1958
The CBC opened a television facility of sorts in Calgary on July 1. It wasn't a television station but the Television Delay Centre. It was opened in the old Alberta Government Telephone Building, downtown. The facility received CBC programs via a microwave closed circuit network, put the content on to videotape and then released it to each time zone from the Lakehead to the Pacific coast.

1960
The delay centre moved to a single storey building on Westmount Boulevard in west Calgary, on the north bank of the Bow River. This would be the home to all CBC Calgary services in the future - CBR in 1964 and then CBRT in 1975.

1974
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was awarded a licence for an English television station at Calgary, broadcasting on channel 9 with an effective radiated video power of 178,000 watts. The licence included the operation of four five watt (directional) rebroadcast transmitters at Exshaw (channel 6), Banff (channel 5) , Lake Louise (channel 12) and Drumheller (channel 5).

Because Calgary’s existing CBC affiliate – CFAC-TV planned to become an independent station, the CBC pledged to also establish rebroadcasters at Field and Bassano so that the CFAC coverage area would be fully duplicated. It would also apply within one year for licences to establish transmitters to duplicate service in Lethbridge and region, an area now served by CJOC-TV and its rebroadcasters.

CBRT-TV was authorized to add a transmitter at Rosemary on channel 11 with effective radiated video power of 25,300 watts, directional.

1975
Full CBC Television service came to Calgary on September 1, with the launch of CBRT. Studios and offices were located at 1724 Westmount Boulevard. The station signed on at 9:30 a.m. with the children's show Mr. Piper. The production manager was Flemming Nielson. . Don Carroll was director of TV operations in Calgary

CBRT broadcast local news twice daily. Evening Eyeopener aired at 6:30 p.m., and Night Final followed The National. Initially, Evening Eyeopener was a half-hour program, except on Thursdays when it ran for a full hour. The original Evening Eyeopener anchors were Jim Morrison and Brian Bullock, joined by sports anchors Gary Arthur and Bob Elphicke, and weather anchor Norris Bick. News supervisor was Ron Smith.

With the launch of the ANIK satellite a couple of years earlier, things changed at the Calgary delay centre. The centre's equipment was relocated to CBC plants throughout the country since the existing delay pattern no longer served a purpose. To make room for CBRT and all of the other changes happening at CBC Calgary, the Westmount Blvd. facility was renovated. CBRT moved into the section of the building that had been used by the delay centre.

Canadian General Electric supplied the 325 kW (maximum authorized power) transmitter and directional 8-slot antenna. There was a setback when a large section of the tower fell while under construction. The transmitter and antenna are located three miles west of the city, and has an elevation of 4,050 feet. The tower is 820 feet high - 877 feet with the antenna. The tower will also include other CBC stations in the future.

CBRT-2 Drumheller signed on the air on the same date, while CBRT-1 Banff and CBRT-4 Lake Louise signed on September 19 and November 18, respectively.

1976
CBRT received approval for rebroadcast transmitters at Lethbridge (channel 10 with effective radiated power of 123,000 watts) and Waterton Park (channel 4 with 5 watts). The transmitters would replace CJOC-TV Lethbridge which had plans to disaffiliate from the network.

On August 13, CBRT-5 Rosemary commenced operations. A few months earlier, this transmitter received approval to increase effective radiated power from 25,300 watts to 125,450 watts.

On December 8, CBRT-9 Pincher Creek, CBRT-10 Bellevue and CBRT-11 Coleman were launched.

CBRT-7 Waterton Park, CBRT-8 Burmis and CBRT-12 Cardston were launched on December 13.

1977
CBRT-6 at Lethbridge began operations on January 13.

1978
On September 20, CBRT-13 Harvie Heights began operations.

1979
On August 27, CBRT-3 Exshaw signed on the air.

CBRT-15 Cowley started operations on November 20.

1980
On March 7, CBRT-16 Coutts/Milk River was launched.

1981
Andrew Simon became director of TV at CBC Calgary (CBRT). He had been in Quebec as a director of radio.

1989
At this time CBRT operated the following transmitters: CBRT-1 Banff, CBRT-2 Drumheller, CBRT-3 Exshaw, CBRT-5 Rosemary, CBRT-6 Lethbridge, CBRT-7 Waterton Park, CBRT-8 Burmis, CBRT-9 Pincher Creek, CBRT-10 Bellevue, CBRT-11 Coleman, CBRT-12 Cardston, CBRT-13 Harvie Heights, CBRT-14 Drumheller, CBRT-15 Cowley, CBRT-16 Coutts-Milk River and CBRT-17 Exshaw.

