On February 28, 2008, the CRTC announced the approval of disaffiliation of CHAT from the CBC effective August 31, 2008. Documents filed with the CRTC indicate the station would then receive programming from CanWest Global. Global's Calgary station CICT-TV is available on cable in Medicine Hat; however, it does not reach the market over-the-air, while CHAT presently airs selected Global programs simultaneously with CICT. On September 1, 2008, CHAT became the market's E! affiliate. Medicine Hat was the only over-the-air market served by E!, where a Global affiliate was not available locally. It was announced that the transmitters of CHAT would not be replaced by the CBC. The market now receives CBC programming through CBRT, which is available on cable and satellite in Medicine Hat, as well as on CBCA-TV-1 12 in Etzikom, which previously rebroadcast CHAT-TV before the affiliation switch. Despite the region's tiny francophone population, Radio-Canada station CBXFT in Edmonton operated a rebroadcaster in Medicine Hat until the CBC shut down all of its analog transmitters on July 31, 2012.