CJON-TV

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Template:Infobox Broadcast CJON-TV is a Canadian television station broadcasting on channel 6 (cable channel 5) 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"). Owned by Geoff Stirling and his family, it is the only privately-owned station in Newfoundland and Labrador, and it is well known for its unusual mix of programming, particularly in the overnight hours.

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History

In 1955, Newfoundland Broadcasting Company Ltd., owner of CJON 930 AM, applied for and received a licence for the first TV station in Newfoundland. Newfoundland Broadcasting was jointly owned by Geoff Stirling and Don Jamieson. The station went on-air later that year as a CBC Television affiliate. Stirling has contended that his was the only group willing to invest in such a station, although other sources have suggested that Stirling and Jamieson used their political connections to prevent the CBC from opening its own station in Newfoundland first. (This is made somewhat unlikely by the fact that, until 1960, the CBC doubled as both broadcast regulator and broadcaster, the former role now performed by the independent CRTC. However, the CBC-owned CBYT in Corner Brook launched soon after, in 1959.)

In any event, the CBC launched CBNT in 1964, and CJON became an affiliate of the new CTV network. For a time it was known as NBC, for the "Newfoundland Broadcasting Company", until 1978 when WLBZ, an affiliate of the U.S.-based NBC network, became available on cable (to be replaced later by WDIV and WHDH-TV). To avoid confusion, CJON was rebranded NTV.

In 1972, CJON became one of the first, if not the first, TV stations in Canada to broadcast around the clock every night (see "Overnight programming", below).

In 1977, Stirling and Jamieson unwound their partnership, with Jamieson taking the AM radio stations, with CJON AM 930 being renamed CJYQ. In later years, many of the AM stations were eventually sold, and in several cases shut down. Stirling kept NTV and the newly-launched FM station CHOZ.

CJON was the only CTV affiliate not to participate in the network's 1993 restructuring from a cooperative to a private company, remaining a very minor shareholder (with less than 0.1%) until Baton Broadcasting acquired the network in 1997.

NTV became available on C-Band satellite in 1994. The original purpose of this was to ensure that viewers in rural regions, were able to receive the best signal possible; the station became available in Labrador for the first time. However, it became a popular choice for satellite viewers across the continent, as NTV's signal was unscrambled (free). The station began to make reference of its new coverage area in its promotions and branding (it adopted the "globe" logo it maintains today). However, the extent of NTV's actual reach and popularity is unclear and may have been exaggerated somewhat, as C-Band's appeal is largely restricted to hobbyists.

Image:Ntvscreen4.jpg Due to issues involving program rights, it was forced to leave C-Band in 1996. NTV eventually returned to C-Band, but as an encrypted digital signal which required an expensive (roughly $1500) receiver to decode. It also became available on the Bell ExpressVu and Star Choice DBS services, beginning in 1997. The increased audience reach on these services and through digital cable services - far beyond that in Newfoundland and Labrador alone - has led the station to brand itself, most recently, as "Canada's Superstation". Nonetheless its reach pales in comparison to most specialty services, let alone the major broadcast networks.

Due to its location, some programs that NTV airs are first shown on this station before any other North American station airs them. This is signified with a "World Television Premiere" bumper that airs at the beginning of those programs - although, in the case of some syndicated programming, the bumper may be used simply to indicate airing before the local U.S. affiliate. For instance, The Oprah Winfrey Show airs on NTV at 2:30pm NT (compared to 5:30 NT via WCVB-TV or WXYZ-TV) and may hence be indicated as a "world premiere", although WLS-TV Chicago airs the show at 9:00am CT / 11:30am NT.

NTV disaffiliated from CTV in 2002 in a dispute over affiliation terms. Historically, NTV had aired a base 40-hour block of CTV programming, including national advertising, essentially for free since CTV paid NTV for the airtime. It then purchased rights to additional CTV programming for which NTV could sell all advertising. NTV wanted to air all its CTV programming on the latter basis only, presumably while still receiving airtime payments. According to NTV officials, CTV responded by increasing rights fees for all network programming significantly beyond the station's ability to pay, with no possibility of future airtime payments. After this shift, NTV officially became an independent station, but for all practical purposes it is a Global affiliate except for news, which it still receives from CTV (see below).

The disaffiliation did, however, remove one major side effect of NTV's carriage of CTV programming. Whenever possible, NTV asserted the superiority of its brand over that of CTV, despite the fact that it was a CTV affiliate. The large opaque bug that resulted, one specifically modified to cover the CTV logo during network time, was the subject of significant mocking and complaining by viewers. Some viewers said it was so bright it could have "burned" into TV screens. Other Canadian stations have routinely used opaque bugs themselves when airing programming through U.S. networks with which the station had no affiliation. NTV now uses opaque bugs only for U.S. simulcasts, while the remaining CTV News broadcasts are now "co-branded" with both logos.

