CHEK-DT

CHEK-DT is a privately owned independent television station serving viewers in Victoria, Vancouver Island and parts of Greater Vancouver. The station broadcasts on channel 6 and operates from studios on Kings Road in Victoria, with its transmitter located on Mount Warburton Pike on Saturna Island. Its identity is closely associated with locally produced news and public-affairs programming, complemented by syndicated entertainment, films, acquired American series, infomercials and other scheduled programming. The station began broadcasting on December 1, 1956, as a privately owned CBC affiliate. It was founded by David Armstrong, who also owned Victoria radio station CKDA. CHEK was for many years the only local television service on Vancouver Island and remains one of British Columbia's oldest private television stations. In 1963, businessman Frank Griffiths acquired the station. Griffiths also controlled Vancouver CTV affiliate CHAN-TV, and CHEK subsequently developed a schedule combining CBC programs, CTV programming, CHAN-originated material, local productions and syndicated shows. CHEK progressively expanded its CTV presence during the late 1970s and became a full-time CTV affiliate in January 1981, after ending its CBC affiliation. Western International Communications acquired a controlling interest in 1982 and bought the remaining interest in 1989. The station moved from its original Saanich facilities to its Kings Road studios in 1984. In 2000, Canwest Global Communications acquired Western International Communications. This led to a major affiliation realignment in southwestern British Columbia in 2001. CHEK left CTV and joined Canwest's CH system, adopting the name CH Vancouver Island and carrying a schedule similar to that of CHCH in Hamilton. In 2007, the station reverted to the CHEK News identity for its local newscasts while broader programming was associated with Canwest's E! system. Canwest announced in 2009 that it was considering strategic options for its E! stations and later proposed closing CHEK after failing to find a conventional buyer. Employees and local investors organized a campaign to preserve the station and assembled a consortium called CHEK Media Group. In September 2009, the station was sold to that consortium for two dollars, subject to regulatory approval. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission approved the transaction in November 2009. CHEK consequently became an independent station owned by employees and local investors, an unusual ownership model in Canadian conventional broadcasting. Following the change in ownership, CHEK emphasized local news and a mixed independent schedule. Although the new owners initially stated that they would not simulcast American network programs, the station later added a range of acquired American series and other entertainment programs. CHEK also entered into a news-sharing arrangement with CBC in 2010, sharing selected content, personnel and resources with CBC Television's Vancouver station CBUT. In 2013, CBC Radio One station CBCV-FM began sharing the Kings Road facility. CHEK's present brand is built around regional relevance and editorial independence rather than affiliation with a national commercial television network. Its news operation includes regularly scheduled local newscasts, weekday news updates and the public-affairs program CHEK Point. The station's programming history includes local coverage of sports such as Vancouver Canucks hockey and Vancouver Grizzlies basketball, as well as past entertainment and talk programming. Its survival after the threatened 2009 closure remains the defining turning point in the modern history of the CHEK brand.

CHEK-DT began broadcasting in Victoria on December 1, 1956. Its founder, David Armstrong, owned the local radio station CKDA and initially sought different call letters before the station launched as CHEK-TV. The original facilities were in Saanich, and early operations shared personnel with Armstrong's radio business. CHEK entered the market as a CBC affiliate and became an important local service because Vancouver Island had no other local television station for many years. Businessman Frank Griffiths acquired CHEK in 1963. Because Griffiths also owned Vancouver CTV affiliate CHAN-TV, CHEK developed a hybrid schedule that combined CBC network programs, CTV shows, CHAN-originated productions, local programming and syndicated material. The station carried a simulcast of CHAN's News Hour while also developing its own Vancouver Island news output. In 1972, it introduced News Hour Vancouver Island, strengthening its local editorial identity. During the late 1970s, CHEK gradually increased its CTV programming, and on January 5, 1981, it ended its CBC affiliation and became a full-time CTV station. Western International Communications acquired 59 percent of CHEK and CHAN in 1982 and purchased the balance in 1989. CHEK moved to its current Kings Road facility in 1984. For much of the following period it continued to share or time-shift substantial amounts of programming with CHAN, although the two stations did not always carry identical schedules. The arrival of CIVT-TV in Vancouver in 1997 complicated CTV distribution in the region, and the later expansion of CHAN's own morning news helped distinguish CHEK's schedule. Canwest Global Communications acquired Western International Communications in 2000. The transaction preceded the 2001 British Columbia affiliation switch, under which CHEK and CHAN left CTV. CHEK joined Canwest's CH system as CH Vancouver Island and adopted a schedule modeled partly on sister station CHCH in Hamilton. Local news remained a substantial part of the service. In 2007, local newscasts returned to the CHEK News name while the station's non-news programming was associated with the E! brand. The station's most consequential crisis came in 2009. Canwest, facing difficulty sustaining a second conventional television service, announced that it was evaluating strategic options and later said CHEK would close. Employees responded with a proposal to acquire part of the station and recruit local investors. After negotiations and a temporary continuation of broadcasting beyond the proposed shutdown date, Canwest sold the station to CHEK Media Group, a consortium of employees and local investors, for two dollars. The CRTC approved the sale in November 2009. CHEK became an independent station and shifted toward a schedule combining local news, films, older programs, syndicated material and infomercials. The independent station subsequently expanded its acquired entertainment schedule, including several American series. It also established a news-sharing relationship with CBC in 2010, allowing the two organizations to share selected staff, resources and content. In 2013, CBCV-FM moved into the Kings Road studios, creating a shared broadcast facility. CHEK's continuing service is centered on regional news, community reporting, public affairs and digital publishing, supported by acquired entertainment programming. The employee-and-investor ownership model and the 2009 campaign to save the station remain central to its modern brand history.

