Few individuals in the history of Canadian television have inspired as much controversy as John Bassett, a founder of Toronto station CFTO and key figure in the formation of the CTV network, Canada’s first privately owned television network. Bassett parlayed a career in journalism and his financial connections into a major ownership role in Canadian commercial television. Media historian Paul Rutherford identifies him as one of the architects of Canadian television. Bassett also was a player in national politics, and in the 1980s he was named chair of the Canadian Security Intelligence Review Commission and appointed to the Privy Council of Canada, an appointment that carried with it the title Honourable.

When in 1959 the Board of Broadcast Governors (BBG), reflecting the views of the recently elected Conservative government of John Diefenbaker, decided to allow an expansion of private telecasting in Canada, the most coveted market was Toronto, seen correctly as a potential gold mine. Many prominent business groups wanted the license and nine eventually applied. Bassett joined the Eaton family, owners of a large department store chain, and others in an enterprise known as BATON Broadcasting, which was awarded the Toronto rights. When the winner was announced, the decision was roundly criticized. Some critics alleged that Bassett, a party insider and (unsuccessful) candidate for the Progressive Conservative party, had capitalized on his political connections and personal relationship with the prime minister. The new licensee also owned the Toronto Telegram, an unashamedly right-wing supporter of the party. (The newspaper closed its doors in 1971.) This connection also aroused concerns about cross-media ownership. Bassett may have had some influence on the Diefenbaker government’s decision to weaken the television monopoly held by the public network. However, historians report no evidence that the prime minister personally intervened in the BBG decision to award the license to BATON.

Conflict of interest was also suspected when the rights to televise Canadian professional football games went to BATON, rather than to the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) with its national audience. Bassett also owned the Toronto club in the league at the time. Initially cool to Spence Caldwell’s CTV network, Bassett was forced to come to an agreement with CTV—and the CBC—to reach a national audience for the then highly popular Canadian Football League telecasts. The national championship, known as the Grey Cup game, was a major national event, important to viewers and profitable for broadcasters with a national audience. Once in the fold, Bassett came to dominate the private network.

With its prime-time schedule filled with U.S. imports, CFTO was soon accused of reneging on promises it made during the license hearings to promote Canadian content. Similar allegations were leveled at the entire CTV network, and the BBG was seen as either gullible or politically motivated in failing to en force promises made during application hearings. During the BBG hearings, the BATON group had promised to fight the “battle of Buffalo,” appealing to Canadian cultural concerns about U.S. domination. Bassett’s promise was to compete with Buffalo, New York, television stations for Toronto viewers, many of whom had been watching U.S. programming for some years before Canadian stations came on the air.

Making matters worse, BATON agreed to sell stock to the U.S. network ABC, a move endorsed by the BBG in 1961. Condemnation of the sale was fierce and sustained. The BBG retracted its decision, but Bassett engineered a different arrangement whereby ABC would make a substantial loan to CFTO in return for a contract to provide “management services” and personnel. This issue arose from concerns about undue U.S. influence in the operation and development of Canadian television.

CFTO went on the air on January 1, 1961, and by the early 1970s it was extremely profitable. BATON was clearly the key force behind CTV and provided production services through Glen Warren Productions. Toronto was the center for CTV’s limited Canadian production activities, and Bassett and his partners began to purchase other media assets, including shares in other CTV affiliates. At times, BATON’s ambitions have collided with other partners in the network, producing friction with other ambitious owners. BATON finally gained full control of CTV in 1997, just four months before Bassett’s death. (The network was subsequently sold to BCE, Inc., and became part of Bell Globemedia, which also owns the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper.)

Bassett ran BATON from its inception until 1979, when he turned the day-to-day operations over to his son, Douglas, who has overseen further expansion of BATON’s activities. Well over six feet tall and projecting a “tough, arrogant” image, John Bassett was a major player in the development of commercial television in Canada and the erosion of the dominance of the CBC. Perhaps not surprisingly, given his newspaper background, Bassett’s stations made their greatest contributions in news and public affairs programming.