CHEX Television hit the airwaves on March 26, 1955, as an affiliate of the CBC Network, serving East Central Ontario and the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario from studios in Peterborough.
The station was owned by Roy Thomson (49%) and the Davies family (51%) owners of the Peterborough Examiner newspaper. The same partnership had put CKWS-TV Kingston on the air in December of 1954. The Davies family also owned the Kingston Whig-Standard newspaper. The family consisted of Senator Rupert Davies, Robertson Davies and Arthur Davies. Also owned by the group was CHEX-AM and CKWS-AM, so the progression to TV was a natural extension of their interest in broadcasting.

Despite all the problems of learning, the staff of the station turned out an amazing amount of local production in those early years. Among the productions were "CALENDAR", a daily afternoon magazine program with Marie Callaghan, a Saturday afternoon teen "DANCE PARTY" hosted by CHEX radio morning man Del Crary, and "ROMPER ROOM" with "Miss Betty, Betty Thompson.

In the late 1950s, CHEX Television replaced its original 400 foot transmitter tower to a 800 foot tower - greatly increasing the station's coverage.

1976
The Thomson and Davies families decided to divest themselves of their broadcasting interests and sold their jointly held broadcasting holdings to Claude Pratte and Paul Desmarais, noted Canadian entrepreneurs who later sold to Power Corporation of Canada which formed a subsidiary, Power Broadcasting Inc./Diffusion Power Inc., operating 17 radio and 3 television stations.

1981
CHEX Television opened a news and sales bureau in Oshawa, and, in September, 1986, created a broadcast studio/editing complex. Subsequently, the station was licenced to broadcast on UHF channel 22 and was known as CHEX TV-Durham.

1989
A complete renewal of the CHEX Television building and equipment took place with the building renamed "The Donald R. Lawrie Broadcast Centre" in honour of the station's first Manager/President who retired in 1989. Don Laurie learned his trade well under the guidance of Roy Thomson, and it showed as the station was operating in the black (on an operating basis) from its first month of operation.

The station embarked on a number of ambitious production projects: In 1987, the 13 part series about working women, "CHESTNUT AVENUE" was a co-operative venture by a number of Ontario television stations with a cost per episode of nearly $ 100,000 and was broadcast on a syndicated basis.

CHEX Television held an original Canadian script writing contest with a prize of $ 5,000 that resulted in the production by the station of 'THE INCIDENT AT PURDY's MILL", dealing with the 1837 MacKenzie "Upper Canada Rebellion" and one of his sympathisers, William Purdy at his mill in the modern town of nearby Lindsay.

Other productions were "BODILY CONTRACT", a made for TV movie; "ParaPSI" a meta-physics/para-normal 13-part series, and perhaps the most ambitious and innovative 13 program series "CANADIAN CHARACTERS" featuring historical Canadians such as poet Bliss Carman; Emma Albani, world-renowned soprano; humorist, Thomas Haliburton; Indian chief , Poundmaker; and Olympic swimming champion, Ethel Catherwood; "WEEKEND' a half-hour weekly series with author/broadcaster Doug Hall, featuring authors, politicians, and newsmakers; "THE EDITORIAL PAGE" with Trent University Professor Robert Page, a half-hour weekly series featuring educators, newsmakers and politicians; "THE SILVER BASKETBALL", a daily education/entertainment children's series featuring many on-location segments; and "STARBURST COUNTRY" featuring local production of music video performances of area musicians, such as Ronnie Hawkins; Two weekly regional versions of "SPORTSBEAT" with sports director Gary Dalliday. A Durham Region version reflected the interests of Oshawa and area, and a Peterborough area version reflected the interests of the Kawarthas. And, "CAMPUS QUIZ", a weekly quiz series involving teams from an ever-expanding area of public and seperate schools.

1998
A winter ice storm caused concern when the television tower appeared to become unstable during high wind conditions. A tower of similar vintage at sister station CKWS-TV Kingston collapsed in January during the same storm. The Peterborough broadcast centre was evacuated on two separate occasions that winter over fears a similar collapse could occur, potentially falling onto the building. The television station moved to new office and broadcast facilities at 743 Monaghan Road late in the year, while radio stations AM 980 CKRUz and The WOLF 101.5 FM moved moved to a separate downtown location at the corner of George and King Streets a few months earlier.

1999
Master Control facilities for CHEX Peterborough, CHEX Oshawa and CKWS Kingston were centralized in the new Peterborough facility utilizing digital file server technology. Traffic services, Programming and Finance functions had been centralized in Peterborough in the preceding years.
Late in the year, Corus Radio Company purchased the stations of Power Broadcasting, which included CHEX-TV, subject to CRTC approval which was granted on March 24th, 2000.

2001
The CHEX Peterborough signal was added to the Star Choice DTH satellite service across Canada on channel 348, CHEX was added to the Bell ExpressVu service in 2003 on channel 217.

2004
A new 1,000 foot transmission tower was erected adjacent to the existing tower which was later dismantled. With increased antennae height, both CHEX Television and The WOLF-FM were able to reduce power output, while maintaining the same effective radiated power and coverage area.

2005
The 50th anniversary year for CHEX was marked with a year-long on-air celebration, featuring clips from old shows and former personalities sharing their memories which was turned into a commemorative DVD. A reunion for staff past and present was held to mark the occasion in the spring.

2006
The original radio and television building on Television Hill was demolished after sitting empty since the stations moved away in 1998. A new transmitter building and the transmission tower are all that remain atop the hill.

Currently, the station's primary focus is local news. "NEWSWATCH" reflects Peterborough and area through three daily broadcasts and afternoon hourly updates. Newswatch @ 5:30 has the community at heart offering lifestyle features and providing a snapshot of the many vibrant events taking place in the area. Newswatch @ 6 is the hour-length major local newscast for the region covering local, national and international news, local weather, sports and business highlights. Newswatch @ 11 wraps up the day with a summary of the days events and coverage of local evening events.

A variety of popular imported entertainment programming is also presented: Oprah, The Price Is Right, Everybody Loves Raymond, and The Late Show with David Letterman.

CHEX Television plays a significant role in Peterborough and throughout the region with its annual on air production of the Easter Seal Telethon, and Kawartha Rotary Christmas Gift Auction as well as its on-going support for significant community endeavours such as the Peterborough Festival of Lights and the annual Festival of Trees in aid of Peterborough Health Care.

CHEX Television FastFacts: