{{short description|Canadian television network}} {{For|the Canadian channel that previously used the "Bravo" name from 1995 to 2019|CTV Drama Channel}} {{Infobox television channel | name = Bravo | logo = Bravo 2024.svg | launch_date = {{start date and age|1997|10|17}} | closed_date = | picture_format = [[1080i]] [[HDTV]]<br />(downscaled to [[letterboxed]] [[480i]] for the [[SDTV]] feed) | owner = [[Rogers Media|Rogers Sports & Media]]<br /><small>(branding licensed from [[Comcast]] / [[NBCUniversal]])</small> | country = Canada | area = Nationwide | headquarters = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]] | former_names = Outdoor Life Network (1997–2008)<br />OLN (2008–2024) | replaced_by = | sister_channels = {{ubl|[[Sportsnet]]|[[FX (Canadian TV channel)|FX Canada]]|[[FXX (Canadian TV channel)|FXX Canada]]|[[Citytv]]|[[The Shopping Channel|TSC]]}} | timeshift_service = | website = {{URL|https://www.citytv.com/bravo/|Bravo}} }} '''Bravo''' is a [[Television in Canada|Canadian]] [[English-language]] [[Discretionary service|discretionary]] [[specialty channel]] owned by [[Rogers Media|Rogers Sports & Media]], with its name licensed from [[Bravo (American TV network)|the U.S. cable network]] owned by [[Comcast]]'s [[NBCUniversal]]. The channel primally airs [[Reality television|reality]] and lifestyle series targeted at 25-to-54-year-old women.
The channel launched on October 17, 1997 as '''OLN''' ('''Outdoor Life Network'''), and was originally dedicated to factual-based adventure and outdoors programming. It was owned in a joint venture between Rogers, [[Baton Broadcasting]]{{efn|which would later become CTVglobemedia and [[Bell Media]]}}, and the U.S. [[NBCSN|Outdoor Life Network]] (owned by Comcast); with the brand licensed from the owners of ''[[Outdoor Life]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/srch/viewTrademark?id=1186481&lang=eng|title=Canadian Trade-mark Data: Registration No. TMA670475|publisher=[[Canadian Intellectual Property Office]]|access-date=2021-04-25}}</ref> Rogers took sole ownership of the channel in 2008.
By the 2010s, with OLN in the U.S. having since abandoned its original format in favour of becoming a sports channel (Versus, later [[NBCSN]]), and the repeal of the [[CRTC]]'s genre protection rules, OLN had [[channel drift|drifted]] towards becoming a generalist, [[men's interest channel]], with most of its schedule devoted to [[reality television]] series and other Rogers library programming.
The channel would adopt its current name on September 1, 2024, as part of a brand licensing and programming agreement with NBCUniversal.
==History== ===Bravo in Canada before 2019=== {{main|CTV Drama Channel}} [[CHUM Limited]] applied to the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC) for a license to operate Bravo. In June 1994, CHUM's application for Bravo was approved, citing its nature of service as focusing on "performance and drama programming, as well as documentary and discussion".<ref>[http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1994/DB94-281.htm CRTC Decision 1994-281]</ref> On January 1, 1995, Bravo went on the air and this channel originally focused on performing arts, drama, and independent film. The name was first licensed to CHUM from Rainbow Media (now known as [[AMC Networks]]) before selling the stake to NBC.
After [[CTVglobemedia]]'s acquisition of CHUM Limited in 2007, including Bravo, the channel increasingly shifted its focus toward more television and film dramas (such as ''[[Criminal Minds]]''), and lessened its focus on arts programming. The channel was renamed to CTV Drama Channel in 2019, aligning it with the branding of the [[CTV Television Network]].
===OLN=== Meanwhile, OLN was first licensed in September 1996 as ''Outdoor Life'' by the [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission]] (CRTC), and the channel was launched on October 17, 1997, as the '''Outdoor Life Network'''. Its initial owners were [[Baton Broadcasting]], [[Rogers Media]], and the U.S. [[NBCSN#As the Outdoor Life Network|network of the same name]] (which was later acquired by [[Comcast]]).
In April 2006, Comcast announced that it would be relaunching the U.S. Outdoor Life Network as Versus (later to be known as [[NBCSN]]) in the Fall of 2006.<ref name="pbj-vs">{{Cite news |date=April 24, 2006 |title=OLN Network getting new name |work=Philadelphia Business Journal |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2006/04/24/daily9.html |access-date=May 7, 2012}}</ref> Due to restrictions in its [[Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission|CRTC]] license that required it to maintain a focus on outdoors programming at the time,<ref>[http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/1996/DB96-606.HTM CRTC Decision 96-606]</ref> and because Rogers already operated mainstream sports networks under the [[Sportsnet]] brand, the Canadian version did not follow the suit of its American counterpart to become a mainstream sports channel.
