CJSS-TV
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | 1959 |
| Founder | Stanley Shenkman |
| Defunct | 1963 |
| Fate | Converted into a repeater for CJOH-TV; permanently discontinued in 2017 |
| Headquarters | Cornwall, Ontario , Canada |
Area served | Cornwall, Ontario; later Montreal area (as repeater) |
| Owner | Stanley Shenkman (original), Ernie Bushnell (from 1962), Bell Media (later) |
CJSS-TV (channel 8) was a television broadcaster located in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, that operated between 1959 and 1963 as a privately owned affiliate of CBC Television. Subsequently, it transitioned into a retransmission outlet for Ottawa's CJOH-TV.
The station initiated its test transmissions on October 12, 1959, and commenced regular CBC-affiliated programming on October 18 under the ownership of Stanley Shenkman, an architect based in Toronto. Shenkman also purchased radio stations CKSF and CKSF-FM, which were rebranded with the CJSS call letters.
In June 1961, CJSS-TV revealed its intention to leave CBC and become part of the newly established CTV. However, due to ongoing financial difficulties, Ernie Bushnell acquired the station in 1962. Local content production ceased on November 3, and the following day the station was converted into a repeater for Ottawa's CTV affiliate CJOH. This marked the first instance in Canada where a television station discontinued independent operations to serve solely as a rebroadcaster.
After serving as a peripheral signal for the Montreal area for several years, Bell Media permanently discontinued the station in 2017. The associated radio outlets were sold to the Emard family (Tri-Co Broadcasting Ltd.) and eventually integrated into Corus Entertainment. Among these, 1220 AM (operating as CJUL) stopped broadcasting in August 2010, leaving only CJSS-FM to continue carrying the original call sign.
External links
- The Brisson Brothers featured in their own television program The Town & Country Show on CJSS-TV in Cornwall (Ottawa Country Music Hall of Fame, 1994).
- 237 Water Street East, former location of CJSS radio studios; during the late 1950s and early 1960s, this building also housed studios for the short-lived CJSS-TV channel 8.
- CJSS-TV profile at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the Canadian Communications Foundation
- 1959 establishments in Ontario
- 1962 disestablishments in Ontario
- Defunct mass media in Ontario
- Defunct television stations in Canada
- Mass media in Cornwall, Ontario
- Television channels and stations established in 1959
- Television channels and stations disestablished in 1962
- Television stations in Eastern Ontario