Originally licensed in 1996 by the CRTC to CanWest Global Communications, Prime TV launched in 1997 as a channel targeting viewers in the 50+ age range, and called itself “Canada’s Entertainment Network”.
On June 1st 2006 the channel was rebranded and relaunched as TVTropolis, with a new slogan, “Hit TV Lives Here”. The new schedule retained many of the iconic series which were included in Prime’s lineup, including such shows as Beverly Hills 90210, Seinfeld, Ellen and Married With Children, and added exclusive premieres of reality celebrity series featuring the stars of some of those icon shows, with titles such as Hogan Knows Best, My Fair Brady, and Celebrity Fit Club.
The Fall 2009 schedule promised the return of many TVtropolis favourites, including Family Guy, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, King of Queens That 70’s Show and Whatever Happened To?
On October 27, 2010, TV Tropolis’s ownership changed as Shaw Communications acquired Canwest and Goldman Sachs’ interest in CanWest Media.
In January 2013 Shaw Communications acquired 100% ownership in TVtropolis, by buying Rogers Communications’ minority interest, sobject to CRTC approval. On March 6th, the CRTC announced that the application would be included in a hearing to be scheduled on May 6th.
The channel was relaunched as DTour on August 26, 2013, largely featuring programming from the Travel Channel in the U.S.
On April 1, 2016, Shaw Media was acquired by Corus Entertainment.
Ownership: Shaw Media
Start Year: 2006