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| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | 9 Channel Nine Court,Scarborough, Ontario |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | CTV Specialty Television (2953285 Canada Inc.) (Branding licensed fromVersant /Comcast) |
| Sister channels | CTV CTV 2 CTV Comedy Channel CTV Drama Channel CTV Life Channel CTV Nature Channel CTV Sci-Fi Channel CTV Speed Channel CTV Wild Channel Oxygen Noovo (French language) |
| History | |
| Launched | December 31, 1994; 30 years ago (1994-12-31) |
| Former names | Discovery Channel (1994–2025) |
| Links | |
| Website | USA Network Canada |
USA Network is aCanadiandiscretionaryspecialty television channel owned byCTV Specialty Television, Inc., a joint venture ofBell Media (80%) andESPN Inc. (20%; ESPN is not believed to be directly involved in the operation of the channel). Based on theAmerican channel of the same name, it primarily carries ageneral entertainment format focusing on television series, films,reality, andsports programming.
The channel was launched on December 31, 1994 by Labatt Communications asDiscovery Channel, a Canadian version of theAmerican cable network of the same name; as with its namesake, it primarily airedfactual programming relating to topics such as science, technology, and nature, with a mix of original Canadian productions (including a dailynews magazine that aired from its launch through 2018) and imported programming. By the 2010s, mirroring similar shifts by its American parent, the network shifted to primarily airing reality-style programs, and later added reruns of scripted programming (particularlypolice procedurals) from other Bell Media channels.
In June 2024,Rogers Sports & Media announced that it had acquired the Canadian rights to allWarner Bros. Discovery (WBD) factual and lifestyle brands beginning January 1, 2025, including Discovery Channel. Bell subsequently announced that it would enter into a licensing agreement withNBCUniversal and laterVersant for two of its Discovery-branded channels, with Discovery being relaunched as USA Network on January 1, 2025. Anew iteration of Discovery owned by Rogers concurrently launched the same day.
As a formerCategory A service, Discovery Channel was required to be carried on the basic service of all digital cable providers across Canada. The channel was, and still is as USA Network, typically offered optionally at the discretion of cable or satellite providers.
In October 1992, brewerJohn Labatt Ltd.—owner ofTSN through its JLL Broadcast Group division, later renamedLabatt Communications—announced an agreement withDiscovery Communications to apply to theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a specialty television licence, to launch a Canadian service similar to theDiscovery Channel in the United States. Under the agreement, Discovery Communications would supply up to 400 hours of programming per year to the Canadian channel.[1]
Following hearings in February 1994, the channel was licensed by the CRTC that June, as part of a wave of new licences that included the specialty channels now known asCMT,CTV Drama,Slice,Showcase, andW Network.[2][3] During the licensing process, the venture had received numerous letters of support from various science-focused and educational groups, and academics such asJohn Polanyi andSusan Mann.[4] In its application, the channel promised a daily science-focused show, the first of its kind in North America, tentatively titledCanada Magazine.[4]
The Discovery Channel launched in Canada on December 31, 1994, at 8 p.m.ET.[5] The network was owned by Labatt Communications in partnership with Discovery Communications (which owned 20% of the venture), and was headed by formerCBC executiveTrina McQueen.[4] Due to foreign ownership restrictions, Labatt Communications was later spun off and renamed NetStar Communications, as Labatt had been acquired byInterbrew.[6]
The channel initially carried 40%Canadian content and 60% foreign content, but committed to eventually airing a total of 60% Canadian content throughout the broadcast day, with 20% of its programming originated by Discovery Channel U.S., and the remaining 20% coming from other international producers.[5][6] The proposedCanada Magazine, which debuted as@discovery.ca and was later retitledDaily Planet, was part of the channel's launch schedule and ran until 2018.[6]
On March 24, 2000, the CRTC approved a proposal byCTV Inc. to acquire voting interest in NetStar Communications Inc. CTV renamed the company CTV Specialty Television Inc.
Ahigh definition simulcast feed of Discovery Channel that broadcasts in the1080i resolution format was launched on August 15, 2003.[7] The feed would later be shut down on December 19, 2005, and be replaced by a separatecategory 2digital cablespecialty channel calledDiscovery HD Theatre.
In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the channel followed its U.S. counterpart'sshift away from natural history towards adventure and reality programming targeting male audiences, with series likeDeadliest Catch,Highway Thru Hell, andCanada's Worst Driver.[8]
Bell Globemedia was renamed to CTVglobemedia on January 1, 2007, after BCE Inc. reduced the stake to 15%. Bell Canada reacquired CTVgm in 2010 fromThe Woodbridge Company and renamed that division to Bell Media on April 1, 2011.
