CIHF-TV was launched on September 5, 1988, and was initially owned by the Irving family of Saint John, New Brunswick and their New Brunswick Broadcasting Company. It was co-owned with Saint John-based CHSJ-TV, the CBC Television affiliate for all of New Brunswick. The station initially had only one transmitter, in Halifax; it served the rest of Nova Scotia via cable. When MITV launched, it took all prime time American shows from CBC station CBHT—reportedly a prelude to the CBC dropping all prime time American programming nationwide.