About Us | CTV News Barrie

The station on the hill has a long history in television.

From 1954 to now, CTV Barrie (and all its previous incarnations) has provided consistent, local, quality reporting.

In 1954, Ralph T. Snelgrove filed an application with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for a television license. In September of that year, Snelgrove got his approval. 

With his sights on a September 1955 launch – the 6th anniversary of his CKBB Radio station – the ground was broken for the new studio in the spring, and in the summer, installation work began on a 5,000-watt General Electric transmitter.

It launched as CKVR Channel 3.

The station underwent many changes over the years., with new staff, an expanded reached, growing programming, and the rightly adopted the slogan "Canada's Fastest Growing Television Station."

There were also many firsts for what is now know as CTV Barrie.

In 1968, the then-CKVR became the first station to offer overnight programming with a lineup of movies from midnight to dawn each Friday night. 

In 1971, CKVR completed its first full year of colour broadcasting. In 1989, CKVR filed to disaffiliate from the CBC, but it was denied. 

CKVR finally ended its 40-year relationship with the Crown broadcaster on September 1, 1995. That day, CKVR became known as The New VR.

It would bear that moniker for 10 years until it became A Channel on August 2, 2005.

Then, on August 29, 2011, the A stations were re-branded as CTV Two, and CTV Barrie came to be.