On June 17, 2011, Bell Media announced that it would launch, for a second time, an HD simulcast feed of Discovery Channel; this feed was launched on August 18, 2011.[9]
On June 10, 2024,Rogers Sports & Media announced it had reached an agreement withWarner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for Canadian rights to its lifestyle brands beginning in January 2025. Although not mentioned in Rogers' initial announcement, the company subsequently confirmed that the affected channels include Discovery Channel and other brands of the formerDiscovery Communications (pre-Scripps Networks Interactive merger) which had been managed by Bell in Canada.[10][11] Bell then said in a statement that it would "assert [its] rights", citingnon-compete protections it had previously negotiated against the launch of direct competitor channels.[12] On June 19, Bell filed for an injunction against WBD and Rogers, demanding that it not supply any Discovery programming to Rogers for at least two years after its own deal expires, claiming it was entitled to a "window to adjust" under its outgoing contract in the event of non-renewal.[13]
According to Rogers, the injunction requested by Bell would—if granted—prevent the company from operating any linear TV channels under the relevant brands during that timeframe, but would not affect other content rights.[14] Nevertheless, Rogers subsequently announced plans to launch its own linear specialty channels under the Discovery and Investigation Discovery brands on January 1, 2025 (alongsideFood Network,HGTV, andMagnolia Network), with all other brands launched digitally viaCitytv+.[15] In late-August, Bell stated that it had dropped its legal action against Rogers (thus allowing its relaunch of the Discovery brands to proceed), in favour of focusing on WBD having allegedly violated itsright of first negotiation.[16] On October 8, 2024, Bell settled with WBD, agreeing to a renewal of its library deals withHBO,HBO Max, andWarner Bros. for itsCrave service, as well as co-production and international distribution pacts for Bell Media original programming,[17]
On October 17, Bell Media announced it would relaunch Discovery as a Canadian version ofUSA Network on January 1, 2025, as part of an agreement withComcast'sNBCUniversal, then-parent company prior to the spin-off intoVersant, that would also see itsversion of Investigation Discovery relaunched under the similarOxygen brand.[18] The revamped channel carries a general entertainment format, with a focus on scripted dramas (including past and present USA Network original series such asSuits, upcoming USA series such asThe Rainmaker, and new drama acquisitions such as HBO Max'sThe Pitt), original factual series carried over from Discovery, films, and some live sports programming sublicensed from TSN.[19][20]
USA and Oxygen marked Bell's second and third active channel partnerships withComcast, following the relaunch of Star! asE! in 2010; Comcast and Bell Media's predecessors were also co-owners ofOLN from 1997 to 2008.[21] In 2007, the CRTC rejected a request byShaw Communications to add USA Network to the list of foreign television services eligible to be carried by Canadian television providers, on the basis that the channel carried too many programs already carried by other Canadian specialty services.[22]
At some point after the rebranding, WBD divested its stakes in the channel.[23]
In addition to shows acquired from itsAmerican counterpart, the Canadian Discovery Channel produced much of its own original programming through its Exploration Production group including its former flagship daily science news program,Daily Planet, and itsown domestic version ofCash Cab.[24] Several programs produced by the Canadian Discovery Channel (such asHow It's Made) have also aired on the AmericanScience Channel.
Since 2015, enabled by that year's retirement of CRTC genre protection rules which mandated that it predominantly air factual programming,[25] Discovery began to make ventures into scripted entertainment programming with loose connections to history or scientific concepts. In November 2015, Bell Media announced Discovery Channel Canada's first original scripted drama, theJason Momoa-frontedNetflix co-productionFrontier, chronicling theNorth American fur trade.[26] In 2018, the channel began to devote portions of its schedule to reruns ofpolice procedural series such asCriminal Minds,CSI: NY, andNUMB3RS.
With the relaunch as USA Network, the network primarily airs general entertainment programming, including USA Network and Bell-owned library programs,[27][28] films, and reality series (including factual series carried over from Discovery Channel such asHighway Thru Hell andMayday, and competition series such asThe Traitors).[20][19]
USA Network also carries some live sports programming sublicensed from TSN (since 2015, alldiscretionary specialty channels have operated under unified license terms that no longer restrict the genres of programming they may air, and allows channels notlicensed as a mainstream sports channel to devote up to 10% of their programming to live professional sports), includingprofessional wrestling fromAll Elite Wrestling (AEW Collision) andWWE (WWE LFG andWWE Rivals; while USA Network has been the long-time cable home of WWE in the United States—currently airingSmackDown—rights to WWE's main programming moved from Rogers'Sportsnet toNetflix in 2025 as part of a global licensing agreement. These two series are commissioned and distributed byA+E Global Media as part of its partnership withWWE Studios),[29][30] and coverage of theNASCAR Xfinity Series beginning in the2025 season.[19][25]
The launch is set for Saturday night at 8.
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Owners:Walt Disney Company (80%);Hearst Communications (20%) | |||||||||||||||||||
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