On October 14th, 2009, Canwest Television Limited Partnership received approval for a new specialty channel to be known as Reality TV. This new channel would be devoted exclusively to reality-based programs, including competition-based reality and do-it-yourself makeover programs.
In order to ensure that Reality TV would not be directly competitive with analog pay or speciality or existing Category 1 services, the applicant proposed specific limitations on the programming to be broadcast by the service. Specifically, the applicant stated that all of the programming broadcast by Reality TV would be reality-based programming, defined as follows:
Reality-based programming would include:
a) the presentation of contrived circumstance(s) – which may be competitive or non-competitive in nature; and/or
b) dramatizations and/or re-creations of real situations or events.
The licence granted by the CRTC specifically precluded the broadcast of any live professional or amateur sporting events.
On April 28th 2010, Canwest announced that Reality TV would be launched on July 1st.
Written by Pip Wedge – October, 2009
Ownership: CanWest
Start Year: 2010