see outtv europe . outtv launched september 7 2001 2001 09 07 owned by shavick entertainment 95.84 % re source media 4.16 % outtv network inc. picture format 1080i hdtv 480i sdtv country canada language english broadcast area nationwide headquarters toronto ontario formerly called pridevision tv 2001 2004 hard on pridevision 2004 2005 website www.outtv.ca availability satellite bell tv channel 609 sd shaw direct channel 574 sd cable available on most canadian cable systems consult your local cable provider for channel availability iptv bell aliant tv channel 249 sd bell fibe tv channel 1609 hd mts channel 295 sd channel 1295 hd optik tv channel 347 sd channel 9347 hd sasktel channel 108 sd channel 408 hd zazeen channel 137 sd vmedia channel 269 sd outtv stylized outtv is a canadian english language category a cable and satellite specialty channel . launching in september 2001 outtv broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the lgbt community . based in toronto ontario with additional offices in vancouver british columbia the network is owned by the vancouver based shavick entertainment with a smaller minority stake owned by re source media . contents 1 history 1.1 as pridevision 1.1.1 carriage difficulties 1.2 sale split and re launch as outtv 1.3 acquisition by shavick entertainment 2 programming 3 international distribution 4 references 5 external links history edit as pridevision edit logo as pridevision tv used from 2001 to 2004 . the channel was launched on september 7 2001 as pridevision tv . owned by headline media group it was canada s first 24 hour cable television channel targeted at lgbt audiences . 1 it was also the second lgbt focused channel to be established in the world after the gay cable network in the u.s. which shut down in 2001 . pridevision tv was one of 21 digital specialty services that were granted a category 1 license by the canadian radio television and telecommunications commission crtc on november 24 2000 ; all digital cable and direct broadcast satellite providers would be obliged to carry the network in their lineup . headline media group owned 70.1 % of the licence while alliance atlantis owned the remaining interest . 2 in february 2001 before the channel was launched alliance atlantis sold its entire interest in the licence to headline media group which became the sole owner of the licence . 3 the network launched with a lineup of lifestyle and general entertainment programming consisting of dramas comedies feature films documentaries and talk shows during the day and in prime time as well as pornographic films nightly after 12 00 a.m. eastern time . as pridevision the channel maintained a national advisory committee to provide input and feedback on the station s programming and its effectiveness at serving lgbt communities . 4 the committee included businessman and activist jim deva outlooks publisher roy heale egale canada executive director john fisher suzanne girard of divers cit carmela laurignano of evanov communications winnipeg mayor glen murray toronto city councillor kyle rae metropolitan community church of toronto pastor brent hawkes ruby hamilton of pflag and halifax businesswoman shelley taylor . 4 carriage difficulties edit pridevision had considerable difficulty building an audience in its early years due primarily to its pornographic programming the network did not have a timeshift channel for the west coast which led to pridevision s adult content airing as early as 9 00 p.m. in the pacific time zone . as such the channel was marketed by many television providers as a standalone premium service adult channel rather than in a bundle with other specialty services considerably reducing the number of potential subscribers . the channel also faced particular resistance from shaw cable the largest cable television provider in western canada which was accused of constraining the availability of pridevision during the channel s first few months in operation . during a three month long free preview period that was mandated by the crtc to help launch the slate of new digital specialty channels that had launched at that time shaw customers who tuned to pridevision were prompted with a screen and had to navigate through various others to ultimately come to the conclusion that they were to be charged a 1 fee to view the channel . this process would have to repeated every time a customer turned back to pridevision including the 1 fee . 5 this process was not required for any other similarly licensed specialty channel . pridevision took its concerns to the crtc who sided with the network and ordered shaw to properly offer a free preview of pridevision to its customers . 6 mounting issues with distribution disputes with television service providers slow growth among digital channels as a whole among the industry 7 and faced with criticisms of providing a weak mix of programming 8 pridevision was losing a considerable amount of money . the channel s subscriber base grew much more slowly than expected with only roughly 20 000 subscribers by the end of 2002 9 10 compared to channels such as ifc which had over 520 000 subscribers in the same time period . 10 to help grow its subscriber base pridevision offered another free preview period to its distributors and launched a promotional campaign with the slogan with only 20 000 subscribers we are impotent help pridevision tv get it up stating that the channel was in danger of going out of business if it was not supported . many in the gay community interpreted this as the company blaming them for the channel s problems although the owners denied this . 8 despite this pridevision s subscriptions did increase slowly . in an effort to reduce its losses staff at pridevision were cut from 25 to 10 9 most of its original programming was dropped and the street level studio on church street in toronto was closed in december 2002 . 