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GameTV is a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
specialty channel A specialty channel (also known in the United States as a cable channel or cable network) can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted ...
owned by
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Anthem Sports & Entertainment (formerly Anthem Media Group) is a Canadian multinational media company based in Toronto, Ontario and founded by Leonard Asper. Its assets include combat sports and sports entertainment properties (including the MMA ...
. It currently broadcasts a mixture of
game shows A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, sh ...
,
reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series, and films. The channel was first launched in 2005 under the ownership of Stuart Media Group as Casino and Gaming Television (CGTV), which primarily focused on
sports betting Sports betting is the activity of predicting sports results and placing a wager on the outcome. The frequency of sports bet upon varies by culture, with the vast majority of bets being placed on association football, American football, basket ...
and televised
poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
.
Larry Tanenbaum Lawrence M. Tanenbaum (born 1945) is a Canadian businessman and chairman of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE). He owns a 25% stake in MLSE through his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc. Early life Tanenbaum was born to a Jewish family, ...
's
Insight Sports Insight Sports Ltd. is a sports media and entertainment company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company is owned in part by Larry Tanenbaum, part owner of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Properties Insight Sports operates Aquila Product ...
served as the channel's operating partner. In 2007, the channel was re-launched under its current name, expanding its format to include competition programming (such as game and reality shows, and for a period, reruns of classic Canadian game shows) and films, and eventually phased out its gaming programming. In 2016, the channel was acquired by Anthem, after which it briefly expanded to include occasional sports and
sports entertainment Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competition, competitive event using a high level of theatre, theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertainment, entertaining an audience. Un ...
programming. Sports programming would later be dropped and shifted to new sister channel
Game+ A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
, returning GameTV to its existing format.


History

In September 2001, Stuart Media Group was granted approval 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 ''The Gaming Channel'', described as "a national, English-language Category 2 specialty television service, providing live-event interactive programming about gaming or involving gaming. The service will offer programming including shorts and Canadian original programs about gaming that will be knowledge-based and entertaining, with a focus on providing unique insights into daily events of the gaming world and its participants. The service will also allow viewers to play along with Bingo Games, and will provide experimental, interactive and informational programming on gaming odds, lotteries, and the gaming experience in general." In December 2004, Stuart Media Group announced that it had reached an agreement with Casino and Gaming Television, Inc., owners of the Casino and Gaming Television (CGTV) brand, which would see Stuart Media Group launch The Gaming Channel as a Canadian version of the yet-to-be-launched American television channel of the same name. The agreement would see the Canadian channel launch in May 2005 on Bell ExpressVu and act as, what the companies called, a "test bed" for the American channel which would also launch later in 2005. The channel would later launch in November 2005 as Casino and Gaming Television (CGTV) Canada on Rogers Cable instead of initially on Bell ExpressVu.Rogers bets on CGTV, the first of a few new channels from a connected, varied, group of investors
Cartt.ca 11-11-05
Programming on the channel primarily focused on poker, including live and pre-taped tournaments; however, programming on other casino games and casino-related programming did occur. Upon the launch of the channel in 2005, CGTV Canada was owned by Stuart Media Group, who in turn was owned by a variety of investors, although was ultimately majority owned by what is now called Kilmer Group. The channel was however operated by
Insight Sports Insight Sports Ltd. is a sports media and entertainment company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The company is owned in part by Larry Tanenbaum, part owner of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. Properties Insight Sports operates Aquila Product ...
, of which Kilmer Group was an investor in as well. The channel would go through several corporate reorganizations throughout its history but Kilmer Group would remain majority owner until it sold its interest in the channel in 2016. On October 26, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. EST, CGTV was renamed GameTV to broaden its appeal to a larger audience by focusing on game-related programming including game shows, reality programming, poker and non-sports gaming, and feature films. In October 2012, GameTV debuted a new logo and branding, and dropped its casino programming in favor of focusing specifically on game shows, competition-style reality series, and nightly feature films. On August 2, 2016,
Anthem Sports & Entertainment Anthem Sports & Entertainment (formerly Anthem Media Group) is a Canadian multinational media company based in Toronto, Ontario and founded by Leonard Asper. Its assets include combat sports and sports entertainment properties (including the MMA ...
announced that it would acquire GameTV pending CRTC approval. The CRTC approved the purchase in November 2016. With the acquisition of GameTV by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the channel began airing sports and sports entertainment programming, including live/tape-delayed matches and compilations, professional wrestling from
Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
, mixed martial arts from the
UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...
, and rugby league featuring all 2017 season matches from the
Toronto Wolfpack The Toronto Wolfpack are a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario, who compete in the North American Rugby League. The club originally competed in the British rugby league system but withdrew in the 2020 Super Leagu ...
. A high definition feed launched in March 2017. On March 9, 2018, the CRTC approved a previously unannounced sale of the channel from Anthem to Remuda Media, a newly established broadcasting company. Shareholders in Remuda Media previously was granted approval from the CRTC to launch The Country Channel, noted at the time as a ''"service that would offer programming aligned to the interests and needs of rural Canadians."'' In its application, it was noted that Remuda Media was unsuccessful at launching The Country Channel, and turned its eye to acquiring an existing channel, of which GameTV would be used to launch the service, or one similar. However, in July 2018, Anthem Media sent a letter to the CRTC stating that the proposed transfer in ownership from Anthem to Remuda was terminated, and Anthem would retain ownership of GameTV. On April 1, 2019,
FNTSY Sports Network FNTSY Sports Network is a multinational over-the-top internet television service owned by Sportsgrid Inc. The channel primarily syndicates sports talk programming pertaining to fantasy sports, including sports radio-styled programs and vodcasts. ...
was quietly replaced in Canada by a newly-launched sister channel,
Game+ A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
. In August 2020, the channel introduced a new weekend block featuring music programming from new sister network
AXS TV AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat sport ...
. In 2020, it premiered an original documentary series, ''The Search for Canada's Game Shows'', which chronicles the history of Canadian entries into the genre.


See also

*
Game Show Network Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...
, a U.S. equivalent carried by most Canadian television providers.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gametv Digital cable television networks in Canada Television channels and stations established in 2005 English-language television stations in Canada Anthem Sports & Entertainment Game shows