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CTV Wild Channel

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CTV Wild Channel
CountryCanada
Broadcast areaNational
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Programming
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
(2011–present)
480i (SDTV)
(2001–present)
Ownership
OwnerCTV Specialty Television
Sister channelsCTV
CTV2
CTV Comedy Channel
CTV Drama Channel
CTV Life Channel
CTV Nature Channel
CTV Sci-Fi Channel
CTV Speed Channel
Oxygen
USA Network
History
LaunchedSeptember 7, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-09-07)
Former namesAnimal Planet (2001-2025)
Links
WebsiteCTV Wild

CTV Wild Channel (formerly Animal Planet) is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel majority-owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts factual series and documentaries relating to animals.

The network was originally established in 2001 as a Canadian version of the U.S. cable network Animal Planet, expanding upon CTV's existing relationship with Discovery Communications for Discovery Channel.

In January 2025, the channel was rebranded as CTV Wild 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 Animal Planet, with its programming to instead be distributed via digital platforms.

History

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In November 2000, CTV Inc. was granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch Animal Planet, a service described as being "broadly based on family entertainment that will combine high-quality Canadian programming and attractive series and documentaries from the U.S. counterpart, in the United States.

The channel was launched under its current ownership structure (with the exception of Bell Media, wherein Bell Globemedia, later renamed CTVglobemedia, owned its shares at the time) on September 7, 2001.[1]

Its license is majority-owned by Bell Media via the licensee Animal Planet Canada Company, which itself is owned by CTV Specialty Television (of which ESPN Inc. holds 30% minority ownership, although it is not believed to be involved in the channel's operations), with a further 20% stake held by Canadian AP Ventures Company (a joint venture between Discovery Communications, LLC and BBC Worldwide, stemming from the American version of Animal Planet originally having BBC Worldwide as an investor)[2][3]

On June 30, 2008, Animal Planet unveiled a new on-air appearance, including a new logo and graphics, to align itself with the American service which had updated its appearance earlier that year.[4]

Ownership changed once again when BCE (a minority shareholder in CTVglobemedia) acquired 100% interest in CTVglobemedia and was renamed to Bell Media on April 1, 2011.[5][6][7]

See also: 2024 Canadian specialty television realignment

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 Animal Planet.[8][9] 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.[10][11] Rogers announced that Animal Planet content would move to its on-demand and streaming platforms including Citytv+, rather than a new linear channel.[12] On October 17, 2024, Bell Media announced the channel would rebrand as CTV Wild Channel on January 1, 2025. The channel will carry over certain Canadian series previously commissioned by Bell for Animal Planet Canada, as well as other animal-related content from third-party distributors.[13]

Animal Planet HD

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On June 17, 2011, Bell Media announced that it would launch Animal Planet HD, a high definition (HD) simulcast of the standard definition feed, by the end of 2011.[14] The channel launched on December 15, 2011, initially on Bell Fibe TV and Shaw Cable and launched at a later date on Telus TV.[15] About six years later, Shaw Direct added it and 5 other HD channels (Business News Network, Cooking Channel, Crime & Investigation, OWN, and Travel + Escape) to the channel listing on September 21, 2017.

Logos

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  • 2008-2020
    2008-2020
  • 2020–2025
    2020–2025
  • 2025–present
    2025–present

References

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  1. ^ Animal Planet Launch Archived April 26, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Bell Globemedia press release September 6, 2001
  2. ^ "Ownership - BCE - Bell Media - Discretionary Services (other than Mainstream Sports)" (PDF). CRTC. Retrieved January 1, 2025.
  3. ^ "BBC Worldwide Annual Review 2005/06" (PDF). BBC Worldwide. March 31, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 3, 2011. Retrieved April 30, 2011.
  4. ^ Animal Planet Debuts A New Look and Striking New Programming During National Freeview this July Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine CTVglobemedia press release June 5, 2008
  5. ^ Bell Canada (September 10, 2010). "Bell to acquire 100% of Canada's No.1 media company CTV". CNW Group. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2010.
  6. ^ CRTC approves BCE's purchase of CTVglobemedia
  7. ^ Bell completes acquisition of CTV, launches Bell Media business unit Archived April 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine CNW April 1, 2011
  8. ^ Thiessen, Connie (June 10, 2024). "Rogers scoops Warner Bros. Discovery rights from Corus and Bell". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  9. ^ "Rogers announces licensing deals with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery". CityNews.ca. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  10. ^ Thiessen, Connie (June 28, 2024). "Bell files injunction against Rogers in Warner Bros. Discovery content battle". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  11. ^ Whittock, Jesse (October 8, 2024). "Bell Expands Warner Bros Discovery Pact For HBO & Max Content And Ends Legal Action Over Rogers Deal". Deadline. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
  12. ^ Thiessen, Connie (August 28, 2024). "Rogers outlines plans to launch new channels". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Bell Media (October 17, 2024). "Bell Media Brings Powerhouse Brands USA Network and Oxygen True Crime to Canada" (Press release). Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  14. ^ Discovery Channel and Bell Media Factual Networks Announce Fall 2011 "Must See" Highlights Archived June 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine CNW June 17, 2011
  15. ^ Animal Planet HD, Investigation Discovery HD and Discovery Science HD Launch Today Bell Media press release December 15, 2011
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