| Movieola | |
|---|---|
| Movieola logo | |
| Launched | September 7, 2001 |
| Owned by | Channel Zero Inc. Movieola: Short Film Channel Inc. |
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Website | Movieola |
| Availability | |
| Cable | |
| Available on many Canadian cable systems | Check local listings |
| IPTV | |
| MTS | Channel 265 |
| Optik TV | Channel 226 |
| SaskTel | Channel 147 |
Movieola (which uses the tagline, The Short Film Channel) is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Channel Zero Inc.
Movieola is dedicated to short films from all genres including comedy, drama, animation, and more; with films ranging from 30 seconds to 40 minutes in length.
In November 2000, Channel Zero (through its subsidiary known at the time as Late Night Vidiots) was granted approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch Movielola, described as "a national English-language Category 2 specialty television service dedicated to the broadcast of short films ranging in length from 30 seconds to 40 minutes."[1]
Movieola launched on September 7, 2001.[2]
Less than a month after the channel's launch, Stornoway Communications, a fellow newly-minted broadcaster itself, owners of recently launched ichannel and bpm:tv, announced that it was purchasing a majority interest in the channel, subject to conditions and CRTC approval.[2] However, the deal fell through only months later in April 2002, when due to financial difficulties, Stornoway Communications laid-off 2 of the 4 founding members of Movieola in February, and a third in April. The fourth member would later resign in April. The 4 founding members were hired by Stornoway in September 2001 when the purchase agreement was made.[3] The agreement stated that all 4 members were to remain as Stornoway employees after the transaction closed. Due to Stornoway's reluctance to rehire the employees, the deal was severed in April and the 4 founding members decided to run Movieola alone.
In June 2007, Movieola signed a deal with Joost, agreeing to provide short film content to the online TV service.[4] Movieola would later sign a similar deal with the online service, Hulu.[5]
In September 2008, Movieola announced it was purchasing a majority stake in Propeller TV, at the time, a British-based television channel featuring films and television series from primarily new and emerging artists.[6] However, the deal was abandoned at a later date and did not finalize.
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