Sundance Channel (Canadian TV channel)

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(Redirected from Drive-In Classics )
This article is about the Canadian TV channel. For the American TV channel formerly known as Sundance Channel, see SundanceTV .
Sundance Channel
Sundance Channel logo
Country Canada
Broadcast area Nationwide
Headquarters Toronto , Ontario
Programming
Picture format 1080i ( HDTV )
(2013-2018)
480i ( SDTV )
(2001-2018)
Ownership
Owner CHUM Limited
(2001?2006)
CTVglobemedia
(2006?2010)
Corus Entertainment
(2010?2018) (Branding licensed from AMC Networks from 2010 to 2018)
Sister channels MovieTime
IFC
Showcase
Action
DejaView
CMT
ABC Spark
W Network
CosmoTV
BBC Canada
History
Launched September 7, 2001  ( 2001-09-07 )
Closed March 1, 2018  ( 2018-03-01 )
(16 years, 5 months and 22 days)
Former names Drive-In Classics (2001-2010)

Sundance Channel was a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment that aired various films.

The channel was founded in 2001 as Drive-In Classics by CHUM Limited , the owner of Citytv , that aired Drive-In B films and other programming related to it. Drive-In Classics was acquired by CTVglobemedia in 2007 and was resold to Corus Entertainment in 2009.

In March 2010, Drive-In Classics became Sundance Channel which aired programming focused on independent films, documentaries, music series, dramas and more. The channel closed its doors on March 27, 2018.

History [ edit ]

As Drive-In Classics [ edit ]

In June 2001, CHUM Limited was given approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a national category 2 specialty channel known as "The Drive-In Channel", with programming described as being centred on "Drive-In B movies and series, as well as occasional magazine-style shows focusing on the genre". [1]

Drive-In Classics logo (2001-2010)

The channel was launched only three months later, on September 7, 2001 at 9:00 p.m. EST under the name "Drive-In Classics", [2] which focused on showing primarily films from the B movie genre, focusing on films popular at the drive-in theatres in the 1950s to 1970s, and a number of television series including The Hilarious House of Frightenstein and Xena: Warrior Princess .

Programming on Drive-In Classics were organized into themes including: Martial Arts Mondays - fight-themed movies, Western Wednesdays - Western movies, Steamy Windshields (Fridays) - teenage-themed movies, Horror Marathon (Saturdays) - horror films and Salem's Lot, various films picked by host Rob Salem , which was ended on August 30, 2009.

In July 2006, Bell Globemedia announced that it would purchase CHUM for an estimated $1.7 billion CAD , included in the sale was Drive-In Classics. [3] The sale was approved by the CRTC in June 2007, [4] with the transaction completed on June 22, 2007 while the Citytv stations were sold to Rogers Media .

On July 14, 2009, CTVglobemedia announced the sale of Drive-In Classics and SexTV: The Channel to Corus Entertainment for $40 million CAD . [5] Before the sale was approved, Corus announced in late September that they planned to rebrand the channel, but did not give any specific details regarding the rebranding. [6] The sale was approved by the CRTC on November 19. [7]

As Sundance Channel [ edit ]

On December 8, 2009, Corus announced that Drive-In Classics would be rebranded as a Canadian version of Sundance Channel (now known as SundanceTV ) on March 1, 2010 under an agreement with the American channel's owner, AMC Networks (formerly known as Rainbow Media Holdings, LLC , a subsidiary of Cablevision ), which would not own any stake in the Canadian channel. [8] [9] The channel was rebranded on March 1, 2010 as planned, focusing its programming on independent films, documentaries, scripted drams and comedies, and musical performances.

In February 2018, a notice was posted on Sundance Channel's website that the channel was closed on March 1, 2018. Shortly after this, the channel space that was created by Drive-In Classics in 2001 simply ceased to exist. The CRTC revoked the channel's broadcast license on March 27, 2018. [10]

Programming [ edit ]

Includes former programming as of December 2014 .

Acquired from SundanceTV

Other Acquired Programming

Sundance Channel HD [ edit ]

Telus has announced on their website that they will carry the HD feed of Sundance Channel (Canada). [11] Shaw Direct and Bell Satellite TV never launched it in time due to the channel's closure.

See also [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ Decision CRTC 2001-305 ; CRTC; 4 June 2001
  2. ^ "Drive-In Classics" . Archived from the original on 2009-05-21 . Retrieved 2009-07-14 .
  3. ^ "Bell Globemedia acquires CHUM | Deals & Cases | Fasken Martineau" . Fasken.com . Retrieved 2017-07-01 .
  4. ^ "ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2007-165" . CRTC.gc.ca . 8 June 2007 . Retrieved 2017-07-01 .
  5. ^ Corus to acquire Drive-In Classics and SexTV from CTVglobemedia for $40 million ; The Canadian Press ; 14 July 2009
  6. ^ " Corus shuttering Discovery Kids, will re-brand Sex TV and Drive-In Classics channels ", CARTT.ca , September 29, 2009
  7. ^ "ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2009-706" . CRTC.gc.ca . 19 November 2009 . Retrieved 2017-07-01 .
  8. ^ "SUNDANCE CHANNEL RISES IN CANADA - Corus Entertainment" . Corusent.com . Retrieved 2017-07-01 .
  9. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF) . stream1.corusent.com . Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2011 . Retrieved 15 January 2022 . {{ cite web }} : CS1 maint: archived copy as title ( link )
  10. ^ "Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2018-107" . CRTC . March 27, 2018 . Retrieved March 28, 2018 .
  11. ^ "Select your region" . Telus.com . Retrieved 2017-07-01 .

External links [ edit ]

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