CHNU-DT (channel 66) is a
religious
Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
serving southwestern
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada, including
Greater Vancouver
Greater Vancouver, also known as Metro Vancouver, is the metropolitan area with its major urban centre being the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The term "Greater Vancouver" is roughly coterminous with the geographic area governed b ...
,
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, the
Fraser Valley
The Fraser Valley is a geographical region in southwestern British Columbia, Canada and northwestern Washington State. It starts just west of Hope in a narrow valley encompassing the Fraser River and ends at the Pacific Ocean stretching from the ...
and surrounding areas. Licensed to the
Fraser Valley Regional District
The Fraser Valley Regional District (FVRD) is a regional district in British Columbia, Canada. Its headquarters are in the city of Chilliwack. The FVRD covers an area of 13,361.74 km² (5,159 sq mi). It was created in 1995 by ...
, the station is owned by
ZoomerMedia
ZoomerMedia Limited is a Canadian media company controlled by Moses Znaimer, the founder of the Citytv network. Originally focusing on properties targeting what the company calls "zoomers", or the 45+ demographic, in 2022, the company began expan ...
and is branded on air as
Joytv
Joytv is a Television in Canada, Canadian television brand owned by ZoomerMedia. Joytv was formerly a television system formed in September 2008, comprising two religious independent stations acquired from Rogers Media by S-VOX. The stations c ...
. CHNU-DT's studios are located on 192 Street/
Highway 10 in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, and its transmitter is located on
Mount Seymour
Mount Seymour is a mountain located in Mount Seymour Provincial Park in the District of North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is a part of the North Shore Mountains, rising to the north from the shores of Burrard Inlet and Indian Arm t ...
.
History
CHNU-TV was licensed in July 2000 by 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 ...
(CRTC) to Trinity Television Inc. Trinity Television initially requested to assign CFVT as the station's call letters (standing for "Fraser Valley Television"); however, this was denied by
Industry Canada
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; french: Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada; french: ISDE, label=none)''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal I ...
. The station first signed on the air on September 15, 2001, under the CHNU callsign. In any case, the call letters had not featured prominently in the station's on-air branding, as the station opted to use the on-air brand "NOWTV". CHNU relied on television advertisements and donations from viewers for financial support.
On November 1, 2004, Trinity Television announced that it was selling CHNU and the licence for a yet-to-be-launched and similarly formatted television station in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
CIIT-TV
CIIT-DT (channel 35) is a religious independent television station in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, owned by ZoomerMedia. The station's studios are located on Osborne Street and Wardlaw Avenue in Winnipeg, and its transmitter is located near Courch ...
, to
Rogers Communications
Rogers Communications Inc. is a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian communications and media company operating primarily in the fields of mobile phone operator, wireless communications, cable television, telephony and Internet access, Intern ...
, subject to CRTC approval. The financial difficulties Trinity experienced with operating CHNU and getting CIIT on the air, combined with the fact that it could not raise capital from outside investors because of its status as a charitable organization, were the main reasons given for the sale. The deal was approved several months later, finally giving Rogers a broadcast television station in the Vancouver market, where it had lost bids to launch one in the past. At the same time, Rogers received approval to operate a
rebroadcast transmitter in Victoria on UHF channel 21, broadcasting at an
effective radiated power
Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
of 720
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s. In 2006, the transmitter's power wa
increasedto 17.2
kilowatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s, with the tower height being decreased to compensate.
After acquiring the station from Trinity Television, Rogers announced in late June 2005 that the station would join the Rogers-owned
Omni Television
Omni Television (stylized as OMNI Television) is a Canadian television system and specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. It currently consists of all six of Canada's conventional multicultural t ...
system. The Omni brand had previously been associated only with
multicultural
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
stations. The rebranding occurred in September of that year, making CHNU the third station in the Omni television system.
On September 28, 2007, Rogers' purchase of the
Citytv
Citytv is a Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The licence of the original Citytv station, granted the callsign of CITY-TV by the CRTC on November 25, 1971 to Cable Television Ass ...
stations formerly owned by
CHUM Limited
CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHU ...
was approved (although
CTVglobemedia
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
sold off the stations the previous year). As a condition of approval, Rogers had to sell CHNU and CIIT in Winnipeg due to the CRTC's restrictions on owning multiple television stations broadcasting in the same language in a single market. Rogers had a one-year grace period to find a buyer. Rogers subsequently announced plans to purchase Vancouver multilingual station
CHNM-DT
CHNM-DT (channel 42) is a multicultural television station licensed to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, part of the Omni Television network. It is owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media alongside Citytv station CKVU-DT (channel 10). B ...
(channel 42), which the company argued would not violate any ownership restrictions under the CRTC's exemptions for stations broadcasting in different languages. On October 31, 2007, CHNU was rebranded "CHNU 10" in order to limit viewer confusion because Rogers' contemporaneous acquisition of CHNM-TV meant that the Omni Television brand would be transferred to that station in 2008.
On November 6, 2007, Rogers announced that CHNU and CIIT would be sold to
S-VOX
S-VOX Foundation was a Canadian non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated fo ...
, owner of
VisionTV
VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic.
VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...
, with no financial deals being released. The deal was approved by the CRTC on March 31, 2008. The sale was finalized on April 30, 2008 and S-VOX assumed control of the station on May 26 of that year. S-VOX soon announced that both CHNU and CIIT would rebrand as "Joytv". CHNU rebranded on September 1, 2008 using the on-air brand "Joytv 10".
In June 2009, S-VOX announced it would sell its broadcasting assets, including CHNU, to
ZoomerMedia
ZoomerMedia Limited is a Canadian media company controlled by Moses Znaimer, the founder of the Citytv network. Originally focusing on properties targeting what the company calls "zoomers", or the 45+ demographic, in 2022, the company began expan ...
