View source for CITS-DT

{{Short description|Television station in Hamilton, Ontario}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign = CITS-DT
| city = Hamilton, Ontario
| logo = YesTV Canada.svg
| logo_size = 220px
| image = crossroadscentre.JPG
| image_size = 220px
| caption = Crossroads Centre located in Burlington, home of CTS studios
| branding = Yes TV Ontario
| digital = 14 ([[UHF]])
| virtual = 14
| subchannels = 
| translators = ''see {{section link||Transmitters}}''
| affiliations = '''14.1:''' [[Yes TV]]
| owner = [[Crossroads Christian Communications]]
| licensee = Crossroads Television System
| location = [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]]–[[Toronto]], Ontario
| country = Canada
| airdate = {{start date and age|1998|9|30|p=y}}
| last_airdate = 
| callsign_meaning = Crossroads Independent Television System
| sister_stations = 
| former_callsigns = CITS-TV (1998–2011)
| former_channel_numbers = {{ubl|'''Analog:''' 36 (UHF, 1998–2011)|'''Digital:''' 35 (UHF, 2008–2011), 36 (UHF, 2011–2019)}}
| former_affiliations = [[Independent station|Independent]] (1998–2007)
| erp = 691.3 [[kW]]
| haat = {{convert|337|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| facility_id = 
| coordinates = {{coord|43|18|9.8|N|79|57|35.3|W|type:landmark}}
| licensing_authority = [[CRTC]]
| website = {{URL|https://www.yestv.com/}}
}}

'''CITS-DT''' (channel 14) is a [[religious television station]] in [[Hamilton, Ontario]], Canada, serving as the [[flagship station]] of [[Yes TV]]. Owned by [[Crossroads Christian Communications]], the station has studios on North Service Road (adjacent to [[Ontario Highway 403|Highway 403]]) in [[Burlington, Ontario|Burlington]], and its transmitter is located on Highway 5 near Millgrove Side Road in [[Dundas, Ontario]].

CITS-DT also operates rebroadcasters in [[Ottawa]] and [[London, Ontario|London]], extending the station's coverage to almost all of [[Southern Ontario]] as well as portions of [[Western New York]].

==History==
On December 4, 1996, the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC) denied Crossroads Christian Communications a [[broadcast license|licence]] to operate a religious television station in Burlington.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1996/DB96-773.htm|title=Decision CRTC 96-773|publisher=[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]]|date=December 4, 1996|accessdate=July 21, 2025}}</ref> Two years later on April 9, 1998, the company became successful in obtaining a licence for Hamilton, beating out Trinity Television Inc. for the licence.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1998/db98-123.htm|title=Decision CRTC 98-123|publisher=[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]]|date=April 9, 1998|accessdate=July 21, 2025}}</ref> CITS-TV first signed on the air on September 30 of that year, as a religious [[independent station]]. It had planned to launch two weeks earlier on September 14, but the sign-on date was pushed back to allow cable providers to make changes to some of their channel designations.

Throughout the years, CITS-TV expanded its coverage across southern Ontario by adding rebroadcast transmitters in London and Ottawa and by securing carriage on various cable providers across Ontario and Canada and on satellite.

CTS was rebranded as "Yes TV" on September 1, 2014. The rebranding coincides with the introduction of several [[secular]] programs into the schedule such as ''[[American Idol]]'', ''[[Wheel of Fortune (American game show)|Wheel of Fortune]]'' and ''[[Jeopardy!]]''.<ref name=cts-sayyes>{{cite web|title=Say "Yes" to YES TV - YES TV Set to Launch This Fall|url=http://ctstv.com/news?release=58|website=CTSTV.com|publisher=Crossroads Christian Communications|accessdate=August 13, 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140812190359/http://ctstv.com/news?release=58|archive-date=August 12, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Programming==
Yes TV airs programming intended for family viewing, mostly based on [[Christianity|Christian]] values, including [[drama (film and television)|dramas]], comedies, [[mini-series]] and [[reality television|reality]], [[game show|game]], and [[talk show]]s; although Yes TV also features shows on political commentary and other religions, including [[Judaism]], [[Islam]] and [[Sikhism]]. Yes TV also airs secular mainstream programs during prime time hours. It is governed by the CRTC's Religious Broadcast Regulations and follows a policy of not airing shows containing "coarse language, gratuitous violence or explicit sexual scenes".

Most syndicated programs are timed to air on CITS for maximum [[simultaneous substitution]] benefits to coincide with the timing of the airings in the nearest American market, [[Buffalo, New York]].

