Most homes subscribe to
cable television through
Shaw Communications, or
internet protocol through
Bell MTS. There are also two satellite services available through
Shaw Direct and
Bell Satellite TV. Some homes use
grey market satellite dishes to bring in signals from American satellite services.
Free programming There are five English-language stations and one French-language station based in Winnipeg that supply free programming to the city.
American networks Additionally, American network affiliates broadcasting from
Fargo and
Grand Forks, North Dakota are available over-the-air in many parts of Winnipeg and
Southern Manitoba. Until the mid-1980s,
KRDK-TV (then known as KXJB) and
KVLY-TV (then known as KTHI) from Fargo were available on Winnipeg's cable service. These channels were replaced by
WDIV-TV and
WJBK from
Detroit, later
WTOL from Toledo. Currently,
WCCO-TV and
KARE from
Minneapolis, Minnesota are available to Winnipeg via cable.
WDAZ-TV from Grand Forks is still available on Winnipeg cable TV systems. For decades, the Fargo/Grand Forks stations depended heavily on advertising in Winnipeg, as Winnipeg has more than double the population of the Fargo/Grand Forks market.
WUHF, the
Fox-affiliate from
Rochester, New York, has been available on cable since December 1994. Fargo Fox affiliate
KVRR operates a repeater, KNRR, in border town
Pembina, North Dakota; it reaches Winnipeg over-the-air. However, its weak signal requires either a rooftop
VHF antenna aimed south or being located on a high floor of a tall building. KNRR was intended to target Winnipeg, but is not carried on any Winnipeg-area systems due to
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission concerns that Winnipeg businesses will advertise on KNRR rather than Winnipeg stations. Ironically, some Winnipeg businesses advertise on WDAZ, which is carried on cable TV in Winnipeg, as many Winnipeg residents shop in Grand Forks (and Fargo) to take advantage of lower taxes. However this is sometimes ineffective due to
simultaneous substitution. This practice requires cable systems to replace WDAZ's signal with that of a Winnipeg station (usually either CKY or CKND) whenever the same program and episode air simultaneously. The
PBS member network for North Dakota,
Prairie Public Television, has been carried on Winnipeg cable systems for over four decades by way of its Grand Forks outlet, KGFE. Winnipeg is almost as large as the entire American population of Prairie Public's footprint, and has long been a significant supporter of the network.
Cable television ==Radio==