View source for ZBM-TV

{{short description|CBS affiliate in Bermuda}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox television station
| callsign               = ZBM-TV
| logo                   = ZBM92023Logo.svg
| logo_size              = 200px
| branding               = {{ubl|ZBM TV 9 ''(general)''|''ZBM 9 News (newscasts)''}}
| digital                = 20 ([[UHF]])
| virtual                = 20
| translators            =
| affiliations           = [[CBS]] (since 1960)
| founded                = {{start date and age|df=yes|1958|1|13|p=y}}<ref name="History">{{cite web|url=https://www.bermuda-online.org/history1952-1999.htm|title=Bermuda's History from 1952 to 1999|website=Bermuda Online|accessdate=October 31, 2024}}</ref>
| location               = [[Hamilton, Bermuda]]
| callsign_meaning       = 
| former_callsigns       = 
| former_channel_numbers = '''Analogue:''' 10 ([[VHF]], 1958–1982), 9 (VHF, 1982–2016)
| owner                  = [[Bermuda Broadcasting Company Ltd.]]
| sister_stations        = [[ZFB-TV]]
| former_affiliations    = 
| erp                    = 
| haat                   = 
| class                  = 
| facility_id            = 
| licensing_authority    = Regulatory Authority of Bermuda (RAB)
| website                = {{url|https://bermudabroadcasting.com/}} 
}}

'''ZBM-TV''' (channel 9) is a [[television station]] in [[Hamilton, Bermuda]], serving the British territory as an affiliate of [[CBS]]. It is owned by the [[Bermuda Broadcasting Company]] alongside [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] affiliate [[ZFB-TV]] (channel 7). The two stations share studios on Fort Hill Road in [[Devonshire Parish]].

==History==
Channel 10 was first occupied in 1955<ref name="Airwaves">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4rcI2v2xkU AIRWAVES - The History of Broadcasting in Bermuda], CITV Bermuda, retrieved October 29, 2024</ref> by [[ZBK-TV]], an [[AFRTS]] station broadcasting out of the Kindley Air Force Base. Due to an agreement between the British and American governments, the station was unable to have a signal covering the whole island.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-DX/NRC-DX-News/V24-1956/DXN24_1956-1957_04.pdf |title=DX News |date=20 October 1956 |accessdate=29 October 2024 |page=4}}</ref> The introduction of television led to Bermudians with television sets setting up makeshift antennas to receive the signal, that they were not allowed to own at the time. ZBK was plagued by controversies regarding its signal and its status. The government made a decision to grant a television license to ZBM.<ref name="Airwaves"/>

ZBM-TV was founded in January 1958 by Bermuda Broadcasting Company as the first local television station in Bermuda. Before then, residents living near [[Kindley Field]] at the East End of Bermuda could watch television via unauthorized reception of the TV signal on base. It was determined that ZBK's broadcasting hours were to be limited to the afternoon, with ZBM airing in the evenings.<ref name="Airwaves"/> Programmes were obtained from U.S. television networks as well as providers and producers from [[Canada]] and the [[UK]].<ref name="Airwaves"/> ZBK-TV eventually shut down in 1959, enabling ZBM to gain complete operational control of the channel.<ref name="Airwaves"/>

The station affiliated with [[CBS]] in 1960, making it one of the few American network affiliates outside of the United States and its territories. International programming was shipped weekly; major international news stories within a 24-hour window. ZBM and ZFB, after determining their affiliations, also had agreements with NBC and the BBC. ZBM introduced ''The Junior Club'', aimed at children, with live segments interspersed with cartoons. By the time ZFB was already airing cartoons on Saturday mornings, its cartoons supplied by CBS aired on Saturday afternoons and weekdays.<ref name="Airwaves"/> The station transitioned to [[color television|colour]] in 1971, the second colour television service on the island of Bermuda after ZFB, which introduced theirs in November 1970.<ref name="Airwaves"/> In 1983, Capital Broadcasting Company merged with Bermuda Broadcasting Company, with Bermuda Broadcasting being responsible for the two stations. A strike at the company took the two stations off the air for a few months in 1984, before being the only of the two channels resuming operations, with CBS programming and a five-minute newscast, ''Eye on Bermuda'', which was later reverted to the half-hour format as ''Newscenter 10''.<ref name="Airwaves"/>

In 1987, the Bermuda government reallocated the VHF channels available (8, 10, 12) to channels 7, 9, 11 and 13. ZBM-TV was moved to channel 9 in 1988.<ref name="Airwaves"/>

==Technical information==
===Subchannel===
{| class="wikitable"
|+Subchannel of ZBM-TV
! Channel
! [[Display resolution|Res.]]
! [[Aspect ratio (image)|Aspect]]
! Short name
! Programming
|-
! scope = "row" | 20.9 
| [[720p]] || [[16:9]] || CBS || [[CBS]]
|}

===Analogue-to-digital conversion===
On the week of 9 March 2016,<ref name="bernews.com">{{cite web|url=http://bernews.com/2016/03/dd-bermuda-broadcasting-moving-digital-tv-output/|title=BBC's All-Digital TV Output Plans "On Course" - Bernews.com|date=9 March 2016}}</ref> Bermuda Broadcasting ended analogue broadcasts and converted ZFB-TV and ZBM-TV to digital using [[ATSC]], with both services sharing a [[multiplex (TV)|multiplex]] on channel 20. The [[broadcast transmitter|transmitter]] was knocked out of service some time later when lightning struck the transmitter. In 2017, in time for the [[2017 America's Cup|America's Cup]], Bermuda Broadcasting completed an upgrade that added a second transmitter for ZFB, using virtual channel 19.7, allowing both ZFB and ZBM to broadcast in [[high-definition television|HD]]; it also replaced its radio transmitters.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.royalgazette.com/local-business/article/20170410/bbc-terrestrial-tv-service-to-return--in-hd|work=Bernews|date=10 April 2017|title=BBC terrestrial TV service to return — in HD|access-date=13 August 2019}}</ref> With the upgrade, ZBM began using virtual channel 20.9.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://bermudabroadcasting.com/}}
* [http://www.bermuda-online.org/media.htm Bermuda News media] (inactive)

{{Bermuda TV}}
{{British Overseas TV}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zbm-Tv}}
[[Category:Television stations in Bermuda]]
[[Category:CBS affiliates]]
[[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1958]]
[[Category:1958 establishments in Bermuda]]
[[Category:Transnational network affiliates]]


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