Sundance Channel (Canada)

Last updated
Sundance Channel
Sundance Channel.svg
Sundance Channel logo
LaunchedSeptember 7, 2001 (2001-09-07)
ClosedMarch 1, 2018 (2018-03-01)
Owned by CHUM Limited
(2001–2006)
CTVglobemedia
(2006–2010)
Corus Entertainment
(2010–2018)
Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
(2013-2018)
480i (SDTV)
(2001-2018)
SloganPassion that Guides You
Country Canada
Broadcast areaNational
Headquarters Toronto, Ontario
Formerly calledDrive-In Classics (2001-2010)
Sister channel(s) MovieTime
IFC
Showcase
Action
DejaView
CMT
ABC Spark
W Network
CosmoTV
BBC Canada

Sundance Channel was a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. Sundance Channel airs programming focused on independent films, documentaries, music series, dramas and more.

Television in Canada officially began with the sign-on of the nation's first television stations in Montreal and Toronto in 1952. As with most media in Canada, the television industry, and the television programming available in that country, are strongly influenced by media in the United States, perhaps to an extent not seen in any other major industrialized nation. As a result, the government institutes quotas for "Canadian content". Nonetheless, new content is often aimed at a broader North American audience, although the similarities may be less pronounced in the predominantly French-language province of Quebec.

English language West Germanic language

English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and eventually became a global lingua franca. It is named after the Angles, one of the Germanic tribes that migrated to the area of Great Britain that later took their name, as England. Both names derive from Anglia, a peninsula in the Baltic Sea. The language is closely related to Frisian and Low Saxon, and its vocabulary has been significantly influenced by other Germanic languages, particularly Norse, and to a greater extent by Latin and French.

A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic.

Contents

History

As Drive-In Classics

In June 2001, CHUM Limited was given approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a national category 2 specialty channel known as "The Drive-In Channel", with programming described as being centred on "Drive-In B movies and series, as well as occasional magazine-style shows focusing on the genre". [1]

CHUM Limited was a Canadian media company based in Toronto, Ontario in operation from 1945 to 2007. It held full or joint control of two Canadian television systems—Citytv and A-Channel —comprising 11 local stations, one CBC Television affiliate, one provincial educational channel, and 20 branded specialty television channels, most notably MuchMusic and its various spinoffs. In addition, CHUM owned 33 radio stations across Canada under its CHUM Radio Network division. At various points in its history, CHUM also owned other radio stations as well as ATV and the Atlantic Satellite Network in Atlantic Canada.

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasting and telecommunications. It was created in 1976 when it took over responsibility for regulating telecommunication carriers. Prior to 1976, it was known as the Canadian Radio and Television Commission, which was established in 1968 by the Parliament of Canada to replace the Board of Broadcast Governors. Its headquarters is located in the Central Building of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière in Gatineau, Quebec.

Drive-In Classics logo (2001-2010) Drive-In Classics logo.svg
Drive-In Classics logo (2001-2010)

The channel was launched only three months later, on September 7, 2001 at 9:00 p.m. EST under the name "Drive-In Classics", [2] which focused on showing primarily films from the B movie genre, focusing on films popular at the drive-in theatres in the 1950s to 1970s, and a number of television series including The Hilarious House of Frightenstein and Xena: Warrior Princess .

B movie Low budget commercial film genre

A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture that is not an arthouse film. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature. Although the U.S. production of movies intended as second features largely ceased by the end of the 1950s, the term B movie continues to be used in its broader sense to this day. In its post-Golden Age usage, there is ambiguity on both sides of the definition: on the one hand, the primary interest of many inexpensive exploitation films is prurient; on the other, many B movies display a high degree of craft and aesthetic ingenuity.

<i>The Hilarious House of Frightenstein</i> television series

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein is a Canadian children's television series, which was produced by Hamilton, Ontario's independent station CHCH-TV in 1971. It was syndicated both in Canada and internationally, and occasionally still appears in some television markets. In Canada, the series has not aired for several years.

<i>Xena: Warrior Princess</i> American–New Zealand fantasy series (1995–2001)

Xena: Warrior Princess is an American fantasy television series filmed on location in New Zealand. The series aired in first-run syndication from September 4, 1995 to June 18, 2001. Critics have praised the series for its strong female protagonist, and it has acquired a strong cult following, attention in fandom, parody, and academia, and has influenced the direction of other television series.

Programming on Drive-In Classics were organized into themes including: Martial Arts Mondays - fight-themed movies, Western Wednesdays - Western movies, Steamy Windshields (Fridays) - teenage-themed movies, Horror Marathon (Saturdays) - horror films and Salem's Lot, various films picked by host Rob Salem, which was ended on August 30, 2009.

In July 2006, Bell Globemedia announced that it would purchase CHUM for an estimated $1.7 billion CAD, included in the sale was Drive-In Classics. [3] The sale was approved by the CRTC in June 2007, [4] with the transaction completed on June 22, 2007.

Canadian dollar currency of Canada

The Canadian dollar is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or sometimes Can$ or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents (¢).

On July 14, 2009, CTVglobemedia announced the sale of Drive-In Classics and SexTV: The Channel to Corus Entertainment for $40 million CAD. [5] Before the sale was approved, Corus announced in late September that they planned to rebrand the channel, but did not give any specific details regarding the rebranding. [6] The sale was approved by the CRTC on November 19. [7]

Corus Entertainment Canadian media/broadcasting company From Disney Junior

Corus Entertainment is a Canadian mass media and broadcasting company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Ontario, and has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. Corus Entertainment's voting majority is held by the company's founder JR Shaw and his family, and a 40% stake of Corus stock is owned by Shaw Communications.

As Sundance Channel

On December 8, Corus announced that Drive-In Classics would be rebranded as a Canadian version of Sundance Channel (now known as SundanceTV) on March 1, 2010 under an agreement with the American channel's owner, AMC Networks, which would not own any stake in the Canadian channel. [8] [9] The channel was rebranded on March 1, 2010 as planned, focusing its programming on independent films, documentaries, scripted drams and comedies, and musical performances.

In February 2018, a notice was posted on Sundance Channel's website that the channel was closed on March 1, 2018. The CRTC revoked the channel's broadcast license on March 27, 2018. [10]

Programming

Includes former programming as of December 2014.

Acquired from SundanceTV

Other Acquired Programming

Sundance Channel HD

Telus has announced on their website that they will carry the HD feed of Sundance Channel (Canada). [11] Shaw Direct and Bell TV never launched it in time due to the channel's closure.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Decision CRTC 2001-305; CRTC; 4 June 2001
  2. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-05-21. Retrieved 2009-07-14.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ "Bell Globemedia acquires CHUM | Deals & Cases | Fasken Martineau". Fasken.com. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  4. ↑ "ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2007-165". CRTC.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  5. ↑ Corus to acquire Drive-In Classics and SexTV from CTVglobemedia for $40 million; The Canadian Press; 14 July 2009
  6. ↑ "Corus shuttering Discovery Kids, will re-brand Sex TV and Drive-In Classics channels", CARTT.ca, September 29, 2009
  7. ↑ "ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-706". CRTC.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  8. ↑ "SUNDANCE CHANNEL RISES IN CANADA - Corus Entertainment". Corusent.com. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
  9. ↑
  10. ↑ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-107". CRTC . March 27, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Select your region". Telus.com. Retrieved 2017-07-01.
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