CBC Hamilton is the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

's digital-only local news operation serving the city of

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, which launched on May 9, 2012. The operation currently consists of a Hamilton-focused section within the national CBC.ca website, and presences on various social media platforms. The operation was announced on November 1, 2011 as part of the public broadcaster's five year (2011-2015) strategic plan for improving service to various regions across Canada. Unlike most of the other new or expanded regional services that are part of the 2015 strategic plan, the Hamilton operation will not include an over-the-air broadcasting component, due to financial considerations and the fact that Hamilton is within the coverage range of the main transmitters of the corporation's

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

stations, including

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

CBLT CBLT-DT (channel 5) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the English-language service of CBC Television. It is part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé outlet CBLFT-DT (channel 25). B ...

and

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

CBLA CBLA-FM (99.1 MHz) is a non-commercial Canadian radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the station is the flagship station of the CBC Radio One network, broadcasting a mix of news and tal ...

, which focus their local programming on that city. Moreover, the availability of open radio frequencies in the Toronto-Hamilton region is extremely limited. In the wake of

Bell Canada Bell Canada (commonly referred to as Bell) is a Canadian telecommunications company headquartered at 1 Carrefour Alexander-Graham-Bell in the borough of Verdun in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is an ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) in t ...

's attempts to acquire

Astral Media Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...

, Hamilton councillor Brian McHattie called for the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

to require that the combined company divest a station to the CBC, to permit the launch of a radio station serving Hamilton. A motion to the CRTC regarding this suggestion was passed unanimously by

Hamilton City Council Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Since 21 November 1960, Council has met at Hamilton City Hall at 71 Main Street West. The current council consists of the mayor In many countries, a mayor i ...

on March 27, 2013. While it did require Bell to divest two FM stations in Toronto when it approved the Bell-Astral merger, the CRTC did not impose a requirement that one of the stations be sold to the CBC; both stations were instead acquired by other private commercial broadcasters.

References

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External links

CBC Hamilton
Mass media in Hamilton, Ontario Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Internet properties established in 2012 2012 establishments in Ontario