Global Edmonton is celebrating the station’s 50th anniversary this week.
The station first signed on-air as ITV (Independent Television) on Sept. 1, 1974, introducing itself to audiences by airing 1969 musical comedy Hello, Dolly! The station was originally owned by Dr. Charles Allard’s Allarcom, which had earlier founded Edmonton radio station CHQT.
The station started televising Edmonton Oilers home games in 1979. Its studios were also home to legendary sketch comedy series, SCTV, featuring John Candy, Catherine O’Hara, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, and Bob & Doug McKenzie, from 1980 to 1982, when production was moved back to Toronto.
By 1981, CITV was being offered nationally by most cable providers across the country via Canadian Satellite Communications (Cancom). Among the station’s firsts for the market was satellite and microwave capabilities, enabling it to broadcast live reports from across the province. It was also the first to broadcast in HD and give audiences an aerial traffic view with Edmonton’s first traffic and news helicopter, Global 1.
Allarcom was eventually acquired by WIC (Western International Communications) in 1991, and subsequently Canwest. CITV joined the Global Televisiion Network in 2000, when the station’s name was changed to Global Edmonton. In 2010, Canwest Global’s television assets were purchased by Shaw Communications, and later Corus Entertainment in 2016.
Starting Aug. 30, and all weekend long, Global Edmonton will feature on-air celebrations, marking the station milestone with reporters and anchors sharing their favourite stories, along with photos from the archives. Over 90 station alumni will gather in-studio for a special cake cutting.
Among the well-known journalists and personalities that have come through the station are Gord Steinke, Lynda Steele, Lorraine Mansbridge, the late Bill Matheson, Mike Sobel, Doug Main, the late Darren Dutchyshen, Graham Richardson, Kathy Tomlinson, Claire Martin, Carolyn Jarvis, and Tara Nelson, among many others.
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