Bravo!

Infobox_TV_channel
name = Bravo!
logofile = Bravo_logo.svg
logoalt =
logosize = 150px
launch = January 1, 1995
closed date =
picture format =
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network =
owner = CTVglobemedia
CTV Limited
slogan =
country = Canada
broadcast area = National
headquarters = Toronto, Ontario
former names =
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sister names =
timeshift names =
web = [http://www.bravo.ca Bravo!]
terr serv 1 =
terr chan 1 =
sat serv 1 = Bell TV
sat chan 1 = Channel 620
sat serv 2 = Star Choice
sat chan 2 = Channel 523
cable serv 1 = Available on most Canadian cable systems
cable chan 1 = Check local listings, channels may vary
sat radio serv 1 =
sat radio chan 1 =
adsl serv 1 =
adsl chan 1 =
online serv 1 =
online chan 1 =

Bravo! is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel owned by CTVglobemedia. It concentrates on the arts, including; music, ballet, literature, drama, visual arts, modern dance, opera, architecture. Bravo! also features well-known American series such as "NYPD Blue", "Law & Order" and "Sex and the City". It originally used the tagline ""NewStyleArtsChannel".

The "Bravo" name is used under licence from NBC Universal, which owns the U.S.-based service Bravo (without the exclamation mark). However, aside from the name and the interview series "Inside the Actors Studio", there has been essentially no connection between the two channels since 2001, when the American Bravo network (then under the ownership of Cablevision's Rainbow Media) changed its direction away from focusing on performing arts towards a general programming direction. While both channels air feature films and drama series, most of Bravo (U.S.)'s recent original programs have been reality series which have little to do with the performing arts, many of which are aired in Canada by competing channels.

History

In the 1980s, C Channel, a Canadian cultural pay-TV (non-commercial) channel, operated from February 1, 1983 till June 30, 1983. It was licensed as a national service. It went into bankruptcy however, when it did not attract enough cable subscribers willing to pay $16/month for the service.

Several years had passed before there would be another Canadian performing arts network on television, until Bravo! was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in June 1994 for CHUM Limited. Bravo! went on-air for the first time on January 1, 1995.

On June 22, 2007, CTVgm gained control of Bravo! as a result of a takeover of CHUM Limited.

Original programs

Between programs, Bravo! often airs specially commissioned short films by Canadian artists, which may range from comedy to drama to opera to jazz to animation. Many of these also air on Bravo!'s weekly series "Bravo!Fact Presents".

* "Arts & Minds"
* "Live at the Rehearsal Hall"
* "Bathroom Divas"
* "Bravo!Fact Presents"
* "Bravo! Videos"
* "Godiva's
* "In the Mind of..."
* "On Screen"
* "Page to Screen"
* "Scanning the Movies"
* "TaLkin bLuEs"
* "The Actors"
* "The Directors"
* "The Producers"
* "What a Circus!"
* "Literature Alive"

Bravo! has also produced a number of notable specials, including a telecast of Canadian rock band Spirit of the West's "Open Heart Symphony" concert with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

CRTC licence-related external links

* [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/Decisions/1994/DB94-281.htm CRTC Decision 1994-281 - 1994-2000 Original licence]
* [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/1998/DB98-150.htm CRTC Decision 1998-150 - Permission to increase hourly advertising from 8 to 12 minutes maximum.]
* [http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/eng/Decisions/2001/DB2001-231.htm CRTC Decision 2001-231 - 2001-2007 Licence Renewal]

External links

* [http://www.bravo.ca Bravo!]