CTV is staying in Windsor for at least another year. The network confirmed on Wednesday that it will keep the lights on at CHWI, one of the three stations it planned to close at the end of this summer when its licence ran out.

The CRTC on Monday renewed the station’s licence for one year, though CTV had not applied for a renewal, the same day it announced boosts to the Local Programming Improvement Fund and a willingness to move forward on fee-for-carriage.

CTVgm’s EVP of corporate affairs, Paul Sparkes, who had indicated that the station branded as A Windsor might get a reprieve, says the about-face is a ‘direct result’ of the enhanced LPIF. The station is located in the nearby town of Wheatley.

Of the two remaining stations, CTV says it will apply to have CKNX in Wingham converted to rebroadcast the signal from its A London station. The Wingham location previously had a staff of one person, who has since been reassigned, says Sparkes. If approved to rebroadcast the London signal, he says the facility will continue to go unmanned. The change will also end its 1.5 hours per week of local programming.

The future of CKX in Brandon, MB is still uncertain. The network says it ‘will continue to review its options including the potential sale of the station.’

The new licence for CHWI will run out on Aug. 31, 2010. New one-year licences were also issued for the Wingham and Brandon stations.

All three were held up during the recent CRTC hearings as evidence that over-the-air broadcasters needed the financial help that fee-for-carriage will provide, and were briefly the subject of an eyebrow-raising offer from Shaw Communications, which offered to buy them for $1 each.