2016 . jump to navigation search hbo canada launched october 30 2008 owned by bell media picture format 1080i hdtv 480i sdtv country canada language english broadcast area nationwide available as part of the movie network package headquarters toronto ontario replaced mmore eastern canada movie central 4 western canada sister channel s tmn 1 4 timeshift service hbo canada 1 in region feed hbo canada 2 out of region feed website hbo canada availability satellite bell tv 306 east sd 307 west sd 836 & 1258 east hd 837 & 1259 west hd shaw direct 231 east sd 236 west sd 645 east hd 646 west hd cable available on most canadian cable systems consult your local cable provider for channel availability iptv bell aliant 361 east sd 572 east hd 573 west hd bell fibe tv 306 east sd 307 west sd 1306 east hd 1307 west hd mts 209 west sd 210 east sd 1209 west hd 1210 east hd optik tv 9400 west sd 9401 east sd 400 west hd 401 east hd sasktel 203 west sd 1210 west hd vmedia 302 east hd 303 west hd zazeen 172 east hd 173 west hd hbo canada is a multiplex television channel of the canadian premium cable and satellite television service the movie network tmn which is owned by bell media . the channel is primarily devoted to original programming and special events sourced from the hbo and cinemax subscription services in the united states as well as domestic motion pictures . although branded distinctly from tmn s other channels hbo canada is not available as a standalone channel ; customers must subscribe to the entire tmn service of which hbo canada is part . moreover the pick and pay policies being implemented for canadian specialty channels in 2016 do not affect premium services like tmn . time warner the parent company of hbo and cinemax is not a shareholder in hbo canada and only licenses the name logo and programming to bell media . contents 1 history 2 related services 2.1 hbo canada hd 2.2 hbo canada on demand 2.3 hbo go canada 3 programming 3.1 acquired programming 3.2 original programming 3.2.1 current 3.2.2 past 3.3 films 4 references 5 external links history edit prior to october 2008 much of hbo s programming aired in canada on the various multiplex channels of both astral media s the movie network which at the time was available only in eastern canada and corus entertainment s movie central which was offered in western and northern canada . a few hbo programs aired in first run and or second window on basic cable specialty channels such as bravo and showcase . on september 22 2008 the movie network and movie central announced that the two networks would jointly begin offering a dedicated hbo multiplex channel in both standard definition and high definition formats which would debut on october 30 . 1 for tmn subscribers hbo canada replaced mmore and mmore hd while for movie central subscribers hbo canada replaced movie central 4 and movie central 1 hd . as different multiplex channels of a single pay service can not have separate sets of owners astral and corus each held de jure full ownership of hbo canada in the designated service areas of their respectively owned pay services . however in practice the channel was jointly managed by both companies and the hbo canada schedule was common to both services except that tmn s feed of the channel operated on an eastern time zone schedule while movie central fed the same programming two hours later on mountain time . although much of hbo s programming had already aired in canada as discussed above many other programs from the network were not previously widely available in canada ; the new channel was created with the intention to fill the gap . 1 original programming from hbo s sister service cinemax have also been broadcast at times particularly action series that cinemax has aired since broadening its series programming content to include mainstream original series in august 2011 prior to this cinemax s series programming consisted only of softcore pornographic programs . some hbo series already carried by tmn or movie central were initially simulcast on their respective main channels but shortly thereafter hbo programming became exclusive to hbo canada as opposed to any of the other multiplex channels of tmn or movie central . a selection of canadian films and series also airs to satisfy canadian content requirements 1 and programs from other u.s. sources to which tmn and movie central both own rights such as hbo and cinemax competitor showtime may air as well at times . however few feature films that had their original theatrical release in countries outside of canada air on the channel even when those movies air on hbo s main channel in the united states . while under the joint management of tmn and movie central the two timeshifted hbo canada feeds east west in both standard definition and high definition were available nationally to those television providers who wish to carry them ; they both remain available nationally under the restructured national tmn service discussed below . the movie network and some service providers refer to the applicable out of region feed as hbo canada 2 on their websites ; other service providers simply distinguish them as east and west feeds . on march 4 2013 the competition bureau approved the takeover of astral media by bell media . 2 bell filed a new application for the proposed takeover with the crtc on march 6 2013 ; 3 the crtc approved the merger on june 27 2013 4 effectively turning over control of hbo canada in eastern canada to bell . until 2014 hbo canada was in many cases only permitted to offer current seasons of hbo programming on its linear channels or on demand as second window rights to older seasons continued to be sold to basic cable specialty channels such as showcase . in september bell and corus announced a new deal whereby hbo canada can now offer all episodes of all currently produced hbo scripted programming through its various platforms . 