Branding ICI Acadie Owner Société Radio-Canada | Affiliations Ici Radio-Canada Télé First air date December 21, 1959 | |
Slogan ICI Radio-Canada Télé, c'est ma télé Channels Digital: 11 (VHF)
Virtual: 11.1 (PSIP) | ||
CBAFT-DT (branded on-air as ICI Acadie) is the Ici Radio-Canada Télé owned-and-operated television station for Atlantic Canada, serving Acadians in the Maritimes and Franco-Newfoundlanders in Newfoundland and Labrador. The station is licensed to Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
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Owned by the Société Radio-Canada (CBC), it broadcasts a high-definition digital signal on VHF channel 11 from a transmitter located at its studios on Timberline Road in Moncton. This station can also be seen on Rogers Cable digital channel 601. There is a high definition feed offered on Bell Aliant Fibe TV channel 405. This station is also available on Bell TV channel 100 and in high definition on channel 1801. For Eastlink subscribers, however, it's only offered in standard definition (the high definition signal on channel 1017 comes from CBLFT-DT in Toronto).
Prior to September 2, 2008, the station was known as Télévision de Radio-Canada Atlantique. It was rebranded to "Télévision de Radio-Canada Acadie" as part of the public broadcaster's efforts to better reflect the region it serves.
Overview
The station was launched at 6:25 p.m. on December 21, 1959 from Moncton on channel 11. The station slowly added rebroadcasters, such as one serving Fredericton and Saint John in 1973 on channel 5. Radio-Canada later converted CJBR-TV-1 Edmundston, a retransmitter of a former affiliate in Rimouski, Quebec on channel 13, to a rebroadcaster of CBAFT.
The station operates additional news bureaus in Edmundston, Bathurst, Caraquet, Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador; and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Unlike all other Radio-Canada stations, programming in the Atlantic region airs one hour later than its scheduled time in the rest of Canada: this noted by the phrase Une heure plus tard dans les Maritimes, present on nearly all Radio-Canada network promos. (Due to Newfoundland's small Francophone population, the correct time for programs there is only noted on local promos.)
Local programming
Exchange agreement with RFO
In May 2010, it was announced that CBAFT will be exchanging news stories and reporters with Télé Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (call-sign: FQN), the RFO outlet for the French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, in an agreement made with France Télévisions, the public broadcaster that oversees RFO (since renamed Outre-Mer 1ère, with the local affiliate called Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon 1ère). In addition, Télé Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon will also broadcast Le Téléjournal/Acadie to local viewers there, as well as on France Ô, which showcases RFO programming for viewers in Metropolitan France. In consequence, due to Télé Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon's availability on Canadian cable and satellite, the program will be available to viewers across Canada as well. This exchange was following the arrival of the aerial TNT digital television service to Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which offers only RFO and Metropolitan France channels, unlike the local cable system, which offers Canadian and American channels, including CBAFT.
Transmitters
CBAFT had 21 analog television rebroadcasters throughout the Maritimes.
Due to federal funding reductions to the CBC, in April 2012, the CBC responded with substantial budget cuts, which included shutting down CBC's and Radio-Canada's remaining analog transmitters on July 31, 2012. None of CBC or Radio-Canada's rebroadcasters were converted to digital.
Transmitters in mandatory markets were required to go digital or be taken off the air by the transition deadline of August 31, 2011. The CBC decided that none of its rebroadcasters would switch to digital. The following CBAFT rebroadcasters were in mandatory markets:
On August 16, 2011, the CRTC granted the CBC permission to continue operating twenty-two repeaters in mandatory markets, including the above, in analogue until August 31, 2012, by which time they must either convert to digital or shut down.