OUTtv

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**OUTtv**

Type	Digital cable specialty channel
Country	Canada
Availability	National
Owner	Shavick Entertainment (52% & managing partner) Pink Triangle Press (38%) PrideVision Inc.(9.9%)
Launch date	April 12, 2005
Website	outtv.ca

OUTtv is a Canadian category 1 digital cable television channel with lifestyle and general entertainment programming for LGBT audiences.

OUTtv's licensee is 6166954 Canada Inc. which is 52% owned by Shavick Entertainment, 38% owned by Pink Triangle Press and 9.9% owned by PrideVision Inc.

1 History
2 Distribution
3 Shavick Entertainment's Acquisition
4 Noted Programs
5 External links

[edit] History

OUTtv was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on March 4, 2005 as a result of the current majority owner at the time, William Craig, wanting to split PrideVision off into 2 separate channels after acquiring PrideVision from Headline Media; the new service OUTtv, will take over the day-to-day programming of PrideVision including programming such as feature films, documentaries, talk shows, dramas, and more as well as its category 1 status, while PrideVision will become a 24/7 LGBT adult entertainment subscription based station and a category 2 channel with a new name HARD on PrideVision. This split was done in order to secure better cable distribution for the general interest programming because cable distributors were often offering PrideVision as a standalone channel at a price much higher then other category 1 status channels. The expected launch date was set to April 7, 2005, but the new channel went on the air on April 12 due to difficulties with digital cable and satellite providers.

[edit] Distribution

As a category 1 television service it is mandatory for all digital cable and direct broadcast satellite providers to carry the channel that have the capicaty to do so.

The channel was dealing with problems with digital cable provider Shaw Communications, since they wanted OUTtv to be a standalone channel with a price of $7 to $9 a month, twelve times higher than any other Category 1 channel. There was also a setback with satellite provider Bell ExpressVu (owned by Bell Canada) as they try to constrain the distribution of OUTtv compared to other category 1 channels. Both providers control up to 70% of Canada's digital subscribers.

As of August 2005, OUTtv ended their disagreement with Shaw Communications and Bell Canada now has a packaging agreement with Bell Expressvu, StarChoice and Shaw Cable. This new agreement allows subscribers on these systems to add OUTtv as standalone channel or it can be added with existing channels by subscribing to a new package.

In late 2005 OUTtv became available in Australia via SelecTV.

[edit] Shavick Entertainment's Acquisition

On July 19, 2006, it was announced that Shavick Entertainment, a producer of gay-themed programming such as Dante's Cove, will acquire a 52 per cent majority interest in OUTtv and HARD on PrideVision from William Craig (former 80.2% owner), while Pink Triangle Press' share will increase to 38 per cent (9.9% prior to Shavick's acquisition). It was also announced that Shavick will also rename and rebrand OUTtv, upgrade the technology infrastructure, and fill the channel's content with a wider variety of programming. Shavick's Hollywood-based partner Regent Studios and the American LGBT channel here! will also become content providers to the channel. It is yet to be known how this will affect HARD on PrideVision.

This ownership transaction as yet to be approved by the CRTC.

In an interview with Xtra!, the company's CEO James Shavick noted that audience surveys have found that while many LGBT viewers in Canada subscribe to the network out of a desire to financially support a gay television channel, comparatively few believe that the channel currently offers a compelling program schedule. His business partner Joy MacPhail also expressed the desire to expand the channel's reach, noting that here!'s audience surveys have found that up to 30 per cent of that network's subscriber base consists of heterosexual women.