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Programming

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Early 1990s to 2002

Until the fall of 1992, CTV programming made up a clear majority of NTV's schedule, although acquired programming from CanWest Global and others was present. However, from 1992 on, when CTV reduced its programming to 40 hours per week, NTV suddenly became much more reliant on other broadcasters, primarily CanWest (which owned the Canadian rights to many dominant programs of the era such as The Simpsons and Seinfeld), but also Baton Broadcasting and WIC. Instead of relying on any one group, it took what it considered the best programmming from all the groups, even after the Baton/CTV merger strengthened the CTV schedule considerably.

During this period, and indeed well before, NTV consistently aired 4.5 hours of prime time programming each night, a great deal of it of American origin, from 8:00 p.m. NT to 12:30 a.m. NT (11:00 p.m. ET), as opposed to the North American norm of three hours. In fact, for at least one season in the mid-1990s, first-run primetime programming began at 7:30 and ran until 12:30. Although the net result was less than the mandated 50% Canadian content between 6 p.m. and midnight, this was not deemed to violate Cancon regulations as CTV National News did not feed an 11:00 p.m. AT edition until 1997, although the practice was maintained without CRTC complaint until disaffiliation in 2002.

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2002 to present

As of fall 2002, NTV lost access to most CTV programming, but maintained rights to CTV National News, Canada AM, and other CTV news programming free of charge, on condition it continue to provide coverage of Newfoundland and Labrador events for CTV and CTV Newsnet. Additionally, it purchased rights to additional CTV programming, such as Desperate Housewives, on an individual, per-season basis. (Housewives aired on NTV in its first season but not since, and presently no CTV entertainment programming appears regularly on NTV. Until 2006, some other CTV-owned properties such as the Academy Awards or the Juno Awards continued to air on NTV, but all have recently been dropped.)

It remains unclear whether CTV plans on a full return to the market - like NTV, CTV has benefited from satellite and digital cable carriage of several CTV stations in Newfoundland, the growth of which may eventually make a full CTV station in the market redundant. Nevertheless it has simulcast some flagship series (i.e. Canadian Idol) and sports events on ASN, which is already widely available in Newfoundland.

Most of NTV's entertainment programming since 2002 has been received pursuant to a program supply agreement with Global Television - for instance, Survivor, Family Guy, and The Young and the Restless - which presently expires at the end of the 2005-2006 season. As a result its "prime time" hours have been reduced, now running from 8:00 to 11:30 (now followed immediately by CTV News). While it may be considered the de facto Global affiliate in Newfoundland, NTV does not yet carry Global National or ET Canada, has been inconsistent in its coverage of the NFL aside from the Super Bowl, and does not air a number of entertainment programs day-and-date with the Global network (although Global stations themselves have significant scheduling flexibility for many programs). In fact, a number of NTV's prime time programs air nationally on CH, not Global itself. (It is perhaps worth mentioning that two CanWest stations, CHCH and CITV, are widely available across Newfoundland via Rogers Cable and Persona, meaning that Global National et al. are still available to most viewers, should they have any great reason to watch.)

Even now, however, NTV has not restricted itself to a firm affiliation with Global. Syndicated programming such as Oprah has made its appearance (as it has on other CTV and Global stations). At least one year NTV carried a made-for-TV figure skating event for which the national rights were held by the now-defunct Craig Media. Most recently, in the summer of 2005, NTV began airing two CHUM series, namely Fashion Television and a MuchMusic-produced profiles series, despite the longstanding relationship between CHUM and ASN.

Unlike most Canadian stations, which fill essentially all of their unsold commercial airtime with program promotions or public service announcements, NTV frequently uses minute-long clips of music videos, usually at the end of a commercial break, in addition to its promos and (more rarely) its PSAs. Video usage has recently been relaxed, at least during parts of the regular broadcast day, with the addition of high-rotation news and weather updates of up to two minutes duration. However, music videos - sometimes aired in full - remain common during the overnight hours, when NTV rarely if ever sells any commercial spots.

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Local programmming

Image:Ntvscreen3.jpgUntil the mid-1990s, NTV's newscasts, under various names and with various anchors, lingered well behind those of CBNT, specifically the long-running Here & Now, in local ratings. The author Michael Harris served as anchor and news director for a few years in the early 1990s but was unable to turn the tide despite presiding over several well-received documentaries.

At this time, however, Here & Now's start time was 6:30 p.m., due to the CBC practice of "delaying" programming by half an hour for Newfoundland viewers, whereas the norm in most markets was 6:00 p.m. NTV capitalized by relaunching its own 6:30 newscast, the NTV Evening News, as the NTV Evening Newshour, a program with a 6:00 start. Ratings for its first half-hour soon climbed above those of Here & Now, although the latter program maintained the overall lead until it was replaced by the hybrid local-national Canada Now newscast in 2000. NTV now claims, citing BBM ratings, that its newscast is the most dominant one in Canada, although whether the recent return of Here & Now could affect this remains to be seen.

