Global Television Network
Encyclopedia
Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is an English language
privately owned television network
in Canada
, owned by Calgary
-based Shaw Communications
, as part of its Shaw Media
division. It is currently Canada's number-two broadcast television network.
Beginning in 1974 as a regional television system serving Southern Ontario
, the network gradually expanded its national reach in the subsequent decades, and currently has 11 owned-and-operated stations (O&Os) in the country.
In the 1970s, a call went out for "third" television stations in several major cities in Canada. A group of investors, led by Al Bruner
and Peter Hill
, founded Global Communications Ltd. with the idea of building a cross-Canada, all-UHF
network. The group had to settle for a six-transmitter network in Southern
Ontario
, stretching from Windsor
to Ottawa
, but were denied a transmitter in Maxville that would reach Montreal
. The group promised a high level of Canadian content
and agreed not to accept local advertising. The new network, called the Global Television Network, launched on January 6, 1974 when CKGN
signed on from studios (a former factory) in Don Mills at 6 PM local time. The station's main transmitter was licensed to Paris, Ontario
.
The station ran into difficulty in just three months, and was purchased by two large groups, one of which was owned by Izzy Asper
, a Manitoba
politician turned broadcaster. Asper owned CKND
in Winnipeg
, which carried many of Global's programs, through his company then known as CanWest Capital. In 1977, both partners attempted to buy out the other's shares, with Canwest being successful in becoming the first western-based owner of a major Canadian broadcasting entity.
CKGN became CIII
in 1984.
By the 1980s, Asper seemed eager to grow his chain of stations, launching two
stations
in Saskatchewan
and winning a legal battle for a station
in Vancouver
during that decade, and acquiring a fledgling system
in the Maritimes
in the early 1990s. This grew Canwest's footprint to the major centres in seven of Canada's ten provinces. These regional networks purchased many of their programs collectively, and consequently had similar—although not identical—broadcast schedules. They did not share common branding, however, although stations were sometimes indicated as being part of the "CanWest Global System" as a secondary brand.
In 1997, Canwest bought majority control of the CBC
affiliate in Quebec City
, CKMI-TV
, from TVA
, which retained a 49% interest until 2002. On August 18, 1997, CKMI disaffiliated from CBC, set up rebroadcasters in Montreal and Sherbrooke, and began carrying the same programming lineup as Canwest's other stations.
With the acquisition of CKMI, Canwest now had enough coverage of Canada that it now seemed logical to call its station group a "network". Accordingly, on the same day CKMI relaunched as a Global station, Canwest scrubbed local branding from all of its stations and rebranded them as the "Global Television Network", the brand previously used solely by the Ontario outlet. Even so, Global was still not a true national network. In the mid-1980s, it tried to launch stations in the key Western markets of Calgary
and Edmonton
, only to be rebuffed by the CRTC. As a result, Global aired most of its programming on independent stations CICT
and CITV
, respectively. Similarly, Global lacked a full-time station in St. John's
, where Global programming was carried by longtime CTV affiliate CJON-TV
.
In 2000, Canwest acquired the conventional television assets of Western International Communications
(WIC). WIC's stations in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge
had been airing some Global programs since 1988, and those stations formally joined the network on September 4, 2000.
The following fall, WIC's long-dominant Vancouver station CHAN
was brought into the fold after its existing affiliation agreement with CTV expired. Indeed, one main reason Canwest bought WIC's television assets was because of CHAN's massive translator network, covering 97 percent of British Columbia. Global's previous Vancouver station, CKVU
, as well as WIC-owned Montreal CTV affiliate CFCF
, were sold off. WIC's remaining stations were maintained as twinstick
stations and were eventually integrated into a secondary system known as CH (rebranded as E! in 2007 in a partnership with the American channel of the same name
), although financial pressures forced Canwest to sell or fold the E! stations in 2009.
Full network service is still not available over-the-air in Newfoundland and Labrador
, although CJON, having disaffiliated from CTV in 2002, now clears the vast majority of the Global network schedule in that province, most recently adding the network's national newscast in mid-2009. Any remaining programs there may be accessed on cable or satellite through Global stations from other markets (most commonly Global Edmonton
).
Following Canwest's purchase of Southam Newspapers (later Canwest Publishing) and the National Post
from Conrad Black
in 2001, their media interests have been merged under a policy of cross-promotion
and synergy
. Journalists from the Post and other Canwest papers made frequent appearances on Global's news programs, passengers on the now-defunct serial drama Train 48
habitually read the Post, and Global programs were promoted in Canwest newspapers. However, this practice has now been largely abandoned, particularly with the sale of Canwest's newspaper division to separate owners (as Postmedia Network
) in 2010.
In late 2004, with CTV beginning to dominate the ratings, Canwest reorganized its Canadian operations and hired a number of new executives, all formerly of various U.S. media firms, leading to a major overhaul of Global announced in December 2005. The most obvious change is a new logo, replacing the "crescent" with a new "greater than" logo, with the Global wordmark in a new font, in use as of February 5, 2006 (coinciding with Global's broadcast of Super Bowl XL
). New logos and graphics were designed for news and network promotions, and several newscasts received new timeslots and formats. The crescent, which had been used as a common design element in many Canwest logos, was subsequently removed from other properties owned or sponsored by the company.
On April 10, 2008, the network announced that its Toronto and Vancouver stations would start broadcasting over the air in those markets in high-definition television
. CIII-DT
Toronto
and CHAN-DT
Burnaby/Vancouver
officially started transmitting in HD on April 18, 2008. The network has also launched its digital signals at its stations in Calgary
(CICT-DT
) and Edmonton
(CITV-DT
) as of July 2009.
Following Canwest seeking creditor protection in late 2009, Shaw Communications
took over Canwest's broadcasting assets as of October 27, 2010. Global is now part of the new Shaw Media
division.
