them with other stations, first from Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, and later from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
.
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 TSNThe Sports Network
The Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, WTVS 56 Detroit
WTVS
WTVS, branded as Detroit Public TV, is the Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station in Detroit, Michigan. Broadcasting since 1955, its vision statement is "educate, entertain and inspire — in partnership with our community." The viewer supported station produces many local...
, A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
, TNN
The Nashville Network
The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
, TV5, and 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:...
. 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
Discovery Channel Canada
Discovery Channel is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel devoted to nature, adventure, science and technology programming. Discovery Channel is currently owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc...
, NCN, Life Network
Life Network
Slice is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. Slice is a lifestyle channel directed towards women with programming including talk shows, reality television and more.-History:...
, and WTN
W Network
W Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. W Network broadcasts lifestyle and entertainment programming aimed at women....
. Réseau de l'information
Réseau de l'information
Réseau de l'information is a Canadian French language Category C news channel operated by CBC/Radio-Canada. RDI began broadcasting on January 1, 1995, and is considered the French-language equivalent of the CBC News Network, also owned by the CBC....
(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
CTV Newsnet
CTV News Channel is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel. It is owned by Bell Media and is located at 9 Channel Nine Court in Toronto. CTV News Channel broadcasts news headlines, breaking news, and information on a 24 hour schedule....
, MuchMoreMusic
MuchMoreMusic
MuchMore is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media, based at 299 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario....
, ROBtv
Business News Network
Business News Network ' is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel. BNN broadcasts programming related to business and financial news and analysis. As of December 2010, the station is based from 299 Queen Street West in Downtown Toronto and is owned by Bell Media...
, 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 (1).
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
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
Chicago (cable 34), and WSBK
WSBK-TV
WSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
Boston (cable 35).
Cable lineups
| Ch. | Call Sign | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 02 | CBWT | CBC |
| 03 | unused | |
| 04 | KXJB | CBS Fargo |
| 05 | CJAY | CTV |
| 06 | unused | |
| 07 | unused | |
| 08 | WDAZ | NBC Grand Forks |
| 09 | VPW | Community Access |
| 10 | CBWFT | Radio-Canada |
| 11 | KTHI | ABC Fargo ND |
| 12 | KCND | ABC Pembina ND |
| 13 | Weather | Videon |
| Ch. | Call Sign | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 02 | CBWT | CBC |
| 03 | KGFE | PBS Grand Forks ND |
| 04 | KXJB | CBS Fargo |
| 05 | CKY | CTV |
| 06 | Environment Canada Weather | Weather |
| 07 | VSP-7 | Videon |
| 08 | WDAZ | ABC Grand Forks |
| 09 | Community Billboard | Community Access |
| 10 | CBWFT | Radio-Canada |
| 11 | KTHI | NBC Fargo ND |
| 12 | CKND | Global |
| 13 | VPW-13 | Community Access |
| 22 | First Choice | pay-tv |
| Ch. | Call Sign | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 02 | CBWT | CBC |
| 03 | KGFE | PBS Grand Forks ND |
| 04 | WDIV | NBC Detroit MI |
| 05 | CKY | CTV |
| 06 | WJBK CBS Detroit MI | Weather |
| 07 | VSP-7 | Videon |
| 08 | WDAZ | ABC Grand Forks |
| 09 | Environment Canada Weather | Videon |
| 10 | CBWFT | Radio-Canada |
| 11 | VPW | Videon |
| 12 | CKND | Global |
| 13 | CHMI | Ind. |
| 14 | CHSC Canadian Home Shopping Club | Toronto ON |
| 24 | A&E | pay-tv |
| 25 | TSN | pay-tv |
| 26 | MuchMusic | pay-tv |
| 28 | CNN | pay-tv |
| 29 | FNN | pay-tv |
| 30 | TLC The Learning Channel | pay-tv |
| 31 | Superchannel | pay-tv |
| 35 | CMT Country Music Television | pay-tv |
| 36 | Chinavision | pay-tv |
| 37 | Community Billboard | Videon |
A sample cable line-up from 1995 would be:
- 02 WJBK-TV (FOX)
- 03 CBWFTCBWFTCBWFT is Radio-Canada's French language television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is broadcast locally on channel 3 cable 10, and on Bell TV channel 118.-History:...
(SRC) Winnipeg, Manitoba - 04 WDIV-TVWDIV-TVWDIV-TV, virtual channel 4, is an NBC-affiliated television station based in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is owned by Post-Newsweek Stations and is the flagship station and home base of the group with the offices of the group located alongside WDIV's studios; the "Local" branding now...
(NBC) - 05 Viewer's Choice Pay-Per-View preview channel
- 06 CBWTCBWTCBWT is the CBC's television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the only CBC station in Manitoba, since Brandon's CKX-TV closed on October 2, 2009....
(CBC) - 07 CKY-TVCKY-TVCKY-DT is a television station based in Winnipeg, Manitoba and owned by Bell Media. It is part of the CTV Television Network....
(CTV) - 08 WKBD-TV (UPN, now The CW)
- 09 CKND-TVCKND-TVCKND-DT is a television station that broadcasts from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the Manitoba outlet for the Global Television Network.-History:...
(Ind., now Global) - 10 WXYZ-TVWXYZ-TVWXYZ-TV, channel 7, is an ABC-affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan, USA. WXYZ-TV is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company, and is the media company's largest-market TV station property...
