Branding CFTF Translators see below | Slogan Laissez-vous divertir Affiliations V | |
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Channels Digital: 29 (UHF)
Virtual: 29.1 (PSIP) Owner Télé Inter-Rives
(Télévision MBS, Inc.) | ||
CFTF-DT is a French language television station affiliated with V in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Canada. It broadcasts a high-definition digital signal on UHF channel 29 from a transmitter near Chemin du Mont Bleu in Picard.
Owned by Télé Inter-Rives, it is sister to Radio-Canada affiliate CKRT-DT and TVA affiliate CIMT-DT. This arrangement makes the station part of a so-called "triple-stick"—three stations owned by a single company. All three stations share studios located on Rue de la Chute and Rue Frontenac in Rivière-du-Loup.
Like its two sister stations, it operates a second, "nested" low-power transmitter in Rivière-du-Loup. The area's rugged terrain makes the main signal practically unviewable in the lower portions of the city. The rebroadcaster, CFTF-6 (now CFTF-DT-6), signed on in 1999. The reception problem is exacerbated by the station's location on the UHF band (UHF stations have never gotten good reception in rugged terrain), as well as its relatively modest operating power. Its analogue signal only operated at 50,000 watts, and its digital signal operates at only 44,000 watts—roughly equivalent to 220,000 watts in analogue. The main signal is located on channel 29, while the rebroadcaster is on channel 11. It also operates a rebroadcaster in Edmundston, New Brunswick—the only V rebroadcaster located outside of Quebec.
This station can also be seen on Vidéotron channel 5 and in high definition on digital channel 605. By way of its Edmundston rebroadcaster, it can also be seen on nearly all cable systems in northern New Brunswick.
The station airs a 15-minute regional newscast at 5:30 p.m. on weekdays from its Rivière-du-Loup studio, with additional reporting from a bureau in Carleton-sur-Mer, Quebec at co-owned CHAU.
On June 1, 2007, the CRTC approved a joint application by TQS and Télé Inter-Rives to convert the TQS station in Rimouski, CJPC-TV, from a rebroadcaster of CFJP Montreal to a semi-satellite of CFTF. As part of the deal, a news bureau would be built in Rimouski, and a limited amount of local programming would be added on CJPC.
Transmitters
CFTF-DT was approved by the CRTC for and converted all its transmitters to digital by the August 31, 2011 digital transition deadline, including its transmitters that were not required to convert by this deadline. Only its transmitters in Rivière-du-Loup were obligated to convert, as Rivière-du-Loup was a mandatory market for digital television conversion.
The station is also available on cable in most major New Brunswick cities and is available on Bell TV.