, where space limitations usually require television networks to be referred to by a three-letter abbreviation, the abbreviations GLO, GLB or GTV are commonly used, depending on the publication. None of these abbreviations has any standing as an official name for the network, however—the network's own shortform name for itself is always Global.
, the network also offers various amounts of local news programming on its eleven O&Os.
can't air children's programming due to provincial laws requiring children's programming to be shown commercial-free over the air. Factors influencing the stations' programming include time zone differences, local programming, and ratings for non-Global shows.
Global has built its business on profitable entertainment programming produced in the United States
, and has long been criticized for not investing enough in Canadian content
. Canadian programming carried on the network, such as a revival of 1960s American science fiction
series The Outer Limits
, or the Chicago
-set drama Zoe Busiek: Wild Card
, has often avoided Canadian themes, presumably to focus on sales to United States and international cable
or syndication
markets—although Psi Factor did include Canadian themes, including a "killer wheat" episode and episodes set in Northern Quebec and Halifax. Series initially intended for the US and international market are sometimes called "industrial" productions and largely disappeared with the collapse of the international action hour market.
In recent years, Global has aired somewhat more identifiably Canadian entertainment programming, including the long-running finance drama Traders, the British
-Canadian animated comedy Bob and Margaret
, the police procedural drama Blue Murder, the nightly improvised
drama Train 48
, the sitcom The Jane Show
and the reality show My Fabulous Gay Wedding
. In 2003, Global signed comedian Mike Bullard, host of the nightly Open Mike with Mike Bullard
on CTV
and The Comedy Network
, to a multi-year contract for a new nightly talk show
on Global, but The Mike Bullard Show
was cancelled after 60 episodes amid poor ratings.
Global purchased the rights to produce a Canadian edition of the popular entertainment magazine Entertainment Tonight
; ET Canada launched on September 12, 2005. It also secured Canadian production rights to the American reality series The Apprentice
, but there is no word on when, or if, a Canadian version will air.
Notable American shows currently airing on Global include first-run episodes of Glee
, NCIS
, Survivor, The Simpsons
, Family Guy
, The Good Wife, House
, Bones
, Prime Suspect
, The Office, Terra Nova
, Hawaii Five-0, Harry's Law
, Parenthood
and Revenge
. On July 21, 2006, Global signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment
to broadcast the new ECW brand, starting on August 11 and then every Friday night in a late night slot. ECW would continue to air in that slot on Global for three and a half years. For a brief period toward the end of its run, ECW was moved to an early Sunday morning slot. Following the cancellation of the ECW brand in February 2010, Global aired the first season of WWE's replacement for the show, NXT
, in that early Sunday morning slot. NXT was then picked up by The Score Television Network starting with the second season which began in June 2010.
Global profits due to Canada's simultaneous substitution
(or "simsub") regulations, which allows the owner of content to control programming rights for that show in Canada. When an American broadcast network is broadcasting the same show at the same time that Global is (such as Survivor), Canadian cable subscribers may only watch the Global Television broadcast, even when trying to view the American stations. This law gives them double exposure for their content and a larger share of advertising revenue, effectively blocking American border cities from access to the Canadian market. This was done to help give money to the networks to fund Canadian content development. Global is certainly not the only Canadian broadcaster to use simsubs; nonetheless, some complaints, specific to Global, have arisen due to the following related practices:
In October 2004, Global started airing select American programs in Widescreen HDTV
and launched a national HD service called Global HD, which is a simulcast of its affiliated station CIII-TV
; since then, some Canadian series such as Falcon Beach
have been added to its HD lineup. On April 11, 2008, Global launched an HD simulcast of Vancouver
's CHAN-TV
.
Global cross-promotes heavily with other Canwest properties in the growing number of markets where both services operate in parallel.
On June 6, 2007, the Canadian actors' union ACTRA
picketed Global's fall upfronts presentation to protest the lack of Canadian content
on current television network schedules.
soccer team and produced and aired coverage of the team's games in-house. The team was not a success on the field, in attendance or ratings, and Global sold the franchise in 1981 but continued to broadcast seven games a year until 1983.
Aside from its brief experiment with soccer, the Global network has never had an in-house sports production division as do CBC and CTV/TSN. Network sports broadcasts are either simulcast
with American networks or outsourced to independent producers such as Molstar
. During the 1987
and 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs
, Global aired NHL games
syndicated by Carling O'Keefe
. Global was the longtime broadcaster of National Football League
football games in Canada, an association that ended in 2007 when CTV
outbid Global for the NFL broadcast package. The network continues to air coverage of The Masters and, on most stations, various PGA Tour
events.
Beyond event coverage, many Global stations were well-known for local late-night sports highlights shows, such as Sportsline in Ontario, Sports Page
in Vancouver (later moved to former sister station CHEK
), and Sports Night in Edmonton. Most of these programs were later unified under the Global Sports brand. However, due to declining audiences, by fall 2005 all but the Ontario program had been cancelled, although stations continued to cover sports in their local newscasts. Global Ontario's sports program was finally cancelled in January 2007; at that point, the station closed its sports department entirely, and since then has outsourced sports news coverage to The Score (initially Rogers Sportsnet
beforehand).
Some Global O&Os outside Ontario (such as Global BC and Global Edmonton) continue to feature locally produced sports segments on their local newscasts. On the other hand, the sports segments aired during local newscasts on Global Maritimes
and Global Quebec are produced from Global BC's studio, presented by that station's sports anchors.
Global Winnipeg
produces Fox Soccer Report
for Fox Sports World Canada
and Fox Soccer Channel
in the United States, as well as other countries.
HD
simulcast of its Toronto station CIII
. At the time the service was only available via digital cable. On April 18, 2008, Global officially launched a transmitter in Toronto making the HD simulcast of CIII
available over-the-air. They also launched an HD simulcast of their Vancouver station (CHAN
) on the same day.
