Canal D is a Canadian French language discretionary service owned by Bell Media. Canal D focuses on documentary programming primarily in the form of documentary-style television series that focus on a variety of topics such as crime, biographies, nature, and science.

Canal D
Canal D logo
CountryCanada
Broadcast areaNationwide
HeadquartersMontreal, Quebec
Programming
Language(s)French
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerBell Media
Sister channelsNoovo
Investigation
Discovery
Canal Vie
Z
History
LaunchedJanuary 1, 1995
Links
WebsiteCanal D (in French)

History

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In June 1994, Premier Choix: TVEC Inc. (Astral) was granted approval for a television broadcasting licence by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a channel called Arts et Divertissement, described as a service modelled after the American service, A&E, at that time. The proposed service was to focus on four main elements: documentaries (for which the service would primarily consist of), films, dramatic series, and arts programming.[1]

The channel was launched on January 1, 1995, as Canal D.

On March 4, 2013, the Competition Bureau approved the takeover of Astral Media by Bell Media.[2] Bell filed a new application for the proposed takeover with the CRTC on March 6, 2013;[3] the CRTC approved the merger on June 27, 2013,[4] effectively turning over control of Canal D to Bell on July 5 of that year.

Canal D HD

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On October 30, 2006, Astral Media launched "Canal D HD", an HD simulcast of Canal D's standard definition feed.[5]

International distribution

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Original logo; 1995-2009

References

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  1. ^ Decision CRTC 94-286 CRTC 1994-06-06
  2. ^ BCE takeover of Astral OK’d by Competition Bureau Archived 2013-04-11 at archive.today, The Montreal Gazette (via The Canadian Press), March 4, 2013.
  3. ^ Astral and Bell Comment on New Acquisition Application to CRTC Archived 2015-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, Broadcaster Magazine, March 6, 2013.
  4. ^ CRTC approves Bell-Astral merger, CBC News, June 27, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  5. ^ La haute définition en français Archived 2012-04-01 at the Wayback Machine Infopresse 2006-10-30 (in French)
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