On November 16, 2007, it was announced that Rogers would acquire the remaining interests in OLN from both CTVglobemedia and Comcast, leaving Rogers as the sole owner of OLN.<ref>[http://mediaincanada.com/2007/11/20/oln-20071120/ Rogers buys OLN] Media in Canada 2007-11-20</ref> The deal was approved by the CRTC on July 7, 2008, and was finalized on August 1, 2008; Rogers would take operational control on August 31, 2008.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}
On June 24, 2011, OLN launched a [[High-definition television|high definition]] feed.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}
During the 2010s, enabled by the CRTC's deprecation of the genre protection rules, OLN would [[Channel drift|phase out]] outdoors-related programming, and shift its focus towards general interest [[Reality television|reality shows]]. OLN would adopt a new logo and slogan, "Outrageous Characters—Real Life", in 2012, while continuing to produce its own original programming, such as ''Get Stuffed'' (a reality [[travel documentary]] series starring escape artist [[Dean Gunnarson]])<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Posted |first=Ashley Prest |date=2014-09-11 |title=Sep 2014: Local escape artist starring in new TV series |url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2014/09/11/manitoba-escape-artist-gunnarson-starring-in-new-tv-series |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Winnipeg Free Press}}</ref> and ''[[Storage Wars Canada]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=‘Storage Wars Canada’ to start filming in May |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/445480/storage-wars-canada-to-start-filming-in-may/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}</ref>
While OLN did not become a sports channel, it would air a limited amount of sports programming; including coverage of the [[Tour de France]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Where can I watch the 2022 Tour de France in Canada |url=https://www.wherecaniwatch.ca/tour-de-france-2022-flosports-canada/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=wherecaniwatch.ca}}</ref> The network was also part of [[Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium|CTV and Rogers's coverage]] of the [[2010 Winter Olympics]] and [[2012 Summer Olympics]]. Since 2022, OLN has also served as an overflow outlet for [[WWE]]'s weekly [[professional wrestling]] programming in the event of scheduling conflicts with [[Sportsnet 360]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=WWE RAW To Air On OLN In Canada For Three Weeks Beginning Tonight|url=https://www.wrestling-news.net/wwe-raw-to-air-on-oln-in-canada-for-three-weeks-beginning-tonight/185331/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=wrestling-news.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How to watch WWE SmackDown tonight |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/wwe/where-to-watch-wwe-smackdown-tonight// |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Sportsnet.ca}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=How to watch WWE's Monday Night Raw on April 24 and NXT on April 25 on SN NOW |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/wwe/article/how-to-wwes-monday-night-raw-on-april-24-and-nxt-on-april-25-on-sn-now/ |access-date=2024-08-30 |website=Sportsnet.ca}}</ref>
=== The return of Bravo === In June 2024, Rogers announced a licensing agreement with Comcast subsidiary [[NBCUniversal]] to relaunch the [[Bravo (American TV network)|Bravo]] brand in Canada in September of that year.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thiessen |first=Connie |date=2024-06-10 |title=Rogers scoops Warner Bros. Discovery rights from Corus and Bell |url=https://broadcastdialogue.com/rogers-scoops-warner-bros-discovery-rights-from-corus/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Broadcast Dialogue}}</ref> It would be Rogers' third collaboration with Comcast after the relaunch of [[G4 (Canadian TV channel)|G4TechTV Canada]].{{efn|Originally a joint venture with the former American cable channel [[TechTV]] prior to its acquisition by [[G4 (American TV network)|G4]] owner Comcast, and merger with NBCUniversal's [[G4 Media (TV company)|G4 Media]]}} On August 28, 2024, it was confirmed that OLN would be rebranded as '''Bravo''' on September 1.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rogers deal to shift Discovery Science, OWN, Animal Planet channels to streaming, on demand |url=https://www.cochraneeagle.ca/lifestyle/rogers-deal-to-shift-discovery-science-own-animal-planet-channels-to-streaming-on-demand-9446381 |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=Cochrane Eagle}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rogers to Bring Premium Content to Canadians With Launch of Popular TV Channels |url=https://about.rogers.com/news-ideas/rogers-to-bring-premium-content-to-canadians-with-launch-of-popular-tv-channels/ |access-date=2024-08-28}}</ref> Prior to the relaunch of Bravo in Canada, most of its programming was aired by [[Corus Entertainment]] channel [[Slice (TV channel)|Slice]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Pinto |first=Jordan |date=September 2, 2024 |title=Corus’s Slice shops around, expands into new genres after losing Bravo content |url=https://www.c21media.net/news/coruss-slice-shops-around-expands-into-new-genres-after-losing-bravo-content/ |access-date=September 2, 2024 |work=C21Media}}</ref>
== Programming == {{See also|List of programs broadcast by Bravo (Canadian TV network)}}
As with the [[List of programs broadcast by Bravo (American TV network)|U.S. counterpart]], Bravo's programming schedule primarily includes programming originally produced for the American channel, particularly [[reality television|reality]] content such as the ''[[The Real Housewives|Real Housewives]]'', ''[[Top Chef]]'', and ''[[Below Deck]]'' franchises. The channel currently airs repeats of [[Citytv]]'s ''[[Bachelor in Paradise Canada]]'' during the early morning hours to fulfill [[Canadian content]] obligations.
===Original programming as OLN=== *''[[Beyond Survival (TV series)|Beyond Survival]]'' *''[[The Liquidator (TV series)|The Liquidator]]'' *''[[Mantracker]]'' *''[[Survivorman]]'' *''[[Sweat (Canadian TV series)|Sweat]]'' *''[[Storage Wars Canada]]'' *''[[Angry Planet]]''
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==See also== *[[Bravo (American TV network)|Bravo (United States)]] **[[7Bravo|7Bravo (Australia)]] **[[Bravo (New Zealand TV channel)|Bravo (New Zealand)]] *[[NBCSN]], the former name of OLN in the U.S. existed from 1995 to 2021.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|https://www.citytv.com/bravo/}}
{{Rogers Communications}} {{NBCUniversal International Networks}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Bravo (Canada)}} [[Category:Bravo (Canadian TV channel)|*]] [[Category:Rogers Communications]] [[Category:Television channels and stations established in 1997]] [[Category:English-language television stations in Canada]] [[Category:1997 establishments in Ontario]]