 | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Toronto,Ontario |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 1080i (HDTV) (2016–2019) 480i (SDTV) (2001–2019) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Alliance Atlantis (2001–2008) Canwest (2008–2010) Shaw Media (2010–2016) Corus Entertainment (2016–2019) (Discovery Health Channel Canada ULC) |
| Sister channels | History Crime & Investigation History2 Lifetime OWN W Network Slice ABC Spark Adult Swim CMT HGTV Food Network |
| History | |
| Launched | 7 September 2001; 24 years ago (2001-09-07) |
| Closed | 31 December 2019; 6 years ago (2019-12-31) |
| Former names | Discovery Health Channel (2001–2007) Discovery Health (2007–2010) Twist TV (2010–2014) |
FYI (stylized asfyi,) was aCanadianEnglish languagespecialty channel owned by Discovery Health Canada, ULC, a subsidiary ofCorus Entertainment. Based on the American cable network of thesame name, the channel featured lifestyle programming, with a mix ofreality, culinary, home renovation and makeover series.
The channel was launched on September 7, 2001, asDiscovery Health Channel by a joint venture ofAlliance Atlantis andDiscovery Communications, which focused on health and wellness-oriented programming. Discovery Health was acquired byCanwest in 2008 which rebranded the network asTwist TV in 2010 before being taken over byShaw Media. As Twist TV, the channel shifted to reality programming aimed at a female demographic.
After being rebranded to FYI in 2014 and acquired by Corus in 2016, the channel ended its operations on December 31, 2019.
In January 2000,Alliance Atlantis brokered a deal withRupert Murdoch'sNews Corporation and several Canadian television providers, including both national satellite companiesBell ExpressVu andStar Choice, to distribute News Corporation's cable channel,The Health Network, in Canada.[1] The deal would mark the first time The Health Network would be available in Canada.
The deal struck to sponsor The Health Network's distribution in Canada was a prelude to the fact that Alliance Atlantis and News Corporation would eventually launch a Canadian version of the channel for the domestic market and remove the American channel from the Canadian market. On November 24, 2000, Alliance Atlantis (which would hold 80% majority interest in the channel) and News Corporation (which would hold the remaining 20% interest) were granted a broadcasting licence for The Health Network Canada by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).[2]
Prior to the launch of the network, in September 2001,Discovery Communications (owners ofDiscovery Health Channel in the U.S.) bought The Health Network from News Corporation for US$255 million.[3] Through that transaction, Discovery Communications would also acquire News Corporation's 20% interest in The Health Network Canada.
As a result of Discovery Communications' newly acquired interest in the service, the network was launched that same month on September 7, 2001, as theDiscovery Health Channel. On the same day as the Canadian channel's launch, the American service, The Health Network, was removed from all Canadian television providers. In February 2002, The Health Network was removed from the CRTC's list of foreign satellite services eligible for carriage on Canadian pay television providers, by request of The Health Network's owners.[4]
On January 18, 2008, ajoint venture betweenCanwest andGoldman Sachs Alternatives, known as CW Media, boughtAlliance Atlantis and through that transaction, acquired Alliance Atlantis' interest in Discovery Health. In 2009, CW Media purchased the remaining interest in the channel from Discovery Communications, bringing its ownership to 100%.[5]
Two deals were announced in late 2009 and early 2010 that affected the future of the Canadian channel. First, Discovery Communications announced that the flagship Discovery Health channel in the U.S. would be replaced by theOprah Winfrey Network (OWN) in January 2011. OWN later reached an agreement withCorus Entertainment to launch a Canadian version of that channel shortly after the U.S. version's debut.[6] Later in April 2010, Discovery Communications announced an expanded long-term agreement withBell Media (then CTVglobemedia, Discovery's Canadian partner for most of its other channels) under which Bell holds Canadian broadcast rights to most of the Discovery Communications programming library, including Discovery Health programs, and the right to launch new Discovery-branded channels.[7]
On September 15, 2010, Canwest announced Discovery Health Canada would rebrand asTwist TV on November 1. The rebranded channel would focus on reality shows about "people facing extraordinary situations" aimed at a female demographic including such shows asNanny 911,Raising Sextuplets,Dad Camp, andLittle Miss Perfect. The name came from the narrative "twist" trope common with reality and non-fiction programming.[5] On October 27, 2010, the channel's ownership changed again asShaw Communications gained control of Discovery Health as a result of its acquisition of Canwest and Goldman Sachs' interest in CW Media.[8][9] The channel officially rebranded five days later.[citation needed] The network was wholly unrelated to the AmericanTwist network with the same format launched in 2021.[citation needed]
In June 2014, it was reported that Twist TV, along with sister networkMystery TV, would be rebranded as Canadian versions ofFYI and theCrime & Investigation Network under a licensing agreement withA+E Networks.[10] A+E Networks and Shaw Media had previously partnered to rebrandHistory Television,Showcase Diva andThe Cave as Canadian versions ofHistory,Lifetime andH2 in 2012.[11]
The launch of FYI (as well as CI) was intended to draw in more female viewers, the primary audience of Shaw Media's lifestyle networks.[12] In addition to programming from the U.S. service, as well as other Shaw Media-owned channels, the new channel will air shows from other sources.[13] The channel was relaunched on the morning of September 1, 2014 with a free preview to last the rest of the month.[14] A month prior, a Canadian version of the FYI website went online.[15] Over time, the website was updated to include information pertaining to the channel.[16]
A YouTube channel went online August 28, 2014; on that day, sneak peeks of FYI programming aired on Lifetime andSlice.[17] On April 1, 2016, Shaw Media was sold toCorus Entertainment.[18]
In June 2019, at the Corus Entertainment upfronts, Corus Entertainment announced its Fall 2019 schedules of its top-performing specialty channels. However, FYI was not included in the upfronts.[19]
In October 2019, Corus announced that FYI would be shut down at midnight on December 31, 2019, after which the channel space created in 2001 by Discovery Health Channel ceased to exist.[20] The channel's license was surrendered to the CRTC on February 4, 2020.[21]
Some of its programming such asStorage Wars, which aired on this channel, are also available onDisney+ which is accessible in Canada.
In late 2016, Corus launched FYI HD, a1080ihigh definition simulcast of thestandard definition feed. The HD feed was available onBell Fibe TV,Bell MTS andOptik TV. On August 8, 2018, it launched onShaw Direct. The HD feed shut down on December 31, 2019.