November 2, 1936: The CBC & the BBC

November 2, 1936: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is founded. It picks up Canada's favorite (or, should I say, its favourite) radio show, Hockey Night In Canada, which began in 1931. In 1952, a bit late, they began TV broadcasting, and HNIC remains the country's most popular TV show.

On the same day, the British Broadcasting Corporation begins the BBC Television Service, inventing what we would now call "network television." In 1964, it is renamed BBC1.

"The Beeb" beat America to network by 11 years. Oddly, they would be behind the curve when it came to "colour" TV: While nearly every U.S. TV show that had not already switched to broadcasting in color would do so by the start of the 1965-66 season, the CBC the next season (using a butterfly as a logo, as opposed to NBC's Peacock), and the U.K.'s BBC and ITV wouldn't do so until 1969.

Currently, the CBC airs on 14 affiliates. From east to west, they are:

* St. John's Newfoundland and Labrador: CBNT, Channel 8

* Charlottetown, Prince Edward island: CBCT, Channel 13

* Halifax, Nova Scotia: CBHT, Channel 3

* Saint John, New Brunswick: CBAT, Channel 4

* Montreal, Quebec: CBMT, Channel 6

* Ottawa, Ontario: CBOT, Channel 4

* Toronto, Ontario: CBLT, Channel 5

* Windsor, Ontario (across from Detroit): CBET, Channel 9

* Winnipeg, Manitoba: CBWT, Channel 6

* Regina, Saskatchewan: CBKT, Channel 9

* Calgary, Alberta: CBRT, Channel 9

* Edmonton, Alberta: CBXT, Channel 5

* Vancouver, British Columbia: CBUT, Channel 2

* Yellowknife, Northwest Territories: CFYK, Channel 8

CTV was launched as a competitor to the CBC in 1961. TVA was launched as a French-only network in Quebec in 1971.

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November 2, 1936 was a Monday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL season started 3 days later. so there were no scores on this historic day.