Lifetime is a Canadian English-language discretionary

specialty channel A specialty channel (also known in the United States as a cable channel or cable network) can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targete ...

based on the eponymous American basic cable channel owned by Showcase Television Inc., a subsidiary of

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. (often simply known as Corus) is a Canadian mass media and television production company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It h ...

. It broadcasts films, television shows and reality series aimed at women. The channel was launched on September 7, 2001 as Showcase Diva as a digital offshoot of Showcase by

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 ...

focusing on films targeting a female audience. After a series of ownership changes, the channel was relaunched into its current name in 2012 with the Lifetime branding licensed by

A&E Networks A&E Television Networks, LLC, doing business as A+E Global Media (formerly A+E Networks) is an American multinational broadcasting company owned and operated as a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company th ...

History

In November 2000,

(via the Showcase Television subsidiary) 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 a television channel called ''Romance Television'', described as "a national English-language Category 2 specialty television service devoted to romance. Programming will include relationship- themed game shows and magazine style programs featuring romantic vacation resorts. Other programs will explore romantic moments in people's lives, as well as classic romantic feature films, epic mini-series and made-for-television movies." The channel was launched on September 7, 2001 as Showcase Diva, a spin-off of Showcase. Programming consisted of primarily television dramas and films. On January 18, 2008,

Canwest Global 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 (now called 201 Portage). It held radio, ...

acquired control of Showcase Diva through its purchase of Alliance Atlantis' broadcasting assets, which were placed in a trust in August 2007. On October 27, 2010, ownership changed again as

Shaw Communications Shaw Communications Inc. was a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian telecommunication, telecommunications company which provided telephone, Internet, television, and mobile services. The company was founded in 1966 as Capital Cable Televisio ...

gained control of Showcase Diva as a result of its acquisition of Canwest and Goldman Sachs' interest in CW Media. On May 30, 2012, Showcase Diva changed its name to the Canadian version of Lifetime on August 27, 2012, through a brand licensing agreement with the U.S. channel's parent company

. The rebrand would result in the addition of more reality series, talk shows and other original series from Lifetime to the channel's films and television dramas. An HD feed was launched on May 29, 2013, along with the never-before-seen HD feeds for H2, Slice, and the DHX-owned Disney Junior service (now known as Family Jr.). In February 2022, Lifetime was added to streaming bundle

StackTV StackTV (stylized in all-caps as STACKTV) is a Canadian subscription video streaming package offered by Corus Entertainment. It was announced on June 3, 2019 and was originally offered through Amazon's Prime Video Channels; the offering launche ...

. It was later added in February 2023 to the Global TV app along with the Canadian version of the

Magnolia Network Magnolia Network is an American basic cable network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery in partnership with Chip Gaines, Chip and Joanna Gaines, the founders of lifestyle company Magnolia. It broadcasts personality-based lifestyle programs related ...

References

External links

* {{A+E Networks Television channels and stations established in 2001 2001 establishments in Canada A&E Networks Corus Entertainment networks Specialty television channels in Canada Women's interest channels English-language television stations in Canada

History

See also

References

External links