Global HD is available nationally via satellite and on digital cable as well as for free via DTT
using a regular TV antenna and a digital tuner (included in most new TVs) on the following channels:
In fact, it is not uncommon to see different lengths of commercial breaks from one station to the next even during identical programming. This occurs even though all Global stations have had their master control operations centralized in Calgary since fall 2006.
More recently, with the exception of Global Toronto, stations now use sustained on-screen bugs using each station's full local brand as opposed to simply "Global".
Several affiliates predate the first appearance of the Global banner in 1974. Specifically, CKMI-TV
, CICT-TV
, CHBC-TV
and CISA-TV launched in the 1950s as CBC Television
affiliates, while CHAN-TV
launched in 1960 and soon became Vancouver's original CTV
affiliate. All of these were eventually supplanted by network-owned stations or transmitters.
Most of these stations serve their entire province or region through a network of relay stations as a part of the key station's licence, although some of their transmitters may air separate advertising targeted to their local community.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
privately owned television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
in 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...
, owned by 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...
-based Shaw Communications
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...
, as part of its Shaw Media
Shaw Media
Shaw Media is the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owns the Global Television Network, which broadcasts via 11 television stations, as well as various specialty channels including HGTV Canada, Showcase, Food Network Canada, and History Television.Despite also...
division. It is currently Canada's number-two broadcast television network.
Beginning in 1974 as a regional television system serving Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
, the network gradually expanded its national reach in the subsequent decades, and currently has 11 owned-and-operated stations (O&Os) in the country.
Founding
Al Bruner
Al Bruner was a Canadian television broadcaster and the co-founder of Global TV.- Before Global :Bruner was born in Leamington, Ontario in 1923. In his early days Bruner sang in Wayne King's Detroit orchestra, but soon found his way into broadcasting by helping to establish the Toronto-based...
and Peter Hill
Peter Hill (journalist)
Peter Hill is a British journalist and a former editor of the Daily ExpressRaised in Saddleworth, he left Hulme Grammar School at 15 and worked in a woollen mill before gaining employment in local papers in Yorkshire and the North West...
, founded Global Communications Ltd. with the idea of building a cross-Canada, all-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...
network. The group had to settle for a six-transmitter network in Southern
Southern Ontario
Southern Ontario is a region of the province of Ontario, Canada that lies south of the French River and Algonquin Park. Depending on the inclusion of the Parry Sound and Muskoka districts, its surface area would cover between 14 to 15% of the province. It is the southernmost region of...
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....
, stretching from Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
to Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, but were denied a transmitter in Maxville that would reach Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. The group promised a high level of Canadian content
Canadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
and agreed not to accept local advertising. The new network, called the Global Television Network, launched on January 6, 1974 when CKGN
CIII-TV
CIII-DT-41 is a television station owned by Shaw Communications that serves much of the population of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a flagship station of the Global Television Network...
signed on from studios (a former factory) in Don Mills at 6 PM local time. The station's main transmitter was licensed to Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario
Paris, Ontario is a community on the Grand River in Ontario, Canada. The town was established in 1850. In 1999, its town government was amalgamated into that of the County of Brant, Ontario, thus ending about 149 years as a separate incorporated municipality.-History:The town was first settled in...
.
The station ran into difficulty in just three months, and was purchased by two large groups, one of which was owned by Izzy Asper
Izzy Asper
Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper, , Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate, was the founder of the now defunct CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and President Leonard Asper, former director and corporate secretary Gail Asper, as well as Executive Vice President David Asper...
, a 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...
politician turned broadcaster. Asper owned CKND
CKND-TV
CKND-DT is a television station that broadcasts from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the Manitoba outlet for the Global Television Network.-History:...
in 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...
, which carried many of Global's programs, through his company then known as CanWest Capital. In 1977, both partners attempted to buy out the other's shares, with Canwest being successful in becoming the first western-based owner of a major Canadian broadcasting entity.
CKGN became CIII
CIII-TV
CIII-DT-41 is a television station owned by Shaw Communications that serves much of the population of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a flagship station of the Global Television Network...
in 1984.
1970s-1990s
A considerable portion of the schedule's programs were cancelled in the spring of 1974. By fall, Global had become "another CTV", with American imports filling as much of the schedule as Canadian content rules (60 percent Canadian overall, 50 percent Canadian in prime time) would allow. Over several years, the prime late evening newscast shifted between 10 and 11 p.m., and between 30 and 60 minutes. The network continued to be limited to a six-transmitter chain throughout the 1970s.By the 1980s, Asper seemed eager to grow his chain of stations, launching two
CFRE-TV
CFRE-DT is a television station which broadcasts from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is part of the Global Television Network.-History:The station was launched on September 6, 1987 by Canwest...
stations
CFSK-TV
CFSK-DT is a television station which broadcasts from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is part of the Global Television Network.-History:The station was launched on September 6, 1987 by Canwest...
in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and winning a legal battle for a station
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...
in 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,...
during that decade, and acquiring a fledgling system
CIHF-TV
CIHF-DT, channel 8, is a television station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Owned by Shaw Media, it serves the Maritime provinces as an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network...
in the Maritimes
Maritimes
The Maritime provinces, also called the Maritimes or the Canadian Maritimes, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. On the Atlantic coast, the Maritimes are a subregion of Atlantic Canada, which also includes the...
in the early 1990s. This grew Canwest's footprint to the major centres in seven of Canada's ten provinces. These regional networks purchased many of their programs collectively, and consequently had similar—although not identical—broadcast schedules. They did not share common branding, however, although stations were sometimes indicated as being part of the "CanWest Global System" as a secondary brand.