7 (ABC) - 11 Videon Cable 11
- 12 WWJ-TVWWJ-TVWWJ-TV, virtual channel 62 , is the CBS-owned and operated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is co-owned with Detroit's CW station, WKBD-TV , and the two stations share a studio in Southfield, Michigan, a Detroit suburb....
62 (CBS) - 13 CHMI-TVCHMI-TVCHMI-DT is a television station licensed to Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, with most of its operations in Winnipeg. It is part of the Citytv system, and the only Rogers TV station not part of any duopoly ever since CIIT-TV was sold to S-VOX in 2008.-History:The station was licensed by the...
13 (Ind., now CityTV) - 14 TSNThe Sports NetworkThe Sports Network, commonly abbreviated as TSN, is a Canadian English language Category C specialty channel and is Canada's leading English language sports TV channel. TSN premiered in 1984, in the first group of Canadian specialty cable channels...
- 15 CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- 16 The Nashville NetworkThe Nashville NetworkThe Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows...
- 17 Horse Racing/Road Conditions
- 18 Headline News
- 19 Life Network
- 20 A&E NetworkA&E NetworkThe A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
- 21 WTNW NetworkW Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. W Network broadcasts lifestyle and entertainment programming aimed at women....
- 22 TLCTLC (TV channel)TLC is an American cable TV specialty channel which initially focused on educational content. Since 1991 TLC has been owned by Discovery Communications, the same company that operates the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and The Science Channel, as well as other learning-themed networks...
- 23 WTVSWTVSWTVS, branded as Detroit Public TV, is the Public Broadcasting Service member Public television station in Detroit, Michigan. Broadcasting since 1955, its vision statement is "educate, entertain and inspire — in partnership with our community." The viewer supported station produces many local...
56 (PBS) - 25 New Country Network
- 26 The Discovery Channel
- 27 Bravo!
- 28 Prevue ChannelTV Guide ChannelTV Guide Network is an American cable network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation....
- 29 Sport Score
- 30 CHSC
- 31 Airport Departures/Arrivals
- 32 Community Billboard
- 33 Telenium stock quotes/University of Winnipeg programming
- 34 RDIRéseau de l'informationRéseau de l'information is a Canadian French language Category C news channel operated by CBC/Radio-Canada. RDI began broadcasting on January 1, 1995, and is considered the French-language equivalent of the CBC News Network, also owned by the CBC....
- 35 CBC Newsworld
- 36 MuchMusicMuchMusicMuchMusic 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:...
- 37 YTV
- 38 Vision TVVision TVVisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic....
- 39 Showcase Television
- 40 The Weather NetworkThe Weather NetworkThe Weather Network is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts weather-related news and information 24 hours a day....
- 42 TBS
- 43 WGN
- 44 Environment Canada Weather
- 45 Family Channel
- 46 MovieMax!Movie CentralMovie Central is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service. Movie Central is designated to operate west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, including the territories...
- 47 SuperChannelThe Movie NetworkThe Movie Network is a Canadian English language Category A premium television service, owned by Astral Media. The service is licensed to operate east of the Ontario-Manitoba border, excluding the territories...
- 48 KTLA-TV 5 (used only as a channel feed)
- 49 WSBK-TVWSBK-TVWSBK-TV is a MyNetworkTV television station for eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire that is licensed to Boston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 39 from a transmitter along the Needham and Wellesley town line southwest of the MA 9 and I-95 / MA 128...
38 (used only as a channel feed) - 50 WPIX-TV 11 (used only as a channel feed)
- 51 Viewer's Choice Pay-Per-View previews
- 52-57 Viewer's Choice Pay-Per-View
- 58 Viewer's Choice Pay-Per-View schedule
- 59 CFTM (TVA)
- 60 TV5
- 61 Videon Cable 61
Internet service
In the mid-1990s when Internet access from home became affordable, Videon had helped to create a high-speed cable modem service called Wave. Then in March 1999 Videon switched to the @Home@Home
@Home may refer to:* HotSpot_@Home, a service in the United States provided by T-Mobile. * @Home Network, Defunct: The largest premier former Cable Broadband provider...
network.
For business users, Videon had FiberLink, a SONET
Sonet
Sonet may refer to:* Sonet Records, European record label* Synchronous optical networking * Saab Sonett...
-based voice, data communications line, which has the ability to interconnect LAN
Län
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
s and PBX's.
Expansion to other towns
In the 1990s Videon bought up several locally owned cable companies, creating Canada's fifth largest cable company. They had expanded their reach to include HeadingleyHeadingley
Headingley is a suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road...
.
They also purchased a cable company in Alberta.
Videon is sold
In 20012001 in Canada
Events from the year 2001 in Canada.- Incumbents :Estimated Canadian population: 31,110,565-January to March:*January 1 - The Ontario cities of Ottawa, Hamilton and Sudbury officially merge with their suburban municipalities to create new "megacities". Events from the year 2001 in Canada.-...
the Moffat family sold Videon Cable-tv Inc. to SHAW Cable
Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
of 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...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
CRTC licence-related links
- CRTC Decision 1986-183 - Permission to replace Fargo ND stations with Detroit MI
- CRTC Decision 1991-043 - 1991-1996 License Renewal
- CRTC Decision 1992-369 - Denial of application for MMDS service
- CRTC Decision 1996-694 - 1996-2003 License Renewal
- CRTC Decision 1996-683 - 1996 License Renewal for St. Eustache & Elie system
- CRTC Decision 1997-172 - Fee Increase Disallowed
- CRTC Decision 2001-186 - Assets sold to SHAW