In June 2005, Insight Sports applied for and was granted a license by the CRTC to operate a digital specialty channel to be known as The Soccer Net. The name was changed to GolTV on September 25th 2005, and the channel launched on November 1st. The channel had an association with GolTV in the US, while accepting its responsibility for specific amounts of Canadian content as a condition of licence. The channel was dedicated entirely to soccer, or football as the sport is known virtually everywhere in the world outside North America. Because of competing contracts with other Canadian cable channels, GolTV was unable to make deals with the English and Scottish Football Associations and Leagues, but had contracts with Premier League Clubs Arsenal and Liverpool for packaged features on their games and players.
On January 26th 2009, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment of Toronto, owners of Toronto F.C., announced that they had concluded a deal to acquire GolTV from Insight Productions.
The CRTC gave its approval on August 16th 2012 for the sale of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment and its sports television channels, including GolTV, to BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications.
At the request of the licensee, the CRTC revoked the licence of GolTV effective August 31, 2015.
Ownership: Rogers Media
Start Year: 2005 to 2015