CBUT

CBUT is the CBC's television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the flagship CBC Television station for the Pacific Time Zone. The station transmits its main terrestrial signal from a tower atop Mount Seymour.

As of February 19, 2007, CBUT returned to an hour-long local newscast with the debut of a local edition of CBC News at Six, retaining the Canada Now name and hosted by former national Canada Now hosts Ian Hanomansing and Gloria Macarenko; in July 2007, the newscast was renamed as CBC News: Vancouver. In September 2009, it would expand to 90 minutes. In past years, the supper hour newscast (which was fully local until the introduction of the national Canada Now) was known as Hourglass, Newscentre, CBC Evening News and Broadcast One.

CBUT also currently produces a number of CBC Television programs. Portions of Marketplace are produced at CBUT, as were portions of the program Hemispheres, the now-cancelled national version of Canada Now and the late-night independent film program ZeD.

In addition to British Columbia, CBUT has a significant American audience in Washington state. It is available over the air in Bellingham. Nearly one million Comcast cable subscribers in the Puget Sound region can receive CBUT's programming. Comcast's Puget Sound system also began offering the digital version of CBUT, offering CBC HD programming, in 2009.[1]

The station broadcasts from the CBC Regional Broadcast Centre on Hamilton Street in Downtown Vancouver.

History
CBUT is the oldest television station in Western Canada, first going on the air on December 16, 1953 from its original location, a converted auto dealership, at 1200 West Georgia Street and Bute Street in Downtown Vancouver. However, CBUT was not the first television station to serve Vancouverites. The first TV station to serve Vancouverites was cross-border KVOS-TV in Bellingham, Washington, which signed on the air months earlier as a CBS affiliate and is currently an independent station. CBUT has broadcast in English for most of its existence, except for a period from 1973 to 1976 when French language shows from Radio-Canada aired on weekend mornings;[2] this secondary affiliation ended with the launch of CBUFT in 1976. CBUT was known mainly as Channel 2 from its inception until 1976. Since then, it has been known as CBC British Columbia. Original CBUT logo, used in station IDs and print ads from 1953 to 1976During the station's early years until 1976, CBUT's station IDs consisted of slides of local Vancouver landmarks with the CBUT logo (the number 2 in Clarendon Bold typeface, contained within a stylized TV screen) added, with the announcement "This is CBUT, Channel 2 in Vancouver", while the ID slide used at the end of local programs on CBUT was a larger version of the station logo on a navy blue background[citation needed] with the announcement "This is CBC Television, Vancouver". Beginning with the introduction of CBC's "gem" logo in December 1974, CBUT (unlike other CBC O&Os, which continued using station IDs at the end of their local shows) began using the "gem" network ID at the end of all programming, network and local.

In 1975, CBC consolidated its radio and TV operations into one building. Prior to this, CBC's radio operations in Vancouver (CBU, CBU-FM and CBUF-FM) had been broadcasting out of separate studios at 701 Hornby Street, the basement of the Hotel Vancouver. Together, those stations formed the basis of the Regional Broadcast Centre at 700 Hamilton Street, a few blocks east of their previous radio and television facilities.

The station's IDs were changed in 1976 with CBUT's on-air rebranding as CBC British Columbia, with the initial IDs featuring a totem pole superimposed over local landmarks, followed by the totem pole zooming away from the viewer and turning into the letter T in the station brand.[citation needed]

In recent years, CBUT, as with all CBC-owned stations, had de-emphasized local programming in favour of network programming out of Toronto. As of 2002, the station only aired sporadic local non-news programming and dropped all use of local station IDs in favour of using only network IDs, and in budget cuts, the CBC integrated CBUT's master control (as did all other owned stations) into Toronto's master control. Recently, however, local programming on CBUT has increased with the introduction of a locally themed lifestyles program, Living Vancouver (which has since been cancelled), as well as the addition of several new local newscasts. [1]

Since April 2010, the CBC and CHEK have had a news sharing agreement, in which both stations share news stories and resources. Tony Parsons also joined the CBC to anchor CBUT's evening newscast, CBC News: Vancouver, from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM; Parsons then flies to Victoria after that program to anchor CHEK's 10 PM newscast. The 6 PM portion of CBC News: Vancouver is simulcasted on CHEK. [3]

Transmitters
The only retransmitters of CBUT are located on the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, the Okanagan, and areas not previously occupied by a private CBC affiliate.

Semi-satellites are in bold italics

Cable and satellite only
Until the disaffiliation of CHBC, CBUT was available only on cable in Kelowna. After the disaffiliation in 2006, new transmitters were installed. However, due to the ties with CFJC, this station also disaffiliated. CBUT did not replace the transmitters in Kamloops and its surrounding area. This left CBC dependent on cable and satellite to reach the area.

Until the disaffiliation of CKPG, CBUT was available in Prince George. However, after the disaffiliation in 2008, the transmitters were never replaced. This also left CBC dependent on cable and satellite to reach the area.

Due to the availability of CFTK and CJDC in their markets, CBUT relies exclusively on satellite to reach Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert and Dawson Creek.

