CHAT-TV closes down

By Collin Gallant on June 3, 2025.

Medicine Hat News

Medicine Hat’s television station is shutting down, the company that owns CHAT-TV announced to employees at a staff meeting Tuesday morning, the News has learned.

Jim Pattison Broadcast Group cited several years of difficult business conditions and operating loses in a statement posted after the meeting to the company’s Medicine Hat news webpage.

Two radio stations that also operate out of the Pattison broadcast building in Redcliff will remain in operation.

It was not immediately clear how many employees, represented by Unifor Local No. 1010, will be affected. Sources tell the News that TV production staff and some newsroom staff will be laid off.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the closure of CHAT-TV, a trusted local television station that has served the Medicine Hat community for the past 68 years,” read a statement, attributed to Pattison Media president Rod Schween, which thanked employees, viewers and advertisers.

“However, due to the contraction of support for local television, intense economic pressures, and continued operational losses, we have reached the difficult yet necessary conclusion that CHAT-TV can no longer continue its broadcast operations.”

Last month, flooding in the studio forced the relocation of noon and supper-hour newscasts, but local broadcasts continued in the facilities boardroom and other locations, and content was handled in part at other Pattison stations.

CHAT began broadcasting in 1957 under Monarch Broadcasting, and was sold in 2000 to JPBG to give it a television network including stations in Kamloops and Prince George, B.C.

In the 2010s it launched “CHAT News Today” website as part of a broad network of internet news sites coupled with its radio and television markets.

“The decision to close CHAT-TV marks a step backward in our longstanding commitment to delivering meaningful and relevant news,” Schween said.

“We take immense pride in the role CHAT-TV has played in shaping local discourse, empowering communities, and elevating stories that matter. It is devastating to be in a position where we are forced to take this step…. As CHAT-TV’s operations come to an end, we remain steadfast in our belief that strong communities need local journalism. While this closure represents a significant loss, it also serves as a reminder of the vital importance of supporting local media outlets in an increasingly challenging environment.”

The future of the channel, which carries CITY-TV content, is not immediately clear though broadcasts were continuing on Tuesday morning.   

Last month, Stingray Digital announced that it would shutter its only conventional television property in Lloydminster citing economic conditions.

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