The appearance of television in the second half of the 20th century marked a new stage of technical progress in Toronto. Local residents read newspapers and listened to the radio to learn about new events in the city until a broadcasting centre and an English-language television network appeared. Since then, daily broadcasts on regional and international TV channels have become a part of their daily life. Learn how television became the new infotainment activity in Toronto in the 90s at toronto-future.  

The beginning of television broadcasting in Toronto: the creation of the Canadian television network and the release of TV sets 

The first television broadcast was launched on a black-and-white screen. It was founded in 1932, included five stations throughout the country and became the main broadcasting service in Canada. It was the time when a new technological novelty, TV sets, changed the lives of many people. They first appeared in Canada in 1930 and began to be sold in many cities, including Toronto. The first models were produced by General Electric and were called Octagon. 

For the first time, thousands of people were simultaneously informed about events in the city via their TV screens. By 1954, one million TV sets had been sold in Toronto and beyond. Despite the fact that these devices were very expensive at the time, most local residents had a television at home by the end of the 1950s. People were pleasantly surprised by this technical invention. Describing that period, TV presenter and producer Lorne Michaels said the following:

“It was all we talked about at school. We literally raced home to watch TV”.

Television broadcasting was necessary to show and support patriotism, unity of the nation and the development of various fields of activity, transmitting information via screens. In this regard, the Canadian television service was founded after the launching of TV set sales. What is more, according to a resolution, any television station must be connected to it. 

Then, according to the decision of the city government, the construction of the first television broadcasting centre, the Canadian Broadcasting Centre (CBC), began in Toronto. It was an office-studio complex and the main television station in the city. This 13-story complex was built for CA$35 million in 1993. One of the main goals of its construction was to provide television broadcasting for hundreds of residents in Toronto and other Canadian cities. It also aimed at bringing together a large number of CBC network employees who previously worked in 20 different telecommunications facilities. 

The architectural and technological features of the first broadcasting centre included modern developments in the field of television and radio broadcasting and integration with the Internet. A team of specialists worked for more than 20 years on the project of its construction. Engineers and programmers from Toronto Quinn Dressel Associates, Barton Myers and other specialists were involved in the strategic planning of digital archives, building multimedia and its connection with the CN Tower. The broadcasting centre houses three radio and TV studios with a wide range of equipment for transmitting signals via TV channels to TV devices. They were brought to Toronto from other Canadian and European cities in the 90s. 

The launch of the first TV programmes and the development of the Toronto TV sphere 

Television communication in the city was provided by antennas and amplifiers installed on the buildings of the broadcasting centre and the CN Tower. Thus, channels that broadcast various programmes became popular in Toronto. Also, regular television broadcasting contributed to the development of new television programmes at the end of the 1940s and 1950s. It also helped many specialists to develop their skills in the field of mass media in accordance with the modern standards of conducting television activities in those years. 

At first, Toronto residents could watch TV on a black-and-white screen. Several dozen TV programmes were created in 1960, which covered news, sports, culture, youth, etc. Cable TV channels also appeared in the city. Over time, their number gradually increased, as did the quality of media services. In addition, in the process of increasing the number of new TV broadcasting services users, new genres of television shows also appeared, such as a report, an interview, a review and others

On March 5, 2005, Toronto CBC Television began broadcasting programmes via satellite and digital cable TV. In 2011, residents of the city began to use the services of free analogue television broadcasting.