CBMT-DT

CBMT-DT, virtual channel 6 (UHF digital channel 21), is a CBC Television owned-and-operated television station located in the province of Quebec. Licensed to Montreal, the station is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as part of a twinstick with Ici Radio-Canada Télé outlet CBFT-DT (channel 2). The two stations share studios based at Maison Radio-Canada on René Lévesque Boulevard East in Downtown Montreal, CBMT's transmitter is located atop Mount Royal.

This station can also be seen on Vidéotron cable channel 6 and in high definition on digital channel 606. On Shaw Direct, the channel is available on 301 (Classic) or 056 (Advanced), and in high definition on channel 044 (Classic) or 544 (Advanced). It is also available on Bell TV on channel 206 and in high definition on channel 1030; and on Bell Fibe TV on channel 205 and in high definition on channel 1205.

History

CBMT first signed on the air on January 10, 1954, as Montreal's second television station; previously English and French-language programs had shared time on CBFT, Canada's first television station. By the end of 1953, Canada had about a dozen television stations either licensed or under construction, and American competition was about to arrive in Montreal with the construction of WCAX-TV in Burlington, Vermont and WIRI-TV in Plattsburgh, New York (now known as WPTZ). The CBC decided that it was imperative to stop time-sharing in English and in French, so CBMT was included in the network's expansion plans for television.