page_title: CHAN-DT
section_title: News operation
hierarchical_section_title: CHAN-DT / News operation
caption_attribution_description: English: Global BC's live van.
context_page_description: CHAN-DT, virtual channel 8, is a Global owned-and-operated television station licensed to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, serving as the network's West Coast flagship outlet. The station is owned by Corus Entertainment. CHAN-DT's studios are located on Enterprise Street in the suburban city of Burnaby, which also houses Global's national news centre. The station's transmitter is located atop Mount Seymour.
  On cable, CHAN-DT is available on Shaw Cable channels 11 and 211 in the Vancouver area. On satellite, it is carried on Bell Satellite TV channel 1152, and Shaw Direct channel 212.
context_section_description: CHAN-DT presently broadcasts 47½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 7½ hours on weekdays and 5 hours on Saturdays and Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the highest local newscast output among Global's television stations (either owned-and-operated or affiliated), as well as among all Canadian television stations (after the drastic reduction of Hamilton, Ontario's CHCH-DT total weekly news programming due to budget cuts in December 2015).
  The station's Burnaby studios also serve as the production facilities for Global's Vancouver-based English national evening newscast Global National and the Shaw Multicultural Channel Mandarin national evening newscast Global National Mandarin (2012–2016). Unlike most Global stations that carry midday newscasts, CHAN airs its noon newscast seven days a week.
  The station's newscast schedule is very similar to that of an affiliate of the Big Three television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC) in the United States, although as Global lacks a national morning news program, CHAN's weekday morning newscast runs a length similar to that of many Fox and other news-producing non-Big Three U.S. stations.
  CHAN's news operation is well respected in the industry. Ever since the station first aired an hour-long newscast in the 1960s, a major part of the station's cash flow has gone into its news department, and it has garnered high ratings and major awards since then. The station's 6:00 p.m. News Hour broadcast has been the highest-rated local newscast in the province for many years, as well as the most-watched in all of Canada.
  The station's on-air news style was even used as an inspiration for Ted Turner's CNN, as both use the newsroom as a backdrop during the broadcast. The current newsroom was constructed in 1975; it was rebuilt in the early 1990s, moving the studio out of the newsroom, but keeping it as a backdrop, and was later remodeled in 2001 and 2006.
  Starting in the early 1990s, CHAN harboured ambitions of producing an early evening national newscast from its studios. In fact, several newscast pilots were produced at CHAN, suggesting the network was seriously considering such a move. However, that newscast never materialized; instead, CHAN began producing Canada Tonight, which aired on most WIC-owned stations beginning in 1993.
  Two versions were produced: one for British Columbia itself, hosted by CKNW radio commentator Bill Good (who later went to CTV's current Vancouver O&O station, CIVT-TV, and retired in December 2010) and a national version, hosted by Tony Parsons, who also anchored CHAN's nightly news program, the News Hour. When Canwest purchased CHAN, the stories that were once sourced from CTV's other affiliates throughout the country were replaced by stories sourced from Global's affiliates.
  From 2001, when the station became "Global BC", the news department underwent a minor retitling as BCTV News on Global. CHAN opted to keep the "BCTV" name for its newscasts, since that brand was still very well respected in the province; it also wanted to keep CIVT from using the name itself, as it contained the letters "CTV." In addition, CHAN became the headquarters for Global's national news centre and the production facility for a new national newscast, Global National (which is currently anchored by former CTV and NBC correspondent Dawna Friesen on weeknights and on weekends by Robin Gill; originally anchored beforehand by Kevin Newman), thus fulfilling its longstanding dream of producing a national newscast. The program is broadcast live-to-tape from Vancouver at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific Time Zone), airing locally prior to the 6:00 p.m. News Hour broadcast.
  The "BCTV" brand was finally discontinued when Global introduced its new logo and on-air identity on February 6, 2006; CHAN's newscasts were rebranded as Global News (with its overall branding changing to "Global BC") at this point. In 2006, Global struck an agreement with the Canadian Traffic Network to supply the station with a Robinson R44 news helicopter with gyroscopic camera mount
caption: Global BC's microwave ENG vans.
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