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Was CKVR Barrie The First TV Station In History To Stay On All Night?
There will probably never be any way to accurately answer that question, but a case can be made that what was then little independent CKVR in Barrie was the first station in TV history to stay on all night.
It’s commonplace now, but those who were around before the era of ’24 hour television’ certainly remember the days when what few TV outlets existed would show an ancient movie (usually called something like “The Late Show”) chopped to pieces for commercials starting around 11:30 PM and running until roughly 1 AM. That was sometimes followed by a prayer or an editorial, the anthem, a test pattern and then – snow.
But while digging through a drawer I haven’t opened in years, I came across an old yellowed copy of the Toronto Star from March 7, 1958, with a column by Gordon Sinclair of CFRB fame. He was apparently also the Star’s TV columnist at that time.
His headline that day is titled “Barrie TV On All Night.” Here’s the text:
Comes now Canada’s first all-night TV ! !
Barrie on Channel 3 will start all-night film grinds next Friday.
Not every night. Just Friday night.
President Ralph Snelgrove says a survey showed that one person in 10 within viewer range of CKVR wanted the all night program and Ralph says that adds up to at least one night hawk in each of 35,000 homes.
Film on opening night will be “Luck of the Irish” and there will be news, sports, weather reports and other items through the night.
Sign off will be at 9 in the morning. Toronto viewers will be able to catch the all-night entertainment.
What really surprises me about the story is that they tried to provide news and more during this marathon. And also that they still signed off – but not until 9 AM Saturday, when the other stations had just come back on the air.
I wonder how long this lasted and how many people actually tuned in. And if, in fact, it was the first case of a TV station staying on all night to service an audience that normally saw only static.
- Saul
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Re: Was CKVR Barrie The First TV Station In History To Stay On All Night?
During the 1970s and 80s, I vaguely recall them going off at night, and that may correlate to (being off) weekdays-only as alluded to in the article. I vaguely recall that. But time plays tricks on one's memory. I'm a DXer and Barrie is close to my site but I was still able to snag distant stations with CKVR *ON* the air. There were occasional times they were off for prolonged periods of time - once for close to a week when a plane hit their tower. I have over the decades logged channel 3 stations in places as far flung as Sterling Colorado. My frequency logs for channel 3 are printed below. I had just about every station in single-hop skip range. But my date logs from the 70s and 80s are in WordPerfect files and I have no access to them without getting them converted somehow. (I keep printed logs but they're not with me in Toronto). So I can't definitively answer the question. But my strong but uncertain recollection is that, for my DXing time frame in the 70s and 80s, they were off somewhere between midnight and 6 am, more or less, and quite possibly just during weekdays; and my logs would not be that specific.
3 (40)
CBWFT MB Winnipeg Es
CBHT NS Halifax Es
CJCB6 NS Port Hawkesbury Es
CKVR ON Barrie Tr TO DTV 10
CBOT6 ON Chalk River Tr
CICI1 ON Elliot Lake Tr
CHAU1 QC Sainte Marguerite Es
CBKT7 SA Warmley Estevan Es
CKOS SA Yorkton Es
WVUA-CA-7 AL Greensboro Es
KUPN CO Sterling Es TO DTV
WEAR FL Pensacola Es Ms TO DTV
WEDU FL Tampa Es TO DTV
WRBL GA Columbus Es TO DTV
WSAV GA Savannah Es TO DTV
WSIL IL Harrisburg Es TO DTV
KIMT IA Mason City Es TO DTV
KSWK KS Lakin Es TO DTV
KSNW KS Wichita Es TO DTV
KATC LA Lafayette Es TO DTV
KTBS LA Shreveport Es TO DTV
WJMN MI Escanaba Tr TO DTV
KDLH MN Duluth Es TO DTV
WLBT MS Jackson Es TO DTV
KTVO MO Kirksville Es TO DTV
KYTV MO Springfield Es Ms TO DTV
KLNE NE Lexington Es TO DTV
KMTV NE Omaha Es TO DTV
WSTM NY Syracuse Tr TO DTV
WWAY NC Wilmington Es TO DTV
KBME ND Bismarck Es TO DTV
WKYC OH Cleveland Tr TO DTV
KOET OK Eufala Es TO DTV
KOTA SD Rapid City Es TO DTV
KDLO SD Florence Es TO DTV
WRCB TN Chattanooga Ms TO DTV
WREG TN Memphis Es TO DTV
KBTX TX Bryan Es TO DTV
KFDX TX Wichita Falls Es TO DTV
WTKR VA Norfolk Ms TO DTV
Last edited by Saul (March 23, 2018 11:52 am)
- markow202
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Re: Was CKVR Barrie The First TV Station In History To Stay On All Night?
Ah classic CKVR those were the days. However I only remember the staying young enough from late 80s and thru the New VR days until now as we frequent the area for cottage since then.
The Barrie area is expanding...things are being built and growing around especially around their studio. Sooner or later there will be a lot of things established if not already around their big tower and studio whos white beacon lights you can see flashing from a far heading up highway 400.
Last edited by markow202 (March 23, 2018 2:41 pm)
- splunge
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Re: Was CKVR Barrie The First TV Station In History To Stay On All Night?
The Barrie area is expanding...things are being built and growing around especially around their studio. Sooner or later there will be a lot of things established if not already around their big tower and studio whos white beacon lights you can see flashing from a far heading up highway 400.
The very reason bell eagerly gobbled up Larche radio. They don't care about the owen sound or sudbury markets as much as they wanted the 400 corridor and south muskoka.
- Dale Patterson
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Re: Was CKVR Barrie The First TV Station In History To Stay On All Night?
"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
- markow202
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Re: Was CKVR Barrie The First TV Station In History To Stay On All Night?
Old post however, speaking of Barrie at night, the CKVR tower hasn’t been lit for a week at night.
- splunge
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Re: Was CKVR Barrie The First TV Station In History To Stay On All Night?
markow202 wrote:
Old post however, speaking of Barrie at night, the CKVR tower hasn’t been lit for a week at night.
setting up for another airplane strike?