Since October 25, 2008, CBC Television has only been available on cable and satellite in the Comox Valley and Powell River due to a fire which knocked the local transmitter off the air.[4]

Locally produced programs on CBUT

 * CBC News: Vancouver at 5 (local weekday supper-hour newscast)
 * CBC News: Vancouver at 5:30 (local weekday supper-hour newscast)
 * CBC News: Vancouver at 6 (local supper-hour newscast - formerly Canada Now, seen on CHEK-TV on weekends)
 * CBC News: Vancouver Late Night (local ten-minute late-night news update. Airs at 10:55 PM)
 * CBC News: Vancouver Saturday (local late-night weekend newscast. Airs at 10:30 PM)
 * CBC News: Vancouver Sunday (local late-night weekend newscast. Airs at 11:00 PM)

Locally produced programs formerly aired on CBUT
Some of these programs were also seen on the CBC network, either regionally or nationally. This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.*Aquarium (aquatic wildlife profiles)
 * @ The End (current affairs discussion)
 * BC Schools Telecasts (educational)
 * Bob Switzer Show/Switzer Unlimited (talk show)
 * Booked on Saturday Night (literature discussion)
 * Camera West (documentary films)
 * Canada Now (national supper-hour newscast)
 * Canadian Gardener (gardening)
 * Cariboo Country (drama)
 * Celebrity Cooks (cooking)
 * Dr. Bundolo (sketch comedy)
 * Doctor Doctor (medical issues)
 * Downtown Saturday Night (variety)
 * Good Rockin' Tonite (music videos)
 * Hockey Talk (sports talk)
 * Hourglass (local supper-hour newscast)
 * In The Company of Women (current affairs discussion)
 * Klahanie (outdoor activities)
 * Leo and Me (comedy)
 * Living Vancouver (lifestyles)
 * Lotus Land (arts and entertainment magazine)
 * Night Final (local late-night newscast)
 * Northwood (teen drama)
 * Pacific Report (current affairs)
 * Reach For The Top (quiz show)
 * Rich Little's Christmas Carol (holiday special)
 * Ritters Cove (drama)
 * See BC on CBC (documentary films)
 * Sportfishing BC (outdoor activities)
 * Sportsline (sports highlights)
 * Switchback (teen variety)
 * Talkback Live (current affairs call-in)
 * The Beachcombers (drama)
 * The 11th Hour (sketch comedy)
 * The Inventors (inventions)
 * The Paul Anka Show (musical variety)
 * The Raes (musical variety)
 * The Score (sports talk)
 * This Week in BC (news review)
 * Urban Peasant (cooking)
 * Wok with Yan (Oriental cooking)
 * Wolfman Jack Show (musical variety)
 * ZeD (independent short films)
 * Zero Avenue (arts and entertainment magazine)

Digital television and high definition
After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which takes place on August 31, 2011,[5] CBUT will move from its current pre-transition channel number, 58, to its post-transition channel number, 43 with an ERP of 103 kW. However, through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers displays CBUT's virtual channel as 2.1.

The Vancouver transmitter is CBUT's only transmitter planned to transition to digital.

Anchors

 * Natalie Clancy, anchor, weeknights 10:55-11:05 p.m.
 * Aarti Pole, anchor, weekends
 * Gloria Macarenko, anchor, weekdays 5:00-6:30 p.m.
 * Tony Parsons, anchor, weekdays 5:00-6:30 p.m.

Weather

 * David Jones, weather (substitute, with Environment Canada)
 * Ann Luu, weather (substitute)
 * Claire Martin, weather

Sports

 * Shane Foxman, sports anchor
 * Jody Vance, substitute anchor
 * Emma McLagan, substitute anchor/reporter

Reporters

 * Chris Brown
 * Tim Chung
 * Deborah Goble
 * Navjot Heir
 * Lisa Johnson
 * Karin Larsen, sports reporter
 * Miyoung Lee, substitute anchor
 * Bob Nixon
 * Aarti Pole
 * Stephen Quinn
 * Eric Rankin
 * Heather Robinson
 * Moe Sihota, political analyst
 * Susana da Silva
 * Stephen Smart
 * Teresa Tang (left the station in 2010. Now resides in China.)
 * Kathy Tomlinson, "Go Public"
 * Alan Waterman
 * Tim Weekes
 * Kirk Williams

Notable former on-air staff

 * Dave Abbott, sportscaster, 1965–68
 * Adrienne Arsenault, reporter, 1993–98, now with CBC National News
 * Linda Aylesworth, reporter, 1981–95, now at CHAN-TV
 * Tanya Beja, reporter, now at CHAN-TV
 * Barry Bell, reporter
 * Fred Cawsey, reporter
 * Gregor Craigie, reporter, now at CBCV-FM
 * Harvey Dawes, anchor, 1965–87, deceased
 * Kim Emerson, reporter, 1998–2001, now at CHEK-TV
 * Kevin Evans, anchor
 * Gillian Findlay, reporter, 1982–85, now at the fifth estate
 * Russ Froese, reporter, 1980–88
 * Bill Good, anchor, now at CIVT-TV
 * Ian Hanomansing, anchor/reporter, 1988–2010, now reporter for CBC News The National
 * Margo Harper, reporter, now news editor at CIVT-TV
 * Gordon Hunt, anchor
 * Anton Koschany, reporter, 1977–79, now executive producer CTV W5
 * Farhan Lalji, sports anchor, 1995–97
 * Barry MacDonald, sports anchor, 1989–95
 * George McLean, news anchor
 * Bob Quintrell, host, deceased
 * Phil Reimer, weathercaster, 1977–95
 * Joyce Resin, host
 * Larry Rose, reporter and editor
 * Bob Switzer, host
 * Jerry Thompson, reporter
 * Cecilia Walters, anchor, still with CBC Vancouver as radio news anchor
 * Ed Watson, anchor, now assignment editor at CIVT-TV
 * Jack Webster, reporter, Hourglass, deceased
 * Tony Whitney, host, automobile journalist
 * Cara Wiest, reporter, now at CBLT