Stingray Retro is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

discretionary specialty channel owned by the Stingray Group. The channel broadcasts music videos mainly from the 1970s to the early 2010s, with some music videos from the 1960s being played occasionally as well.

History

In November 2000,

CHUM Limited CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. The company was founded in 1945 as York Broadcasters Limited when it launched CHUM-AM 1050 but was acquired by salesman Allan Waters in 1954. CHU ...

was granted approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a national English language Category 2 specialty television service called ''MuchMore ClassicVideo'', described as "consisting of classic (songs more than five years old) music videos and related programs, including music and pop news or commentaries, interviews, concerts, profiles and specials, as well as music-related feature films and series or programs."

The channel was launched on September 4, 2003 as a commercial-free service under the name MuchMoreRetro, a spin-off of

MuchMoreMusic M3 was a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, the network began as a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, targeting an older demographic wi ...

(which is owned by CHUM at the time). In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (later called

CTVglobemedia Bell Media Inc. (French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies. Establishment (2011–13) On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...

) announced that it would purchase CHUM for an estimated $1.7 billion

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve co ...

, included in the sale was MuchMoreRetro. The sale was subject to CRTC approval and was approved in June 2007, with the transaction completed on June 22, 2007. After the channel's initial launch in 2003, it began to introduce commercials throughout its schedule until August 31, 2009 when the channel, along with the other CTVglobemedia-owned digital music channels, switched back to a commercial-free format, while the analogue cable music channels continue to run commercials during programs to this day. On September 10, 2010,

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

(a minority shareholder in CTVglobemedia) announced that it planned to acquire 100% interest in CTVglobemedia for a total debt and equity transaction cost of $3.2 billion CAD. The deal which required CRTC approval, was approved on March 7, 2011 and closed on April 1 of that year, on which CTVglobemedia was rebranded Bell Media. On November 1, 2013, after MuchMore was rebranded as M3 in September of that year, MuchMoreRetro was rebranded as MuchRetro—aligning itself with MuchMusic for the first time. On June 21, 2016, it was announced that

Stingray Digital Stingray Group Inc. (formerly Stingray Digital and Stingray Digital Group) is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment company based in Montreal, Quebec, with offices in the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, ...

would acquire MuchRetro and its sister networks from Bell Media. The acquisition closed on September 16, 2016 with a plan to rebrand the channel as Stingray Retro. On June 1, 2017, Stingray announced the completion of the rebranding process for all 4 channels (MuchRetro was rebranded Stingray Retro prior to June 1), which included new programming and a national promotional campaign.Stingray Introduces a New Golden Age of Music TV with the Launch of Stingray Retro, Stingray Vibe, Stingray Loud, and Stingray Juicebox
MarketWired press release 06 01 17 Sometime in 2019, the channel switched back to an ad-supported service again, this time to match some of Stingray's radio stations with the matching format.

The first 10 music videos to air on the channel

* 1.

Glass Tiger Glass Tiger is a Grammy Award-nominated Canadian rock band from Newmarket, Ontario that formed in 1983. The band has released five studio albums. Its 1986 debut album, '' The Thin Red Line'', went quadruple platinum in Canada and gold in the U ...

- "

Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone) "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" is a song by Canadian rock band Glass Tiger. It was released in 1986 as the lead from their debut album, '' The Thin Red Line''. The song reached number one in Canada and number two in the United States. The song ...

" (1986) * 2. Duran Duran - "

The Reflex "The Reflex" is the eleventh single by English new wave band Duran Duran, released in 1984. The song was heavily remixed for single release and was the third and last to be taken from their third studio album '' Seven and the Ragged Tiger'' ...

" (1983) * 3. Madonna - " Like a Prayer" (1989) * 4.

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

- " Beat It" (1982) * 5.

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

& The Revolution - "

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

" (1986) * 6.

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

- "

Girls Just Want To Have Fun "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a song written, recorded and performed by American musician Robert Hazard, who released it as a single in 1979. It is best known for the version of American singer Cyndi Lauper, who covered the song in 1983. I ...

" (1983) * 7. Corey Hart - " Sunglasses at Night" (1983) * 8.

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

- "

Summer of '69 "Summer of '69" is a song recorded by the Canadian musician Bryan Adams from his fourth album, '' Reckless''. The song is about a dilemma between settling down or trying to become a rock star. The song was written by Adams and his longtime song ...

" (1984) * 9. U2 - "

Where the Streets Have No Name "Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1987 album ''The Joshua Tree'' and was released as the album's third single (music), single in August 1987. The song's hook (music) ...

" (1987) * 10. Bon Jovi - "

Livin' on a Prayer "Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi, and is the band's second chart-topping single from their third album '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in ...

" (1986)

Programming

Current

* ''90s Pop on Top'' * ''Can't Top This'' * ''Daily Video Hits'' * ''Morning Flashback'' * ''My First Video'' * ''One-Hit Wonders'' * ''Please Rewind'' * ''Popcorn Time'' * ''Reloaded Club Hits'' * ''Retro Through Time'' * ''Retro Weekend'' * ''The Iconics''

Former

* ''Cheesiest Videos'' * ''Retro Concerts'' * ''Retro @ The Movies''

References

External links

Official siteChannel description
{{Music television channels in Canada Stingray Group Commercial-free television networks Music video networks in Canada Television channels and stations established in 2003 Digital cable television networks in Canada English-language television stations in Canada