This article is about the television show Breakfast Television. For the concept of breakfast television shows in general, see Breakfast television.

Breakfast Television, known in its logo and some promotions as BT, is a Canadian morning news and entertainment program which airs on Citytv, CablePulse 24, ATV and CKVR in Barrie, Ontario. The two Citytv stations and ATV each produce their own local edition of the program; CKVR airs the Toronto edition of the program with local news inserts. (CablePulse 24 is a local Toronto news channel which airs CITY-produced news programming, so any news programming airing on the main CITY station is always simulcast on CP24.)

BT tends to be more relaxed and on the fly than American morning shows. Unlike American morning shows, it has no pre-taped segments on current events or socio-political issues. Its guests tend to be more human interest and informational/promotional than celebrities; while this likely was a necessity in the earlier years of BT, it most likely is a matter of preference and style now.

Even when bonafide celebrities appear, it tends to stray from the American formula. For instance, when comedian Leslie Nielsen came on the show, he reminisced on his career in general with Liza, instead of the American standard of appearing to promote new movies or TV shows.

Personalities

Toronto and Barrie

• Main anchors: Kevin Frankish (since 1994), Liza Fromer (since 2001).
• Weather: Nalini Sharma (since 2003) (currently on maternity leave) .
  • Frank Ferragine (replacement)
• News/Live Eye: Dave Pinton (since 2004).
• Live Eye: Jennifer Valentyne .
• Transit reports: Mika Midolo (of TTC Transit Control), Bob Summers (of CHUM-FM Traffic Center).
• Past hosts: Ann Rohmer (1989—2001), David Onley (1989—1994) (news), John Whaley (sports), Hugh Burrill (sports), Roger Peterson (top story reporter, live eye).
• VR News (Barrie): Irene Preklet .
• VR News Weather (Barrie): Jan Bailey (currently on maternity leave), Christie Nelson (replacement).

Vancouver

• Mark Docherty
• Karen Khunkhun
• Shane Foxman
• Beverley Mahood
• Dawn Chubai

Past hosts: Michael Eckford , Fiona Forbes , Claudine Grant

Halifax (ATV)

The name Breakfast Television has also been licensed to ATV, a Maritime CTV affiliate system formerly owned by Citytv's parent company CHUM. Co-hosted by Jayson Baxter , Maria Panopalis and Cyril Lunney , the series last one-and-a-half-hours, and features regional artists, groups and individuals. (The ATV stations are the only stations in the CTV network which produce their own local morning program in addition to Canada AM. CIVT in Vancouver, British Columbia also produced a local morning program at one time, but their program was subsequently cancelled.)

• Past Hosts: Scott Boyd , Liz Rigney , J.C. Douglas , Jay MacNeil , Kurt Stoodley , Mark Scholz , Jill Krop

BT in pop culture

BT's Live Eye segment was referenced by comedian Andy Richter in 2003, on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Richter had recently been in Toronto, and mentioned how then-personality Roger Peterson had been repeatedly trying to cross the road on camera, in a informal look at roughly what percentage of Torontonians breaked at marked pedestrian crosswalks. The story was done by Peterson in response to two pedestrian being struck and killed, and another seriously injured within a few days of each other, when drivers falled to yield to pedestrian traffic.

Richter mused at how unusual and slightly mundaine it was for a reporter to broadcast live such a process, especially on a morning show. He concluded the joking on the subject, by observing how it may be justified, as Toronto has such a relatively small murder rate, compared to its southern neighbours.