Documentary Channel (Canadian TV channel)
Documentary Channel (stylized as documentary Channel) is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board of Canada and four other independent producers. Its programming is devoted to featuring primarily documentary films along with documentary-style television series.
 Documentary Channel logo | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | National |
| Slogan | Free Your Mind |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (82% & managing partner) National Film Board of Canada (14%) 4 independent producers (1% each)[1] |
| History | |
| Launched | September 7, 2001 |
| Former names | Documentary (2008–2016) |
| Links | |
| Website | Documentary Channel |
| Availability | |
| Cable | |
| Available on most Canadian cable systems | Check local listings |
| Satellite | |
| Bell Satellite TV | Channel 336 (SD) Channel 1310 (HD) |
| Shaw Direct | Channel 513 (SD) |
| IPTV | |
| Bell Aliant Fibe TV | Channel 346 (SD) Channel 517 (HD) |
| Bell Fibe TV | Channel 336 (SD) Channel 1336 (HD) |
| Bell MTS | Channel 264 (SD) Channel 1264 (HD) |
| Optik TV | Channel 9731 (SD) Channel 731 (HD) |
| SaskTel | Channel 86 (SD) |
| HuronTel Digital TV | Channel 300 (HD) |
| VMedia | Channel 325 (HD) |
| Zazeen | Channel 95 (HD) |
History
Licensed as The Canadian Documentary Channel on November 24, 2000 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC); it was launched as the Documentary Channel on September 7, 2001 under the majority ownership of Corus Entertainment (53%), CBC (29%), NFB (14%), and the following film producers at 1% each: Omni Film Productions, Cinenova Productions, Barna-Alper Productions, and Galafilm.
On May 11, 2006, Corus Entertainment announced that it would sell its 53% majority stake in the service to the CBC; bringing the CBC's interest to 82% from its former 29%. Corus decided to sell its interest in the service because it stated documentaries were considered a non-core asset and it wanted to further focus its attention on core assets; youth, women's related programming, and films.[2] On June 22, 2007 the CRTC approved the deal and the transaction was completed.
On March 27, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. EST, the Documentary Channel changed its name to simply, documentary, along with a new logo and on-air graphics.
In October 2013, Neil Tabatznik purchased eOne Television's interest (who gained ownership in the channel when it purchased Barna-Alper Productions in January 2008) in the channel.[3]
In 2016, the CBC rebranded the channel again, slightly modifying the logo to introduce the word "channel", renaming it back to documentary Channel.
Documentary Channel HD
On April 1, 2011 the CBC launched a high definition feed simulcasting the standard definition feed. It is available on Bell Satellite TV, Cogeco, Rogers Cable, EastLink, Bell Fibe TV, Bell MTS and Optik TV.
Logos
 | |
|---|---|
| 2001 – 2008 | 2008 – 2016 |
See also
- List of documentary channels
- Documentary Organization of Canada
References
- The 4 independent producers are: Omnifilm Entertainment, Cinenova Productions Inc., Neil Tabatznik, and Galafilm Inc.
- CBC buys into doc channel; Playback Magazine; 2006-05-29
- Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2013-554, CRTC, 10-17-16
External links
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