CMT (Canadian TV channel)

Prior to the launch of CMT Canada, the U.S.-based country television network, Country Music Television, had been available in Canada since 1984, one year after the channel's launch in the United States.[1]

In June 1994, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licensed a series of new Canadian specialty television channels; among the ones whose licence was granted was The Country Network, whose programming provisions required it to primarily feature country music videos (a minimum of 90%). The licence was granted to a partnership between Maclean-Hunter (which owned 60% majority control) and Rawlco Communications (which owned the remaining 40%).[2]

At this time, the CRTC had a policy that if a Canadian specialty service was licensed and that service's format was competitive with a foreign service's format that was licensed to operate in Canada, the foreign service could be dropped from the list of channels eligible for cable carriage in Canada.[2] Due to Country Music Television's competitive format, the CRTC terminated CMT's eligibility rights in Canada as a foreign service on June 6, 1994.[3] Television distributors such as cable and satellite television operators could continue distributing Country Music Television until The Country Network began operations.[2]

In March 1994, one year before the channel's launch, Maclean-Hunter had been purchased by Rogers Communications.[4]

First and only New Country Network logo, used from 1995 to 1996

First CMT logo, used from 1996 to 2006

On January 1, 1995, the channel launched as New Country Network (NCN). On that date, Canadian pay television service providers were not allowed to offer Country Music Television.[5] In retaliation for being barred from Canada, the U.S. service launched a complaint under the North American Free Trade Agreement and ceased carriage of videos by Canadian artists without major U.S. record deals.[6]

Second CMT logo, used from 2006 to 2008

Third CMT logo, used from 2008 to 2010

Fourth CMT logo, used from 2010 to 2015

After months of negotiations, the matter was settled when it was announced that CBS Cable, then owners of CMT, would purchase a minority stake in the service. NCN was relaunched as CMT on October 31, 1996.[6] The majority interest was acquired by Shaw Communications at the same time; it was later included in the spinoff of the broadcasting assets then owned by Shaw as Corus Entertainment in 1999. The controversy also resulted in an effective change to CRTC policy – if a foreign channel is already available in Canada and a new Canadian equivalent is subsequently licensed, cable providers are no longer required to drop the foreign service.

In 2016, as part of the removal of the genre protection rules, CMT was migrated to the CRTC's new standard conditions of license for discretionary services; these changes removed the requirement for CMT to air any music programming at all. Corus stated in its description of service for CMT that it would be devoted to comedy and reality programming, films, and "one of a kind music programming". Despite the changes, Corus must still invest at least 11% of CMT's annual gross revenue to fund the production of Canadian music videos, but they no longer necessarily have to be for country music videos.[7]

These programming changes took effect on August 28, 2017, when CMT dropped all country music video programming from its schedule. The change in programming was widely criticized by stakeholders in Canada's country music industry, due to the loss of what had been a major promotional platform for Canadian performers; Corus stated that it would still promote Canadian country music through its other platforms (including its country music radio stations and some Global programming).[8][9] This change left Canada without a country music related channel until 2019-20, when rival broadcaster Stingray Group launched Stingray Country across most major and select minor TV providers across Canada.

As of August 2023, CMT's programming consists primarily of acquired sitcoms, dramas (specifically Degrassi: The Next Generation), reality shows, and lifestyle programming, some of which are reruns of Canadian-produced series to fulfill Canadian content obligations. It no longer originates any original programming of its own, nor does it air any original programming emanating from the American CMT channel such as the CMT Music Awards (which remains available to most Canadian cable subscribers through CBS affiliates).

When CMT was launched as New Country Network on January 1, 1995, the CRTC required that 90% of the station's programming consist of music videos.[10] The CRTC dropped that requirement to 70% on February 28, 2001, and reduced it even further to 50% on February 28, 2006.[11][12] With the retirement of genre protection rules in 2016, CMT was no longer required to air music videos, leading to the channel dropping music programming altogether the following year in favor of comedy programming—drawn primarily from off-network reruns of sitcoms.

Under its country music format, CMT previously produced its own original Canadian programming, such as Karaoke Star Jr., Tori & Dean: Cabin Fever, & The Wilkinsons, with much of the channel's country music-related programming hosted by Paul McGuire.

• Paul McGuire – host of Chevrolet Top 20 Countdown and CMT's Hottest (now at Stingray Radio)
• Casey Clarke (now at Stingray Radio)
• Cliff Dumas (now host of the Weekly Country Countdown)
• Shannon Gaye
• Gnarley Charley (was at KSKS in Fresno, California)
• Stu Jeffries (now at CHBM-FM in Toronto)
• Nicola Jones (was at CHCH in Hamilton, Ontario) - now deceased (October 2014[13])
• Ashley Kranz (winner of CMT Canada's "CMT Casting Call 2007" competition)
• Elissa Lansdell (was host of My Rona Home)
• Beverley Mahood (was at Breakfast Television Vancouver)
• Melissa Parrott (winner of CMT Canada's "CMT Casting Call 2009" competition)
• Hal Roberts (now News Director and Anchor with Bridge City News on CJIL-TV)
• Colleen Rusholme (now at CJOT-FM in Ottawa, Ontario)
• Greg Shannon (now at CFCW in Edmonton, Alberta)
• Nancy Sinclair
• Brian "Hurricane" Smith
• Tamara Stanners (was at CKPK-FM in Vancouver, British Columbia)
• Lindsay Stone

• CMT (American TV channel)
• Stingray Country

• Official website