CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cable television channels, one in Atlantic Canada and the other in Alberta (the latter formerly being the provincial educational channel in that province under the name Access Alberta).
The CTV 2 system began in 1995 as NewNet, which was originated from the station CKVR-TV, owned by CHUM Limited, who disaffiliated from the CBC and modeled its format aimed at younger viewers after its Citytv station, CITY-TV in Toronto. The NewNet system expanded with the acquisition of four Baton Broadcasting stations in Southern Ontario, followed by the launch of CIVI-TV in Vancouver Island. NewNet was rebranded to A-Channel in 2005 after acquiring the assets of Craig Media. In 2007, CHUM Limited was acquired by CTVglobemedia; to comply with Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ownership limits, the Citytv stations were sold to Rogers Media, while the non-Citytv stations were relaunched as A in 2008 then again as CTV Two in 2011 with two former Astral Media stations in British Columbia joining the system in 2015.
CTV 2 provides complementary programming to Bell Media's larger CTV network, though since the late 2010s it has increasingly aired repeats in primetime, with only a handful of first-run programs apart from late-night talk shows (simulcast from NBC) and stations' local newscasts. It operates primarily in markets that overlap with the service area of an existing CTV station. CTV 2 broadcast covers all provinces in Canada except Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.
