Licensed to Global and TVA in December 2000 as Men TV, the name of this specialty cable channel, aimed specifically at a male audience, had been abbreviated to Mentv by the time it launched in September of the following year. The channel’s program content was described by its owners as “from classic cars to casinos, from fashion to fitness, from salads to sex…” and as combining “…testosterone-friendly entertainment with lifestyle programming that doesn’t take itself too seriously.” In 2004 the CAB supported Global when it complained to the CRTC of unfair competition from the US cable channel Spike TV, which had been approved for carriage on Canadian cable systems, but in January 2005 the CRTC decided that there was “insufficient evidence to conclude….” that Spike TV was “competitive with Canadian specialty services,” and reaffirmed that Spike could be carried on Canadian cable. Canwest was the managing partner for the channel from its inception until September 2008, when TVA assumed management responsibility. Mentv was renamed The Cave on August 2, 2010. On October 27, 2010, Shaw’s acquisition of Canwest gave it control of Canwest’s 49% interest in The Cave. On December 22, 2011, Groupe TVA announced its intentions to sell its share of The Cave and Mystery TV to Shaw, giving Shaw full control of these two channels, subject to approval by the CRTC. The Cave changed its name to H2 on August 27, 2012.
Ownership: Shaw Media
Start Year: 2000