Smithsonian Channel is a Canadian

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

channel, owned and operated by

Blue Ant Media Blue Ant Media Inc. is a Canadian broadcasting and media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company was founded by Michael MacMillan and formed in 2011 following the acquisition of Glassbox Television. Its name was chosen in referenc ...

. Minority partner is

Smithsonian Networks The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facilit ...

, owners of the American channel,

Smithsonian Channel The Smithsonian Channel is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its media networks division under MTV Entertainment Group. It offers video content inspired by the Smithsonian Institution's museums, research facilit ...

, from which the brand is licensed and much of the programming is purchased. The channel broadcasts factual programming on categories such as air and space, science and nature, pop culture, and history.

History

In April 2006, John S. Panikkar (co-founder of the channel's original owner,

High Fidelity HDTV High Fidelity HDTV was a Canadian licensed television broadcaster specializing in HD content. The company was founded in 2003 by co-founders John Panikkar and Ken Murphy, both of whom have been involved in the Canadian broadcasting industry for m ...

), was granted a licence by the

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...

(CRTC) to launch ''MeridianHD'', described as ''"a national, English-language Category 2 high definition (HD) specialty programming undertaking... that would consist of programs dedicated exclusively to the exploration of geography, people, places and cultures. The programming would focus on the roots of human development as well as teachings from other cultures and traditions in Canada and around the world. It would also focus on what impact human behaviour has on the natural environment and how the natural world affects human ritual and culture. The proposed service would not offer celebrity biographies or staged events."'' The channel launched on September 5, 2006 as Equator HD. Its brand was licensed and much of its programming was purchased from

Rainbow Media AMC Networks Inc. is an American entertainment company headquartered in 11 Penn Plaza, New York. AMC Networks owns and operates the eponymous cable channel and its siblings, IFC, We TV, and Sundance TV; the art house movie theater IFC Cen ...

, original owners of the now defunct

Voom HD Networks Voom HD Networks is a suite of 25 original high-definition television channels owned by AMC Networks. The channels were produced in Crystal Clear Hi-Definition with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and were the largest suite of HD channels in t ...

, owners of Equator HD in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The channel broadcast factual programming relating to geography, people, and cultures such as The Bee Travelers, Earth Diaries, The Last Chapter of the Vietnam War, and Eurasian Empires. eqhd

Upon the closure of the American service of the same name in 2009, High Fidelity HDTV rebranded the channel as eqhd on August 23, 2010., focusing largely on the same genre of programming. On December 21, 2011, High Fidelity HDTV, announced that it had entered into an agreement to be purchased outright by Blue Ant Media, majority owners of

Glassbox Television Glassbox Television was an independent Canadian broadcasting and media company specializing in the operation of multi-platform broadcast and video-on-demand (VOD) channels, content production, and digital publishing. The company was formed in 2001 ...

and minority owners of Quarto Communications. While initially purchasing 29.9% of the company, the remaining 70.1% will be purchased once it is approved by the CRTC. On July 15, 2013, it was announced that Blue Ant Media had reached a deal to rebrand eqhd as a Canadian version of

. Smithsonian Channel launched on November 13, 2013. In 2016, Smithsonian Channel US bought a minority stake in the channel.Blue Ant Media Ownership Chart
CRTC

References

External links

* {{Authority control Blue Ant Media channels Digital cable television networks in Canada Television channels and stations established in 2006 English-language television stations in Canada 2006 establishments in Ontario Smithsonian Channel