BBC Earth is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

discretionary service A discretionary service is a Canadian specialty channel which, as defined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, may be carried optionally by all subscription television providers. It replaces the previous category A, ...

channel owned by

Blue Ant Media Blue Ant Media Inc. is a Canadian broadcasting and media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company was founded by Michael MacMillan and formed in 2011 following the acquisition of Glassbox Television. Its name was chosen in reference ...

. It is a localized version of the international

BBC Earth BBC Earth is a brand used by BBC Studios since 2009 to market and distribute the BBC's natural history content to countries other than the United Kingdom. BBC Studios is the commercial arm of the public service broadcaster. BBC Earth commercia ...

brand, which is licensed from

BBC Studios BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Wor ...

, a subsidiary of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

. The channel broadcasts factual programming related to natural history and wildlife.

History

In April 2006, John Panikkar (co-founder of the channel's original owner, High Fidelity HDTV), was granted a licence by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; ) is a public organization in Canada tasked with the mandate as a regulatory agency tribunal for various electronic communications, covering broadcasting and telecommunic ...

(CRTC) to launch ''AHD'' (for ''Adrenaline HD''), described as "a national, English-language Category 2 high definition (HD) specialty programming undertaking... that would focus on the impact of high definition imagery on high-octane, limit-defying human activity and adventure that tests individual personal limits, both physical and mental." The channel launched on September 5, 2006 as Rush HD, with its name, and much of its programming, licensed from

Rainbow Media AMC Networks Inc. is an American mass media and entertainment corporation headquartered in Pennsylvania Plaza, 11 Penn Plaza, New York City. The company owns and operates the AMC (TV channel), AMC cable channel, BBC America, IFC (American TV ch ...

, the owners of the

Voom HD Networks Voom HD Networks was a suite of 25 original high-definition television channels owned by AMC Networks. The channels were produced in Crystal Clear Hi-Definition with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and were the largest suite of HD channels in ...

, owners of the original Rush HD-branded channel in the United States. Like its American counterpart, Rush HD originally broadcast programming largely focused on

high adventure High adventure is a type of outdoor experience. It typically is meant to include activities like backpacking, hiking, kayaking or canoeing. It may also include mountaineering, rock climbing, mountain biking, orienteering, hang gliding, paragliding ...

and

extreme sports Action sports, adventure sports or extreme sports are activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk of injury or death. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion and highly specialized gear. Extre ...

such as

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralym ...

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind-propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the Californian aerospace and surf culture. Windsurfing gain ...

bungee jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

, and cliff diving. Over a year after the American version shut down, Rush rebranded as radX on August 23, 2010. With the rebrand, programming was expanded to include a broader range of action-related programming such as feature films, outdoor lifestyle, travel, reality television, and other programming aimed primarily at men. On December 21, 2011, radX's parent company, High Fidelity HDTV, announced that it had entered into an agreement to be purchased outright by Blue Ant Media, majority owners of

Glassbox Television Glassbox Television Inc. was an independent Canadian broadcasting and media company specializing in the operation of multi-platform broadcast and video-on-demand (VOD) channels, content production, and digital publishing. The company was formed in ...

and minority owners of Quarto Communications. While initially purchasing 29.9% of the company, the remaining 70.1% was purchased after it was approved by the CRTC. In December 2016, Blue Ant Media announced that it had reached an agreement with

BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...

to rebrand radX as BBC Earth in January 2017, later confirmed officially as January 23, 2017.BBC EARTH UNVEILS PROGRAMMING LINE-UP FOR CANADIAN LAUNCH ON JANUARY 24
Blue Ant Media press release 01 10 17 Blue Ant Media has had a history of partnerships with the BBC, while its CEO

Michael MacMillan Michael I. M. MacMillan (born 1957) is a Canadian film and broadcasting executive who is the CEO of Blue Ant Media. Career MacMillan was previously the Executive Chairman of Alliance Atlantis. Macmillan co-founded Atlantis Films in 1978. In it ...

assisted in launching the

BBC Canada BBC Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that mostly broadcast television series originally produced by the BBC, the public-service broadcaster of the United Kingdom. The channel was owned by Corus Entertainment (80% & managi ...

channel whilst working for

Alliance Atlantis Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (commonly known as Alliance Atlantis) was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Los ...

. BBC Worldwide North America president

Ann Sarnoff Ann Marie Sarnoff (née Misiaszek; born c. 1961) is an American television executive. She became the chairwoman and chief executive officer, CEO of Warner Bros. in the summer of 2019. Sarnoff was the first woman to hold the position at the company ...

remarked that Blue Ant Media had a strong interest in factual programming, and that the timing of the launch would coincide with the then-upcoming North American premiere of '' Planet Earth II''.

References

External links

BBC Earth website
{{BBC Television Blue Ant Media channels Television channels and stations established in 2006 Specialty television channels in Canada English-language television stations in Canada International BBC television channels