CKX
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| CKX (CBC affiliate) | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Brandon, Manitoba | ||
| Channel 5 / Cable 6 | ||
| Owner | CHUM Limited (As of Dec. 1, 2004) | |
| Founded | 1955 | |
| Signal Radius | 290.5 kW (total) | |
| Other CBC Affiliates | ||
| CKSA (Lloydminster) | CKX (Brandon) | CKPR (Thunder Bay) |
CKX is a television station in Brandon, Manitoba affiliated with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Owned by CHUM Limited, it was the first privately-owned television station in Manitoba.
The station was founded by John Craig and went on the air on January 28, 1955, a day which marked Craig Media's start in television broadcasting.
As a private affiliate of the CBC, the station airs the minimum requirement of CBC programming but also airs a significant amount of A-Channel programming.
For nearly half a century, the station remained under the ownership of the family-owned Craig Media. In 2004, Craig Media announced a deal to sell the A-Channel stations to CHUM. The sale was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on November 19, 2004, and became official on December 1.
CHUM has announced that the A-Channel stations will be rebranded as Citytv in September 2005, and at the same time the existing NewNet stations will pick up the A-Channel brand. It is possible that CKX may also do so, however it is currently a CBC affiliate, which would likely force the station to disaffiliate from the CBC (and a repeater of Winnipeg's CBWT would need to be installed in Brandon to provide CBC programming). The company has not made any announcement regarding what it will do with CKX. As it serves a smaller market with a large rural area, it is almost certain that CKX will not be rebranded as Citytv, an urban-based system.
Craig Media was planning on getting a license for a new television station in Brandon, which would make CKX a full repeater of Winnipeg's CBWT, but it is unknown whether any further developments will be made, especially because of the station's sale to CHUM.