1990
On December 5, 1990, local news and current affairs programming was abruptly cancelled on CBRT as a result of budget cutbacks. Only 10 out of 80 employees at CBRT were spared from losing their jobs. Calgary Newshour, co-anchored by Kathy Daley and Bob Nicholson, was replaced by Alberta Newshour, co-produced by CBXT Edmonton and CBRT. Calgary Newshour had an average of 88,000 viewers per night, which made it a close third behind CFCN and CFAC.

Following the cutback announcement, CITV Edmonton co-founder Wendell Wilks spoke with CBC co-chair Patrick Watson about the possibility of buying CBRT in order to continue local CBC Calgary production, but Watson would have no part of it.

Bob Blakey of the Calgary Herald criticized the new Alberta Newshour, which was later named CBC Alberta News, for being "a sad mishmash of clumsily edited news clips and desperate attempts to embrace Calgary and Edmonton in the same breath."

1991
On June 28, the CBC was authorized to originate programming on CBRT from CBXT in Edmonton. CBRT would not become a rebroadcaster of CBXT but operate as a contributing bureau. Its master control facilities would be maintained, allowing the station to continue to broadcast station identification, public service announcements, occasional specials, and commercial messages.  This followed the
CBC’s December 5, 1990 announcement of service reductions to to a budget shortfall.

1993
On February 15, CBRT was granted a transmitter power decrease for CBRT-7 Waterton Park, from 8.9 watts to 1 watt. 

1995
On January 18, CBRT received permission to increase the effective radiated power for transmitter CBRT-8 Burmis, from 588 watts to 813 watts.

1997
On December 23, CBRT was authorized to change the channel for transmitter CBRT-12 Cardston from 2 to 6. 

1998
On February 18, CBRT received authority to change the channel fro transmitter CBRT-2 Drumheller, from 5 to 6.

2000
CBRT operated the following rebroadcast transmitters: CBRT-1 Banff, CBRT-10 Bellevue, CBRT-8 Burmis, CBRT-12 Cardston, CBRT-11 Coleman, CBRT-16 Coutts/Milk River, CBRT-15 Cowley, CBRT-2 Drumheller, CBRT-14 Drumheller, CBRT-3 Exshaw, CBRT-17 Exshaw, CBRT-13 Harvie Heights, CBRT-6 Lethbridge, CBRT-9 Pincher Creek, CBRT-5 Rosemary, and CBRT-7 Waterton
Park.
 
2003
On August 1, CBRT was authorized to add a transmitter on channel 10 with transmission power of 12 watts at Lake Louise (CBRT-4). Until this time, CBRT-4 had been operated by the CBC as radiocommunication distribution undertaking, which rebroadcast the programming of the CBC Northern Television Service.

Improvements in satellite feed technology now enabled the CBC to provide viewers in Lake Louise with the full programming schedule of CBRT.

2008
On December 4, the CRTC approved the application by the CBC to add to the licence of CBRT, the transmitter CBCA-TV-1 Etzikom. The Commission noted that CBCA-TV-1 was operated by the CBC as a radiocommunication distribution undertaking that rebroadcast the programming of CHAT-TV Medicine Hat. Earlier this year, the CRTC approved the disaffiliation of CHAT-TV from the CBC network.

2009
On May 12 the CRTC renewed CBRT's licence, including the following rebroadcast transmitters: CBCA-TV-1 Etzikom, CBRT-1 Banff, CBRT-10, Bellevue, CBRT-11 Coleman, CBRT-12 Cardston, CBRT-13 Harvie Heights, CBRT-14 Drumheller, CBRT-15 Cowley, CBRT-16 Coutts/Milk River, CBRT-17 Exshaw, CBRT-2 Drumheller West, CBRT-3 Exshaw, CBRT-4 Lake Louise, CBRT-5 Rosemary, CBRT-6 Lethbridge, CBRT-7 Waterton Park, CBRT-8 Brumis and CBRT-9 Pincher Creek. 

                                                   Written by Bill Dulmage - Updated August, 2009