 | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Montreal, Quebec |
| Programming | |
| Language | French |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Astral Media (2000–2013) Alliance Atlantis (2000–2007) Canwest (2008–2010) Shaw Media (2010–2013) Corus Entertainment (2013–present) (branding licensed fromA&E Networks) |
| Sister channels | History History2 |
| History | |
| Launched | January 31, 2000; 26 years ago (January 31, 2000) |
| Links | |
| Website | historiatv |
Historia is a Canadiandiscretionary service owned byCorus Entertainment. The network broadcastsFrench-language programming related tohistory and historical fiction, and is a sister network to the English-languageHistory; both channels operate as Canadian licensees of the U.S. networkHistory.
Licensed by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) asCanal Histoire toAlliance Atlantis and Premier Choix Networks (Astral),[1] the channel was launched on January 31, 2000, asHistoria.
On January 18, 2008, a joint venture betweenCanwest andGoldman Sachs Alternatives known as CW Media boughtAlliance Atlantis and gained its interest in Historia. The new company also acquired Historia's English language equivalent, History Television (nowHistory).
On October 27, 2010,Shaw Communications completed its acquisition of Canwest and Goldman Sachs' interest in CW Media, giving it control of CW Media's 50% interest in Historia.[2][3]
On March 4, 2013,Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral Media's stakes inSéries+ and Historia, as well as several other properties, under separate transactions with the two companies. The purchase was tied toBell Media's pending takeover of Astral Media; an earlier proposal had been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012 due to concerns surrounding its total market share following the merger, but was restructured under the condition that the companies divest certain media properties.[4] In a separate deal, Corus also acquired Shaw's interests in Séries+ and Historia, giving it full ownership.[5] The deals were approved by the CRTC on 20 December 2013[6] and Corus become the full owner of the channel on 1 January 2014.[7]
On October 21, 2014, Corus reached an agreement withA&E Networks to acquire French-language rights to programming fromHistory, the U.S. counterpart of Historia's English-language sister network. The network was relaunched under History's logo and branding on March 9, 2015, while maintaining the Historia name.[8]
The channel became a French-language version of itssister channel on April 1, 2016 followingCorus Entertainment's acquisition ofShaw Media.
On October 17, 2017,Bell Media announced its intent to acquire Historia andSéries+ from Corus for $200 million, pending regulatory approval. Corus cited the two channels as not being part of the company's "strategic priorities" at this time; the deal came shortly after an announcement that Corus no longer planned to commission original programs for the two channels.[9] On 28 May 2018, both transactions were blocked by theCompetition Bureau, as a violation of conditions placed on Bell's acquisition of Astral Media, which barred it from re-acquiring any of the properties it divested in the merger for 10 years.[10] As a result, Bell and Corus mutually agreed to shelve the sale.[11]
On October 30, 2006, Astral Media launched ahigh definitionsimulcast feed of Historia.
