Country | Canada |
---|---|
Broadcast area | National |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
Programming | |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Bell Media |
History | |
Launched | October 1999 |
Links | |
Website | Vu! |
Vu!, also operating as Bell TV On Demand, [1] is a Canadian English and French language pay-per-view and Video on Demand provider that launched in October 1999 and is owned by Bell Media. Vu! is the largest PPV service provider in Canada and is available on Telus Satellite TV, Bell Satellite TV, Bell Fibe TV, and Bell Aliant FibreOP. It not only offers pay-per-view content but also features pay-per-day, pay-per-month and pay-per-year on select programming.
Vu! started operations in October 1999.
On July 5, 2013, Bell Canada's media arm (and Bell TV's sister company), Bell Media, acquired control of a competing pay-per-view service, Viewers Choice, which currently primarily serves cable companies, as part of their takeover of Astral Media. In July 2014, industry website Cartt.ca reported that Viewers Choice would be shutting down on September 30, 2014. [2] [3] Vu! was directly unaffected by the shutdown except that it also began to serve Bell Aliant customers in place of Viewers Choice after the channel shut down. [4]
Vu!'s programming consists of films, concerts, live boxing, Ultimate Fighting Championship, WWE and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling, World Series of Poker and other special events. They also consist of select programming from AXS TV as well as various sports packages including NHL Centre Ice, NFL Sunday Ticket, NASCAR In Car, NCAA basketball, HPItv horse racing, and cricket.
In an effort to compete with the video on demand services offered by cable companies, Vu! has launched Red Carpet Vu!. This service features 8 channels with new releases and hit films playing all day with a film starting every 15 minutes.
Venus is Bell Satellite TV's adult pornography pay-per-view service, operated separately from Vu! (but under the same licence) with more expensive prices. Bell receivers can access two channels, one in English and one in French, for information on how to block all pornographic channels, including Venus. There are 15 Venus pay-per-view channels:
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of over-the-air programming was the most common form of media distribution. As Internet and IPTV technologies continued to develop in the 1990s, consumers began to gravitate towards non-traditional modes of content consumption, which culminated in the arrival of VOD on televisions and personal computers.
Bell Media Inc. is a Canadian media conglomerate that is the mass media subsidiary of BCE Inc.. Its operations include television broadcasting and production, radio broadcasting, digital media and Internet properties.
Bell Satellite TV is the division of BCE Inc. that provides satellite television service across Canada. It launched on September 10, 1997. As of April 2017, Bell Satellite TV provides over 700 channels to over 1 million subscribers. Its major competitors include satellite service Shaw Direct, as well as various cable and communications companies across Canada.
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, IPTV offers the ability to stream the source media continuously. As a result, a client media player can begin playing the content almost immediately. This is known as streaming media.
Crave is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc.
Movie Central was a Canadian English language Category A premium cable and satellite television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. Movie Central was designated to operate west of the Ontario-Manitoba border, including the territories. Although the channel's name implies that it focuses solely on theatrically released motion pictures, Movie Central's programming included original and foreign television series, made-for-cable movies and documentaries.
In Demand is an American cable television service which provides video on demand services, including pay-per-view. Comcast, Cox Communications, and Charter Communications jointly own iN DEMAND.
Canal Indigo is a Canadian English and French language pay-per-view and Near Video on Demand provider owned by Vidéotron. The service was launched on August 26, 1996.
Breakaway PPV was a Canadian English language regional pay-per-view television provider in Western Canada and the territories. Breakaway is jointly owned by the parent companies of the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Edmonton Oilers at 33.33% each. Licensed in 2000, its sole offerings were regional pay-per-view broadcasts of National Hockey League games involving the aforementioned teams which are not available through other broadcast or cable channels. The Breakaway name was not used on-air; the services were branded as Canucks TV, Flames PPV, and Oilers PPV respectively.
Viewers Choice was a Canadian English language pay-per-view (PPV) and near video on demand service. It was owned by Viewers Choice Canada Inc., which at the time of its closure was majority-owned and managed by Bell Media, with minority partners Rogers Media and ESPN Inc., and had been carried by various cable and IPTV service providers, primarily in Eastern Canada.
Cable Video Store (CVS), was a pay-per-view (PPV) service that was launched in 1985 by General Instrument. It was later owned by Graff Pay-Per-View. Cable Video Store consisted of one channel which carried first run movies and specials on a PPV basis. They also offered low cost programs to buy along with the standard PPV fare.
Shaw PPV is a Canadian English and French language pay-per-view service owned by Shaw Pay-Per-View Limited, a division of Shaw Communications. Shaw PPV is carried by Shaw Direct, Shaw Cable, and some other providers, mainly in Western Canada.
Fibe is the brand name used by Bell Aliant for its suite of fiber to the home (FTTH) unified communication services, including Internet access, IPTV, and home telephone service, available in much of Atlantic Canada and previously in some regions of Ontario and Quebec. The Fibe service covers an entire urban area with a fibre optic network.
Bell Fibe TV is an IP-based television service offered by Bell Canada in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is bundled with a FTTN or FTTH Bell Internet service, and uses the Mediaroom platform. Bell Fibe TV officially launched on September 13, 2010. It is also available in Manitoba and Atlantic Canada, where Fibe TV is re-packaged, being offered by Bell MTS and Bell Aliant with similar services and integrated with Bell Fibe TV.
TV1 is a group of community channels operated by Bell Canada's Fibe TV and FibreOP TV services and are exclusive to those services.
Sportsnet PPV is a Canadian pay-per-view (PPV) service owned by Rogers Communications. It is the PPV service used by Rogers Cable, Cogeco Cable and Source Cable for offering out-of-market sports packages and occasionally other special events. Since October 1, 2014, Rogers and Source have also used Sportsnet PPV as their main general-interest pay-per-view provider, replacing Viewers Choice which shut down the previous evening. The service is co-branded with Rogers' sports channel Sportsnet.
WWE Network is a Canadian English language specialty channel programmed by WWE and distributed by Rogers Sports & Media. Its programming consists entirely of the linear feed offered as part of the WWE Network video streaming service.
DirecTV Cinema is DirecTV's video on demand and pay-per-view platform for film content. Films are released as is done on other pay-TV services, along with exclusive film premieres priced at premium rates before entering theatrical distribution.