CBFT-DT (channel 2) is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the French-language service of Ici Radio-Canada Télé. It is owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as Société Radio-Canada) alongside CBC Television outlet CBMT-DT (channel 6). The two stations share studios at Maison Radio-Canada on René Lévesque Boulevard East in Downtown Montreal; CBFT-DT's transmitter is located atop Mount Royal.

CBFT-DT
Channels
BrandingICI Grand Montréal
Programming
AffiliationsIci Radio-Canada Télé
Ownership
OwnerSociété Radio-Canada
CBMT-DT, CBME-FM, CBM-FM, CBF-FM, CBFX-FM
History
First air date
September 6, 1952 (72 years ago) (1952-09-06)
Former call signs
CBFT (1952–2011)
Former channel number(s)
Analogue: 2 (VHF) (1952–2011)
CBC (secondary, 1952–1954)
Call sign meaning
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Français Télévision
Technical information
Licensing authority
CRTC
ERP25 kW
HAAT300 m (984 ft)
Transmitter coordinates45°30′19″N 73°35′29″W / 45.50528°N 73.59139°W / 45.50528; -73.59139
Links
WebsiteICI Grand Montréal

History

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CBFT was the first permanent television station in Canada (an experimental station, VE9EC, had been on the air in Montreal from 1931 to 1935). It launched on September 6, 1952, at 4 p.m., beating CBLT in Toronto by two days. The station went on the air with the movie Aladdin and His Lamp, followed by a cartoon, and then a French film, a news segment and a bilingual variety show.[1] The station aired programming in both French (60 percent) and English (40 percent), a practice common for many stations in Quebec at the time.

This continued until January 10, 1954, when CBMT was launched on VHF channel 6. At that time, all English programming moved to CBMT, while CBFT became a purely French-language station as the flagship of the Télévision de Radio-Canada network for francophone viewers. CBMT's sign-on was hastened by the planned launch of television stations across the border in Burlington, Vermont, and Plattsburgh, New York.

Prior to the digital transition, CBFT operated a translator network that stretched across most of Quebec, parts of Ontario, and most of northern Canada (Northwest Territories and Nunavut). Due to a lack of sources for alternative programming, most Radio-Canada stations are effectively semi-satellites of CBFT. For the most part, their schedules are largely identical to those of CBFT, other than commercials and regional news. This was the case for privately owned Radio-Canada affiliates before the last such station closed in 2021.

Technical information

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Subchannel

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Subchannel of CBFT-DT
Channel Res. Aspect Short name Programming[2]
2.1 720p 16:9 CBFT-DT Main CBFT-DT programming / Ici Radio-Canada Télé

Analogue-to-digital conversion

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CBFT began broadcasting its digital signal on March 22, 2005.[3] On August 31, 2011, when Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory markets transitioned from analogue to digital broadcasts,[4] the station's digital signal remained on UHF channel 19, using virtual channel 2.

Former rebroadcasters

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CBFT had over 30 analogue television rebroadcasters throughout rural Quebec and Labrador. Due to federal funding reductions to the CBC, in April 2012, the CBC responded with substantial budget cuts, which included shutting down CBC's and Radio-Canada's remaining analogue transmitters on July 31, 2012.[5] None of CBC or Radio-Canada's rebroadcasters were converted to digital.

