CKCK-DT (PatrZDZ's vision)

**CKCK-DT** (channel 2) is a television station in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Globemedia, the station maintains studios and transmitter facilities on Eastgate Drive and Highway 1, just east of Regina proper.

## History

CKCK first signed on the air on July 28, 1954, as the first privately owned television station in Western Canada. It was originally owned by the Sifton family, which also owned the *Regina Leader-Post* and CKCK radio. It was originally a CBC Television affiliate. Shortly after signing on, it took a secondary affiliation with American broadcast network CBS. In 1962, as part of a deal that allowed CTV to come to Saskatchewan, CKCK opened a rebroadcaster in Moose Jaw. In return, Moose Jaw's original station, CHAB-TV, switched to CTV and opened a semi-satellite in Regina, CHRE-TV.

The station swapped affiliations with CHAB/CHRE and joined CTV when the latter stations were purchased by the CBC. As a result of this deal, CHRE changed its call letters to CBKRT and became the main station; it is now CBKT.

In 1977, CKCK was sold to Harvard Developments, owned by Regina's Hill family. In 1985, Baton Broadcasting acquired a 90 percent stake in the station (the remaining 10 percent would soon follow), bringing it under common ownership with CTV's other Saskatchewan affiliates—CFQC in Saskatoon, CICC in Yorkton, and CIPA in Prince Albert. In 1987, these stations and Baton's two privately owned CBC affiliates in Saskatchewan, CKOS in Yorkton and CKBI in Prince Albert, began branding as the "Saskatchewan Television Network," which linked up with Baton's Ontario stations as the Baton Broadcast System in 1994.

Following Baton's acquisition of CTV in 1997, CKCK became a CTV owned-and-operated station. Local programming today is limited primarily to the station's popular newscasts.

From the 1970s through the late 1980s, CKCK branded itself as "CKTV", but its official call letters remained CKCK-TV. During this period, though, the station did acquire the CKTV calls for its Fort Qu'Appelle retransmitter. That station is now CKCK-TV-7; "CKTV" is currently used the call sign for a Radio-Canada owned-and-operated station in Saguenay, Quebec. Nevertheless, while the station identifies itself only as CTV, many people in southern Saskatchewan still call the station "CKTV" or "CK".

In December 2008, Bell Globemedia applied to the CRTC to operate an HD feed of CKCK-TV, which would be delivered as a "satellite-to-cable" feed. The move would allow CKCK to operate an HD signal which could be substituted in place of American HD signals on local cable services, without actually operating an over-the-air digital television transmitter.

As with its Saskatoon sister station, CKCK's programming is aired in pattern with that of Winnipeg station CKY-DT, with prime time programming running from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. simultaneously with East Coast stations, and CTV's 7:00 p.m. ET programming bumped to 10:00 p.m. However, as Saskatchewan does not observe daylight saving time and remains on Central Standard Time year-round, programming is delayed by an hour in comparison to CKY when DST is in effect. In March, the station also broadcasts the annual *Telemiracle* telethon (which alternates between Regina and Saskatoon on a yearly cycle), supporting the Kinsmen and Kinettes of Saskatchewan. The event is simulcast by all CTV stations in Saskatchewan.

## News operation

CKCK-DT presently broadcasts 34½ hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6½ hours each weekday and one hour each on Saturdays and Sundays).

On October 31, 2011, CKCK debuted a three-hour morning newscast under the title *CKCK News Morning Live*, which airs on weekdays 6–9 a.m.

On July 28, 2014, CKCK began producing newscasts in high definition, and introduced a new studio as part of the migration.

CKCK's newscasts are also broadcast by CICC-TV in Yorkton, since that station does not broadcast a local 6:00 or 11:30 p.m. newscast. As a result, CKCK's program regularly includes reports from Yorkton.

## Technical information

### Analogue-to-digital conversion

On August 31, 2011, when Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory markets transitioned from analogue to digital broadcasts, CKCK flash cut its digital signal into operation on VHF channel 8 at 12:05 a.m. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display CKCK-DT's virtual channel as 2.1. The station's high definition feed began to be carried on Bell Satellite TV channel 1106 on September 12, 2011.