CBKFT-DT (channel 13) is an Ici Radio-Canada Télé station in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

, Canada, serving the province's

Fransaskois Fransaskois (), (cf. Québécois people, Québécois), Franco-Saskatchewanais () or Franco-Saskatchewanians are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Saskatchewan. According to t ...

population. It is part of a

twinstick A duopoly (or twinstick, referring to "stick" as jargon for a radio tower) is a situation in television and radio broadcasting in which two or more stations in the same city or community share common ownership. United States In the United States, ...

with CBC Television station CBKT-DT (channel 9). The two outlets share studios with

sister A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

radio stations CBK and

CBK-FM CBK-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts the programming of the CBC Music network at 96.9 FM in Regina, Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Nort ...

at the CBC Regina Broadcast Centre at 2440 Broad Street in Downtown Regina; CBKFT-DT's transmitter is located near McDonald Street/ Highway 46, just northeast of Regina proper.

History

CBKFT was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on June 9, 1975 and launched on September 27, 1976 by the CBC as a rebroadcaster of CBWFT in

Winnipeg, Manitoba 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 ...

, with reception in both Regina and

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

(though reception in Saskatoon was initially spotty, with the city not receiving CBKFT's complete broadcast schedule at first). In 1985, CBKFT was granted a licence with 11 new transmitters and began operating as its own television station separate from CBWFT. Initially the station was based solely out of Regina, but it now has studio facilities in the

Hutchinson Building The Hutchinson Building is a landmark building located in downtown Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and ...

in Saskatoon; the same building as the now-defunct English-language CBC station CBKST, which closed in July 2012.

Technical information

Subchannel

Analogue-to-digital conversion

On August 31, 2011, when Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory markets transitioned from analogue to digital broadcasts, CBKFT

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 VHF channel 13 in order for those repeaters/stations to avoid interference from the Regina and Saskatoon stations. 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 ...

, television receivers will list CBKFT-DT's virtual channel number as 13.1. CBC had originally decided that none of its rebroadcasters will transition to digital. Also, the CBC had originally planned to not convert any non-originating stations in mandatory markets to digital, which would have forced CBKFT-1 in Saskatoon to sign off on the transition date. On August 16, 2011, the CRTC granted the CBC permission to continue operating 22 repeaters in mandatory markets, including CBKFT-1, in analogue until August 31, 2012, by which time the transmitter had to convert to digital or shut down. (

Lloydminster Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administrati ...

, another mandatory market, had no local Radio-Canada transmitter.)

Former transmitters

CBKFT operated 12 analog over-the-air television rebroadcasters broadcasting in Saskatchewan. 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 analog transmitters on July 31, 2012.Speaking notes for Hubert T. Lacroix regarding measures announced in the context of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan
/ref> None of CBC or Radio-Canada's television rebroadcasters were converted to digital.

References

External links

ICI Saskatchewan
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cbkft-Dt BKFT-DT BKFT-DT Fransaskois culture Television channels and stations established in 1976 1976 establishments in Saskatchewan