Identity area
Type of entity
Corporate body
Authorized form of name
Swift Current Telecasting Co. Ltd., 1957-2008
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1957-2008
History
Swift Current Telecasting Co. Ltd. was incorporated as a business corporation in Saskatchewan on July 24, 1957. The founders and original owners of the company were William (Bill) and Julie Forst of Swift Current. Bill Forst served as president; Julie Forst served as secretary. Shares in the company were initially held by the Forsts and community members; however, in 1981 the Forst family purchased the balance of the shares from the other shareholders and retained exclusive ownership of the company.
From 1957 to 2002, Swift Current Telecasting Co. Ltd. operated the television station CJFB-TV as a private affiliate of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Television. The third television station established in the province, CJFB-TV began broadcasting live on Channel 5 on December 23, 1957 at 6 p.m. Both the studio and the primary transmitter for CJFB-TV were located approximately four kilometres from the city of Swift Current on what came to be known as Television Hill. Using state of the art equipment, the signal reached viewers in Swift Current and numerous communities in southwest Saskatchewan, including Shaunavon, Cypress Hills, Eastend, Val Marie, Maple Creek, Pontiex, Riverhurst and Elrose.
The station broadcast local news and events in addition to syndicated and feature films and produced several well-known programs, including Farming Today, which aired from 1958 to 1999. Farming Today was a weekly thirty-minute television news magazine show that reported on developments in agriculture and farming. Farming Today was succeeded by Agribiz, a thirty-minute television magazine show highlighting successful and innovative agricultural business practices in Western Canada. CJFB-TV is credited with the creation of the Kinsmen Telemiracle Telethon, a well-known televised fundraiser featuring local talent and celebrities performing to raise money for Saskatchewan residents with disabilities. CJFB-TV was also the first station in Canada to broadcast its own satellite weather information through the use of antennae-tracking and facsimile equipment that was built and assembled at the station.
On May 31, 2002, Swift Current Telecasting Co. Ltd. closed the CJFB-TV studios and sold their assets to CBC. CBC assumed responsibility for the programming and equipment at the Swift Current studios and as of June 1, 2002, Channel 5 in Swift Current became a broadcast repeater. Network programming originated from facilities in Toronto and news and public affairs were provided through studios in Regina (CBKT).
On January 1, 2008, Swift Current Telecasting Co. Ltd. and 101113135 Saskatchewan Ltd. were amalgamated into a new business corporation known as Swift Current Telecasting Co. Ltd.
Places
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Internal structures/genealogy
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Relationships area
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Authority record identifier
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Rules and/or conventions used
Rules for Archival Description (RAD)
Status
Final
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Authority record created on 2009-08-31. Approved 2012-03-06. Last modified on 2017-11-29.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
AMICUS Authorities - no entry found.
Various Internet sites
Contents of the fonds
Saskatchewan Justice, Corporations Branch Corporate Registry