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FYI Channel shutting down Dec. 2019

12K views 14 replies 10 participants last post by  TV64Niagara 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
EDIT by Dr.Dave: Telus Posted November 25, 2019 that BBC Canada, Cartoon Network and Fashion Television will all remain active and available as individual channels and as part of the theme packs they are currently included in. FYI however will still be unavailable.

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From the Telus site:

BBC Canada Channel Update
As of December 5th, 2019, the BBC Canada channel will no longer be available due to a recent channel provider change. As such, this channel will no longer be available on its own or within the following packages:

Ultimate Theme Pack
Movies and More Theme Pack
Variety 2 Theme Pack

Cartoon Network Channel Update
As of December 5th, 2019, the Cartoon Network channel will no longer be available due to a recent channel provider change. As such, this channel will no longer be available on its own or within the following packages:

Ultimate Theme Pack
Movies and More Theme Pack
Family 1 Theme Pack

FYI Channel Update
As of December 5th, 2019, the FYI channel will no longer be available due to a recent channel provider change. As such, this channel will no longer be available on its own or within the following packages:

Ultimate Theme Pack
Variety Theme Pack
Lifestyle 2 Theme Pack

Fashion Television Channel Update
As of December 5th, 2019, the Fashion Television channel will no longer be available due to a recent channel provider change. As such, this channel will no longer be available on its own or within the following package:

Lifestyle 2 Theme Pack

https://www.telus.com/en/bc/support/article/satellite-tv-service-updates#programming_updates
 
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#2 ·
Looks like Telus is pretty good at taking away channels and raising prices. Telus just resells Bell satellite and it is the same. That's part of the reason I got rid of Bell.

Are all these channels actually shutting down or are they just being dropped by Telus? "Due to a recent channel provider change" does not make that clear. If they are actually shutting down, all I can say is, it's about time. BBC Canada stopped airing anything worth watching from the BBC or BBC America many years ago. The others aren't much better.
 
#4 ·
They are listed on the Telus Satellite section as being removed on December 5th, and that post is dated September 30th. The Optik TV section makes no mention of any channel removals.
 
#5 ·
Just a clarification - there is no evidence that these channels are shutting down. It looks like are being dropped by Bell satellite. Telus just resells Bell satellite. There is no mention of the channels being removed from Telus Optik TV. If the channels were shutting down, Telus would have posted messages there as well.

https://www.telus.com/en/bc/support/article/optik-tv-service-updates#programming_updates

It's a little confusing since Telus used the same wording as when a channel is shutting down, but in this case the "channel provider" is Bell satellite.

The other reason that I think it is specific to Bell Satellite, that there are 2 different channel owners: Cartoon Network, BBC Canada and FYI are owned by Corus and Fashion TV is owned by Bell Media. The odds that both these 2 companies both chose to shut down channels on Dec. 5 seem very unlikely - I could see a month-end date as a possible coincidence.

This is also being discussed in the Bell Satellite TV Channel Thread where the most likely reason is that Bell is removing these less popular Standard Definition channels to make room for a new HD channel.

EDIT: I see denben73 also posted as I was typing this.
 
#6 ·
It sounds like Bell is dropping them due to being in SD. Chances are that Bell is dropping Fashion TV both because it is in SD and due to channel carriage ratios placed on BDUs by the CRTC. If the broadcasters have not invested in HD upgrades for these channels by now then it's probably time to shut them down anyway. BBC and FYI were doing subscribers a disservice by airing HD shows letterboxed in SD. I resent having to pay for these zombie channels*.

*zombie channel - A channel that has very low investment in programming and technology but makes a profit from subscriber fees by being carried in large programming packages by most BDUs. To paraphrase, a dead channel that stays alive by sucking the life out of living channels and subscribers.
 
#8 ·
It may be in HD on Rogers. That doesn't make much difference though. Crappy programming in HD is still crappy programming. Anything from BBC UK or BBC America I've watched in the past few years has been on other channels. I don't know if BBC Canada has created any new programming of its own or with BBC. I believe other Canadian channels such as CBC have made new programs in conjunction with BBC.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Telus Optik posted that "As of December 31st, 2019, the FYI channel will no longer be available due to a recent channel provider change."

None of the other channels mentioned so far are being dropped. Telus Optik is dropping TLN (Telelatino) as of January 9, 2020, but that sounds like a Telus decision.

@DarksideDan I've seen comments that A & E will introduce the U.S. version of the FYI channel, but I haven't seen an official confirmation.
 
#15 ·
A&E Television Networks, LLC should ask the Canadian Radio - Television & Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in Gatineau, Quebec for authorization to bring the American Cable Pay Specialty Channel FYI to Canada to be added to the CRTC's list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution in Canada.

FYI is a contemporary lifestyle network, starting in mid 2014. By February, FYI had a slate of six new series including three food series, two home design series, and one style series, with other shows also in development, including pilot orders of Red Hot Design and Jennifer's Way. In April, Midnight Feast was greenlit for the new channel while two others—Say it to my face and Reverse Course—were ordered to pilot.

With the June 2014 announcement of the 2015 end of the ABC Owned Television Stations-run subscription network Live Well Network, some of its programming was being offered to FYI, which shared partial ABC ownership.[12] The network launched on July 7, 2014, with a preview special, FYI: First Look, featuring previews of the network's new programming. Its first new original series, Married at First Sight, premiered the next day.

In January 2015, following the success of its Six Months Later special, FYI ordered Married at First Sight: The First Year.

FYI launched as the U.S. version of The Biography Channel 21 years on January 1, 1999 then it changed its name to FYI in June 2014. In December 2013, A+E Networks announced that The Biography Channel would be rebranded as FYI, a contemporary lifestyle network, starting in mid 2014.[8] By February, FYI had a slate of six new series including three food series, two home design series, and one style series, with other shows also in development,[9] including pilot orders of Red Hot Design and Jennifer's Way. In April, Midnight Feast was greenlit for the new channel while two others—Say it to my face and Reverse Course—were ordered to pilot.
 
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