CBMT-DT

CBMT-DT, virtual channel 6 (UHF digital channel 21), is a CBC Television owned-and-operated station licensed to Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The station is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé flagship CBFT-DT (channel 2). The two stations share studios at Maison Radio-Canada on René Lévesque Boulevard East in Downtown Montreal; CBMT-DT's transmitter is located atop Mount Royal.

For the radio station in La Tabatière, Quebec that uses the calls "CBMT-FM", see CBVE-FM.
CBMT-DT
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
ChannelsDigital: 21 (UHF)
Virtual: 6.1 (PSIP)
BrandingCBC Montreal (general)
CBC Montreal News (newscasts)
SloganCanada's Public Broadcaster
Programming
AffiliationsCBC Television (O&O)
Ownership
OwnerCanadian Broadcasting Corporation
Sister stationsCBFT-DT, CBME-FM, CBM-FM, CBF-FM, CBFX-FM
History
First air dateJanuary 10, 1954 (1954-01-10)
Former channel number(s)Analogue:
6 (VHF, 1954–2011)
Former affiliationsSecondary:
Paramount Television Network (1954–1956)
Call sign meaningCanadian
Broadcasting Corporation
Montreal
Television
Technical information
Licensing authorityCRTC
ERP25 kW
HAAT300 m (984 ft)
Transmitter coordinates45°30′19″N 73°35′29″W
Links
WebsiteCBC Montreal

On cable, the station is available on Vidéotron Illico digital cable channel 6 in standard definition and channel 606 in high definition in the Montreal area. On Shaw Direct, it is carried on channels 301 (Classic) and 56 (Advanced), and in high definition on channels 44 (Classic) and 544 (Advanced). It is also available on Bell Satellite TV on channel 206 and in high definition on channel 1030; and on Bell Fibe TV on channel 205 and in high definition on channel 1205.

History

CBMT first signed on the air on January 10, 1954, as Montreal's second television station; previously, English and French-language programs had shared time on CBFT, Canada's first television station. By the end of 1953, Canada had about a dozen television stations either licensed or under construction, and American competition was about to arrive in Montreal with the construction of WCAX-TV in Burlington, Vermont and WIRI-TV in Plattsburgh, New York (now known as WPTZ). The CBC decided that it was imperative to stop time-sharing in English and in French, so CBMT was included in the network's expansion plans for television; upon its sign-on, CBMT became the exclusive English-language CBC station for Montreal; CBFT, simultaneous to this, became an exclusive French-language station.

The station was branded in the late 1970s and early 1980s as "Montreal 6", becoming "CBC Television Montreal 6" by the mid-1980s, and "CBC Television Montreal" during the 1990s. Since 1997, CBMT has been the only full-fledged CBC station in the province of Quebec. Previously, the only other CBC station in the province had been Quebec City's CKMI-TV. However, in 1997, CKMI switched its affiliation to the Global Television Network. CBMT set up a full-power rebroadcaster, CBVE, on CKMI's old channel 5, while CKMI moved to channel 20.

CBMT transmits from the Mount Royal candelabra tower, in Mount Royal Park, overlooking the city of Montreal. As a result, channel 6 experiences severe multipath interference in parts of the city and South Shore.

It was also previously seen unscrambled on C-band satellite but this has since ended in the early-2000s, when it switched to a proprietary digital satellite signal. When the signal was sent unscrambled on the C-band, many American satellite viewers tuned into CBMT for a variety of news, entertainment, and sports – particularly CBC's Hockey Night in Canada and Olympic Games television broadcasts, which gave a different perspective than the American broadcasts. That Canadian signal is still available, but it requires the purchase of a dedicated and expensive receiver, or a grey market subscription to a Canadian satellite service.

Due to several cutbacks over the years, master control for the station is now based at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto.

Former logo used for local programming from 2015–2019

News operation

CBMT-DT presently broadcasts 10 hours, 40 minutes of locally produced newscasts each week (with two hours each weekday, a half-hour on Saturdays and ten minutes on Sundays); in regards to the number of hours devoted to news programming, it is the lowest local newscast output out of any English-language television station in the Montreal market. CBMT airs local news programming for Montreal seven days a week. On weekdays, the station airs a 30-minute newscast at 6:00 pm to 6:30 p.m. and a half-hour newscast at 11 p.m. On weekends, Montreal at 6 airs on Saturdays for 30 minutes and a ten-minute summary airs on Sundays at 11 p.m.

Notable current on-air staff
  • Debra Arbec – weeknights anchor

Digital television

Digital channel
Channel Video Aspect PSIP Short Name Programming[1]
6.1720p16:9CBMT-DTMain CBMT-DT programming / CBC Television

CBMT-DT also operates a 2.75 Mbit/s ATSC-M/H Mobile DTV feed.

