Stingray Retro

Stingray Retro is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by the Stingray Group. The channel mainly broadcasts music videos from the 1980s to the early 2010s, with some occasional pre-1980s music videos played at times.

This channel was launched on September 4, 2003 as MuchMoreRetro under the ownership of CHUM Limited, the parent company of Citytv and was conceived as spin-off of MuchMoreMusic focusing on retro music. Throughout various ownership changes and rebrandings, this channel was acquired by Stingray and adopted its current name in 2016.

History

In November 2000, CHUM Limited was granted approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a national English language Category 2 specialty television service called ''MuchMore ClassicVideo'', described as "consisting of classic (songs more than five years old) music videos and related programs, including music and pop news or commentaries, interviews, concerts, profiles and specials, as well as music-related feature films and series or programs."

The channel was launched on September 4, 2003 as a commercial-free service under the name MuchMoreRetro, a spin-off of MuchMoreMusic.

In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (later called CTVglobemedia) announced that it would purchase CHUM for an estimated $1.7 billion CAD, included in the sale was MuchMoreRetro. The sale was subject to CRTC approval and was approved in June 2007, with the transaction completed on June 22, 2007 while the Citytv stations were sold to Rogers Media that year.

After the channel's initial launch in 2003, it began to introduce commercials throughout its schedule until August 31, 2009 when the channel, along with the other CTVglobemedia-owned digital music channels, switched back to a commercial-free format, while the analogue cable music channels continue to run commercials during programs to this day.

On September 10, 2010, BCE (a minority shareholder in CTVglobemedia) announced that it planned to acquire 100% interest in CTVglobemedia for a total debt and equity transaction cost of $3.2 billion CAD. The deal which required CRTC approval, was approved on March 7, 2011 and closed on April 1 of that year, on which CTVglobemedia was rebranded Bell Media.

On November 1, 2013, after MuchMore was rebranded as M3 in September of that year, MuchMoreRetro was rebranded as MuchRetro—aligning itself with MuchMusic.

On June 21, 2016, it was announced that Stingray Digital would acquire MuchRetro and its sister networks from Bell Media. The acquisition closed on September 16, 2016 with a plan to rebrand the channel as Stingray Retro. On June 1, 2017, Stingray announced the completion of the rebranding process for all 4 channels (MuchRetro was rebranded Stingray Retro prior to June 1), which included new programming and a national promotional campaign.Stingray Introduces a New Golden Age of Music TV with the Launch of Stingray Retro, Stingray Vibe, Stingray Loud, and Stingray Juicebox
MarketWired press release 06 01 17

The first 10 music videos to air on the channel

* 1. Glass Tiger - " Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" (1986)
* 2. Duran Duran - " The Reflex" (1983)
* 3. Madonna - " Like a Prayer" (1989)
* 4. Michael Jackson - "Beat It" (1982)
* 5. Prince & The Revolution - "Kiss" (1986)
* 6. Cyndi Lauper - " Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (1983)
* 7. Corey Hart - " Sunglasses at Night" (1983)
* 8. Bryan Adams - "Summer of '69" (1984)
* 9. U2 - " Where the Streets Have No Name" (1987)
* 10. Bon Jovi - " Livin' on a Prayer" (1986)

Programming

Current

* ''90s Pop on Top''
* ''Can't Top This''
* ''Cheesiest Videos''
* ''Daily Video Hits''
* ''Late Nite Gems''
* ''Morning Flashback''
* ''My First Video''
* ''One-Hit Wonders''
* ''Please Rewind''
* ''Reloaded Club Hits''
* ''Retro Through Time''
* ''Retro Weekend''
* ''The Iconics''

Former

* ''Popcorn Time''
* ''Retro Concerts''
* ''Retro @ The Movies''

References

External links

Official siteChannel description

{{Music television channels in Canada

Stingray Group
Commercial-free television networks
Music video networks in Canada
Television channels and stations established in 2003
Specialty television channels in Canada
English-language television stations in Canada