In 1997, Canwest bought majority control of 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...
affiliate in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, CKMI-TV
CKMI-TV
CKMI-DT-1 is the Global Television Network owned-and-operated station in Quebec.Originally a privately owned CBC Television affiliate in Quebec City, the station moved most of its operations to Montreal in 1997 after launching a rebroadcaster there and becoming a Global affiliate as Global Quebec...
, from TVA
TVA (TV network)
TVA is a privately owned French language television network in Canada. The network is currently owned by Groupe TVA Inc. , a publicly traded subsidiary of Quebecor Media...
, which retained a 49% interest until 2002. On August 18, 1997, CKMI disaffiliated from CBC, set up rebroadcasters in Montreal and Sherbrooke, and began carrying the same programming lineup as Canwest's other stations.
With the acquisition of CKMI, Canwest now had enough coverage of Canada that it now seemed logical to call its station group a "network". Accordingly, on the same day CKMI relaunched as a Global station, Canwest scrubbed local branding from all of its stations and rebranded them as the "Global Television Network", the brand previously used solely by the Ontario outlet. Even so, Global was still not a true national network. In the mid-1980s, it tried to launch stations in the key Western markets 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...
and 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...
, only to be rebuffed by the CRTC. As a result, Global aired most of its programming on independent stations CICT
CICT-TV
CICT-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...
and CITV
CITV-TV
CITV-DT is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Known on air as Global Edmonton, the station is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network. It transmits on channel 13 and cable 8 in Edmonton, and is carried on the Bell TV and Shaw...
, respectively. Similarly, Global lacked a full-time station in St. John's
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...
, where Global programming was carried by longtime CTV 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...
.
2000s
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). WIC's stations in Calgary, Edmonton and Lethbridge
Lethbridge
Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
had been airing some Global programs since 1988, and those stations formally joined the network on September 4, 2000.
The following fall, WIC's long-dominant Vancouver station CHAN
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...
was brought into the fold after its existing affiliation agreement with CTV expired. Indeed, one main reason Canwest bought WIC's television assets was because of CHAN's massive translator network, covering 97 percent of British Columbia. Global's previous Vancouver station, 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...
, as well as WIC-owned Montreal CTV affiliate CFCF
CFCF-TV
CFCF-DT is a CTV-owned and operated station located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada...
, were sold off. WIC's remaining stations were maintained as twinstick
Twinstick
A twinstick, in Canadian broadcasting, is a term for two television stations, broadcasting in the same market, which are owned by the same company...
stations and were eventually integrated into a secondary system known as CH (rebranded as E! in 2007 in a partnership with the American channel of the same name
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
), although financial pressures forced Canwest to sell or fold the E! stations in 2009.
Full network service is still not available over-the-air in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, although CJON, having disaffiliated from CTV in 2002, now clears the vast majority of the Global network schedule in that province, most recently adding the network's national newscast in mid-2009. Any remaining programs there may be accessed on cable or satellite through Global stations from other markets (most commonly Global Edmonton
CITV-TV
CITV-DT is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Known on air as Global Edmonton, the station is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network. It transmits on channel 13 and cable 8 in Edmonton, and is carried on the Bell TV and Shaw...
).
Following Canwest's purchase of Southam Newspapers (later Canwest Publishing) and the National Post
National Post
The National Post is a Canadian English-language national newspaper based in Don Mills, a district of Toronto. The paper is owned by Postmedia Network Inc. and is published Mondays through Saturdays...
from Conrad Black
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
in 2001, their media interests have been merged under a policy of cross-promotion
Cross-promotion
Cross-promotion is a form of marketing promotion where customers of one product or service are targeted with promotion of a related product. A typical example is cross-media marketing of a brand, for example Oprah Winfrey's promotion on her television show of her books, magazines and website...
and synergy
Synergy
Synergy may be defined as two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable.The term synergy comes from the Greek word from , , meaning "working together".-Definitions and usages:...
. Journalists from the Post and other Canwest papers made frequent appearances on Global's news programs, passengers on the now-defunct serial drama Train 48
Train 48
Train 48 was a Canadian television soap opera, broadcast on Global Television Network or CH airing from 2003 until 2005.Train 48 was based on the format of an Australian television program called Going Home....
habitually read the Post, and Global programs were promoted in Canwest newspapers. However, this practice has now been largely abandoned, particularly with the sale of Canwest's newspaper division to separate owners (as Postmedia Network
Postmedia Network
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. is a Canadian media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news gathering and Internet operations....
) in 2010.
In late 2004, with CTV beginning to dominate the ratings, Canwest reorganized its Canadian operations and hired a number of new executives, all formerly of various U.S. media firms, leading to a major overhaul of Global announced in December 2005. The most obvious change is a new logo, replacing the "crescent" with a new "greater than" logo, with the Global wordmark in a new font, in use as of February 5, 2006 (coinciding with Global's broadcast of Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game pitting the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers against the National Football Conference champion Seattle Seahawks to decide the National Football League champion for the 2005 season...
). New logos and graphics were designed for news and network promotions, and several newscasts received new timeslots and formats. The crescent, which had been used as a common design element in many Canwest logos, was subsequently removed from other properties owned or sponsored by the company.
On April 10, 2008, the network announced that its Toronto and Vancouver stations would start broadcasting over the air in those markets in high-definition television
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. CIII-DT
CIII-TV
CIII-DT-41 is a television station owned by Shaw Communications that serves much of the population of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a flagship station of the Global Television Network...
Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and CHAN-DT
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...
Burnaby/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,...
officially started transmitting in HD on April 18, 2008. The network has also launched its digital signals at its stations in 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...
(CICT-DT
CICT-TV
CICT-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...
) and 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...
(CITV-DT
CITV-TV
CITV-DT is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Known on air as Global Edmonton, the station is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network. It transmits on channel 13 and cable 8 in Edmonton, and is carried on the Bell TV and Shaw...
