C Channel
| C Channel | |
|---|---|
C-Channel logo
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| Launched | 1 February 1983 |
| Closed | 30 June 1983 |
| Owned by | Lively Arts Market Builders Inc. |
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
C Channel was a Canadian premium television service specialising in arts programming. It was one of Canada's first licensed "pay TV" channels when it began in 1983 but it ended in failure within months.
Toronto-based company Lively Arts Market Builders Inc. was one of several companies that received a licence from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to provide a subscription television service for Canadian cable companies. The company's offering, C Channel, would feature artistic content such as theatrical, opera and ballet performances. This format was distinct from the other new pay-movie services, First Choice and Superchannel.
C Channel, First Choice and Superchannel began their broadcasts on 1 February 1983. C Channel's President Edgar Cowan predicted 200,000 subscribers and financial equilibrium within a year.
C Channel was required as a condition of licence from the CRTC to spend no less than 20% of its revenues and 50% of its expenditures on Canadian produced programming. The channel had planned to spend $4 million (CA$) in production during its initial seven months of broadcasting.
C Channel held a two-night preview of its programming on 20 and 21 January, cablecast on most cable systems, such as Greater Winnipeg Cablevision, which was actually not able to carry the real service due to the dispute with Manitoba Telecom Services.
On the first night there were only two programs, beginning at 8 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time): Swan Lake, performed by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House in London, England. The other was a movie originally released in 1980, The Last Metro.
One of the programs featured was a Bach-themed concert performed by flautist James Galway and violinist Kyung-wha Chung, while jazz enthusiasts could watch performances from the Montreal International Jazz Festival.
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