W Network
| W Network | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | 1 January 1995 |
| Owned by | Corus Entertainment |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | Canada & Worldwide |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Formerly called | Women's Television Network (1995–2002) |
| Sister channel(s) | Cosmopolitan TV Oprah Winfrey Network Cooking Channel ABC Spark CMT Food Network HGTV YTV Treehouse TV Teletoon |
| Timeshift service | W Network East W Network West |
| Website | wnetwork.com |
Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Bell TV | Channel 602 (SD) Channel 1705 (HD) |
| Shaw Direct | Channel 567/568 (SD) Channel 79/597 (HD) |
| Cable | |
| Available on most cable systems | Channel slots vary on each provider |
| IPTV | |
| Bell Aliant Fibe TV | Channel 274 (SD) Channel 426 (HD) |
| Bell Fibe TV | Channel 602 (SD) Channel 1705(HD) |
| Bell MTS | Channel 132 (East SD) Channel 133 (West SD) Channel 1132 (East HD) |
| Optik TV | Channel 329 (East HD) Channel 9329 (West SD) |
| SaskTel | Channel 100 (West SD) Channel 400 (East HD) |
| VMedia | Channel 34 (HD) |
| Zazeen | Channel 126 (HD) |
W Network (often shortened to W) is a Canadian pay television channel, owned by Corus Entertainment. It is a general entertainment network airing programs targeted at women.
The channel is available in two time shifted feeds, East (operating from the Eastern Time Zone) and West (operating from the Pacific Time Zone).
Contents
1 History
2 High-definition feed
3 Programming
3.1 Original series
4 References
5 External links
History
In June 1994, Linda Rankin, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, (later incorporated as Lifestyle Television (1994) Limited, principally owned by Moffat Communications) was granted a television broadcasting licence by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to operate a channel called Lifestyle Television, described as offering "information and entertainment programming of particular interest to women."[1]
Women's Television Network logo; 1995-2002
The channel subsequently launched on January 1, 1995 as Women's Television Network (WTN).[2] Like Moffat's other cable television operations, WTN was headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Linda Rankin served as the president of the network from its launch.
Programming on the network was originally largely focused on lifestyle programming that many had suggested was "feminist" in nature.[3] Such programming included female takes on traditionally male-dominated activities such as fishing and mechanics, with Natural Angler and Car Care, respectively. While other programs, such as Go Girl!, took a comedic approach at parodying typical female-targeted talk shows that discussed subjects such as beauty, fashion, etc.[3] Other programs included films, current affairs, and occasionally sports.
The channel suffered from low ratings in the beginning. Of the slew of new channels launched on 1 January, WTN was initially the lowest rated channel on average.[4][5] Linda Rankin later resigned in August 1995 citing "differences in management philosophy".[6]
In December 2000, Shaw Communications announced it intended to purchase Moffat.[7] The deal was later closed in early 2001. Shaw announced in March 2001 that it would sell WTN to Corus Entertainment, a company that it spun off in 1999, for $205 million CAD (Shaw had primarily acquired Moffat for its cable television systems).[8] Once Corus took ownership of the channel, it moved operations from Winnipeg to Toronto in mid-January 2002, laying off 50 employees in the process.[9] Subsequently, Corus relaunched the network as "W" on 15 April 2002 with a more entertainment-oriented mix of recent dramas and movies. On the same date, Corus launched the west coast feed.[10]
In 2009, Corus Entertainment acquired SexTV: The Channel from CTVglobemedia, and relaunched the channel as W Movies — a spin-off of W Network focusing on films aimed towards women, on 1 March 2010.[11]
Since Fall 2017, W Network has re-oriented its programming towards scripted television series and movies. The majority of its lifestyle programming, including the Property Brothers franchise, was moved to HGTV Canada and Corus' other women and lifestyle networks.[12] On October 25, 2018, it was announced that Corus Entertainment had reached a multi-year agreement with Crown Media's Hallmark Channel that will see W Network become the exclusive broadcaster of all scripted series and movies produced by Crown Media for Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.[13][14] W Network has also carried programming from Hallmark Channel in the past, most of which is filmed in Canada.[15]
High-definition feed
On 2 August 2011, the channel launched its HD channel as a simulcast feed of W Network's standard-definition Eastern-time feed. The HD feed was added to Bell TV satellite and Bell Fibe TV channel lineups on 23 March 2012. It is also available on Eastlink, Telus TV and Shaw Direct. [16] On 1 October 2013, an HD feed for the Western-time channel was launched on Shaw Cable.
Programming
W Network primarily broadcasts a mix of television dramas and films.[17] The network is best known for producing the Love It or List It and Property Brothers franchises, which are seen on HGTV in the United States.
Original series
- All for Nothing?
- Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag
- The Bachelorette Canada
- Brother vs. Brother
- Property Brothers: Buying + Selling
- Cameron's House Rules
- Cash and Cari
- Candice Tells All
- Colour Confidential
- Come Dine with Me Canada
- Cupcake Girls
- Deal with It (Canadian TV series)
- Divine Design
- Game of Homes
- Grin and Build It
- Hockey Wives
- Inside the Box with Ty Pennington
- Love It or List It
- Love It or List It Vancouver
- Masters of Flip
- Maxed Out (TV series)
- Me, My House & I
- My House Your Money
- Property Brothers
- The Real Estate Adventures of Sandy & Maryse
- The Restaurant Adventures of Caroline & Dave
- Say Yes to the Dress Canada
- Shannon and Sophie
- Take This House and Sell It
- Tessa and Scott
- Undercover Boss Canada
- Who Lives Here?
References
^ Decision CRTC 94-282 CRTC 1994-06-04
^ Has WTN gone too soft? (Does anyone really mind?) Herizons 1997-03-22
^ ab Taddeo, Julie Anne, and Ken Dvorak. The Tube Has Spoken: Reality TV & History. University Press of Kentucky. Print
^ Special Report: TV Specialty Services: New nets get qualified thumbs up Strategy Magazine 1995-10-02
^ Lipstick imperialism and the new world order: women and media at the close of the twentieth century United Nations' Division for the Advancement of Women & Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development December 1995
^ Rankin departs WTN Playback Magazine 1995-08-28
^ Cabler Shaw nabs Moffat Variety 2000-12-10
^ Corus buying WTN, selling Family Channel CTV 2001-03-06
^ Corus uproots WTN to Toronto, lays off 50 Playback Magazine 2001-11-26
^ Corus Entertainment to launch W, a revitalized women’s television network Channel Canada 2002-06-30
^ "Corus shuttering Discovery Kids, will re-brand Sex TV and Drive-In Classics channels", CARTT.ca, September 29, 2009
^ Fall TV 2017: Specialty targeting shifts Media in Canada, 2018-07-04
^ W Network Brings Hallmark Channel to Canada in Landmark Content Deal with Crown Media PR Newswire 2018-10-25
^ Hallmark Channel Makes Long-Awaited Canadian Debut On W Network In Landmark Content Deal With Corus Entertainment Newswire 2018-10-25
^ The Hallmark Channel gets derided for its family-friendly fare, but its ratings are growing Toronto Star 2018-04-04
^ TV Highlights
^ Zap2it
External links
- Official website
- W Network media
