| CTV Sci-Fi Channel | |
| Picture Format: | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Owner: | Bell Media |
| Country: | Canada |
| Area: | National |
| Headquarters: | Toronto, Ontario |
| Former Names: | Space (1997–2019) |
| Sister Channels: | CTV CTV Drama Channel CTV Comedy Channel CTV Life Channel CTV News Channel CTV 2 Z |
CTV Sci-Fi Channel is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Bell Media. The channel primarily broadcasts speculative fiction and related programming.
The network was launched on October 17, 1997 as Space under its original parent company CHUM Limited. Its slogan, The Imagination Station, continued to be used informally by its fans for many years after its retirement. In 2007, Space was acquired by CTVglobemedia, after acquiring CHUM Limited, while the Citytv stations were sold to Rogers Media. The channel adopted its current name in 2019.
The channel was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1996.[1] It launched on October 17, 1997 at 6:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. PT), as Space: The Imagination Station, launching under the ownership of CHUM Limited, airing the film Forbidden Planet, followed by a commentary on that film by author Robert J. Sawyer, followed by the film Mars Attacks!. The Sawyer commentary was the first example of the interstitial materials — mostly produced by Mark Askwith — that became SPACE's signature: short, snappy, mini-documentaries on science fiction and science topics shown between programs, collectively known as "SPACE Flow". Daily installments include Space News (formerly SPIN, for "Space Information and News").[2]
CTVglobemedia took over Space on June 22, 2007, as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited. At the same time, the Citytv stations were sold to Rogers later that year. Ownership changed hands once again when on April 1, 2011, BCE Inc. gained 100% control of CTVglobemedia's non-publishing assets that it did not already own, placing Space under the ownership of Bell Media.
On February 8, 2011, the Reeves-Stevenses submitted a letter to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in support of an application by CTVglobemedia to renew the broadcasting license of Space.[3]
On July 6, 2011, a high definition simulcast of Space was launched.[4] It is available through all major television providers in Canada.
On March 4, 2013, Space introduced a new logo to coincide with the premiere of the channel's new original co-production Orphan Black. A Bell Media executive explained that the branding was designed to reflect upon the broadening of the sci-fi genre beyond outer space and "people in polyester onesies running around with taser guns", by portraying the new logo in the form of real-life objects with a "phenomenal twist" to symbolize the "space around you".[5] Through Bell Media's acquisition of Astral Media, Space is now co-owned with the French-language, sci-fi channel, Ztélé (since renamed Z).
On June 7, 2018, it was announced that Space would be rebranded as "CTV Sci-Fi", as part of a re-alignment of several Bell Media specialty channels under the CTV brand.[6] The following year, it was revealed the channel would instead rebrand as CTV Sci-Fi Channel on September 12, 2019.[7]
CTV Sci-Fi Channel's programming includes scripted television series and films primarily focused on the science fiction, fantasy, superhero fiction, horror, and paranormal genres, often in a marathon format outside of prime time. The channel's original programming has included in-studio shows (including the daily newsmagazine Innerspace), scripted dramas, as well as shows co-produced with the U.S. channel Syfy, from which the channel also acquires the bulk of its programming.
The channel holds the linear television rights to the Star Trek television franchise in Canada, holding library rights to past Star Trek television seasons and movies, and having acquired the rights to the newer Star Trek era run, , produced for the Paramount+ streaming service.[8] [9] [10] [11]