| Discovery Channel | |
| Picture Format: | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Owner: | CTV Specialty Television, Inc. |
| Country: | Canada |
| Language: | English |
| Area: | Nationwide |
| Headquarters: | 9 Channel Nine Court, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario |
| Sister Channels: | Animal Planet Canal D Discovery Science Discovery Velocity Investigation Discovery |
Discovery Channel (often referred to as simply Discovery) is a Canadian discretionary specialty television channel owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. (a joint venture between Bell Media & ESPN Inc. that owns 80%) and Warner Bros. Discovery (which owns the remaining 20%).
Launched on January 1, 1995 by NetStar Communications, this channel is devoted to nature, adventure, science and technology programming. The channel is headquartered at 9 Channel Nine Court in the Agincourt neighbourhood of Scarborough in Toronto, Ontario.
Licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1994, Discovery Channel launched on January 1, 1995 under the ownership of NetStar Communications Inc.
On March 24, 2000, the CRTC approved a proposal by CTV Inc. to acquire voting interest in NetStar Communications Inc. CTV renamed the company CTV Specialty Television Inc.
A high definition simulcast feed of Discovery Channel that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format was launched on August 15, 2003.[1] The feed would later be shut down on December 19, 2005, and be replaced by a separate category 2 digital cable specialty channel called Discovery HD Theatre.
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.[2]
On June 10, 2024, Rogers Sports & Media announced it had reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) for Canadian rights to its lifestyle brands beginning in January 2025. Although not mentioned in Rogers' press release, multiple media outlets, including Rogers-owned CityNews, reported that the affected channels include Discovery Channel and related brands such as Animal Planet which had been managed by Bell in Canada.[3] [4]
Bell subsequently said in a statement that it would "assert [its] rights", citing protections it had previously negotiated against the launch of direct competitor channels.[5] On June 19, Bell filed for an injunction against WBD supplying 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.[6] According to Rogers, such an injunction would—if granted—prevent the company from operating any linear TV channels under the Discovery brands during that timeframe, but would not affect other content rights.[7]
In addition to shows acquired from its U.S. 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 its own domestic version of Cash Cab.[8] Several programs produced by the Canadian Discovery Channel (such as How It's Made) have also aired on the U.S. Science Channel.
Since 2015, enabled by the 2015 retirement of CRTC genre protection rules which mandated that it predominantly air factual programming,[9] Discovery has made ventures into scripted entertainment programming with loose connections to history or STEM concepts. In November 2015, Bell Media announced Discovery Channel Canada's first original scripted drama, the Jason Momoa-fronted Netflix co-production Frontier, chronicling the North American fur trade.[10] In 2018, it began to devote portions of its schedule to reruns of police procedural series such as Criminal Minds, , and NUMB3RS.