Licensed to Global 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. Men TV was rebranded as The Cave on August 2, 2010. Later in that year, Shaw acquired Canwest. At the end of 2011, Shaw gained 100% of the channel when it purchased Groupe TVA’s interest. On August 27, 2012, The Cave was rebranded as H2. In 2016, Shaw Media was acquired by Corus Entertainment.
Ownership: Global
Start Year: 2000