Quebec

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City of licence Call sign[6] Channel ERP
(W)[7]
Notes
Aguanish CBST-7 8 (VHF) 326
Baie-Comeau CBST-19 7 (VHF) 1,590
Baie-Johan-Beetz CBST-8 7 (VHF) 1
Bearn/Fabre CKRN-TV-3 3 (VHF)
Beauceville CBVT-6 6 (VHF) 4
Blanc-Sablon CBST-17 3 (VHF) 150
Cap-Chat CBGAT-6 2 (VHF) 39
Carleton CBGAT-14 2 (VHF) 3,200
Causapscal CBGAT-5 9 (VHF) 11
Chandler CBGAT-15 8 (VHF) 184
Chapais CBFAT-1 12 (VHF) 5
Chibougamau CBFAT 5 (VHF) 665
Chisasibi CBFGT 9 (VHF) 10
Clermont CBSAT 21 (VHF) 10
Cloridorme CBGAT-16 8 (VHF) 85
Fermont CBFT-13 7 (VHF) 20 Formerly CBST-5
Gaspe CBGAT-17 9 (VHF) 1,800
Gethsémani/La Romaine CBST-9 9 (VHF) 10
Grande-Vallee, Quebec CBGAT-3 6 (VHF) 587
Cros-Morne CBGAT-9 4 (VHF) 5
Harrington-Harbour CBST-11 8 (VHF) 129
Havre-Saint-Pierre CBST-1 12 (VHF) 16
Ile du Havre Aubert CBIMT-1 16 (UHF) 55
Îles-de-la-Madeleine CBIMT 12 (VHF) 2,800
Inukjuak CBFI-TV 9 (VHF)
Kuujjuaq CBFQ-TV 9 (VHF)
Kuujjuarapik CBFK-TV 9 (VHF)
La Tabatière CBST-13 4 (VHF) 78
La Tuque CBFT-14 3 (VHF) 15,400 Formerly CBVT-3
Lac-Etchemin CBVT-4 55 (UHF) 400
Lac-Humqui CBGAT-19 24 (UHF) 100
Lac-Megantic CBVT-3 12 (VHF) 10
L'Anse-a-Valleau CBGAT-18 10 (VHF) 10
Les Mechins CBGAT-23 10 (VHF)
Longue-Pointe-De-Min CBST-18 6 (VHF) 98
Manouane CBFT-5 5 (VHF) 10
Marsoui CBGAT-8 12 (VHF) 10
Matane CBGAT 6 (VHF) 3,700
Mistassini CBFMT 9 (VHF) 10
Mont-Climont CBGAT-1 13 (VHF) 709
Mont-Laurier CBFT-2 3 (VHF) 13,700
Mont-Louis CBGAT-4 2 (VHF) 62
Mont-Louis-en-Haut CBGAT-10 19 (UHF) 5,100
Mont-St-Michel CBFT-9 16 (UHF) 3,000
Mont-Tremblant CBFT-1 11 (VHF) 1,600
Murdochville CBGAT-2 10 (VHF) 1,530
Notre-Dame-Des-Monts CBSNT 40 (UHF) 100
Obedjiwan CBFT-6 10 (VHF) 1
Old Fort Bay CBST-15 7 (VHF) 5
Parent CBFT-4 12 (VHF) 10
Percé CBGAT-28 11 (VHF) 20
Port Daniel CBGAT-21 7 (VHF) 170
Povungnituk CBFP-TV 9 (VHF) 10
Radisson CBFRT 8 (VHF) 180
Riviere-A-Claude CBGAT-13 4 (VHF) 10
Riviere-Au-Renard CBGAT-22 2 (VHF) 2,900
Riviere-au-Tonnerre CBST-6 7 (VHF) 1,600
Riviere-St-Paul CBST-16 21 (UHF) 89
Salluit CBFS-TV 9 (VHF) 10
Schefferville CBFT-8 9 (VHF) 89
Sept-Îles CBST 13 (VHF) 8,400
St-Augustin CBST-14 2 (VHF)
Ste-Anne-des-Monts CBGAT-11 8 (VHF) 45,000
St-Fabien-de-Panet CBVT-5 13 (VHF)
St-Marc De Latour CJBR-TV-1 9 (VHF)
St-Michel-des-Saints CBFT-3 7 (VHF)
Stoneham CBVT-8 44 (UHF) 5
St-Pamphile CBSPT 3 (VHF)
St-Rene-de-Matane CBGAT-7 30 (UHF)
Témiscaming CBFST-2 12 (VHF) 7,000
Tête-à-la-Baleine CBST-12 6 (VHF) 5
Tewkesbury CBVT-7 7 (VHF) 5
Thetford Mines CBVT-9 21 (UHF) 5
Ville-Marie CKRN-TV-2 6 (VHF) 5
Waskaganish CBFHT 9 (VHF)
Waswanipi CBFV-TV 10 (VHF) 5
Wemindji CBFWT 9 (VHF)
Weymont CBFT-7 6 (VHF)

Labrador

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City of licence Call sign Channel ERP
(W)
Notes
Churchill Falls CBFT-11 13 (VHF) 5 Formerly CBST-4[8]
Labrador City CBFT-12 11 (VHF) Formerly CBST-3[8]
Port Au Port CBFNT 13 (VHF) 14,000[9]
CBFNT-1 4 (VHF) 291[9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "CBC Television debuts". CBC.ca. January 19, 2011.
  2. ^ RabbitEars TV Query for CBFT-DT
  3. ^ "Télévision de Radio-Canada Montreal (CBFT-TV)". Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "Digital Television – Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA)". Archived from the original on November 20, 2013. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  5. ^ "Speaking notes for Hubert T. Lacroix regarding measures announced in the context of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan". April 4, 2012. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012.
  6. ^ “Microsoft Word - Analogue transmitters - emetteurs analogiques.docx”. CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  7. ^ TV & Cable Factbook (65th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Warren Communications News. 1997. p. B-349, B-350, and B-351.
  8. ^ a b TV & Cable Factbook (65th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Warren Communications News. 1997. p. B-323.
  9. ^ a b TV & Cable Factbook (65th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Warren Communications News. 1997. p. B-324.
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