5 simultaneously bell announced a separate deal for rights to the off air i.e. series no longer in production hbo catalog for future exploitation similar to hbo s u.s. streaming deal with amazon video . 6 bell later announced that the off air hbo library would become part of its then upcoming streaming service cravetv which had been announced at the time as project latte . 7 on november 19 2015 corus entertainment announced its plans to exit the pay tv business agreeing to shut down movie central in exchange for a c 211 million payment from bell which announced plans to relaunch tmn as a national service . as a result bell took over full operations of hbo canada once the changeover occurred on march 1 2016 . 8 bell also announced a further expansion to its agreement with hbo giving it exclusive rights to distribute all current and library hbo programming on any of its linear vod and digital platforms . 9 related services edit hbo canada hd edit hbo canada hd is a high definition simulcast feed of hbo canada that broadcasts in the 1080i resolution format . the channel launched its hd simulcast feed with the launch of the standard definition feed on october 30 2008 . among others hbo canada hd is currently carried regionally by satellite provider bell tv and cable providers rogers cable bell fibe tv access communications cogeco novus shaw cable optik tv westman communications source cable eastlink and vid otron . hbo canada on demand edit hbo canada operates a subscription video on demand service called hbo canada on demand which is available at no additional charge to new and existing hbo canada subscribers of the movie network and movie central . the hbo canada on demand service which launched with the channel on october 30 2008 offers program content available in standard or high definition including feature films episodes of original series from tmn and movie central as well as imported series from american premium services hbo and cinemax and special behind the scenes features including interviews . hbo canada on demand s rotating program selection incorporates select new titles that are added each friday alongside existing program titles held over from the previous one to two weeks . hbo go canada edit on february 27 2013 the movie network launched hbo go canada as part of the movie network go a website and mobile app for the ipad iphone and ipod touch ; the service features program content available for streaming in standard or high definition . content featured on the service includes original programming produced domestically by hbo canada and acquired from hbo u.s. and its sister service cinemax along with movies comedy specials documentaries and sports programming . 10 hbo go and tmn go were made available at launch to tmn subscribers of bell tv bell fibe tv and cogeco cable 10 and has since also been made available to customers of several other providers including rogers cable eastlink source cable shaw and telus . while in operation movie central offered similar web and mobile access to its programming including hbo canada series but did so through websites and apps maintained by individual service providers and not through a general tv everywhere scheme . programming edit acquired programming edit hbo canada carries the vast majority of original programming produced or distributed by hbo u.s. and certain original programs produced for cinemax such as strike back . in some cases this has included older hbo movies and series no longer available through the american service including mr. show with bob and david . one notable exception to this is sesame street to which hbo acquired the u.s. first run rights in 2016 which continues to air in canada on treehouse tv 11 and in second run on american pbs stations . while hbo boxing coverage is carried on hbo canada several other hbo sports programs are not seen on the channel including real sports with bryant gumbel and hard knocks . some of these exclusions may be due to issues involving leagues or other rightsholders which sometimes retain international distribution rights . for example the canadian rights to 24 7 red wings maple leafs road to the nhl winter classic were sold separately by the nhl to rogers owned sportsnet . 12 hard knocks co produced with the nfl is believed to be in a similar situation . from time to time the channel airs acquired programs which air on other u.s. channels such as you me her from at & t s audience network . 13 original programming edit since the launch of hbo canada many of the canadian series produced by the movie network and previously movie central have also begun airing primarily on the channel . nonetheless these shows are still indicated in introductory bumpers as being tmn and or movie central original programs as opposed to hbo canada original programming . current edit just for laughs presents comedy specials various titles sensitive skin past edit bloodletting & miraculous cures call me fitz funny as hell good dog good god less than kind living in your car sports on fire the yard films edit hbo canada airs a large selection of original films and documentaries produced by or for hbo as well as canadian films from various distributors to which tmn holds broadcast rights . the latter is required as part of tmn s canadian content obligations which much be met separately by each of the service s multiplex channels . the channel does not generally air any non canadian theatrically released films ; however as of 2016 the vast majority of theatrical films aired by hbo and cinemax in the u.s. specifically those released theatrically by