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| CFPL ( NewNet) | ||
|---|---|---|
| London, Ontario | ||
| Channel 10 / Cable 9 | ||
| Owner | CHUM Limited | |
| Founded | 1953 | |
| Joined NewNet | 1998 | |
| Effective Radiated Power (ERP) | 325 kW | |
| Callsign Meaning | C Free Press of London | |
| Former Affiliations | CBC ( 1953- 1988) BBS ( 1994- 1997) Independent ( 1997- 1998) | |
| NewNet System | ||
| CKNX ( Wingham) | CFPL ( London) | CKVR ( Barrie) |
CFPL or The New PL is a television station owned by CHUM Limited which serves the London and Sarnia regions of OntarioOntario ( In Detail) ( In Detail) Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains Capital Toronto Largest City Toronto Area Total % fresh water 4th largest(2nd lgst prov. 1 076 395 kmē 14. 7% Population Total (2001) Density Rank. It is part of the NewNet system, and is heavily connected with CHWI (The New WI) in Wheatley, which serves the Windsor and Chatham areas, and CKNX (The New NX) in Wingham, which serves much of Western Ontario north of London. The station broadcasts out of London, Ontario, Canada.
CFPL was founded by Walter Blackburn , who also owned London's major newspaper, the London Free Press, as well as radio station CFPL on both the AM and FM dials. The television station first came on the air on November 28, 1953, with four hours of programming per day. That night there was a major fire in London, on which CFPL's news program was able to report almost immediately during its first news hour.
CFPL was the second privately owned station in Canada (CKSO-TV in Sudbury, Ontario, now CICI-TV and part of the MCTV system, was the first). Its news program was the first to be scheduled at 6:00, during "the supper hour," which set the standard for other stations in Canada. CFPL also later became one of the first in Canada to broadcast in colour.
From the day it began broadcasting, CFPL was affiliated with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. This association lasted until August 1988. They were the CBC's largest private affiliate. The station wanted to produce and broadcast more local programming, and they had worsening relations with the CBC. The CBC required affiliates like CFPL to carry a minimum amount of the CBC schedule, and according to station management, the CBC's programming was less lucrative by that time. Nonetheless, CFPL was a very successful station just before disaffiliation, and posted good profits. CFPL's slogan following disaffiliation was "The fun is here!", but the slogan didn't last. Suddenly with no CBC programming to attract viewers, such as The National and Hockey Night in Canada, ratings plummeted and so did revenues. By the end of 1989, the station was almost bankrupt, but they tried to hang on as an independent station for another few years, eventhough their programming schedule did not have much beyond news to attract viewership.
From 1972 to 1981, the flagship newscast, FYI was anchored by Jack Burghardt. During the 1980s, FYI was anchored first by Eric Sorensen ( 1981- 1984), then Neil Stevens. In January 1985, CFPL got its first female anchor, Kate Young, who co-anchored the FYI news with Stevens. Despite female news anchors becoming commonplace across Canada and the United States by the mid-1980s, this was a very controversial move, for many London viewers were very upset by there being a female anchor. Kate Young continued to anchor the 6 pm newscast for the next 17 years, and she became a well-known and respected face in the London community. Tragically, her co-anchor Neil Stevens was killed in a car crash near Alvinston, Ontario in the wee hours of July 17, 1987. Al McGregor was appointed as Young's co-anchor in 1988, a post he held for the next 10 years. Throughout the 1980s, the sports anchor was Pete James, and the weather forcaster was Jay Campbell.
In 1992, amid poor ratings and low revenues, the station was sold to Baton Broadcasting. In 1994 the various Baton stations, including CFPL, merged to form the Baton Broadcasting System. Baton greatly grew CFPL's news department, hiring dozens of people and rebranding the newscast as "News Now". While they focussed a lot of energy on news programming, they cut a lot of non-news local programming from many stations, including CFPL. The longtime lifestyles program "One O'clock Live" was cut in early 1997. In 1997 Baton sold CFPL and some of its other television stations to CHUM Limited. Under CHUM, CFPL joined the NewNet system and was accordingly rebranded The New PL in September 1998. This was not done without controversy. In April 1998, CHUM fired news co-anchor Al McGregor, which generated harsh criticism of the station's new owners. George Clark, news director at CFPL, replaced him as co-anchor for some time, but he left the station in early 2001. In October 2002, Kate Young moved on to a community relations position at the station, and reporter Kathy Mueller replaced her as anchor at 6 pm. Dan McLellan joined the station from CKEM-TV (A-Channel Edmonton) at that time, and became her co-anchor. Today, they continue to co-anchor the 6 pm newscast, still known as "News Now", along with Norman James with sports, Jay Campbell with weather, and Julie Simpson with the "Health and Home" mini-program at 6:30.
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