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| cable serv 1 = Available on several Canadian cable systems
| cable serv 1 = Available on several Canadian cable systems
| cable chan 1 = Check local listings, channels may vary
| cable chan 1 = Check local listings, channels may vary
| iptv serv 1 = [[Bell Fibe TV]]
| iptv serv 1 = [[Bell Fibe TV]]
| iptv chan 1 = Channel 419 (SD)<br>Channel 1419 (HD)
| iptv chan 1 = Channel 419 (SD)<br>Channel 1419 (HD)
| iptv serv 2 = [[Bell MTS]]
| iptv serv 2 = [[Bell MTS]]
| iptv chan 2 = Channel 183 (SD) <br> Channel 1183 (HD)
| iptv chan 2 = Channel 183 (SD) <br> Channel 1183 (HD)
| iptv serv 3 = [[Telus TV|Optik TV]]
| iptv serv 3 = [[Telus TV|Optik TV]]
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| iptv serv 4 = [[SaskTel]]
| iptv serv 4 = [[SaskTel]]
| iptv chan 4 = Channel 161 (SD)<br> Channel 461 (HD)
| iptv chan 4 = Channel 161 (SD)<br> Channel 461 (HD)
| iptv serv 5 = [[Vmedia|VMedia]]
| iptv serv 5 = [[Vmedia|VMedia]]
| iptv chan 5 = Channel 426 (SD)
| iptv chan 5 = Channel 426 (SD)
}}
}}

Revision as of 21:40, 10 February 2018

World Fishing Network
CountryCanada
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Ownership
OwnerKeywest Marketing (80.1%)
Outdoor Sportsman Group (Kroenke Sports and Entertainment) (19.9%)

World Fishing Network is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel owned by Keywest Marketing Ltd. and the Outdoor Sportsman Group subsidiary of Kroenke Sports and Entertainment. World Fishing Network broadcasts fishing-related programming, including recreational and sport fishing and lifestyle programming.

Although officially named World Fishing Network since its launch, the channel had often been referred to solely as WFN or WFN: World Fishing Network; however, with the rebranding of the channel in January 2014, the channel dropped the WFN moniker and officially began referring itself to solely as World Fishing Network.[1]

History

File:WFN original logo.png
Original logo from 2005 until 2008

In April 2005, Insight Sports, through its subsidiary Global Fishing Network Ltd., was granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a channel called Global Fishing Network, described as "a national English-language Category 2 specialty programming undertaking devoted to fishing and fishing enthusiasts."[2]

The channel was launched on December 2, 2005[3] as World Fishing Network in standard definition on Rogers Cable.

In November 2007, the channel first launched internationally in the United States on Verizon FiOS.[4] A few months later, the channel launched its first high definition channel, in the United States, on Dish Network.[5] The Canadian channel launched its HD feed on September 2, 2010 on Rogers Cable.[6][7] Despite the many firsts with Rogers Cable, the distributor dropped both the SD and HD channels on June 1, 2017.

File:WFNTV.svg
WFN logo from 2008 until 2014

Since the channel's initial launch internationally in the United States, the American feed had also launched with several other American television providers such as Charter Communications,[8] and television providers in the Caribbean, including Flow Cable in Jamaica.[9] The American channel's affiliation with the Canadian channel has since been discontinued when, after Insight Sports sold a 50% stake in the American operations to Altitude Sports and Entertainment (ASE) in January 2011,[10] Insight Sports sold its remaining interest in the channel to ASE's parent company Kroenke Sports Enterprises, in July 2015.[11] However, ASE took a 19.9% interest in the Canadian channel through its division Altitude WFN ULC in 2011.[12]

On January 19, 2017, the CRTC approved the sale of Insight Sports' interest in the Canadian channel to Keywest Marketing Ltd., a company with assets in both publishing and television productions relating to hunting and fishing, among others.[13] The sale of the channel to Keywest Marketing marked Insight Sports' exit from the broadcasting industry, after selling off or shuttering its previous broadcasting assets, including GameTV and NHL Network Canada.

See also

References