Superstation

==Canada==
Canada does not have any television stations that operate as "superstations" in the traditional construct of the term. Technically, virtually every Canadian terrestrial television station is a superstation, as almost every local television station in that country – most commonly those that are owned-and-operated stations, as well as a few affiliates, of the five national [[Canadian English|English-language]] networks ([[CBC Television]]; the [[CTV Television Network]] and its companion system, [[CTV 2]]; [[Citytv]]; and the [[Global Television Network]]), and the three French language networks ([[Ici Radio-Canada Télé]], [[V (TV network)|V]], and [[TVA (Canada)|TVA]]) – are carried nationally by one or both of the country's satellite providers, [[Bell Satellite TV]] and [[Shaw Direct]], and any of these stations can be carried by any Canadian cable provider at minimum on a [[digital cable]] programming tier. The closest Canadian equivalents to the "superstation" model are the [[television system]], to some extent (basically acting as a smaller, less-centralized form of the network model), and, moreso, the independent station (the number of which had grown to some extent with the 2009 demise of [[E! (Canadian TV system)|E!]]—a sister system to Global that was originally known as CH from its founding in 2001 until 2007—although some have become affiliates of other networks and systems).

Beginning in the late 1980s, Canadian Satellite Communications (Cancom, now [[Shaw Broadcast Services]]) began distributing the signals of independents [[CHAN-DT|CHAN-TV]] (channel 8, now a Global owned-and-operated station) in [[Vancouver|Vancouver, British Columbia]], [[CITV-DT|CITV-TV]] (channel 13, now a Global owned-and-operated station) in [[Edmonton|Edmonton, Alberta]], and [[CHCH-DT|CHCH-TV]] (channel 11) in [[Hamilton, Ontario]], primarily for distribution by cable systems in smaller markets throughout Canada. Coincidentally, these stations were, like Cancom, either owned or later acquired by [[Western International Communications]] (WIC). As a result of their early availability, which predated the existence of most Canadian [[specialty channel]]s, these stations – the former two of which are now owned by [[Corus Entertainment]] and the latter by [[Channel Zero (company)|Channel Zero]] – continue to maintain a superstation-type status on analog cable in many smaller Canadian communities as well as on border-area cable systems in the United States (such as [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]–[[Niagara Falls, New York]], [[Burlington, Vermont]], and [[Bellingham, Washington]]).

Presently, both the aforementioned CHCH and [[CJON-DT]] (channel 21) in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador]] use slogans referring to each as a "superstation", though neither station has any special regulatory status at present conferring that title. Neither CHCH nor CJON holds a formal network affiliation, although the latter (which identifies under the "NTV" brand) carries [[Global News|news]] and entertainment programming from Global and [[CTV News|news programming]] from CTV, and both stations carry programming from the country's only syndicator, the religious and secular family service [[yes TV]]. (CJON and CHCH are both notable for streaming their programming feeds to viewers in a superstation-type manner within and outside of Canada through their websites; yes TV and CBC Television also maintain free online live streams but restrict access to viewers with Canadian [[IP address]]es. In both cases, only a limited amount of non-local programming is carried on the online feed.)

Moreover, multichannel television providers within Canada are able to distribute American television stations in their digital package, regardless of whether they are superstations or affiliates of the five major U.S. broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox or The CW) that are authorized by the [[Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC), which maintains a list of foreign television channels approved for distribution by the agency. The CRTC authorizes [[List of foreign television channels available in Canada#American Superstations eligible for national distribution|five of the six designated American superstations]] (sans WAPA America) for carriage on domestic [[multichannel video programming distributor|multichannel television providers]]. Under CRTC rules first implemented on October 26, 1983, to bolster domestic programming services (particularly both independently-owned and [[specialty channel|specialty services]]) by requiring providers to "link" U.S.-based services in [[A la carte cable television|discretionary tiers]] tied to Canadian services, all authorized American superstations typically are received mainly through a subscription to one or more domestic premium channels (such as [[Crave (TV network)|Crave]], [[Starz (Canada)|Starz]], [[Super Channel (Canadian TV channel)|Super Channel]] and/or [[Super Écran]], and previously the now-defunct services [[Movie Central]] and [[Encore Avenue]]). Superstations included in Section "B" of the CRTC's Part II eligible services list are mandated to be packaged with premium services; however, under a related rule that allows for one superstation of the provider's choice to be carried on a non-premium tier, some television providers have chosen to offer either TBS/WPCH-TV, WGN-TV or WSBK in a specialty tier.<ref>{{cite web|title=ARCHIVED – Public Notice CRTC 84-81|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1984/pb84-81.htm|website=[[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]]|date=April 2, 1984|access-date=April 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-312|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2010/2010-312.pdf|website=Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission|page=3|date=May 27, 2010|access-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref>

On April 4, 1985, the CRTC granted authorization for WTBS, WGN-TV, WPIX and WOR-TV to be distributed to cable providers within Canada under Section "B" of the Part II eligible services list. Three other superstations were given clearance by the CRTC under the Part II Section "B" list during the 1990s: WSBK-TV was granted authorization on April 29, 1991 (per a request by First Choice Canadian Communications Corporation, then-owner of premium service First Choice [now Crave]), KTLA was granted authorization on July 17, 1991, and KWGN was granted authorization on July 22, 1997. KTLA and KWGN were each placed under the Part III non-Canadian services list simultaneous with their placement on the Part II list. ({{As of|2019}}, KWGN-TV is the only one of the seven CRTC-approved superstations that has no cable or satellite availability within Canada.)<ref>{{cite web|title=Public Notice CRTC 1985-72 – Optional Canadian and Non-Canadian Satellite Services|url=http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1985/PB85-72.htm|website=Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission|date=April 4, 1985|access-date=April 1, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ARCHIVED – Public Notice CRTC 1991-46|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1991/pb91-46.htm|website=Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission|page=3|format=PDF|date=April 29, 1991|access-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ARCHIVED – Public Notice CRTC 1991-72|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1991/pb91-72.htm|website=Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission|date=July 17, 1991|access-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ARCHIVED – Public Notice CRTC 1997-96|url=https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1997/pb97-96.htm|website=Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission|date=July 22, 1997|access-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref>

TBS was removed from the Canadian market when it became a cable-exclusive channel in the U.S. in October 2007, as the CRTC had only given approval for its former parent Atlanta broadcast signal to be carried by cable, satellite and other multichannel television providers within the country; for this reason, Canadian viewers instead receive the rechristened WPCH-TV. (WPCH is one of only two superstations eligible under the Commission's foreign distribution list, along with WGN-TV as a result of its programming separation from its WGN America companion service in December 2014, that is no longer distributed in the United States as a regional or national superstation.)<ref>{{cite web|title=Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2007-132 – Renaming of WTBS Atlanta as WPCH-TV Atlanta on the lists of eligible satellite services|url=http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2007/pb2007-132.htm|website=Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission|date=November 19, 2007|access-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=TBS throws a curveball to Canadian baseball fans|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/tbs-throws-a-curveball-to-canadian-baseball-fans/article1084028/|author=William Houston|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]|publisher=[[Bell Media|Bell Globemedia]]|date=October 4, 2007|access-date=May 6, 2019}}</ref> Similarly, on January 17, 2007, common carrier firm Shaw Broadcast Services ceased distribution of the WGN national feed in favor of offering the station's Chicago signal, a decision believed to have resulted from increased licensing fees for the then-superstation feed. (Some providers, including [[Manitoba Telecom Services|MTS TV]] and [[Cogeco|Cogeco Cable]], continued to carry the superstation feed afterward in place of or in conjunction with the Chicago signal.)