According to filings to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) by Thunder Bay Electronics (owner of CBC's Thunder Bay affiliate CKPR-DT) and Bell Media (owner of CBC affiliates CFTK-TV in Terrace and CJDC-TV in Dawson Creek),[citation needed] the CBC informed them that it will not extend its association with any of its private affiliates beyond August 31, 2011. Incidentally, that was also the date for analogue to digital transition in Canada. Given recent practice and the CBC's decision not to convert any retransmitters to digital, even in markets with populations in the hundreds in thousands, it is not expected that the CBC will open new transmitters to replace its affiliates, and indeed may pare back its existing transmitter network. However, in March 2011, CKPR announced that it had come to a programming agreement with the CBC, in which the station will continue to provide CBC programming in Thunder Bay for a period of five years. On March 16, 2012, Astral Media announced the sale of its assets to Bell Media, owners of CTV and CTV Two, for $3.38 billion with CFTK and CJDC included in the acquisition. Whether the stations will remain CBC affiliates or become owned-and-operated stations of CTV or CTV Two following the completion of the merger is undetermined.
The CRTC requested that the CBC negotiate with this station in order to extend their contract?