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CFRE-DT (channel 11) is a television station in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, part of the Global Television Network. The station is owned and operated by network parent Corus Entertainment and maintains studios on Hoffer Drive and McDonald Street on the northeast side of Regina; its transmitter is located near Louis Riel Trail/Highway 11, northwest of the city.
CFRE-DT and CFSK-DT (channel 4) in Saskatoon were authorized and built together, signing on September 6, 1987, after a multi-year licensing process prolonged by the federal cabinet's unusual decision to remand a decision of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission for reconsideration. The two stations, owned by CanWest, were known as STV and had identical non-local programming, with split local news for each city. In 1997, when the CanWest Global System was transformed into the present Global Television Network, the STV brand was dropped in favor of Global. Global Regina airs a three-hour local morning newscast as well as 90 minutes of local evening news, which is presented from studios in Winnipeg using a Regina-based production staff.
One of the main problems facing the applicants at the outset was the availability of an additional channel at Regina. STV intended to broadcast on channel 13 in Regina, to be made available by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation building a new transmitter site at Belle Plaine and consolidating channels used for broadcast in Regina and Moose Jaw, but the federal government canceled the funding that was to be used to build the facility; the CRTC postponed a hearing for the applications, and the tower project was formally cancelled in early 1985.
Saskatchewan Television Network merged its bid with Allarcom in April 1985. One notable condition of the combined application is that the proposed service would not be available on broadcast TV in Saskatoon, only in Regina. By contrast, SaskWest's application had only changed the proposed channel for Regina, from 13 to 11.
Hearings opened in Regina on June 18, 1985, with the SaskWest bid being presented to the CRTC first. The Harvard–Allarcom bid was modified, in a move that frustrated CanWest chairman Izzy Asper but answered complaints from commissioners, to specify a more independent news service from CKCK-TV and a commitment to start over-the-air broadcasting within five years, but it would otherwise mostly consist of programming from CITV. Asper considered the final Harvard–Allarcom proposal inadequate under the definition of a "third service", while backers of the Harvard–Allarcom bid questioned whether Saskatchewan's TV advertising market could support the station established in the SaskWest/STV plan.
On September 12, 1985, the CRTC awarded the third-service licences to SaskWest based on its experience operating CKND, CanWest's financial resources, and its promised local programming. At the time, STV was slated to launch by September 1, 1986. Harvard and Allarcom moved to challenge the ruling in the Federal Court of Appeal and appealed to the federal cabinet with Harvard believing that any downturn in the profits from CKCK-TV could cause the company to fall into "financial jeopardy" because, despite being diversified into real estate, insurance, and oil and natural gas, the broadcasting division was responsible for more than half its total revenues.
The federal cabinet, agreeing with Harvard, remanded the applications to the CRTC for reconsideration on November 8, overturning the commission's initial decision. The decision was based on two questions: whether Regina and Saskatoon were combined or separate TV markets and whether they could support the introduction of a third television service. The news was a disappointment to SaskWest and its backers, faced with a setback in construction plans, who immediately suspected political lobbying had something to do with the ruling; Harvard chairman Fred Hill was noted for his closeness with the Conservatives, then in federal government. MPs representing Saskatoon admitted they had been lobbied by several groups; the entire 14-member Saskatchewan delegation to Parliament supported the Harvard appeal. SaskWest campaigned publicly as well as with the CRTC to rally support for its bid. Several provincial politicians bucked their federal parties to support SaskWest, including in the New Democratic Party and the Progressive Conservatives.
A second round of hearings opened in Regina on February 11, 1986. The primary topic of contention was whether existing stations such as CKCK-TV could withstand the introduction of a new service. SaskWest cited the profits CKCK-TV had reported to the CRTC in recent years, while Harvard and Allarcom believed a downturn in the economy was already occurring and hurting the stations. The CRTC in April ruled in favor of SaskWest and reaffirmed its original decision, noting that although Regina and Saskatoon were indeed separate markets, the stations there could economically withstand a new competitor.
STV launched in both Regina (CFRE-TV 11) and Saskatoon (CFSK-TV 4) on September 6, 1987. In 1994, master control for STV-Saskatoon was centralized in Regina, essentially combining the stations outside of their local programming, once a fibre-optic link was completed between the two cities.
In 1997, the STV name was discontinued when the Global Television Network brand was expanded throughout Canada.
On November 28, 2011, Global Regina expanded into morning news by debuting a three-hour morning newscast. The move was part of a multi-market morning news expansion that included the establishment of similar programs in Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, and the Maritimes. Prime News and News Final were consolidated into the hour-long News Hour Final in 2012.
Global evening newscasts in Saskatchewan and Manitoba use the company's multi-market content production model. Beginning in 2021, the newscasts for Regina, Saskatoon, and Winnipeg were presented from Winnipeg using production staff based in Regina.
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