Editing Television broadcaster (section)

==Canada==
{{Main|Television system|Television in Canada}}
A number of different definitions of "network" are used by government agencies, industry, and the general public. Under the [[Broadcasting Act (1991)|Broadcasting Act]], a network is defined as "any operation where control over all or any part of the programs or program schedules of one or more broadcasting undertakings is delegated to another undertaking or person",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-9.01/page-1.html?wbdisable=false |website=laws-lois.justice.gc.ca | title=Canadian Broadcasting Act of 1991|date=July 2020 }}</ref> and must be licensed by the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC).

Only three national over-the-air television networks are currently licensed by the CRTC: government-owned [[CBC Television]] (English) and [[Ici Radio-Canada Télé]] (French), French-language private network [[TVA (Canadian TV network)|TVA]], and [[Aboriginal Peoples Television Network|APTN]], a network focused on [[Indigenous peoples in Canada]]. A third French-language service, [[Noovo]] (formerly V), is licensed as a provincial network within [[Quebec]], but is not licensed or locally distributed (outside of carriage on the [[digital cable|digital tiers]] of pay television providers) on a national basis.

Currently, licensed national or provincial networks must be carried by all cable providers (in the country or province, respectively) with a service area above a certain population threshold, as well as all satellite providers. However, they are no longer necessarily expected to achieve over-the-air coverage in all areas (APTN, for example, only has terrestrial coverage in parts of northern Canada).

In addition to these licensed networks, the two main private English-language over-the-air services, [[CTV Television Network|CTV]] and [[Global Television Network|Global]], are also generally considered to be "networks" by virtue of their national coverage, although they are not officially licensed as such. CTV was previously a licensed network, but relinquished this license in 2001 after acquiring most of its affiliates, making operating a network license essentially redundant (per the above definition).

Smaller groups of stations with common branding are often categorized by industry watchers as [[television system]]s, although the public and the broadcasters themselves will often refer to them as "networks" regardless. Some of these systems, such as [[CTV 2]] and the now-defunct [[E! (TV system)|E!]], essentially operate as mini-networks, but have reduced geographical coverage. Others, such as [[Omni Television]] or the [[Crossroads Television System]], have similar branding and a common programming focus, but schedules may vary significantly from one station to the next. [[Citytv]] originally began operating as a television system in 2002 when [[CKVU-DT|CKVU-TV]] in Vancouver started to carry programs originating from [[CITY-DT|CITY-TV]] in Toronto and adopted that station's "Citytv" branding, but gradually became a network by virtue of national coverage through expansions into other markets west of [[Atlantic Canada]] between 2005 and 2013.

Most local television stations in Canada are now owned and operated directly by their network, with only a small number of stations still operating as affiliates.