Global Edmonton is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend.
ITV — now known by viewers as Global Edmonton — signed on the airwaves in September 1974.
Here’s a look back at the timeline from Sept. 1, 1974 — when ITV signed on with the movie Hello Dolly — to now.
Sept. 1, 1974
ITV signed on the air with the movie Hello Dolly. ITV brought viewers shows from the ABC and CBS networks, movies and specials in prime time. Locally produced programming such as The Tommy Banks Show and the In Concert series were also offered.
December 1974
ITV produced the first of the 64 instalments of the In Concert series, beginning with Tom Jones, then Englebert Humperdinck and later Cleo Laine, recorded before a live audience at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. The In Concert series was seen in more than 90 markets throughout North America and around the world.
September 1975
ITV News at 6 launched with anchor Doug Main, sportscaster Wes Montgomery, and weatherman Bill Matheson who came from ABC New York. News at 6 replaced the Dale Partridge/Ron Newman public affairs show Insight.
September 1978
ITV launched the Ten O’clock News with Doug Main, Wes Montgomery and Bill Matheson, allowing ITV to begin its primetime viewing at 6 p.m. Later, Sarah Coyle joined the team as the first female sportscaster in Edmonton.
Fall 1979
The Edmonton Oilers moved from the WHA to the NHL and ITV continued its local coverage of Oilers games by creating The Oilers on ITV, televising the team’s home games. This was the start of the Oilers’ legendary race to win five Stanley Cups. Gary Dornhoefer and Tim Dancy provided the commentary.
Fall 1981
SCTV Season 4, its second season of production at ITV, was picked up by NBC as a 90-minute show titled SCTV Network 90, replacing The Midnight Special. John Candy and Catherine O’Hara joined the cast again, along with Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas and Bob and Doug McKenzie. By January 1982, production of the show had moved back to Toronto.
1982
ITV joined three other Canadian television stations and six radio stations in launching Anik D, better known as the Cancom. These broadcast leaders were the first to bring more choice in viewing and listening to hundreds of remote communities coast to coast and across northern Canada. Cancom today provides hundreds of TV, radio and music channels to thousands of families throughout Canada.
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Crime Stoppers, a program created to capture criminals through televised re-enactments of their crimes, was embraced by ITV. Over more than 30 years, the station produced hundreds of re-enactments credited with solving many crimes.
March 8, 1982
Edmonton MP Jim Edwards and Dr. Charles Allard cut the ribbon to open the Allarcom Sound Stage. This $6.25-million, 15,000-square-foot production studio was the only one of its kind in Western Canada and provided essential facilities for the production of series and movies, such as Bye Bye Blues and Small Sacrifices.
August 1982
Lorraine Mansbridge, Miss Manitoba 1976, moved from Winnipeg, where she was a radio DJ, to become host of the new ITV morning show, Good, Good Morning. Mansbridge retired in 2018.
1984
Mike Sobel hosted Hi-Q and 4 o’clock Rock. In 1991, he became the famed host of Disney Afternoon on ITV, which was two hours of classic Disney cartoons.
Aug. 9, 1991
Cathy Roozen and Cam and Tony Allard were present to unveil the street sign, Allard Way, named in honour of their father Dr. Charles Allard, the creator of ITV. This tribute was initiated by the staff of ITV. Charles Allard died two days later at the age of 72.
1992
Gord Steinke joined the ITV News team to anchor the news along with co-anchor Jacqueline Clarke. Steinke brought with him his love for music and motorcycles, interest in history and writing, and enthusiastic support of the Edmonton community. Steinke retired in August 2022.
March 1993
ITV launched ITV First News, the first local early morning news. The newscast was anchored by Lorraine Mansbridge, Chris Durham and Gord Whitehead. The show was later joined by weather expert Kevin O’Connell. ITV First News has since become Global News Morning Edmonton.
1995
The ITV/Global Edmonton Woman of Vision program was founded by Lesley MacDonald and Heather Grue in 1995. The program has celebrated the accomplishments of over hundreds of inspiring women in the Edmonton area.
2000
The name of the station changed to Global Edmonton in 2000 as Global Television/Canwest welcomed ITV to its broadcast holdings, fulfilling founder Israel Asper’s dream of creating a third Canadian national television network.
2004
Global Edmonton’s Give Me Shelter program was launched by then-news anchor Lynda Steele. The campaign raises awareness for Edmonton and area women’s shelters, and collects donations of new clothing, toiletries and gifts for women and children fleeing domestic violence over the holidays.
2007
Global 1, Edmonton’s first and only television news helicopter, was introduced to audiences. It provides traffic reports for the daily commute and covers the city’s breaking news.
Also in 2007, Global Edmonton went social with the launch of its official Facebook page in November of that year.
2009
The year 2009 marked the beginning of the digital transition of Global Edmonton’s brand-new digital control room. Global Edmonton became one of four super affiliate broadcast centres for the Global News network.
In 2010, the station would undergo another technological advancement designed to streamline newscast production: the Mosart Automated Production System.
Also in 2009, Global Edmonton switched to HD, becoming the first local television to broadcast in high definition.
2010
Brad Shaw, CEO of Shaw Communications Inc., welcomed Global Edmonton and the Global Television Network as they became part of Shaw Media after Canwest was acquired by Shaw.
2016
Corus Entertainment purchased the Global Television Network, including Global News.
2020
The Global TV App was launched with options for streaming live channels, including 24-hour Global News feeds.
August 2022
Studio 1, Global Edmonton’s news studio, was named the Gord Steinke Studio as the news anchor headed off into retirement.
Today
Global Edmonton continues to dominate as the city’s number one news station, leading the market with 46.5 hours per week of local news programming.
Audiences can watch Global News Edmonton live on TV, streaming online at Globalnews.ca/edmonton and on the Global TV App, Amazon Prime, Roku, Samsung, LG smart TVs, Android TV, Fire TV, StackTV and Pluto TV.
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