E! (Canadian TV channel)
| E! | |
|---|---|
E! logo
|
|
| Launched | September 10, 1999 |
| Owned by |
Bell Media (branding licensed from NBCUniversal) |
| Picture format |
1080i (HDTV) (2012-present) 480i (SDTV) (1999-present) |
| Slogan | Pop of Culture |
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Formerly called | Star! (1999–2010) |
| Website | E! Canada |
|
Availability
|
|
| Satellite | |
| Bell TV | Channel 621 (SD) Channel 1736 (HD) |
| Shaw Direct | Channel 527 (SD) Channel 088 (HD) |
| Cable | |
| Available on most Canadian cable systems | Check local listings, channels may vary |
| IPTV | |
| Bell Aliant | Channel 212 (SD) Channel 455 (HD) |
| Bell Fibe TV | Channel 621 (SD) Channel 1621 (HD) |
| MTS | Channel 113 (SD) Channel 1113 (HD) |
| Optik TV | Channel 9333 (SD) Channel 333 (HD) |
| SaskTel | Channel 76 (SD) Channel 376 (HD) |
| VMedia | Channel 71 (HD) |
| Zazeen | Channel 111 (HD) |
E! is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that is owned by Bell Media. Based on the U.S cable network of the same name, the channel is devoted to entertainment programming including news, film, television, celebrities and fashion. NBCUniversal licenses the name and programming for the channel under a brand licensing agreement, but it doesn't hold an ownership interest.
The network was originally launched in 1999 as the similarly-formatted Star!, under the ownership of CHUM Limited. In 2010, the channel reached a deal to license the name and branding of the U.S. E! network (following a short-lived incarnation as a television system formerly known as CH).
The channel was licensed in 1996 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and was launched on September 10, 1999 as Star!, which was originally owned by CHUM Limited. On June 22, 2007, CTVglobemedia gained full control of Star! as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited. That fall, Star!'s daily entertainment news program Star! Daily was cancelled and replaced with its CTV-produced competitor, etalk. As a result of the changes, the Citytv stations were sold to Rogers Media that same year.
The channel broadcast programming from the equivalent American cable channel E! until 2007 (thus the likely nod to that agreement with the exclamation mark as part of its name), when that channel licensed its name to Global's secondary television system CH and transferred its programming to that service, which became known as E!. Although the broadcast version of E! Canada ceased operations in 2009, Canwest is believed to have retained Canadian rights to E! (U.S.) programming (despite not airing it on any of its channels), preventing these series from returning to Star!. Instead, the channel's schedule in these years consisted mostly of second-run talk shows and entertainment news shows repeated from CTV and its secondary A system (formerly A-Channel, now CTV Two), including FashionTelevision, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Ellen DeGeneres Show and TMZ.
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