Global Reality Channel was 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 ...

Category B

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

Shaw Media Shaw Media was the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owned the Global Television Network, which broadcasts nationally via 13 television stations, as well as 19 specialty channels including Slice (TV channel), Sli ...

. The channel broadcasts reality television series and related programming. It was an offshoot of the Shaw-owned

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Canadian English-language terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's second most-watched private terrestrial television network after ...

, which is now owned by

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...

History

Canwest Global Communications Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting an ...

, the channel's original owner, first attempted to launch a reality TV-based channel in the mid-2000s when 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) granted Canwest approval to launch ''Reality TV'', a channel "devoted exclusively to reality-based programming." However, the channel did not commence operations within the allotted time limit stated by the CRTC and the licence expired. Determined to launch the channel, Canwest applied to the CRTC (through a joint subsidiary, Canwest Television Limited Partnership) for another reality TV-based channel also called ''Reality TV'' that was approved on October 14, 2009. The channel was described, through its nature of service, as "a national, English-language Category 2 specialty programming service devoted exclusively to reality-based programming, including competition-based reality and do-it-yourself makeover programs." Before the channel was approved by the CRTC, Canwest filed for creditor protection in early October 2009. In February 2010, Shaw Communications announced it was purchasing Canwest's broadcasting assets. The channel was launched on July 1, 2010, as "Global Reality Channel". On October 27 that year, Shaw finalized its purchase of Canwest, renaming the company Shaw Media, and took control of Global Reality Channel. At the Shaw Media

upfronts In the television industry, an upfront is a gathering at the start of important advertising sales periods, held by television network executives and attended by major advertisers and the media. It is so named because of its main purpose, to allow ...

on May 30, 2012, Shaw Media announced the 2012 fall schedules of all its terrestrial stations and specialty channels; however, Global Reality Channel was not included in the upfronts. The following day, Rogers announced that it would be adding

Nat Geo Wild National Geographic Wild (shortened as Nat Geo Wild and abbreviated NGW) is a global pay television network owned by National Geographic Partners, a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (73%) and the National Geographic Society (27%). T ...

, a recently launched

channel, by replacing Global Reality Channel on August 1, 2012.Nat Geo Wild (new channel coming May 7th) - #19 - Digital Forum
/ref> Effectively, this meant Nat Geo Wild would launch the same way it did in the United States in June 2010, as NGW replaced

Fox Reality Channel Fox Reality Channel was an American pay television channel. It was launched on May 24, 2005, and was owned by the Fox Entertainment Group. It featured many shows that were originally on the Fox network (or produced by Fox). The channel also fea ...

in the United States, though there was very little similar between Fox and Global's reality channel efforts. This would result in MTS as the only remaining distributor of the channel, assuming no other distributors begin carrying the channel. Following the upfronts and Rogers announcement, speculation and online gossip, citing various sources, arose stating that Global Reality Channel would be ceasing operations on August 1, 2012. Despite Rogers' initial intention to launch Nat Geo Wild in August, only days later in early June, Rogers added Nat Geo Wild without replacing Global Reality Channel. On August 1, 2012, MTS confirmed the channel's closure by displaying the following message on channel 255: :"Global Reality going out of business August 1, 2012. Global Reality, channel 225 in the Rewind theme group, is going out of business August 1, 2012. All MTS TV customers have been receiving this channel for free since June 26. MTS TV is looking for a channel to replace Global Reality so your pricing for this theme group will not change" Global Reality Channel ceased operations on November 1, 2012, while its license was officially revoked on April 19, 2016, nearly four years after the channel went off the air in 2012.

Programming

Global Reality Channel featured a lineup devoted to primarily

reality television 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. The channel also broadcast game shows and documentary-style series related to reality television.

References

External links

* {{Corus Entertainment 2010 establishments in Canada 2012 disestablishments in Canada Digital cable television networks in Canada Defunct Canadian television channels English-language television stations in Canada Former Corus Entertainment networks Television channels and stations established in 2010 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2012