• 2013

  CBCV-FM joins the Kings Road facility

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CBC Radio One station CBCV-FM begins sharing space with CHEK's Victoria studios.

• 2010

  Begins CBC news sharing

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CHEK enters a news-sharing arrangement with CBC Television's CBUT.

• 2009

  Saved from closure

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CHEK Media Group acquires the station from Canwest after an employee and local-investor campaign.

• 2006

  50th anniversary

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CHEK marks five decades on air with archival promotional material and historical station branding.

• 2001

  Joins the CH system

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Following the British Columbia affiliation switch, CHEK leaves CTV and becomes CH Vancouver Island.

• 1984

  Moves to Kings Road

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  The station relocates its operations from Saanich to its current Victoria studio facility.

• 1981

  Becomes a full-time CTV affiliate

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CHEK ends its CBC affiliation and adopts full-time CTV affiliation.

• 1972

  Local news production expands

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CHEK introduces News Hour Vancouver Island, adding a more substantial station-produced news presence.

• 1963

  Frank Griffiths acquires the station

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  Ownership passes to Frank Griffiths, who also controls CHAN-TV in Vancouver.

• 1956

  Station launches

  [1]CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org

  CHEK-TV begins broadcasting in Victoria as a privately owned CBC affiliate.

An independent, locally focused television and digital news brand serving Vancouver Island, with emphasis on regional reporting, community relevance and programming autonomy.

• Local television news · 1972

  CHEK News

  CHEK's core local-news franchise covers Victoria, Vancouver Island and nearby communities. The service includes scheduled weekday and weekend newscasts, recurring daytime updates and reporting produced for the station's broadcast and digital platforms. Its identity emphasizes regional stories and local access rather than national network affiliation.

• Public affairs

  CHEK Point

  CHEK Point is a public-affairs program providing a format for interviews, discussion and examination of issues relevant to British Columbia and Vancouver Island audiences. It extends the station's local-service role beyond conventional headline news.

• News magazine · 2008

  Island 30

  Island 30 was a locally oriented program created to focus on stories outside Victoria. It followed an earlier CHEK News: Island 30 format and was subsequently reshaped as a news-magazine program.

• Sports programming

  Sports Page

  Sports Page was a sports highlights and discussion program associated with the CHAN television operation. CHEK carried the program during its earlier network and group-ownership eras.

• 2009Save CHEK campaign

  Victoria · Vancouver Island

  After Canwest announced a planned shutdown, CHEK employees organized a proposal to acquire an interest in the station and recruited local investors for the balance. The campaign sought to preserve a locally based television service and keep the station operating as an independent broadcaster.

  Outcome. The campaign led to the formation of CHEK Media Group and a sale agreement with Canwest, allowing the station to continue broadcasting under employee and local-investor ownership.

  Source

• 2010

  Add acquired American programmingStrategy

  Background

  After becoming independent, CHEK initially stated that it did not intend to simulcast American programs.

  Action taken

  The station later added acquired American series and other programs, including Smallville, Supernatural, Chuck, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and 60 Minutes.

  Aftermath

  The schedule broadened beyond local news, films and older programming while retaining a substantial local-service focus.

  Source

• 2010

  Enter a news-sharing agreement with CBCStrategy

  Background

  An independent station needed to maintain a substantial local news operation while managing production resources.

  Action taken

  CHEK and CBC Television's CBUT began sharing selected news content, staff and resources, including a simulcast of part of CBC News: Vancouver.

  Aftermath

  The arrangement expanded cooperation between the independent station and CBC's Vancouver operation.

  Source

• 2009

  Sell the station to CHEK Media GroupM&A

  Background

  Canwest announced a planned closure after failing to secure a conventional buyer, while station employees and local investors proposed a rescue transaction.

  Action taken

  Canwest agreed to sell CHEK to CHEK Media Group, a consortium of employees and local investors, for two dollars. The CRTC approved the transaction in November.

  Aftermath

  CHEK continued as an independent station with a stronger emphasis on local news and a mixed acquired-programming schedule.

  Sale price. CAD 2 (2009)

  Source

• 2001

  Move from CTV to the CH systemStrategy

  Background

  Canwest's acquisition of Western International Communications and the launch of CIVT contributed to a restructuring of network affiliations in southwestern British Columbia.

  Action taken

  CHEK left CTV and was rebranded CH Vancouver Island, with programming broadly aligned to Canwest's CH system.

  Aftermath

  The station later used the E! identity for much of its non-news schedule before returning to independent ownership.

  Source

• 1981

  End CBC affiliation and adopt full-time CTV affiliationStrategy

  Background

  CHEK had previously combined CBC programming with CTV and CHAN-originated material.

  Action taken

  The station disaffiliated from CBC and became a full-time CTV station on January 5.

  Aftermath

  CHEK remained associated with CTV until the major British Columbia affiliation realignment in 2001.

  Source

1. 1CHEK-DTen.wikipedia.org
2. 2CHEK Newscheknews.ca