| Discovery Science | |
| Picture Format: | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Owner: | (CTV Specialty Television (80%)) Warner Bros. Discovery (10%) |
| Country: | Canada |
| Area: | National |
| Headquarters: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Former Names: | Discovery Civilization Channel (2001–2010) |
| Sister Channels: | Animal Planet Discovery Channel Discovery Velocity Investigation Discovery |
Discovery Science is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. (a joint venture between Bell Media and ESPN Inc.) in partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery airing science-related programming.
Discovery Science was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on December 14, 2000 as Discovery Civilization Channel Canada.[1] The application was granted to CTV Inc., and was later transferred to its subsidiary, CTV Specialty Television Inc., in which ESPN owns a 20% interest. The channel was originally described in regulatory documents as "a national English-language Category 2 specialty television service dedicated to bringing the diverse people and cultures of the world to Canadian viewers. The service will be dedicated to exploring and understanding the roots of human development and learning from other cultures and traditions."[1]
The channel was launched on August 15, 2001 as Discovery Civilization Channel, with programming devoted to human civilization and history. The channel was intended to be a Canadian version of a U.S. channel of the same name, which was later reformatted and renamed as Discovery Times, and later became Investigation Discovery.On June 4, 2010 CTVglobemedia announced that Discovery Civilization Channel would be rebranded as Discovery Science on September 27, 2010,[2] focusing on science-related programming.
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 brands include Discovery Channel and spinoffs such as Discovery Science, the existing Canadian versions of which were managed by Bell.[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 which, according to Rogers, would—if granted—prevent the latter from operating any linear TV channels under the brands previously operated by Bell for the first two years of its contract.[6]
On June 17, 2011 Bell Media announced that it would launch Discovery Science HD, a high definition (HD) simulcast of the standard definition feed, by the end of 2011.[7] The channel was launched on December 15, 2011 on Bell Fibe TV and on September 11, 2012 on Telus Optik TV.[8] Shaw Direct began using it on August 8, 2018.