On weeknights, the Newshour is fronted by news anchors Fred Hutton and Lynn Burry, and weather personality Toni-Marie Wiseman. (As a frequent substitute anchor, and Sunday co-anchor with Larry Jay, Wiseman is always credited equally with Hutton and Burry, an anomaly in North American TV news.) While popular, some have criticized its focus on the St. John's area, and particularly events there such as car accidents, while marginalizing reports from the rest of the province; the station has made efforts to dispell such concerns by employing additional journalists and stringers province-wide.

Image:Ntvscreen2.jpgIt has frequently been promoted as "the award-winning NTV Evening Newshour", in reference to a RTNDA Canada "Best Newscast - Medium Market" award from 1998 (for a newscast aired in 1997), and several, less prominent awards for individual reports received since. (Overall, CBNT has won more RTNDA and AJA awards, albeit no best newscast awards, over the same period.)

Repackaged versions of the Newshour air at midnight and at 6:00 a.m. the following day. NTV Newsday, a live newscast that airs weekdays at noon, frequently also relies on content from the previous night's Newshour.

NTV's newscasts are also seen on at least one TV station in the US — WZRA-CA channel 48, an ethnic station in the Tampa Bay area, has regularly carried NTV's newscasts as well as select CTV programming. In fact, NTV's website promotes the fact that NTV advertisers can reach Tampa viewers through WZRA, although the station's reach in Tampa itself is minimal.

As with many local stations in North America, non-news local programming was common in the station's early days but had decreased significantly by the 1990s. Since 2002, perhaps given the recent ratings dominance of CTV over Global (NTV's chief programming supplier), NTV has attempted to distinguish itself further through additional local programming, mainly from independent local producers. Examples include the late-evening comedy George Street TV, and the reality series Newfoundland Karaoke Idol and Define Yourself. It also airs repeats of programs from the NTV archives, most frequently Jim Furlong's long-running retrospective series A Little Good News, under the title ntv.ca (the program, however, has nothing to do with the station's website).

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Overnight programming

Image:Ntvscreen1.pngAs noted above, NTV claims to have been the first television station in Canada to remain on the air continuously, 24 hours a day every day. While this is now the norm at most stations in North America, NTV is unique - particularly among Canadian stations - in that it rarely if ever sells overnight timeslots for paid programming. However, the eclectic alternatives to traditional broadcast fare that have resulted have garnered considerable attention.

NTV's published overnight schedule (that is, between 1:00 and 6:00 a.m.) generally consists of Late Show with David Letterman or Saturday Night Live, followed by additional (usually U.S.-made) prime time or syndicated programming that NTV cannot carry during the rest of the day, and in some cases movies on Saturday and Sunday nights. The period then concludes with Scenes of Newfoundland (and Labrador), a full half-hour or hour dedicated to scenes of the province with traditional music from local artists playing in the background.

While, in fact, this schedule is followed more often than not, over the years there have been numerous instances where scheduled programming has been pre-empted, presumably at the behest of station owner Geoff Stirling. In its earliest days, a viewer might have seen a constant shot of a fish tank in the overnight hours. Nowadays the hours may be filled with "specials" featuring, among other things, Stirling's metaphysical thoughts, his interviews with likes of the late Newfoundland premier Joey Smallwood, a "Computer Animation Festival", various features or animations starring Stirling-created superheroes such as Captain Atlantis and Captain Canada, and other programs that are truly miscellanea. The NFB documentary Waiting for Fidel, featuring Stirling and Smallwood in Cuba awaiting an interview with Fidel Castro that never occurs, has aired regularly. While things like this tend to anger viewers, Geoff Stirling's eclectic programming has its cult following.

Even if programming is not pre-empted, on occasion viewers may still see a message, likely from Stirling, displaying his opinions and thoughts as a "ticker" on the bottom of the screen. One time, viewers of The Tonight Show (when that show was carried by NTV) claimed to see such a ticker announcement seeking the arrest and prosecution of a man who used NTV's logo on his website - generally considered to be a satirical one - without authorisation. The site has since been taken down.

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Technical information

NTV's other transmitters (not including community-owned rebroadcasters) are:

— * Serving Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor and area.

In addition to its extensive cable carriage, the station is carried by StarChoice on channel 310, and by Bell ExpressVu on channel 199.

NTV can also be seen on cable systems in Bermuda and the Bahamas, and some programming can be seen on a low-power television station in Florida, WZRA-CA in Oldsmar.

Finally, as a consequence of the frequency range of channel 6 extending into the FM band, NTV programs can be heard at 87.7 FM in St. John's. In print ads in The Newfoundland Herald, the station frequently, and inaccurately, suggests this signal can be received province-wide.

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References

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External link

Template:NF TV Template:Superstations

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