Editing CTV Television Network (section)

===Conflict and consolidation===
CTV's cooperative structure regularly led to conflicts between the network's owner-affiliates. In particular, the owners of CFCF, CJOH, and especially CHAN felt that [[Baton Broadcasting]], owners of [[flagship (broadcasting)|flagship]] CFTO in Toronto, dominated production of network programming.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], pp. 90–91, 205</ref>

In the mid-1980s, Baton began a drive to take over CTV by buying as many affiliates as possible. Having already bought [[CFQC-DT|CFQC-TV]] in [[Saskatoon]] in 1971,<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 131-133</ref> Baton purchased additional stations in Saskatchewan – including CTV affiliates CKCK-TV Regina, [[CICC-TV]] [[Yorkton]], and [[CIPA-TV]] [[Prince Albert, Saskatchewan|Prince Albert]] – in 1986. Baton then purchased CJOH in 1988, followed by the [[CTV Northern Ontario|MCTV]] and [[Huron Broadcasting]] stations, which included four CTV affiliates in [[Northern Ontario]], in 1990.

One caveat, however, was the "one owner, one vote" provision of the cooperative's bylaws. Any acquisition of one station by an existing station owner triggered an automatic redistribution of the acquired station's shares among the other owners.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 248</ref> As a result, even though it owned 11 of CTV's 24 affiliates, Baton still had only had one vote out of eight.

Around the same time, several CTV owner-affiliates were expanding their holdings outside of the network. CHAN owner [[Western International Communications]] purchased [[Selkirk Communications]] and Allarcom, which together owned several independent stations in Alberta and Ontario.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 217</ref> [[CHUM Limited]], owner of the CTV-affiliated [[CTV Atlantic|ATV]] system serving the Maritimes, already owned independent station [[CITY-DT|CITY-TV]] in Toronto, and by this point had begun launching national cable channels like [[MuchMusic]]. Even Baton added some stations outside of CTV, with the purchase or launch of three independent stations in southwestern Ontario in 1992–93.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 243</ref> It also began competing with the network for some program acquisitions in 1992, and in 1994 launched the [[Baton Broadcast System]] (BBS) as a parallel programming brand for both its CTV affiliates and independent stations.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], pp. 243, 269–70</ref>

After several years of contentious negotiations between the eight remaining owner-affiliates, by late 1992 they had reached an agreement to recapitalize the network, and provide a path for a single company to eventually take control.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], pp. 240–41, 244–6</ref> The restructuring took effect in January 1993, and CTV converted from a cooperative to a corporation. Seven of the owner-affiliates invested equally, yielding a 14.3% stake in the network for each; however, Newfoundland Broadcasting, owner of CJON, decided not to invest further and effectively relinquished its vote, reducing the number of active voting members to seven.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], pp. 248–250</ref>{{efn|Newfoundland Broadcasting retained 100 common shares in CTV (out of approximately 14&nbsp;million outstanding after the restructuring) until the completion of the Baton acquisition.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], p. 326</ref>}} As part of the restructuring, the stations also agreed to reduce the number of hours of network programming, allowing Baton and WIC to program more of their stations' schedules with their own acquisitions.<ref>[[#Git99|Gittins 1999]], pp. 244–5</ref>

[[File:CTV ribbons 1998.png|thumb|left|The ribbons logo used from 1998 to 2011.]]
In 1996, Baton acquired CFCN from [[Rogers Communications]]. Significantly, Baton also acquired Rogers' CTV vote. It also started a joint venture with [[Electrohome]], owner of CFRN and CKCO. As part of the deal, Baton was allowed to vote Electrohome's shares in addition to its own. The following year, Baton acquired Electrohome's share of the joint venture, and separately acquired ATV from CHUM. This gave Baton a 57.2% controlling interest in the network, triggering a [[put option]] allowing the remaining affiliates, WIC (which by this time owned both CHAN and CFCF) and [[Moffat Communications|Moffat]] (owner of CKY), to sell their CTV shares to Baton without selling their stations, which they did. Baton was now full owner of the CTV network and immediately began plastering the CTV brand across its stations, even on non-network programming, and dropped its secondary BBS brand. The company changed its name to CTV Inc. in 1998, and eventually acquired two of the final three large-market stations, CKY and CFCF (it replaced the third, CHAN, as discussed below).

CTV has attracted some controversy in the past because of cutbacks to its small-market stations. In the late 1990s, cuts were made to the news staff and productions at CTV's two small-market Saskatchewan stations, [[CICC-TV]] in [[Yorkton]] and [[CIPA-TV]] in [[Prince Albert, Saskatchewan|Prince Albert]]. These stations currently simulcast supper-hour and late-night news from CKCK and CFQC respectively, placing local inserts into the newscasts. Similarly, the four [[Canadian Maritimes|Maritime]] stations, known collectively as ''[[CTV Atlantic]]'' (then known as ATV), and the four [[Northern Ontario]] stations, known collectively as ''[[CTV Northern Ontario]]'' (then known as MCTV), each had their local news production cut back in the early 2000s to one single centrally produced newscast for each region, with only brief inserts for news of strictly local interest. This was a controversial move in all of the affected communities, especially in Northern Ontario where MCTV's newscasts were the only locally oriented news programs in those markets.