Editing CTV Television Network (section)

===Formation===
In 1958, Prime Minister [[John Diefenbaker]]'s government passed the ''[[Broadcasting Act (1991)#Broadcasting Act, 1958 & 1968|Broadcasting Act]]'', which established the [[Board of Broadcast Governors]] (BBG), a forerunner to the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC), as the governing body of Canadian broadcasting, effectively ending the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]'s (CBC) dual role as regulator and broadcaster.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=CTV Television Network |url=http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listing_and_histories/ctv-television-network |website=Canadian Communications Foundation |access-date=September 28, 2018 |archive-date=September 29, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929000429/http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listing_and_histories/ctv-television-network |url-status=dead }}</ref> The new board's first act was to take applications for "second" television stations in [[Halifax, Nova Scotia|Halifax]], [[Montreal]] (in both English and [[French language in Canada|French]]), [[Ottawa]], [[Toronto]], [[Winnipeg]], [[Calgary]], [[Edmonton]], and [[Vancouver]] in response to an outcry for an alternative to [[CBC Television|the CBC's television service]]. Calgary and Edmonton were served by privately owned CBC [[network affiliate|affiliates]]; the other six markets by CBC [[owned-and-operated station]]s (O&Os).

The nine winners, in order of their first sign-on, were:
*[[CFCN-DT|CFCN-TV]] Calgary (September 9, 1960)<ref>{{cite web |title=CFCN-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/alberta/cfcn-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting |access-date=16 June 2024}}</ref>
*[[CHAN-DT|CHAN-TV]] Vancouver (October 31, 1960)<ref>{{cite web |title=CHAN-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/british-columbia/chan-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting}}</ref>
*[[CKY-DT|CJAY-TV]] Winnipeg (November 12, 1960)<ref>{{cite web |title=CKY-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/manitoba/cky-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting}}</ref>
*[[CFTO-DT|CFTO-TV]] Toronto (December 31, 1960)<ref>{{cite web |title=CFTO-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/ontario/toronto-and-vicinity/cfto-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting}}</ref>
*[[CJCH-DT|CJCH-TV]] Halifax (January 1, 1961)<ref>{{cite web |title=CJCH-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/nova-scotia/cjch-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting}}</ref>
*[[CFCF-DT|CFCF-TV]] Montreal (English; January 20, 1961)<ref>{{cite web |title=CFCF-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/quebec/quebec-montreal-et-ouest-du-quebec/cfcf-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting}}</ref>
*[[CFTM-DT|CFTM-TV]] Montreal (French; February 19, 1961)<ref>{{cite web |title=CFTM-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/quebec/quebec-montreal-et-ouest-du-quebec/cftm-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting}}</ref>
*[[CJOH-DT|CJOH-TV]] Ottawa (March 12, 1961)<ref>{{cite web |title=CJOH-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/ontario/ontario-eastern/cjoh-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting}}</ref>
*[[CFRN-DT|CFRN-TV]] Edmonton (October 1, 1961)<ref>{{cite web |title=CBX-DT |url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/alberta/cbxt-dt/ |website=broadcasting-history.ca |publisher=History of Canadian Broadcasting}}</ref><!-- NOTE: This list only refers to the set of *newly licensed* stations in 1960. See next paragraph re Edmonton situation. -->

The first eight stations were privately owned; the Edmonton station was a CBC O&O, thus [[CFRN-DT|CFRN-TV]], the existing local station, would lose its CBC affiliation once CBXT signed on.

Even before his station was licensed, [[John W. H. Bassett]], the chief executive of the ultimately successful Toronto applicant [[Baton Aldred Rogers Broadcasting]],<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 20</ref> had expressed interest in participating in the creation of a second television network, "of which we see the Toronto station as anchor".<ref name="gittins-26">[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 26</ref> Indeed, Baton had already begun quietly contacting the successful applicants in other cities to gauge their interest in forming a cooperative group to share Canadian programming among the stations.<ref name="gittins-26" /> This led to the July 1960 formation of the Independent Television Organization (ITO), consisting of the eight newly licensed private stations and CFRN, each having one vote in the ITO's operations regardless of the size of its audience (CFTM, being a French-language station and therefore having little reason to collaborate with the other stations, would soon withdraw from the group; it would later emerge as the flagship of the first private French-language network, [[TVA (Canadian TV network)|TVA]]). The ITO soon resolved to apply for a network licence to link these second stations.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], pp. 43–44</ref>

However, the ITO faced opposition from [[Spence Caldwell]], a former CBC executive and one of the unsuccessful applicants for the Toronto licence, who had first approached the BBG in April 1960 to pitch a second-station network proposal of his own. Under his plan, at least 51% of the shares of the network would be owned by various prominent [[Bay Street]] investors who had previously backed his Toronto station bid; only 49% would be reserved for the network's affiliates to purchase, if they wished. The BBG – and particularly its chair Andrew Stewart (who at the time also served as the president of the [[University of Alberta]]) – was not in favour of a station-owned network, fearing that any such network would be dominated by Toronto's CFTO. Although it did not immediately approve Caldwell's proposal, it soon set several conditions on such a network that effectively made Caldwell's group the only feasible applicant.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], 37–38</ref>

That fall, the Caldwell group (now named the '''Canadian Television Network''', or CTN) and the ITO faced off in a series of meetings with the BBG. The ITO decided not to follow through with a formal network application, but the stations – particularly Baton, which said it had no interest in participating in CTN and believed it could still be successful without one – continued to indicate various concerns with the viability of Caldwell's proposal. Ultimately, the BBG granted a licence to CTN, conditional on securing the affiliation of six of the eight ITO stations.<ref name="Gittins 1999, pp. 45–51"/>

Baton's opposition to the CTN reversed in early 1961, soon after CFTO won the broadcast rights to the [[Canadian Football League]] [[Canadian Football League East Division|Eastern Conference]] for the 1961 and 1962 seasons.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 52</ref> Baton's original plan was to operate a temporary network to distribute the games incorporating CFTO, other independent stations, and CBC affiliates in smaller markets (assuming the public network released its affiliates to carry the game).<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 53</ref> Although the plan was neither officially rejected or approved, various uncertainties eventually led John Bassett to decide to sign an affiliation agreement with CTN instead to ensure the games would air.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 55</ref> Most of the other second stations followed suit, with the exception of CHAN in Vancouver, which agreed to carry several network programs but never officially signed on as an affiliate for the duration of the Caldwell era, yet nonetheless would later claim to have been a "charter member" of the network.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 58</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/u9h3RqalY08 Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20120823170130/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9h3RqalY08 Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9h3RqalY08|title=BCTV Ch-8 Vancouver BC_sign off (posted 2009-03-15)|date=March 15, 2009 |publisher=YouTube|access-date=February 25, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>