Discovery (Canada)

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

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. 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.

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 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''. Several programs produced by the Canadian Discovery Channel (such as '' How It's Made'') have also aired on the U.S Science Channel.

Since 2018, enabled by the 2015 retirement of CRTC genre protection rules which mandated that it predominantly air factual programming, the channel has added reruns of scripted series from other Bell Media networks that contain scientific themes, such as ''The Big Bang Theory'', Bones (TV Series) and ''CSI: NY''.

Original series

* ''A Cut Above''
*'' Against All Odds''
*''Acorn the Nature Nut''
*''Aerospace''
*'' Airshow''
*''Alien Mysteries''
*''Beastly Countdown''
*''Beyond Invention''
*''Birth of a Sports Car''
*''Bitchin' Rides''
*'' Blood, Sweat & Tools''
*''Blueprint for Disaster''
*''BBQ Pit Wars''
*'' Breaking Point''
*''Break It Down''
*''Building the Biggest''
*''Building the Ultimate'' (UK: Five coproduction)
*''Canadian Geographic Presents''
*'' Canada's Greatest Know-It-All''
*''Canada's Worst Driver''
*''Canada's Worst Handyman''
*''Cold Water Cowboys''
*'' Cash Cab''
*''Combat School''
*''Connections''
*''Creepy Canada''
*''Daily Planet'' (formerly ''@discovery.ca'') (cancelled in 2018 as the result of Bell Media layoffs)
*''Dangerous Flights''
*'' Doctor*Ology''
*'' Don't Drive Here''
*'' Eco-Challenge''
*'' Exhibit A: Secrets of Forensic Science''
*''Factory Made''
*''Fat N' Furious: Rolling Thunder''
*''Flightpath''
*''Fool's Gold''
*''Forensic Factor''
*''Frontier''
*''Frontiers of Construction''
*''Great Canadian Parks''
*''Guinea Pig''
*''Highway Thru Hell''
*''High Tech Rednecks''
*''How Do They Do It?'' (UK Wag TV coproduction)
*'' How It's Made''
*''Insectia''
*''I Shouldn't Be Alive''
*''Jacked!''
*''Jade Fever''
*''Jetstream''
*''Junk Raiders''
*'' Junk Raiders 2''
*''Last Car Standing''
*''Licence to Drill''
*''Licence to Drill: Louisiana''
*''Manufactured''
*''Mayday''
*''Mega Builders''
*''MegaSpeed''
*''Mega World''
*Mean Machines'' (UK IWC Media coproduction)
*''Mean Green Machines''
*''Mighty Planes''
*'' Mighty Ships''
*''Mighty Trains''
*''Naked Science'' (UK Pioneer Productions coproduction)
*''Nature of the Beast''
*'' Never Ever Do This At Home''
*''On the Run''
*''Out in the Cold''
*'' Patent Bending''
*''Pyros''
*'' Qubit''
*''Risk Takers''
*'' Rocket Science''
*''Sci Q''
*''Science To Go''
*'' Star Racer''
*''Superships''
*''The Body Machine''
*''The Exodus Decoded''
*''The Sex Files''
*''The World's Strangest UFO Stories''
*''Ultimate Cars'' (UK IWC Media coproduction)
*''Ultimate''
*''Vegas Rat Rods''
*''White Hot Winter''
*''What's That About?''
*''You Asked For It''

See also

* Discovery Channel (US)
* Science Channel (US)

References

External links

*

CRTC Homepage

Exploration Production Inc. official website

{{Authority control

Bell Media networks
Canada
Analog cable television networks in Canada
Companies based in Scarborough, Toronto
Television channels and stations established in 1995
English-language television stations in Canada
1995 establishments in Canada