The first incarnation of E!, also referred to as E! Entertainment Television, was a Canadian English language privately owned
television system that existed from 2001 to 2009 under the ownership of
Canwest
Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting an ...
. At its peak it consisted of eight local
television stations located in
Quebec,
Ontario,
Alberta and
British Columbia, including five stations
owned and operated (O&O) by Canwest and three
affiliates owned by
Jim Pattison Group
The Jim Pattison Group is a Canadian conglomerate based in Vancouver. In a recent survey by the Financial Post, the firm was ranked as Canada's 62nd largest company. Jim Pattison, a Vancouver-based entrepreneur, is the chairman, CEO, and sole ...
.
The system was launched in 2001 as CH Television or CH (derived from the call sign of flagship
CHCH-TV in
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilt ...
), providing a secondary schedule parallel to Canwest's larger
Global Television Network
The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...
. It initially focused on airing programs from the U.S. broadcast networks that could not fit on Global's own schedule, in order to avail of
simultaneous substitution opportunities. The system became "E!" in fall 2007, as a result of a deal with
Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora