About Global Calgary

About Us

Global Calgary is an owned-and-operated station of the Global Television Network, owned by Canwest Media Inc. Our station has been part of the Calgary marketplace for over 50 years. As Calgary’s first television station, giving back to the community has always played a major role in Global’s history, and the station continues to dedicate its people, airtime and resources to countless local organizations, events and charitable causes.

A few of the local groups with whom Global Calgary has developed partnerships with include the Calgary Flames, the Calgary Stampeders, the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Calgary Stampede, the Global Woman of Vision Program, and many, many more.

History

Global Calgary (also known as CICT) signed on October 8th, 1954 as CHCT, the first television station in Alberta. The studios, offices and antenna were located seven miles west of the city of Calgary. The station’s owners, Calgary Television Ltd., were a consortium of three Calgary radio stations. The ‘CT’ in CHCT stood for ‘Calgary Television’.’

Notable productions the original studio produced were "Klara’s Korner" (a cooking show that was in national syndication for many years), "Yan Can Cook" (another cooking show hosted by Martin Yan), "Stampede Wrestling" (produced for over 20 years), and "It Figures" (also ran for nearly 20 years.)

Almost twenty years later, CHCT was purchased by Selkirk Broadcasting, and the station’s call sign was changed to CFAC-TV. In 1979, the station branded itself as Channel 2&7, referring to its cable location. For a number of years afterwards, it continued to use the old CFAC "star" logo alongside the 2&7 logo.

In 1980, the station obtained the television rights to the Calgary Flames NHL franchise, a partnership that continues today. A year later, the station moved to its new home, the Calgary Television Centre.

In the fall of 1982, the station began broadcasting 24-hours a day, a first for Calgary. Overnight programming included late night movies and re-runs of the "Jackie Gleason Show."

In 1989, CFAC-TV was once again sold, this time to Western International Communications (WIC). In March 1990, the call letters were changed to CKKX-TV. Two years later, the stations news operations expanded with the purchase of a satellite uplink truck and a fleet of electronic news gathering microwave trucks.

On September 7th, 1993, CKKX was renamed CICT-TV, the call letters used today. It also took on the brand of Calgary 7.

The station was sold to Canwest in 1998, but required approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). Approval was given in 2000. On September 4th of that year, CICT-TV joined the Global Television Network, along with fellow Alberta stations, CITV-TV (Edmonton), and CISA (Lethbridge). By 2001, Global Calgary also began airing in Drumheller and Banff.

On April 11th, 2007, CICT became the first station in Calgary with a news helicopter. Named Global 1, it provides traffic reports during the Morning News and Early News, as well as breaking news coverage you can’t find anywhere else.

A TV Timeline

1952: First television broadcasts in Canada (Sept. 6 at Montreal’s CBFT-TV, Sept. 8 at Toronto’s CBLT-TV)

1954: Official sign-on of Calgary’s station CHCT-TV (first pictures Oct. 3, 9:18:08 p.m.). Initially part of the CBC affiliate cross-Canada microwave network.

1960: CFCN goes on the air in September.

1966: First color pictures on air Sept. 1

1971: Station call letters change from CHCT-TV to CFAC-TV, July 1.

1975: Station becomes independent of CBC Sept. 1; becomes known as Channels 2&7.

1980: First contract to produce Calgary Flames NHL hockey.

1988: Channel 2&7’s Panda pins a hit at the XV Winter Olympic Games.

1993: First live broadcast from Rover microwave truck (March 19); change of call letters to CICT-TV (Independent Calgary Television), and name change from Channels 2&7 to Calgary 7.

1994: Calgary 7 celebrates its 40th anniversary, Oct. 8.

2000: Launch of first Calgary 7 website, April; official launch as part of Global Television Network, Sept. 5; relaunch of Web site as Globaltv.com Calgary, Oct. 10.

2001: Merger of Global Web site with Calgary Herald site at canada.com/calgary, Sept. 5.

2004: Global Calgary celebrates its 50th anniversary with special programming and "A Moment in Time," a series highlighting the top news stories of the past 50 years in Calgary.

Where to Watch Us

Here’s how you can watch Global Calgary:

In High-Definition

Click here to learn more about our HD signal

In Standard-Definition

Global Calgary is also available on various other cable and satellite systems around the world. Check your local cable company for Global Calgary or our call letters, CICT.