11 sale split and re launch as outtv edit on december 3 2003 headline media group announced that it was selling a majority interest in pridevision to 6166954 canada inc. a consortium led by broadcaster william craig . craig would own the majority share in the company and act as managing partner while pink triangle press and various other independent production companies and investors held minority stakes . headline media retained a minority stake in the company . 12 the transaction was finalized later in 2004 . in september 2004 6166954 canada submitted an application to the crtc for a new premium service which would be devoted to gay adult programming . 13 in november pridevision expanded its adult programming now branded as hard on pridevision into primetime from 9 00 p.m. 6 00 a.m. eastern time in preparation for the expansion of the block into a 24 hour service alongside a non adult network tentatively named glow tv . 14 logo as pridevision tv used from 2001 to 2004 . in february 2005 it was officially announced that pridevision would drop its adult programming and re launch as outtv in march 2005 alongside the launch of the new channel known as hard on pridevision . its license was approved on march 4 2005 . 15 craig explained that the split was necessary for multiple reasons the removal of adult programming would make outtv more attractive to television providers and improve its distribution and the narrower focus would allow the two networks to expand their lineups with more programming of interest to the lgbt community . 16 logo as outtv used from 2005 to 2008 . hard on pridevision was expected to launch on april 7 2005 but the launch was delayed to april 12 due to difficulties gaining carriage . concurrently with the official launch of hard pridevision was re branded as outtv with a 24 hour lineup of general entertainment and lifestyle programming . even with the launch of hard and the removal of all adult content from the newly renamed outtv the channel was still facing resistance from shaw communications and its national satellite television service star choice . both distributors wanted to continue packaging outtv as a standalone premium service rather than a general interest specialty channel which most other major television providers had done . 17 outtv filed a complaint with the crtc ; however the parties settled their disagreement before the matter was taken to a hearing before the crtc and had agreed on a packaging deal . a similar deal was made with bell later that year . 18 acquisition by shavick entertainment edit logo as outtv used from 2008 to july 1 2012 . on july 19 2006 shavick entertainment a film and television producer based in vancouver british columbia announced it would acquire the majority interest in both outtv and hard on pridevision from william craig . shavick also announced plans to rename outtv upgrade the technology infrastructure and provide a wider variety of programming to the channel . shavick listed its hollywood based partner regent studios owners of american lgbt channel here as a major content provider to the channel . 19 in 2008 the channel ended its long standing dispute with shaw cable securing an agreement that would see the channel marketed and distributed in the same package as other category a digital channels . 20 on december 3 2009 the crtc approved an application that would see hardtv sold and spun off into its own company 4510810 canada inc. a company owned by pink triangle press 55 % and peace point entertainment 45 % . the transaction closed at a later date . on may 23 2012 outtv announced that it had passed 1 million subscribers and would launch a high definition feed on july 2 2012 . concurrently the network also introduced a new logo and refreshed on air branding . 21 the hd simulcast feed was launched on july 2 and the new website was launched on january 17 2013 . in december 2012 shavick entertainment purchased pink triangle press s 24.94 % interest and peace point entertainment group s 15 % interest in the channel . 22 under shavick s management the channel has seen significant increases in its subscriber base going from just 185 000 subscribers when they first purchased the channel 23 to over 1.2 million today . 24 the channel s improved ratings have been driven most significantly by the hit reality series rupaul s drag race 25 although the channel has also seen ratings success with sex & violence an original drama series created by canadian film director thom fitzgerald . 26 a nationwide free preview period in march 2014 saw the network achieve fully 300 per cent higher ratings than the same month in the previous year 25 and led to a rise in new subscriptions in the months following the preview . in 2013 the channel applied to the crtc to have its canadian content commitment reduced from 49 to 35 per cent of revenues . 27 according to chief operations officer brad danks the library of viable lgbt themed canadian programming is limited enough that the channel has sometimes had to rely on repeat airings of programming from other networks such as the talk shows 1 girl 5 gays and steven & chris on not obviously gay programs such as the new addams family and on overscheduling multiple airings of the same programming to meet its licensing obligations . 27 outtv is also a partner with wolfe video in gaydirect a premium subscription channel for lgbt content on youtube . 24 programming edit main article list of programs broadcast by outtv international distribution edit in mid 2006 outtv ventured into its first international market when it reached a deal with selectv to distribute the network on its lineup in australia through a package called curvetv . however in early 2007 outtv and the curvetv package was discontinued due to a low number of subscriptions . on april 4 2008 a european version