) as of July 2009.
Following Canwest seeking creditor protection in late 2009, Shaw Communications
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...
took over Canwest's broadcasting assets as of October 27, 2010. Global is now part of the new Shaw Media
Shaw Media
Shaw Media is the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owns the Global Television Network, which broadcasts via 11 television stations, as well as various specialty channels including HGTV Canada, Showcase, Food Network Canada, and History Television.Despite also...
division.
Television listings
In television listings such as TV GuideTV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, where space limitations usually require television networks to be referred to by a three-letter abbreviation, the abbreviations GLO, GLB or GTV are commonly used, depending on the publication. None of these abbreviations has any standing as an official name for the network, however—the network's own shortform name for itself is always Global.
News
Global News is the news and current affairs division of the Global Television Network. Alongside its flagship national newscast Global NationalGlobal 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...
, the network also offers various amounts of local news programming on its eleven O&Os.
Entertainment
Global does not have what can be called a main schedule, apart from news. Even before the WIC purchase, the Global stations had widely varying program lineups, and the WIC purchase only exacerbated the differences. For example, CHAN still owns British Columbia rights to many shows that air on CTV, and CKMICKMI-TV
CKMI-DT-1 is the Global Television Network owned-and-operated station in Quebec.Originally a privately owned CBC Television affiliate in Quebec City, the station moved most of its operations to Montreal in 1997 after launching a rebroadcaster there and becoming a Global affiliate as Global Quebec...
can't air children's programming due to provincial laws requiring children's programming to be shown commercial-free over the air. Factors influencing the stations' programming include time zone differences, local programming, and ratings for non-Global shows.
Global has built its business on profitable entertainment programming produced in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and has long been criticized for not investing enough in Canadian content
Canadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
. Canadian programming carried on the network, such as a revival of 1960s American science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1995 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
, or the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
-set drama Zoe Busiek: Wild Card
Wild Card (TV series)
Wild Card is an American comedy-drama series starring Joely Fisher. It was broadcast in the United States on Lifetime, and on the Global Television Network in Canada from August 2003 to July 2005.-Synopsis:...
, has often avoided Canadian themes, presumably to focus on sales to United States and international cable
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...
or syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
markets—although Psi Factor did include Canadian themes, including a "killer wheat" episode and episodes set in Northern Quebec and Halifax. Series initially intended for the US and international market are sometimes called "industrial" productions and largely disappeared with the collapse of the international action hour market.
In recent years, Global has aired somewhat more identifiably Canadian entertainment programming, including the long-running finance drama Traders, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-Canadian animated comedy Bob and Margaret
Bob and Margaret
Bob and Margaret was a Canadian/UK animated television series that was also shown in the United States and all over the world. The series was produced by Nelvana, a Toronto animation studio, and created by Canadian David Fine and Brit Alison Snowden...
, the police procedural drama Blue Murder, the nightly improvised
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
drama Train 48
Train 48
Train 48 was a Canadian television soap opera, broadcast on Global Television Network or CH airing from 2003 until 2005.Train 48 was based on the format of an Australian television program called Going Home....
, the sitcom The Jane Show
The Jane Show
The Jane Show is a Canadian television sitcom produced by Shaftesbury Films that was shown on Global from 2006 to 2007. The series stars Teresa Pavlinek as Jane Black, an aspiring novelist who takes a corporate job after her life undergoes a major upheaval....
and the reality show My Fabulous Gay Wedding
My Fabulous Gay Wedding
My Fabulous Gay Wedding is a Canadian reality show hosted by comedian Scott Thompson in the first season and Elvira Kurt in the second. The series airs on the Global Television Network. It is re-broadcast in the U.S...
. In 2003, Global signed comedian Mike Bullard, host of the nightly Open Mike with Mike Bullard
Open Mike with Mike Bullard
Open Mike with Mike Bullard was a Canadian late-night talk show which was broadcast live from 1997 to 2003 on CTV and on The Comedy Network in primetime. It was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and initially taped at a studio at the back of Wayne Gretzky's restaurant in Toronto, Ontario before CTV...
on 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...
and The Comedy Network
The Comedy Network
The Comedy Network a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by Bell Media specializing in comedy programming.The channel operates two time shifted feeds, East and West ....
, to a multi-year contract for a new nightly talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
on Global, but The Mike Bullard Show
The Mike Bullard Show
The Mike Bullard Show was a Canadian late-night talk show which aired weeknights at 12:05 AM on Global from November 24, 2003 to March 11, 2004. The show was hosted by comedian Mike Bullard and taped at the Global Theatre in Toronto, Ontario...
was cancelled after 60 episodes amid poor ratings.
Global purchased the rights to produce a Canadian edition of the popular entertainment magazine Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
; ET Canada launched on September 12, 2005. It also secured Canadian production rights to the American reality series The Apprentice
The Apprentice (U.S. TV series)
The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
, but there is no word on when, or if, a Canadian version will air.
Notable American shows currently airing on Global include first-run episodes of Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
, NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
, Survivor, The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, The Good Wife, House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, Bones
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
, Prime Suspect
Prime Suspect (U.S. TV series)
Prime Suspect is an American police procedural television drama series that premiered on NBC on September 22, 2011. It stars Maria Bello as Detective Jane Timoney. The series is a "re-imagining" of the British series by the same name. The series was created by Lynda La Plante and was redeveloped by...
, The Office, Terra Nova
Terra Nova (TV series)
Terra Nova is an American science fiction drama television series that airs on Fox on Monday nights. It premiered September 26, 2011 with a one-and-a-half-hour episode...
, Hawaii Five-0, Harry's Law
Harry's Law
Harry's Law is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley. which premiered on January 17, 2011.On May 12, 2011, NBC renewed the show for a second season, which premiered Wednesday September 21, 2011...
