Discovery Channel (Canadian TV channel)

Discovery Channel (often referred to as simply Discovery) is a Canadian discretionary specialty television channel owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. (a joint venture between Bell Media & ESPN Inc. that owns 80%) and Warner Bros. Discovery (which owns the remaining 20%).

Discovery Channel
CountryCanada
Broadcast areaNationwide
Headquarters9 Channel Nine Court, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerCTV Specialty Television, Inc.
(Bell Media-ESPN Inc.
(80% and managing partner)
Warner Bros. Discovery (20%))
Sister channelsAnimal Planet
Canal D
Discovery Science
Discovery Velocity
Investigation Discovery
History
LaunchedJanuary 1, 1995 (1995-01-01)
Links
WebsiteDiscovery Channel Canada

Launched on January 1, 1995 by NetStar Communications, this channel is devoted to nature, adventure, science and technology programming. The channel is headquartered at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt neighbourhood of Scarborough in Toronto, Ontario.

History

Licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1994, Discovery Channel launched on January 1, 1995 under the ownership of NetStar Communications Inc.

On March 24, 2000, the CRTC approved a proposal by CTV Inc. to acquire voting interest in NetStar Communications Inc. CTV renamed the company CTV Speciality Television Inc.

A high definition simulcast feed of Discovery Channel that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format was launched on August 15, 2003.[1] The feed would later be shut down on December 19, 2005, and be replaced by a separate category 2 digital cable specialty channel called Discovery HD Theatre.

On June 17, 2011, Bell Media announced that it would launch, for a second time, an HD simulcast feed of Discovery Channel; this feed was launched on August 18, 2011.[2]

In November 2015, Bell Media announced Discovery Channel Canada's first original scripted drama, the Jason Momoa-fronted Frontier, chronicling the North American fur trade. The series was picked up internationally by Netflix.[3]

Programming

In addition to shows acquired from its American counterpart, the Canadian Discovery Channel produced much of its own original programming through its Exploration Production group including its former flagship daily science news program, Daily Planet, and its own domestic version of Cash Cab.[4] Several programs produced by the Canadian Discovery Channel (such as How It's Made) have also aired on the U.S. Science Channel.

Unusual for any Discovery Channel network across the world, after the 2015 retirement of CRTC genre protection rules which mandated that it predominantly air factual programming,[5] the channel added second-run fictional series with a loose connection to STEM concepts in 2018, including The Big Bang Theory, Bones and CSI: NY.

Original series

See also

References
  1. Over-the-Air Transmitters Now Broadcasting CTV High-Definition Signals in Toronto and Vancouver CTV 2005-08-17
  2. Discovery Channel and Bell Media Factual Networks Announce Fall 2011 "Must See" Highlights CNW 2011-06-17
  3. "Netflix Picks Up Canadian Period Action Series 'Frontier' Starring Jason Momoa". Deadline. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  4. "Bell Media cancels shows 'Daily Planet' and 'Innerspace,' lays off 17 positions". The London Free Press. 2018-05-24. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
  5. Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (March 12, 2015). "Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2015-86". Retrieved May 12, 2018. (paragraph 254)
  6. David, Greg (July 24, 2022). "Discovery reveals the 12 carvers competing in the all-new series A Cut Above, beginning August 8". TV, eh. Retrieved July 29, 2022 – via Bell Media.
  7. "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2006-02-17.
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