Analogue-to-digital conversion

CBMT began broadcasting its digital signal over-the-air on February 21, 2005.[2] On August 31, 2011, when Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory markets transitioned from analogue to digital broadcasts,[3] the station's digital signal remained on UHF channel 21. Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display CBMT-DT's virtual channel as 6.1.

Former transmitters

CBMT once operated over 50 analogue rebroadcasters throughout the province of Quebec and in three communities in northern Manitoba: Brochet, Poplar River, and Shamattawa.

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 analogue transmitters on July 31, 2012.[4] None of CBC or Radio-Canada's rebroadcasters were converted to digital.

Transmitters in mandatory markets were required to go digital or be taken off the air by the transition deadline of August 31, 2011. The CBC had originally decided that none of its rebroadcasters will transition to digital and instead will remain in analogue. The CBC had rebroadcasters of CBMT in the following mandatory markets:

On August 16, 2011, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted the CBC permission to continue operating 22 repeaters in mandatory markets, including the above, in analogue until August 31, 2012, by which time the transmitters had to be converted to digital or shut down.

Quebec
City of license[5] Call sign[6] Channel ERP (W) Notes
Alma CBJET-1 32 (UHF) 4,000
Baie-Comeau CBMIT 28 (UHF) 4,200
Blanc-Sablon CBMST 5 (VHF) 150
Chandler CBVB-TV 23 (UHF) 184
Chiborgamau CBMCT 4 (VHF) 276
Chicoutimi (Saguenay) CBJET 58 (UHF) 10,000
Chisasbi CBMGT 12 (VHF) 10
Escuminac CBVA-TV 18 (UHF) 5,200
Fermont CBMRT 9 (VHF) 18
Gaspe CBVG-TV 18 (UHF) 5,000
Harrington Harbour CBMUT 13 (VHF) 129
Iles-de-la-Madeline CBMYT 7 (VHF) 2,900
La Tavatiere CBMLT 10 (VHF) 62
La Tuque CBMET 9 (VHF) 103
Malartic CBVD-TV 5 (VHF) 9,300
Maniwaki CBVU-TV 15 (UHF)
Mistissini CBMDT 12 (VHF) 10
Murdochville CBMMT 21 (UHF) 30
New Carlisle CBVN-TV 45 (UHF) 5,300
New Richmond CBVR-TV 27 (UHF) 6,000
Nouveau Comploir CBMNT 12 (VHF) 10
Old Fort Bay CBMVT 13 (VHF) 10
Perce CBVP-TV 14 (UHF) 3,700
Port Daniel CBVF-TV 16 (UHF) 1,310
Quebec City CBVE-TV 5 (VHF) 13,850 Formerly CKMI-TV
Riviere St. Paul CBMPT 11 (VHF) 23
Schefferville CBSET-1 7 (VHF) 89
Sept-Îles CBSET 3 (VHF) 1,500
Sherbrooke CBMT-3 50 (UHF) 11,000
St. Augustin (Saguenay) CBMXT 7 (VHF) 10
Saguenay CBJET 58 (UHF)
Thetford Mines CBMT-4 32 1,140
Trois-Rivières CBMT-1 28 (UHF) 13,000
Wakeham CBVH-TV 24 (UHF) 100
Waskaganish CBMHT 12 (VHF) 10
Waswanipi CBVW-TV 10 (VHF) 5
Wemindji CBMNT 12 (VHF)

Northeast Ontario
City of licence Call sign Channel Notes
Armstrong CBLIT 10 Part of the licence for CBLT-DT/Toronto, but it repeated CBMT's signal.

Northern Manitoba
City of licence Call sign Channel ERP
Brochet CBDE-TV 9 (VHF)
Poplar River CBDI-TV 13 (VHF) 10
Shamattawa CBDG-TV 9 (VHF) 10

Audience outside Canada

CBMT also has substantial viewership in the United States, mostly from Maine to northeastern New York. It is also seen via cable television in Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and northern Minnesota; CBMT is the main CBC station for Charter Spectrum systems in Bay City, Midland, Mount Pleasant, Alpena and Marquette, Michigan.

CBMT is also broadcast in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago on Flow Cable[7] and in the Bahamas on Cable Bahamas.[8]

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See also

References
  1. RabbitEars TV Query for CBMT
  2. "CBC Television Montréal (CBMT)". Archived from the original on 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2011-03-25.
  3. "Digital Television – Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA)". Archived from the original on 2013-11-20. Retrieved 2013-07-13.
  4. Speaking notes for Hubert T. Lacroix regarding measures announced in the context of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan
  5. CBC Montreal January 2, 2006 sign-off. retronewfoundland. January 2, 2006 – via YouTube.
  6. “Microsoft Word - Analogue transmitters - emetteurs analogiques.docx”. CBC/Radio-Canada. Retrieved November 5, 2019.
  7. Flow Jamaica | Welcome – TV, Phone, and Internet Services from Flow
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-06-04. Retrieved 2008-06-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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