, Parenthood
Parenthood (2010 TV series)
Parenthood is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Katims and produced by Imagine Television and Universal Media Studios. The first season premiered on March 2, 2010 on NBC...
and Revenge
Revenge (TV series)
Revenge is an American television drama inspired by the Alexandre Dumas novel The Count of Monte Cristo starring Madeleine Stowe and Emily VanCamp. It debuted on ABC on September 21, 2011, and currently airs on Wednesday nights at 10:00 pm Eastern/9:00 pm Central...
. On July 21, 2006, Global signed a deal with World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
to broadcast the new ECW brand, starting on August 11 and then every Friday night in a late night slot. ECW would continue to air in that slot on Global for three and a half years. For a brief period toward the end of its run, ECW was moved to an early Sunday morning slot. Following the cancellation of the ECW brand in February 2010, Global aired the first season of WWE's replacement for the show, NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, in that early Sunday morning slot. NXT was then picked up by The Score Television Network starting with the second season which began in June 2010.
Global profits due to Canada's simultaneous substitution
Simultaneous substitution
Simultaneous substitution is a practice mandated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requiring Canadian cable, direct broadcast satellite and multichannel multipoint distribution service television distribution companies to substitute the signal of a foreign or...
(or "simsub") regulations, which allows the owner of content to control programming rights for that show in Canada. When an American broadcast network is broadcasting the same show at the same time that Global is (such as Survivor), Canadian cable subscribers may only watch the Global Television broadcast, even when trying to view the American stations. This law gives them double exposure for their content and a larger share of advertising revenue, effectively blocking American border cities from access to the Canadian market. This was done to help give money to the networks to fund Canadian content development. Global is certainly not the only Canadian broadcaster to use simsubs; nonetheless, some complaints, specific to Global, have arisen due to the following related practices:
- Some Global stations have superimposed the phrase on Global on a program's main titles, often in a font that poorly replicates that of the title itself. This sometimes meant that a single superimposed version was used with each episode, potentially interfering with running gags within the opening credits. For instance, the opening of American DadAmerican Dad!American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
features a news headline that changes with each episode, but — for a time — the same headline might be shown on multiple episodes on Global, an issue that was later rectified. This practice was discontinued altogether with the start of the fall 2006 season. - Split-screen credits are also used to allow for network promos. On some shows, including The SimpsonsThe SimpsonsThe Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
and Family GuyFamily GuyFamily Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
, there are special closing credits that may use additional scenes or special music that is altered or lost when Global uses a split screen. While the use of split-screen credits is common among networks in Canada and the US, how Global treats one program and how the US network treats the same episode may be two different things. - In some cases, next-episode previews, such as those on The ApprenticeThe Apprentice (U.S. TV series)The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
, are not shown. This may be because these promos are made in-house by the network (in this case, NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
), and cannot be edited ahead of broadcast. - Starting a show earlier than the American network's airing. A recent practice on several American networks has been to start certain shows shortly before or after :00 or :30 past the hour to avert audience loss. Global does not necessarily follow this practice, meaning the last few minutes of the preceding show may be lost to those watching the U.S. network. For instance, if NBC schedules The ApprenticeThe Apprentice (U.S. TV series)The Apprentice is an American reality television show hosted by real estate magnate, businessman and television personality Donald Trump, created by Mark Burnett and broadcast on NBC...
to start at 9:02 but Global schedules its start for exactly 9:00, the last two minutes of NBC's 8:00 program may be blocked by the Global signal. This is not unique to Global and may vary by service provider, since cable/satellite providers, not the networks, are responsible for scheduling and initiating simsubs. - If an American program on a US network is delayed due to breaking news or a sporting event on the American network, and is scheduled for broadcast at that time on Global, Global will also delay that episode until it starts on the American network to intentionally simsub. One example is the episode of HouseHouse (TV series)House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
that aired after Super Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLIISuper Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
in 2008 (see below). - Global was the Canadian broadcast-television rightsholder for the National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
and, hence, the Super BowlSuper BowlThe Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, through the end of the 2006 season (these rights are being taken over by CTVCTV television networkCTV 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...
as of the 2007 season). As with any other U.S. network program, Global could and did simsub the American feed. However, the Super Bowl is particularly controversial, as the U.S. network Super Bowl commercialsAdvertising in the Super BowlThe Super Bowl, the championship game of the National Football League in the United States, is known for the high-profile advertisements that air during its television broadcast in the U.S. The broadcast typically ranks very highly in the Nielsen ratings, reaching more than 90 million viewers...
, likely the most anticipated set of commercials of any given year, couldn't be seen on either Global or the applicable U.S. station. Instead, while some international advertisers (such as BudweiserBudweiser (Anheuser-Busch)Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world...
) did buy time on Global for the U.S. ads, many Canadian companies simply ran ads introduced long before the game. Nonetheless, in recent years, nearly all American commercials have been available via various websites after the game, which may have placated some complainants.
In October 2004, Global started airing select American programs in Widescreen HDTV
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
and launched a national HD service called Global HD, which is a simulcast of its affiliated station CIII-TV
CIII-TV
CIII-DT-41 is a television station owned by Shaw Communications that serves much of the population of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a flagship station of the Global Television Network...
; since then, some Canadian series such as Falcon Beach
Falcon Beach
Falcon Beach is a Canadian television show, filmed at Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba, Canada, and produced in Canada for the Canadian and American markets. It originally aired in 2005 as a movie on Global in Canada. It was produced as a TV series for Global and ABC Family in 2006...
have been added to its HD lineup. On April 11, 2008, Global launched an HD simulcast of 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,...
's 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...
.
Global cross-promotes heavily with other Canwest properties in the growing number of markets where both services operate in parallel.
