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Animal Planet (Canadian TV channel)

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Animal Planet
CountryCanada
Broadcast areaNational
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Programming
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
(2011–present)
480i (SDTV)
(2001–present)
Ownership
OwnerAnimal Planet Canada Inc.
(CTV Specialty Television (80%))
(Bell Media (56%) and ESPN Inc. (24%))
BBC Studios (10%)
Warner Bros. Discovery (10%)
Sister channelsDiscovery
Discovery Science
Discovery Velocity
Investigation Discovery
History
LaunchedSeptember 7, 2001; 23 years ago (2001-09-07)
Links
WebsiteAnimal Planet Canada

Animal Planet is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty television channel. Animal Planet broadcasts a variety of programming featuring animals.

The channel is owned by the Animal Planet Canada Company, which is a consortium consisting of CTV Speciality Television Inc. which owns 80% of the company (CTV Speciality Television Inc. is a division of Bell Media who owns 70% and ESPN owning 30%), and Canadian AP Ventures Company which owns 20% (Canadian AP Ventures Company is owned by BBC Studios at 50% and Warner Bros. Discovery at 50%). Through this ownership structure, this effectively gives Bell Media 56% ownership and control, with ESPN 24%, BBC Studios 10%, and Warner Bros. Discovery 10% ownership.

Bell Media will lose the rights to the Animal Planet brand and its U.S. programming at the end of 2024, but the channel will maintain a similar programming theme as CTV Wild Channel starting January 1, 2025. Rogers Sports & Media will take over the Canadian rights to Animal Planet programming, primarily distributing it through its streaming and on-demand 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]

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.[2]

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.[3][4][5]

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.[6][7] 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.[8][9] Rogers announced that Animal Planet content would move to its on-demand and streaming platforms including Citytv+, rather than a new linear channel.[10]

Logo Used Since 2025

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.[11]

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.[12] The channel launched on December 15, 2011, initially on Bell Fibe TV and Shaw Cable and launched at a later date on Telus TV.[13] 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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2008–2011

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. ^ 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
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ CRTC approves BCE's purchase of CTVglobemedia
  5. ^ Bell completes acquisition of CTV, launches Bell Media business unit Archived April 4, 2011, at the Wayback Machine CNW April 1, 2011
  6. ^ Thiessen, Connie (June 10, 2024). "Rogers scoops Warner Bros. Discovery rights from Corus and Bell". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "Rogers announces licensing deals with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery". CityNews.ca. June 10, 2024. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  8. ^ Thiessen, Connie (June 28, 2024). "Bell files injunction against Rogers in Warner Bros. Discovery content battle". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Thiessen, Connie (August 28, 2024). "Rogers outlines plans to launch new channels". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  11. ^ Bell Media (October 17, 2024). "Bell Media Brings Powerhouse Brands USA Network and Oxygen True Crime to Canada" (Press release). Retrieved October 17, 2024.
  12. ^ 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
  13. ^ Animal Planet HD, Investigation Discovery HD and Discovery Science HD Launch Today Bell Media press release December 15, 2011
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