CBCT first went on the air on July 1, 1956, as CFCY-TV, under the ownership of the Rogers family and their company, Island Broadcasting, along with CFCY radio (AM 630, now FM 95.1).

Family patriarch Col. Keith Rogers had begun laying the groundwork to bring television to PEI earlier in the decade, but died two years before channel 13 went on the air.

With this in mind, CJCH-TV in Halifax made plans to set up a rebroadcaster in hopes of bringing CTV to the island.

As it turned out, CBCT would remain the only television station in the province until CKCW-TV in Moncton set up a rebroadcaster in Charlottetown in 1972.

The flagship local newscast, CBC News: Compass, is anchored by Louise Martin, and enjoys very high ratings throughout Prince Edward Island.