On June 6, 2007, the Canadian actors' union ACTRA
ACTRA
The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists is a Canadian labour union representing performers in English-language media. It has 22,000 members working in film, television, radio, and all other recorded media....
picketed Global's fall upfronts presentation to protest the lack of Canadian content
Canadian content
Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission requirements that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from...
on current television network schedules.
Sports
In 1979, Global—then an Ontario regional network—purchased the Toronto BlizzardToronto Blizzard (NASL)
The Toronto Blizzard were a professional soccer club based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that played in the North American Soccer League.-History:The Toronto Metros joined the NASL in 1971. Their home field was Varsity Stadium....
soccer team and produced and aired coverage of the team's games in-house. The team was not a success on the field, in attendance or ratings, and Global sold the franchise in 1981 but continued to broadcast seven games a year until 1983.
Aside from its brief experiment with soccer, the Global network has never had an in-house sports production division as do CBC and CTV/TSN. Network sports broadcasts are either simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
with American networks or outsourced to independent producers such as Molstar
Molson
Molson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...
. During the 1987
1987 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 1987 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship of the National Hockey League , began with sixteen teams on April 8, 1987. It concluded on May 31, with the Edmonton Oilers defeating the Philadelphia Flyers to win the Stanley Cup.-Series:...
and 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs
1988 Stanley Cup playoffs
The 1988 Stanley Cup playoffs, the championship of the National Hockey League , began with sixteen teams on April 6, 1988. It concluded on May 26, with the Edmonton Oilers defeating the Boston Bruins to win the Stanley Cup.-Series:...
, Global aired NHL games
NHL on Global
NHL on Global is the de facto name of a former television program that broadcast National Hockey League games on the Global Television Network...
syndicated by Carling O'Keefe
Carling O'Keefe
Carling O'Keefe originated from Canadian Breweries Limited which was the first brewing conglomerate in Canada and is now owned by Molson Coors Brewing Company.-Carling 1840-1930:...
. Global was the longtime broadcaster of National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
football games in Canada, an association that ended in 2007 when 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...
outbid Global for the NFL broadcast package. The network continues to air coverage of The Masters and, on most stations, various PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...
events.
Beyond event coverage, many Global stations were well-known for local late-night sports highlights shows, such as Sportsline in Ontario, 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...
in Vancouver (later moved to former sister station CHEK
CHEK-TV
CHEK-DT, channel 6.1, is a television station based in Victoria, British Columbia and broadcasting to all of southwestern BC...
), and Sports Night in Edmonton. Most of these programs were later unified under the Global Sports brand. However, due to declining audiences, by fall 2005 all but the Ontario program had been cancelled, although stations continued to cover sports in their local newscasts. Global Ontario's sports program was finally cancelled in January 2007; at that point, the station closed its sports department entirely, and since then has outsourced sports news coverage to The Score (initially Rogers Sportsnet
Rogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
beforehand).
Some Global O&Os outside Ontario (such as Global BC and Global Edmonton) continue to feature locally produced sports segments on their local newscasts. On the other hand, the sports segments aired during local newscasts on Global Maritimes
CIHF-TV
CIHF-DT, channel 8, is a television station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Owned by Shaw Media, it serves the Maritime provinces as an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network...
and Global Quebec are produced from Global BC's studio, presented by that station's sports anchors.
Global Winnipeg
CKND-TV
CKND-DT is a television station that broadcasts from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the Manitoba outlet for the Global Television Network.-History:...
produces Fox Soccer Report
Fox Soccer Report
Fox Soccer Report is Fox Soccer Channel's flagship studio program. The show is produced by Fox Sports World Canada, a Canadian international sports network owned by Shaw Media , from CKND-TV's studios in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The show, formerly called Fox Sports World Report and Global SportsLink,...
for Fox Sports World Canada
Fox Sports World Canada
Fox Sports World Canada is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Shaw Media. FSWC's programming primarily features association football with select programming on other world sports such as rugby....
and Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer Channel
Fox Soccer is an American television specialty channel, owned by News Corporation's Fox Entertainment Group, that specializes in soccer. It formerly broadcast rugby and Australian rules football, but is now dedicated strictly to soccer...
in the United States, as well as other countries.
Global HD
In October 2004, Global launched an 1080i1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
simulcast of its Toronto station CIII
CIII-TV
CIII-DT-41 is a television station owned by Shaw Communications that serves much of the population of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a flagship station of the Global Television Network...
. At the time the service was only available via digital cable. On April 18, 2008, Global officially launched a transmitter in Toronto making the HD simulcast of CIII
CIII-TV
CIII-DT-41 is a television station owned by Shaw Communications that serves much of the population of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a flagship station of the Global Television Network...
available over-the-air. They also launched an HD simulcast of their Vancouver station (CHAN
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...
) on the same day.
Global HD is available nationally via satellite and on digital cable as well as for free via DTT
Digital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
using a regular TV antenna and a digital tuner (included in most new TVs) on the following channels:
- Toronto: 41 (41.1)
- Vancouver: 22 (8.1)
- Calgary: 41 (2.1)
- Edmonton: 13 (13.1)
- Winnipeg: 40 (9.1)
- Saskatoon: 42 (4.1)
- Lethbridge: 7 (7.1)
- Fredericton: 44 (11.1)
- Thunder Bay: 4 (4.1)
- Windsor: 22 (22.1)
- Saint John: 12 (12.1)
- Regina: 11 (11.1)
- Sherbrooke: 11 (11.1)
- Quebec City: 20 (20.2)
- Halifax: 8 (8.1)
- Montréal: 15 (15.1)
- Moncton: 27 (27.1)
- Ottawa: 6 (6.1)
- Paris: 6 (6.1)
- Midland: 7 (7.1)
Global stations
The Global network has long been much more decentralized than either CBC or CTV, or for that matter most American broadcast networks. For most programs, there is no "network" feed per se, and in effect every commercial break is a station break. National advertising is certainly available, but such ads are seamlessly integrated into local ad blocks.In fact, it is not uncommon to see different lengths of commercial breaks from one station to the next even during identical programming. This occurs even though all Global stations have had their master control operations centralized in Calgary since fall 2006.
