Current Station Group: Corus Entertainment Inc.
Alliance Atlantis received a licence in November 2000 for a cable speciality channel which was launched in September 2001 as National Geographic Canada. As with the magazine of the same name, and the U.S. channel from which much of its material was licensed, National Geographic Canada programmed documentary material on “geography, world cultures, anthropology, remote exploration, natural conservation and geo-politics”, with the high quality photography that had become the companion magazine’s trademark.. In December 2006 the channel began offering a high-definition version.
CanWest Media Networks acquired Alliance Atlantis in December 2007, and with it ownership of National Geographic Canada.
Newly announced in June for the NG fall 2009 schedule was Rescue Ink, “…an action-packed series about tough, tattooed bikers who rescue cuddly animals from intense danger.”
In 2008, CW Media (a joint venture between CanWest and Goldman Sachs Capital) bought Alliance Atlantis. 2010 saw Shaw Communications acquire CW Media. Shaw later created a media division for its TV holdings and that company (Shaw Media) was sold to Corus Entertainment in 2016. Later that year, the channel changed its name to simply, National Geographic, dropping “Channel” from its name.
Ownership: CanWest, Corus, and Shaw Media
Start Year: 2001