==Technical information==
===Subchannel===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannel of CITS-DT<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=CITS#station|title=RabbitEars TV Query for CITS-DT|website=[[RabbitEars]]|accessdate=January 4, 2025}}</ref> 
! scope = "col" | [[Digital subchannel#Canada|Channel]]
! scope = "col" | [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! scope = "col" | [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! scope = "col" | Short name
! scope = "col" | Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 14.1 
| [[1080i]] || [[16:9]] || CITS-HD || [[Yes TV]]
|-
|}

===Analog-to-digital conversion===
CITS-TV began broadcasting its digital signal on [[UHF]] channel 35 in January 2008. CITS shut down its analog signal, over UHF channel 36, on August 31, 2011, the official date on which Canadian television stations in CRTC-designated mandatory [[media market|markets]] [[Digital television in Canada|transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts]];<ref name="Analog to Digital">{{Cite web |url=http://digitaltv.gc.ca/eng/1307549780237/1307549955076 |title=Digital Television - Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) |access-date=June 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131120000011/http://digitaltv.gc.ca/eng/1307549780237/1307549955076 |archive-date=November 20, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/smt-gst.nsf/vwapj/DTV_PLAN_Dec08-e.pdf/$file/DTV_PLAN_Dec08-e.pdf Industry Canada: "DTV Post-Transition Allotment Plan", December 2008]</ref> The station relocated its digital signal from its pre-transition UHF channel 35 to its former analog-era UHF channel 36 for post-transition operations. CITS and its digital rebroadcast transmitters switched to digital as follows: Ottawa repeater CITS-DT-1's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 42, remapping to [[virtual channel]] 42.1; while London repeater CITS-DT-2's digital signal remained on UHF channel 14, remapping to virtual channel 14.1.

===Spectrum reallocation===
As part of the joint effort between the United States and Canada to repurpose the 600&nbsp;MHz band, CITS-DT was required to change its broadcast frequencies in all three markets that it serves. On July 29, 2019, the Hamilton transmitter (CITS-DT) moved from UHF 36 to UHF 14, while the London transmitter (CITS-DT-2) moved from UHF 14 to UHF 19.<ref>{{cite web |title=Find a YES TV Channel |url=https://www.yestv.com/tune-in |website=YES TV |archive-date=February 16, 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216184500/https://www.yestv.com/tune-in |date=July 29, 2019}}</ref> On May 25, 2020, the Ottawa transmitter (CITS-DT-1) moved from UHF 42 to UHF 15.<ref>{{cite web |author1=YES TV |title=Tweet |url=https://twitter.com/yestvcanada/status/1263899870915682313 |website=Twitter |accessdate=May 26, 2020 |date=May 22, 2020 |quote=YES TV's OTA channel in Ottawa is changing from 42 to 15 as of the week of May 25th. Please rescan to find our new channel. For the following 3 weeks, engineers will be performing some testing so there may be periodic signal interruptions. We apologize for any inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/akvOTbw0gl}}</ref> In all three cases, the virtual channel is identical to the physical channel, appended with the .1 decimal.

===Transmitters===
{| class="wikitable"
! Station
! [[City of licence]]
! [[channel (broadcasting)|Channel]]<br>([[digital terrestrial television|RF]] / [[virtual channel|VC]])
! [[effective radiated power|ERP]]
! [[HAAT]]
! Transmitter coordinates
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"
| '''CITS-DT-1'''
| [[Ottawa]]
| 15 ([[UHF]])<br>15
| 20.6&nbsp;kW
| {{convert|203.6|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| {{coord|45|13|1|N|75|33|50|W|type:landmark|name=CITS-TV-1}}
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"
| '''CITS-DT-2'''
| [[London, Ontario|London]]
| 19 (UHF)<br>19
| 4&nbsp;kW
| {{convert|266.0|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}
| {{coord|42|57|16|N|81|21|17|W|type:landmark|name=CITS-TV-2}}
|- style="vertical-align: top; text-align: left;"
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.yestv.com/ CITS-DT ("Yes TV Ontario") official website]
* [https://broadcasting-history.ca/television/television-stations/ontario/toronto-and-vicinity/cits-tv/ CITS-DT] at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the [[Canadian Communications Foundation]]
**[http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listing_and_histories/television/cits-tv CITS-DT history]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*{{RecnetCanada|CITS-DT}}

{{Toronto TV}}
{{Ottawa TV}}
{{Religious television in Canada}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cits-Dt}}
[[Category:1998 establishments in Ontario]]
[[Category:Burlington, Ontario]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1998]]
[[Category:Television stations in Hamilton, Ontario|ITS-DT]]
[[Category:Television stations in Toronto|ITS-DT]]
[[Category:Yes TV stations|ITS-DT]]