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 ...
premium
Premium may refer to:
Marketing
* Premium (marketing), a promotional item that can be received for a small fee when redeeming proofs of purchase that come with or on retail products
* Premium segment, high-price brands or services in marketing ...
adult entertainment
The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related se ...
television channel consisting of primarily
softcore
Soft core or Softcore may refer to:
* Softcore microprocessor, microprocessor implemented using logic synthesis and perhaps other circuits
* Soft core (synthesis), a digital circuit that can be wholly implemented using logic synthesis
* Soft roc ...
adult content in the form of films, documentaries, reality shows, and variety shows, among others, between 6:00am to 11:00pm ET, while
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
content, primarily from Dorcel TV, fills the remainder of the schedule. It is offered in English and French. The channel is owned by Sex-Shop Television Inc., a division of IDI.
History
In December 2007, Sex-Shop Television Inc. was granted approval 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 Vanessa, described as "a national French-language Category 2 pay television programming service devoted to the themes of sex appeal, sensuality, eroticism and sexuality." In March 2009, Sex-Shop Television Inc. then obtained approval to launch an English-language service of the same type and name.
A French-language version of Vanessa initially launched on October 28, 2010;Canada's first and only French language adult entertainment specialty television channel - VANESSA - Will be available in your home Thursday, October 28, 2010 CNW; 2010-04-27 Vanessa was added by
Bell Satellite TV
Bell Satellite TV (; formerly known as Bell ExpressVu, Dish Network Canada and ExpressVu Dish Network and not to be confused with Bell's IPTV Bell Fibe TV, Fibe TV service) is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite television service a ...
to its lineup one week later, giving the channel national distribution. An English version was expected to launch the following year; however, it did not launch as planned.
In October 2012, Sex-Shop Television was given approval from the CRTC to convert the French Vanessa into a bilingual service due to Sex-Shop Television citing difficulties launching a fully dedicated English channel, it appeared as though plans to launch an English service were scrapped. However, on March 11, 2013, Sex-Shop Television announced that an English-language channel was launching on March 13, 2013. The channel was revealed to have launched on
Vidéotron
Vidéotron is a Canadian integrated telecommunications company founded in 1964. It's active in cable television, interactive multimedia development, video on demand, cable telephony, wireless communication and Internet access services. Owned by Qu ...
.
High definition
High definition or HD may refer to:
Visual technologies
*Blu-ray Disc, the universal optical High Definition disc format
*HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format
*HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tap ...
(HD) feeds of the English- and French-language services launched in September 2014 on MTS TV and Telus's
Optik TV
TELUS Optik TV is a product of TELUS Communications, a subsidiary of TELUS Corporation, that provides IPTV service in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec. The service offers over 630 digital channels, including more ...
in Quebec.
In September 2014, Sex-Shop Television reached a licensing deal with the American adult entertainment company