More recently, with the exception of Global Toronto, stations now use sustained on-screen bugs using each station's full local brand as opposed to simply "Global".
- CalgaryCalgaryCalgary 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...
, AlbertaAlbertaAlberta 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...
- CICTCICT-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... - EdmontonEdmontonEdmonton 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...
, AlbertaAlbertaAlberta 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...
- CITVCITV-TVCITV-DT is a television station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Known on air as Global Edmonton, the station is owned by Shaw Media, and is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network. It transmits on channel 13 and cable 8 in Edmonton, and is carried on the Bell TV and Shaw... - Halifax, Nova ScotiaNova ScotiaNova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
- CIHFCIHF-TVCIHF-DT, channel 8, is a television station in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Owned by Shaw Media, it serves the Maritime provinces as an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network... - KelownaKelownaKelowna is a city on Okanagan Lake in the Okanagan Valley, in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Its name derives from a Okanagan language term for "grizzly bear"...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish 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...
- CHBCCHBC-TVCHBC-TV is a television station in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada owned by Shaw Media. It transmits on channel 2, and cable channel 4, and broadcasts on 18 relay stations.... - LethbridgeLethbridgeLethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...
, AlbertaAlbertaAlberta 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...
- CISA - MontrealMontrealMontreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
- CKMICKMI-TVCKMI-DT-1 is the Global Television Network owned-and-operated station in Quebec.Originally a privately owned CBC Television affiliate in Quebec City, the station moved most of its operations to Montreal in 1997 after launching a rebroadcaster there and becoming a Global affiliate as Global Quebec... - Regina, SaskatchewanRegina, SaskatchewanRegina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
- CFRECFRE-TVCFRE-DT is a television station which broadcasts from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is part of the Global Television Network.-History:The station was launched on September 6, 1987 by Canwest... - SaskatoonSaskatoonSaskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, SaskatchewanSaskatchewanSaskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
- CFSKCFSK-TVCFSK-DT is a television station which broadcasts from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is part of the Global Television Network.-History:The station was launched on September 6, 1987 by Canwest... - TorontoTorontoToronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, 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....
- CIIICIII-TVCIII-DT-41 is a television station owned by Shaw Communications that serves much of the population of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a flagship station of the Global Television Network...
(flagship)Flagship stationIn broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast which originates a television network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls... - VancouverVancouverVancouver 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,...
, British ColumbiaBritish ColumbiaBritish 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...
- CHANCHAN-TVCHAN-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...
(flagship)Flagship stationIn broadcasting, a flagship is the broadcast which originates a television network, or a particular radio show or TV show, primarily in the United States and Canada. This includes both direct network feeds and broadcast syndication, but generally not backhauls... - WinnipegWinnipegWinnipeg 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...
, ManitobaManitobaManitoba 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...
- CKNDCKND-TVCKND-DT is a television station that broadcasts from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the Manitoba outlet for the Global Television Network.-History:...
Several affiliates predate the first appearance of the Global banner in 1974. Specifically, CKMI-TV
CKMI-TV
CKMI-DT-1 is the Global Television Network owned-and-operated station in Quebec.Originally a privately owned CBC Television affiliate in Quebec City, the station moved most of its operations to Montreal in 1997 after launching a rebroadcaster there and becoming a Global affiliate as Global Quebec...
, CICT-TV
CICT-TV
CICT-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...
, CHBC-TV
CHBC-TV
CHBC-TV is a television station in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada owned by Shaw Media. It transmits on channel 2, and cable channel 4, and broadcasts on 18 relay stations....
and CISA-TV launched in the 1950s as 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...
affiliates, while 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...
launched in 1960 and soon became Vancouver's original 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. All of these were eventually supplanted by network-owned stations or transmitters.
Most of these stations serve their entire province or region through a network of relay stations as a part of the key station's licence, although some of their transmitters may air separate advertising targeted to their local community.
Affiliates
- In Thunder Bay, OntarioThunder Bay, OntarioThunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario, and the second most populous in Northern Ontario after Greater Sudbury...
, CHFD-TVCHFD-TVCHFD-DT, channel 4 , is a television station in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada owned by Dougall Media. It also has a repeater in Armstrong and is available on the Bell TV and Shaw Direct satellite services...
is an affiliate of Global, having joined the network on February 12, 2010.
Other affiliations
- Independent station CJON-TVCJON-TVCJON-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...
("NTV", St. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorSt. John's, Newfoundland and LabradorSt. 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 sometimes considered a Global affiliate, as Global is now that station's primary source of programming. However, NTV does not always carry the full Global lineup, and continues to air some CTV specials, as well as national newscasts from both networks. - CJBN-TVCJBN-TVCJBN-TV, channel 13, is a television station based in Kenora, Ontario, Canada and affiliated with the CTV network. It can also be seen on cable TV channel 4 in the Kenora area, as well as on the Bell TV and Shaw Direct satellite services. The station adopted the CJTV brand in the early 2000s, but...
, the CTV affiliate in Kenora, 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....
, is currently the only conventional station to use Global programming as a secondary programming source. CJBN is coincidentally also owned by Shaw Communications, although this programming has aired on CJBN since well before Shaw bought either the Kenora station or Global itself.
See also
- List of Global Television Network personalities
- 2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment2007 Canada broadcast TV realignmentIn 2007, significant ownership changes occurred in Canada's broadcast television industry, involving nearly every network and television system. In addition to the shuffling of television network affiliations and network mergers, several new broadcast translators and new television stations also...