Licensed as The Biography Channel by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on November 24, 2000; the channel was launched on September 7, 2001 as a joint venture between Rogers Media (33.34%), Shaw Communications (33.33%) and A&E Networks (33.33%)—who owned the network's American counterpart. In 2006, both Shaw and A&E sold their interests in the channel to Rogers. The U.S. Biography Channel relaunched as FYI on July 7, 2014; Shaw's Twist TV became a Canadian version of FYI on September 1, 2014.[1]
On November 5, 2015, Rogers announced that it would serve as the Canadian partner for Viceland, a new millennial-focused channel programmed by Vice Media, and that Viceland would replace Biography Channel.[2][3] Vice Media had partnered with A&E Networks (who owns 10% of the company) to launch Viceland in the U.S. as a replacement for H2.[4][5][6]
Viceland replaced Biography Channel at 5:00 a.m. ET on February 29, 2016, one hour earlier than in the United States, with a one-hour special titled Bar Talk, before simulcasting the U.S. channel's countdown clock starting at 6:00 a.m.[7][8][9]
