CHAT-TV's first general manager was R.J. "Bob" Buss. The station operated from a modernized studio and office building, and transmitted from a tower located at Redcliff. Sid Gaffney was the first chief engineer, and Merv Stone was the production manager. In the beginning, the station began its daily operations at 5:30 p.m., with the only live programming being the 6 p.m. news bulletin, and the rest of the programming either on film or kinescope from the CBC. Around 10% of the local commercials were done live, with the announcers having to ad-lib enough to last the full 60 seconds.