MTV | |
---|---|
Launched | September 1, 2000 |
Owned by | Bell Media |
Picture format |
1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Broadcast area | Nationwide |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
Formerly called | TalkTV (2000–2006) |
Sister channel(s) |
MTV2 Much |
Website | www |
Availability
|
|
Satellite | |
Bell TV | Channel 581 (SD) |
Shaw Direct | Channel 566 (SD) Channel 185 (HD) |
Cable | |
Available on most Canadian cable systems | Consult your local cable provider for channel availability |
IPTV | |
Bell Aliant Fibe TV | Channel 245 (SD) Channel 519 (HD) |
Bell Fibe TV | Channel 581 (SD) Channel 1573 (HD) |
Bell MTS | Channel 326 (SD) Channel 1326 (HD) |
Optik TV | Channel 9561 (SD) Channel 561 (HD) |
SaskTel | Channel 25 (SD) Channel 325 (HD) |
VMedia | Channel 52 (HD) |
Zazeen | Channel 53 (SD) |
MTV is a Canadian English language Category A cable and satellite specialty channel that is owned by Bell Media with the name and branding used under a licensing agreement with the Viacom Media Networks division of Viacom. The channel is devoted to talk, lifestyle and documentary programming, and also airs some scripted series.
The channel launched as TalkTV in 2000, but was not as widely available prior to its relaunch in March 2006. Unlike MTV channels in the U.S. and elsewhere, the channel is restricted in its ability to carry music videos and other music programming due to conditions in the channel's licence issued by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), thus it never used the tagline "Music Television" as did its international counterparts prior to 2010. MuchMusic, now a sister channel of the Canadian MTV channel, had been launched in 1984 as the Canadian channel dedicated to mainstream music.
CHUM Limited launched Canadian music channel MuchMusic in 1984, inspired by the success of MTV in the United States. CRTC genre exclusivity restrictions prevented MTV from either bringing its U.S. channel directly into Canada or launching a homegrown competitor. As a result, MTV was initially content to sell Canadian rights to its programming for rebroadcast on MuchMusic. However, relations between the two channels were strained in the mid-1990s when CHUM (in partnership with Cablevision's Rainbow Media) launched an American version of MuchMusic (later fully sold to Rainbow; now the Madison Square Garden, Inc.-owned Fuse) in direct competition with MTV.