History Creator / CTV

* 'Series/{{Bizarre}}'' (co-production with Creator/{{Showtime}})

* '"Series/{{Bizarre}}'' (co-production with Creator/{{Showtime}})

The [[https://www.ctv.ca CTV Television Network]] is Canada's oldest private broadcaster, and second-oldest network behind the publicly owned Creator/{{CBC}}. It began broadcasting in 1961, nine years after the CBC, and was established for many of the same reasons that Creator/{{ITV}} was in the United Kingdom: to end the public monopoly over Canadian broadcasting and provide choice for viewers. (Throughout the history of analog transmission, most Canadians have been able to watch the [[Creator/{{ABC}} three]] (and later [[Creator/{{Fox}} four]]) [[Creator/{{NBC}} American]] [[Creator/{{CBS}} networks]], plus Creator/{{PBS}}, as well. Simulcasts with Canadian stations are plastered over on cable.) "CTV" doesn't legally stand for anything, but nearly everyone [[CommonKnowledge assumes]] it to mean "Canadian Television". [[note]](The network initially wanted to call itself the Canadian Television Network [CTN], but the CBC objected by claiming it had [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope exclusive rights to the "Canadian" term]].)[[/note]] In fact, many of its {{Station Ident}}s from the late 1990s and early 2000s (designed by American branding firm Pittard Sullivan) have capitalized on this assumption.

* ''Series/{{Transplant}''

* "Series/{{Transplant}}"

Famously, CTV wrested the Olympics away from the CBC starting with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, paying top dollar and nearly being bankrupted when the recession hit; luckily, and unlike in the case of Creator/{{NBC}}'s infamous experience with the 1980 Olympics, they were a huge success. CBC did, however, regain the rights to the Olympics starting with the 2014 Winter Olympics. CTV has also succeeded with gaining the rights to the World Cup until 2022. Also, the network had also shown an interest in poaching ''Series/HockeyNightInCanada'', the CBC's last remaining bastion in the ratings, but they've been unable as of yet, having lost the new NHL broadcast contract to Rogers Media. They ''did'', however, succeed in taking the famous ''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic theme music]]'', currently owned by sister cable channel TSN (which is not only a Canadian version of Creator/{{ESPN}}, but is itself partly owned by the network); perhaps someday they'll be [[StarCrossedLovers reunited]]...

For a short time in 1966-69, CTV was the first Canadian TV network to have an American affiliate: WNYP-TV, UHF channel 26, licensed to Jamestown, NY but serving Buffalo, owned by Lowell "Bud" Paxson (who later founded the Creator/HomeShoppingNetwork and Creator/IonTelevision). WNYP used Toronto flagship CFTO's over-the-air signal to get CTV's networked programming, which sometimes led to interference problems as WNYP relayed the signal from another TV station on the same channel (such as WNYS in Syracuse, NY or WWTV in Cadillac, MI, both on VHF channel 9 like CFTO) or from a nearby Jamestown radio station. The station was also prone to blunders such as airing the same episode of ''The Aquanauts'' every day for two weeks or neglecting to switch out the CFTO station ID for WNYP's in violation of FCC rules. CTV's reliance on American simulcasts proved to be WNYP's undoing, as the Big Three affiliates in Buffalo threatened legal action and forced WNYP to drop their CTV affiliation; Paxson tried using a prototype of the Home Shopping Network format to stay afloat, but the station was forced to go dark in 1969 when it learned WUTV would sign on the next year and it became clear that Buffalo was too small for two independent TV stations. [[note]](Its equipment was sold to newly-launched ABC affiliate WENY in Elmira, NY; after a couple decades as a translator relay for WNED, channel 26 had a brief revival in 1988-91 as independent WTJA, then came back in 1995 as Creator/TCTNetwork affiliate WNYB)[[/note]]

[[index]]
* ''Series/NineteenTwo''[[/index]]

But the CBC remained the dominant network well into TheNineties, at which point public funding began to dry up in the face of federal budget problems. At the same time, the CBC made the well-intentioned but boneheaded decision to stop simulcasting American programs (except for strip repeats of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', for some reason). This allowed CTV (and rival network Creator/{{Global}}, which had begun to expand its programming presence outside of Ontario) to become incredibly dominant. One major homegrown success from this period was ''Series/DueSouth'', which was the first series produced for Canadian audiences to be simulcast in primetime by an ''American'' network, in this case Creator/{{CBS}} — a rare and incredibly satisfying role reversal. The ''CTV National News'' also pulled ahead of the CBC's late evening news in the ratings during this decade, following a botched revamp of ''The National'' into ''CBC Prime Time News'' (with the show being moved from 10PM to 9PM, ratings cratered); even after the CBC brought ''The National'' back and moved it back to 10PM, CTV remained well ahead of it ratings-wise.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheBeatles''

Famously, CTV wrested the Olympics away from the CBC starting with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, paying top dollar and nearly being bankrupted when the recession hit; luckily, and unlike in the case of Creator/{{NBC}}'s infamous experience with the 1980 Olympics, they were a huge success. CBC did, however, regain the rights to the Olympics and will be doing so beginning in 2014. CTV has also succeeded with gaining the rights to the World Cup until 2022. Also, the network had also shown an interest in poaching ''Series/HockeyNightInCanada'', the CBC's last remaining bastion in the ratings, but they've been unable as of yet, having lost the new NHL broadcast contract to Rogers Media. They ''did'', however, succeed in taking the famous ''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic theme music]]'', currently owned by sister cable channel TSN (which is not only a Canadian version of Creator/{{ESPN}}, but is itself partly owned by the network); perhaps someday they'll be [[StarCrossedLovers reunited]]...