Discovery Velocity

CTV Speed Channel is a Canadian discretionary specialty channel owned by CTV Specialty Television, a joint venture between Bell Media and ESPN Inc., with a minority interest owned by Warner Bros. Discovery via licensee 2953285 Canada Inc. It broadcasts factual and reality-style series related to the automotive industry and transportation.

This channel was founded on December 19, 2005 as Discovery HD Theatre (a Canadian spelling of HD Theater) by Bell Globemedia and Discovery Communications. Two years after the U.S. counterpart was rebranded to HD Theater, it was renamed to Discovery HD in 2009. It did not follow the U.S. counterpart's rebrand to Velocity (now Motor Trend) in 2011, and instead rebranded as Discovery World HD in 2010 (shortened to simply Discovery World in 2012). In 2015, the channel rebranded as Discovery Velocity, shifting primarily to programming related to automobiles and transport.

In January 2025, the channel was rebranded as CTV Speed Channel, due to Bell losing its rights to Warner Bros. Discovery factual brands and related programming to Rogers Sports & Media. Rogers does not plan to launch a new linear channel for Motor Trend, with its programming to instead be distributed via digital platforms.

History

Beginning in August 2003, CTV had operated a channel known as Discovery Channel HD, which served as a high-definition simulcast of the main Discovery Channel lineup, where applicable. In August 2005, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved an application for a new category 2 digital service, Discovery HD Theatre (based on the U.S. channel of the same name), covering many of the same genres as Discovery Channel, but with a separate lineup consisting exclusively of high definition programming. Discovery HD Theatre replaced Discovery Channel HD on December 19, 2005. While maintaining the same format, the channel was renamed Discovery HD in 2009.

In June 2010, CTVglobemedia announced that it would launch three new Discovery-branded channels in Canada, among them included a re-branding of Discovery HD as Discovery World HD (later renamed Discovery World in 2012) on August 2, 2010, with a new lineup aiming to "showcase a beautiful and brilliant portrait of our world in vivid high definition". Discovery Channel relaunched its HD simulcast in June 2011.

In January 2015, Bell Media announced that Discovery World would be re-branded as Discovery Velocity on February 12, 2015. It was a Canadian version of the U.S. channel Velocity—which was the current format of the network's original U.S. counterpart. With the re-branding, the network increased its focus on automotive-oriented series, although selected non-automotive programs from Discovery World were carried over.

On June 10, 2024, Rogers Sports & Media announced it had reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for Canadian rights to its lifestyle brands beginning in January 2025, which were subsequently confirmed to include Discovery Velocity / Motor Trend. This led to a lawsuit by Bell, which claimed the move would violate previous non-compete clauses with WBD; the matter was settled out of court in October. Rogers announced that Motor Trend content would move to its on-demand and streaming platforms including Citytv+, rather than a new linear channel. Prior to relaunch, in December 2024, Hearst Communications acquired Motor Trend Group and most its assets including ''Motor Trend'' from Warner Bros. Discovery including the channel's content.

On October 17, 2024, Bell Media announced the channel would rebrand as CTV Speed Channel on January 1, 2025, and would continue to feature programming "for automotive and thrill-seeking enthusiasts".

The CRTC lists Discovery Communications, Inc. (an in-name-only subsidiary of WBD) as holding a 20% stake in the CTV Specialty subsidiary that holds CTV Speed Channel's license; it is not yet known if WBD will divest its stake in the channel due to its change of Canadian partner.

See also

* Discovery Turbo
* Discovery HD (International)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ctv Speed Channel
Bell Media networks
Specialty television channels in Canada
Television channels and stations established in 2005
2005 establishments in Canada