A-Channel (Craig Media)
 |
|
| Type | Defunct broadcast television system |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Availability | Regional; urban areas of Alberta and Manitoba (some programming also available on co-owned station in Toronto) |
| Owner |
Craig Media (1997-2004) CHUM Limited (2004-2005) |
|
Key people
|
Drew Craig |
|
Launch date
|
September 18, 1997 |
| Dissolved | August 2, 2005 (replaced by Citytv) |
A-Channel was a Canadian television system owned by Craig Media from 1997 to 2004 and CHUM Limited from 2004 to 2005. It consisted of Craig's television stations in Winnipeg, Calgary and Edmonton, and was the company's unsuccessful attempt to build a national network.
CHUM Limited, which acquired Craig Media in 2004, merged these stations into CHUM's flagship television system Citytv (later City as of 2012) on August 2, 2005. On the same date, the A-Channel name was transferred to the NewNet stations in Southern Ontario and Vancouver Island, which are currently operated by Bell Media under the CTV Two banner. The three original Craig Media A-Channel stations are now owned by Rogers Media.
A-Channel was first used by Craig Media as it sought to develop a national presence. Originally, Craig owned only two stations in Manitoba: CKX-TV, a CBC Television affiliate in Brandon; and CHMI-TV, an independent station (branded as the Manitoba Television Network, or MTN) in Portage la Prairie and serving Winnipeg. Looking to expand, Craig decided to counter CanWest Global's attempts to obtain licenses from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for television stations in Alberta, with a proposal it dubbed "The Alberta Channel", or "A-Channel" for short. During the first round of hearings in the early 1990s, neither company obtained a licence. However, after a second round in the mid-1990s, Craig won against CanWest. (CanWest later bought out Western International Communications and assumed control of its Alberta-based stations.)
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