CMT (Canadian TV channel)
CMT is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment (which owns a controlling 90% interest) and Paramount Networks Americas (which owns the remaining 10%), owners of the flagship CMT channel in the United States.
Country
Canada
Nationwide
English
1080i HDTV
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed)
Corus Entertainment (90%, managing partner)
Paramount Networks Americas (10%)
January 1, 1995
New Country Network (1995–1996)
Country Music Television (1996–2006)
As with its U.S. counterpart, CMT previously devoted a large amount of its programming to country music, with such programming as music videos and concert specials. Over time, the channel shifted its focus towards family-oriented general entertainment such as sitcoms, to the point where music programming was eventually axed in August 2017.
It is one of two Paramount-branded channels that are owned by Corus; the companies also partner on Nickelodeon (which is wholly owned by Corus).
History[edit]
Launch and dispute[edit]
Prior to the launch of CMT Canada, the U.S.-based country television network, Country Music Television, had been available in Canada since 1984, one year after the channel's launch in the United States.[1]
In June 1994, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licensed a series of new Canadian specialty television channels; among the ones whose licence was granted was The Country Network, whose programming provisions required it to primarily feature country music videos (a minimum of 90%). The licence was granted to a partnership between Maclean-Hunter (which owned 60% majority control) and Rawlco Communications (which owned the remaining 40%).[2]
At this time, the CRTC had a policy that if a Canadian specialty service was licensed and that service's format was competitive with a foreign service's format that was licensed to operate in Canada, the foreign service could be dropped from the list of channels eligible for cable carriage in Canada.[2] Due to Country Music Television's competitive format, the CRTC terminated CMT's eligibility rights in Canada as a foreign service on June 6, 1994.[3] Television distributors such as cable and satellite television operators could continue distributing Country Music Television until The Country Network began operations.[2]
In March 1994, one year before the channel's launch, Maclean-Hunter had been purchased by Rogers Communications.[4]
Programming[edit]
As of August 2023, CMT's programming consists primarily of acquired sitcoms, dramas (specifically Degrassi: The Next Generation), reality shows, and lifestyle programming, some of which are reruns of Canadian-produced series to fulfill Canadian content obligations. It no longer originates any original programming of its own, nor does it air any original programming emanating from the American CMT channel such as the CMT Music Awards (which remains available to most Canadian cable subscribers through CBS affiliates).
When CMT was launched as New Country Network on January 1, 1995, the CRTC required that 90% of the station's programming consist of music videos.[13] The CRTC dropped that requirement to 70% on February 28, 2001, and reduced it even further to 50% on February 28, 2006.[14][15] With the retirement of genre protection rules in 2016, CMT was no longer required to air music videos, leading to the channel dropping music programming altogether the following year in favor of comedy programming—drawn primarily from off-network reruns of sitcoms.
Under its country music format, CMT previously produced its own original Canadian programming, such as Karaoke Star Jr., Tori & Dean: Cabin Fever, and The Wilkinsons, with much of the channel's country music-related programming hosted by Paul McGuire.