, a company controlled by
Moses Znaimer
Moses Znaimer (; born 1942) is a Tajik-born Canadian media executive of jewish descent. He is the co-founder and former head of Citytv, the first independent television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the current head of ZoomerMedia. ...
. The sale was approved by the CRTC on March 30, 2010. ZoomerMedia assumed control of S-VOX's broadcasting assets on June 30, 2010. ZoomerMedia closed the Joytv system in 2011. The Joytv brand was retained for CHNU, while CIIT was converted into a religious station under the moniker "HopeTV" now currently known as "FaithTV".
Programming
CHNU features a variety of multi-faith programming. The station also formerly aired a very diverse selection of general entertainment
syndicated programming, ranging from
sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
s (such as ''
Reba'' and ''
My Name Is Earl
''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Jaso ...
''),
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
s (such as ''
Stargate SG-1
''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction Adventure fiction, adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Stargate, ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wrigh ...
'' and ''
Supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
'') to classic programs (such as ''
Matlock'' and ''
Ironside''), which was dropped in the fall of 2017 in favor of a traditional religious format similar to Winnipeg sister station CIIT. The station also airs a sizeable amount of multicultural religious programming as well, particularly centering on the
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
,
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
,
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
faiths.
Local productions
''The Standard''
''The Standard'' was a news and current affairs program that debuted on CHNU in September 2005. The locally produced program focused on national and international issues, but from a religious and spiritual standpoint. Cancelled for the final time in August 2010, reruns of ''The Standard'' continue to be seen on CHNU, CIIT and Vision TV; it also formerly aired weekly on
CFMT in
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 ...
and
Viceland Canada. The final host of the series was Peter Klein, former producer of the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
newsmagazine ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
''; previous hosts included Randall Mark, Andrew Dawson, Rafe Mair, Mark Schneider, Russ Froese and Salimah Ebrahim. The field interviewer position was held by Shannon Nelson, and previously Laura-Lynn Tyler.
Following an initial three-year run that included feature interviews with the likes of Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe
Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...
;
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
; author
Salman Rushdie
Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...
;
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
winner Dr.
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi ( fa, شيرين عبادى, Širin Ebādi; born 21 June 1947) is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi wa ...
; and HRH
Prince Edward, the program was cancelled and ended after the June 6, 2008 broadcast; it was subsequently replaced by ''The Daily'' when S-VOX took over ownership of the station. It was relaunched in September 2009 as a weekly program hosted by Klein. The program was co-created in 2005 by producer Jonathan Roth (who remained as senior producer throughout the program's run) and station general manager Terry Mahoney.
''The Daily''
''The Daily'' was a talk show that debuted on June 9, 2008, hosted by
Mark Washington and Laura-Lynn Thompson. ''The Daily'' was also broadcast nationally on VisionTV. The program was broadcast from facilities at the
Shaw Tower in
Downtown Vancouver
Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...
. The program was cancelled on April 15, 2009.
Technical information
Subchannel
Spectrum repacking
In April 2017, Industry Canada posted new channel assignments for stations as a result of spectrum repacking due to the U.S. 600 MHz spectrum auction. In under five years, CHNU-DT will move to channel 24, which as of April 2017, is occupied by K24IC-D, a translator of
KBTC-TV
KBTC-TV (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Tacoma, Washington, United States, serving the Seattle area as a member of PBS. Owned by Bates Technical College. KBTC-TV maintains studios and transmitter facilities separately in Tacom ...
in
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...
.
Analogue-to-digital conversion
The CRTC granted approval for CHNU to broadcast a digital signal on UHF channel 47 with a stronger transmitter from Abbotsford that would cover most of the Lower Mainland, doubling its coverage area in comparison to that of its analogue transmitter. CHNU
flash cut
A flash cut, also called a flash cutover, is an immediate change in a complex system, with no phase-in period.
In the United States, some telephone area codes were split or overlaid immediately, rather than being phased in with a permissive dia ...
its digital signal into operation on
UHF channel 47, on August 31, 2011, the official date in which Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory
markets
Market is a term used to describe concepts such as:
* Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand
* Market economy
*Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market
Geography
*Märket, a ...
transitioned from analogue to digital broadcasts,
[Digital Television – Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA)](_blank)
(the allocation was previously occupied by the pre-transition digital signal of Citytv O&O sister
CKVU (channel 10)). Through the use of
PSIP
The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) is the MPEG (a video and audio industry group) and privately defined program-specific information originally defined by General Instrument for the DigiCipher 2 system and later extended for the AT ...
, digital television receivers display CHNU-DT's
virtual channel
In most telecommunications organizations, a virtual channel is a method of remapping the ''program number'' as used in H.222 Program Association Tables and Program Mapping Tables to a channel number that can be entered via digits on a receiver's ...
as its analogue-era UHF channel 66, which was among the high band UHF channels (52–69) that were removed from broadcasting use as a result of the transition.
The CRTC also approved a digital transmitter to serve as a rebroadcaster for CHNU on UHF channel 21 in Victoria, also with a greater coverage area. Although the station is based out of Surrey, British Columbia, the transmitter tower is located in Abbotsford and analog broadcasts were at an insufficient power level to be viewed in many Greater Vancouver municipalities, including the city of Vancouver proper.
According to the station's website, CHNU primarily targets viewers in the Fraser Valley, Vancouver and Victoria.
See also
*
2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chnu-Dt
Fraser Valley Regional District
Christian television stations in Canada
Television channels and stations established in 2001
HNU-DT
2001 establishments in British Columbia
ZoomerMedia