Discovery Channel (Canadian TV channel)


Discovery Channel is a Canadian specialty television channel owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. and ESPN Inc. and Discovery, Inc.. The channel is devoted to nature, adventure, science and technology programming.

History

Licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission 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 an 80% 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. The feed would later 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.
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.

Programming

In addition to shows acquired from its American counterpart, the Canadian Discovery Channel produces much of its own original programming, including its former flagship daily science news program, Daily Planet, and its own domestic version of Cash Cab. Several programs produced by the Canadian Discovery Channel have also aired on the U.S Science Channel.
Since 2018, due to the 2015 retirement of genre protection rules that mandated the channel's programming, Discovery has been airing reruns of scripted programs with science and technology themes.

Original series