E!
E! logo
Type	Broadcast television system
Country	Canada
Availability	Semi-national - Ontario, B.C., Alberta, Montreal (Quebec); available in several U.S. states via cable
Slogan	Everything Entertainment
Owner	CanWest MediaWorks Inc. (CanWest)
Key people	Leonard Asper, CEO, CanWest Global; Kathleen Dore, President, Radio and Television, CanWest MediaWorks
Launch date	February 12 2001 as CH September 7, 2007 as E!
Past names	CH (2001-2007)
Website	www.eonline.ca

E! is a Canadian English language privately owned television system owned by CanWest MediaWorks Inc., a division of CanWest Global Communications. Currently the system consists of six local television stations located in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, including five stations owned by CanWest and one affiliate owned by Jim Pattison Group.

E! is a secondary service parallel to CanWest's larger Global Television Network, and frequently airs "leftover" foreign programs that cannot fit on Global's primetime schedule. Until fall 2007, the system was known as CH; the change in name coincided with the acquisition of various programming rights from the American-based E!: Entertainment Television, which now supplies a significant portion of the Canadian system's schedule.

History

WIC purchase

The CH system formed in early 2001 after CanWest purchased most of the initial stations (previously owned by Western International Communications) and rebranded them as "CH"; many of the stations had previously been affiliates of other networks. Over the years, WIC had formed various types of "twinsticks", or ownership of two stations serving one market, specifically in the B.C. Lower Mainland, Alberta, Montreal, and Kelowna markets. The second stations were, respectively, CHEK, CKRD, CJNT, and CHBC. However, WIC was an ownership group, and not a network unto itself. The company was rarely able to co-ordinate the programming of its first-string stations, much less the second-string outlets, due to the stations' different network affiliations.

Despite strong opposition from competitors and advocacy groups, CanWest was allowed to keep all of the WIC stations save CFCF in Montreal. By promising to continue to support the "underserved" communities these stations were originally intended to serve – support which, in CanWest's view, no competing broadcaster could provide – it was able to maintain the B.C. and Alberta twinsticks, re-align CJNT with CKMI, and most importantly secure a new twinstick in the major market of Ontario with both its own CIII and WIC's independent station CHCH.

CH

CHCH was the first to adopt the CH brand in February 2001, followed by CHEK (newly disaffiliated from CTV) and multicultural station CJNT that September. CKRD joined in 2005 after disaffiliating from the CBC, and changed its call letters to CHCA in the process. All four cross-promote heavily with the local Global stations.

Kelowna's CHBC and Kamloops' CFJC disaffiliated from the CBC in February 2006 and joined CH; although CFJC was not owned by CanWest, the joint sales agreement between the two stations necessitated CFJC's affiliation switch. Both CHBC and CFJC maintained their own local identities during their times as CH stations. (CHBC adopted the E! branding on the same day as the other CanWest-owned CH stations.)

While CH briefly used the slogan "Closer to Home" when it launched, the letters "CH" were derived from the call sign of flagship CHCH, which Global had promised to re-focus on local programming after the station's traditional audience was turned off by the ONtv era. CJNT in Montreal referred to the initials as Canal Horizon, or CH Horizon, until 2002.

E!

Published reports in early 2006^[1] suggested the imminent rebranding of the CH stations. However, the brand remained in use for the rest of the year. In April 2007, CanWest announced that the CH stations would be relaunched as E! by the fall; the changes took effect on September 7. E! (U.S.) owner Comcast licensed the brand name and programming, but it does not have any ownership in the Canadian E! Network.

Programming

E! airs several U.S. programs, sharing a library of programs with Global. It is not uncommon for Global, which is carried in more cities nationwide than E!, to cherry-pick some of E!'s hits and air them on the main network. Conversely, Global programs are sometimes sent "down" to E! if two programs aired by Global begin to air simultaneously on separate U.S. networks, so CanWest can maximize its simulcasting opportunities.

This notwithstanding, E! generally targets an older audience than the Global network. For instance, one of CBS's more popular series, NCIS, has older demographics than most of Global's other series and hence has remained on E!. However, NCIS premiered on Global and, effective Fall 2007, will air on Global.

While E! is allowed to timeshift a limited amount of programming also aired on Global, in practice it has rarely done so.

Content from the American E! network started to air throughout the system's daytime, late night, and weekend schedule upon its rebrand on September 7, 2007; this includes Canadian-produced series aired on E! channels internationally. E! programming had previously aired on Star! until the launch of E! in Canada. As a result of this change, E! programming no longer airs nationwide (depending on service provider). Primetime programming continues to be sourced primarily from the major U.S. broadcast networks. Local programs continue under the branding of each station's call sign (e.g. "CHCH News" in Hamilton; "CJNT Montreal" for multicultural programming on the Montreal station).

E! stations

Owned and operated

All E! O&O stations display an E! logo on the lower right corner of the TV screen during E!-produced programming; the stations' callsigns are used during local news and regional programming.

• CJNT - (Montreal, Quebec)
• CHCH - (Hamilton, Ontario)
• CHCA - (Red Deer, Alberta)
• CHEK - (Victoria, British Columbia)
• CHBC - (Kelowna, British Columbia)

Affiliates and secondary carriers

• CFJC - Kamloops, British Columbia (owned by Jim Pattison Group)
• Airs nearly all of CHBC's non-local programming and has a joint sales agreement with CHBC. The local "CFJC TV7" brand remains predominant.

Pattison announced in September 2007 that its two remaining CBC affiliates, CKPG-TV and CHAT-TV, would drop their current affiliation in favour of programming from CanWest effective fall 2008.^[2] CKPG is almost certain to become an E! affiliate due to the presence of Global BC; CHAT does not compete directly with an existing Global station and thus could join either network.

Many Global stations in non-E! markets, plus other stations not owned by CanWest Global, also broadcast programs usually seen on the E! system, mainly CJON, private CBC affiliates such as CHEX, CHAT and CKWS, and the Thunder Bay Television twinstick of CKPR and CHFD.

Slogans

• As CH:
• 2001-2002: Closer to Home
• 2001-2005: CH Has It All!
• 2005-2007: Closer to You!
• As E!
• 2007-present: Everything Entertainment

See also

• List of programs broadcast by E! Canada
• 2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment
• E! (U.S.A.)

External links

• Official E! website

References

•  • [ e] CanWest Global Communications Corp.
Corporate Directors	David Asper • Gail Asper • Leonard Asper • Lloyd Barber • Derek Burney • Ronald Daniels • David Drybrough • Paul Godfrey • Frank King • Lisa Pankratz
Newspapers	Calgary Herald • Dose • Edmonton Journal • Montreal Gazette • National Post • Ottawa Citizen • Regina Leader-Post • Saskatoon StarPhoenix • The Province (Vancouver) • Vancouver Sun • Victoria Times-Colonist • Windsor Star
Television Assets	E!: CHBC • CHCA • CHCH • CHEK • CJNT Global: CFRE • CFSK • CHAN • CICT • CIHF • CIII • CISA • CITV • CKMI • CKND CoolTV • DejaView • Fox Sports World Canada • Lonestar • mentv1 • Mystery TV1 • TVtropolis • X-Treme Sports
MediaWorks New Zealand	C4 • More FM • The Edge FM • TV3
Other assets outside of Canada	Network Ten (Australia) • Original 106 (UK)
1 Co-owned with Quebecor, with CanWest having management responsibilities.