TLN (TV channel)

TLN

Country	Canada
Broadcast area	National
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Programming
Language(s)	English
Picture format	1080i HDTV (2012-present) 480i SDTV (1984-present)
Timeshift service	East West
Ownership
Owner	TLN Media Group Joseph Vitale (28%) R. Di Battista Investments (24%) I.P. Rosati Holdings (24%) Aldo Di Felice (24%)
Sister channels	Mediaset Italia (Canadian TV channel), Univision Canada, EuroWorld Sport, Mediaset TGCOM 24 (Canadian TV channel) Telebimbi, TeleNiños
History
Launched	October 2, 1984
Links
Website	TLN

TLN (an abbreviation from its full name Telelatino) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by TLN Media Group. The channel primarily broadcasts lifestyle programming surrounding the cultures of Latin America and Italy, including cooking and travel-related programs, as well as coverage of international soccer, and mainstream television series and films.

Launched on October 2, 1984, TLN was originally a consortium of Joseph Vitale, Organización de Telecomunicaciones de Iberoamérica, and the owners of the Citytv and Global Television Network. In 1994, Shaw Communications acquired CHUM Limited's stake in the service, and in 1999, Aldo Di Felice acquired Canwest's shares in the service while Shaw's media assets were spun off to form Corus Entertainment the same year. In 2009, I.P. Rosati Holdings acquired OTI's shares in the service and, in 2019, Corus sold its stake in the service to its existing partners and Di Felice.

TLN previously broadcast in a trilingual format, carrying programming in the Italian, Spanish, and English languages (with the latter usually focusing on off-network reruns of entertainment programs starring actors of Italian or Spanish descent). This format was later phased out with the launch of sister digital cable channels dedicated solely to Italian- and Spanish-language programs, and TLN subsequently relaunched in 2018 with a larger focus on lifestyle programming.

History

TLN's second logo, used from 2002 to 2015. Later on, an oblong shape was added to the logo.

TLN was licensed by the CRTC on April 2, 1984, to TLN Media Group, at the time owned by Joseph Vitale, Organización de Telecomunicaciones de Iberoamérica CHUM Limited and Canwest, along with that of MuchMusic (also owned by CHUM Limited); the channel was launched on October 2, 1984, as Telelatino, broadcasting a trilingual format, focusing on Italian, Spanish and English programming. ^[1]

In 1994, Shaw Communications acquired CHUM Limited's stake in TLN. In 1999, Aldo Di Felice acquired Canwest Global Communications' shares in TLN, and the assets of Shaw were spun off to form Corus Entertainment.

On October 23, 2007, TLN launched TLN en Español, a Category B Spanish language general entertainment channel. The channel would later be relaunched as Univision Canada in 2014. In 2009, Organización de Telecomunicaciones de Iberoamérica traded its stake in TLN to I.P. Rosati Holdings for $57 million. In 2011, the channel started to refer itself to as TLN on-air.

In 2015, TLN was given a graphical overhaul, introducing an updated wordmark over a red background, and a new lineup with a greater focus on lifestyle Italian and Spanish programming.

In April 2018, the network introduced a new marketing campaign, Colour Your Life, to signal a shift in focus for the channel to include "all lovers of the mainstream cultural lifestyle" in addition to existing viewers, after having phased out its foreign-language programs in favour of more lifestyle programming relevant to Italian and Spanish culture. ^[2]

Corus Entertainment previously owned a 50.5% majority share in the service; it later sold its interest to its existing partners and Di Felice for $19 million in 2019. ^[3]

Programming

The network primarily airs programming related to Italian and Spanish cultures, including travel and cuisine. ^[2]

TLN broadcasts a substantial amount of soccer programming, airing Serie A matches since 1984. TLN later secured the rights to air all Serie A matches between 2018 and 2021. ^[4] and UEFA Champions League matches involving Italian and Spanish teams from 2002 to 2009. In 2009, TLN secured the rights to the UEFA Europa League to become the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of this tournament through to 2012. ^[5]

In 2006, TLN partnered with CBC Sports to sub-license its rights to FIFA tournaments, including the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup. ^[6] In 2015, TLN also sub-licensed Spanish-language rights to the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto from CBC, collaborating with the U.S. Spanish rightsholder ESPN Deportes. ^{[7] [8] [9]}

Controversy with RAI

From its inception up until mid-2003, TLN's Italian programming was derived primarily from RAI, Italy's state owned broadcaster, which made a commitment in 1984 to supply programming to Canada through TLN for as long as TLN was licensed in Canada. A dispute arose in 2003 when the head of RAI's international channel, decided to repudiate RAI's supply obligations as well as its 2001 agreement to launch a 24-hour RAI Canada channel, in favour of challenging Canada's regulatory regime by indicating that it wanted to deliver RAI programming through its own international channel on its own terms without restriction and not through TLN or through any Canadian programming partner.

In 2003, RAI pulled its content from TLN and petitioned the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to allow it to broadcast RAI International in Canada. ^[10] This effort was backed by Rogers Communications, who sponsored RAI's application to get on the CRTC's approved list. After initially being rejected by the CRTC in 2004 in strong terms, RAI International was eventually approved by the CRTC in the spring of 2005 and began broadcasting in June 2005. After RAI International was launched in Canada, TLN began airing programming from Mediaset.

TLN Media Group

TLN is the flagship television network of the TLN Media Group, a consortium owned by three prominent Italian Canadian families and network president Aldo Di Felice, that is dedicated to multi-ethnic programming. In addition to TLN, the company also owns the following television assets:

• EuroWorld Sport – A sports network launched in July 2010 focusing mainly on association football and sports-related programming.
• Mediaset Italia (Canadian TV channel) – Launched in June 2010 and mainly broadcasts Italian programming from Mediaset Italia.
  • TgCom24 (Canadian TV channel) – A Canadian version of the Italian Mediaset TGCOM 24 news channel. It was originally launched on June 15, 2005, as a simulcast of Sky Italia's Sky TG24 channel. It rebranded under its current name in December 2016.
• Telebimbi – An offshoot of TeleNiños, a children's channel dedicated to Italian-language programming.
• TeleNiños – A children's channel launched in 2011, focusing mainly on Spanish-language programming.
• Univision Canada – A wholly owned Spanish-language entertainment channel, with the Univision name used under a brand licensing agreement with the U.S-based TelevisaUnivision.

References

1. "CRTC Decision 1984-338". Archived from the original on April 6, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
2. Phillips, Catherine. "TLN launches new "Colour Your Life" campaign". Media in Canada. Retrieved 2020-07-25.
3. TLN buys back its shares from Corus
4. "TLN Media Group Acquires Canadian TV Rights to Serie A". 14 August 2018.
5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
6. "TLN Television partners up with CBC/Radio-Canada to broadcast all major FIFA international tournaments through 2014". Archived from the original on 2007-02-19.
7. "Lights, Camera, Party!". Toronto2015.org. December 15, 2014. Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
8. "TO2015 Awards Host And Domestic Broadcaster Role To CBC/Radio-Canada". Toronto2015.com. September 7, 2012. Archived from the original on June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
9. "CBC wins rights to 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto". CBC Sports . September 6, 2012. Archived from the original on May 28, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
10. "RAI INTERNATIONAL - Canada - la situazione". Archived from the original on 2011-01-02. Retrieved 2009-11-29. Italian Channel battles for carriage

External links

• Official website
• CRTC Decision 1984-444 original TLN licence ^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
• CRTC chart of TLN's assets (PDF)