2011 in Canadian television

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of events affecting Canadian television in 2011. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings.

January

Date Event
3The US-Canadian animated television series The Adventures of Chuck and Friends begins airing on Treehouse.
5The US-Canadian animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic begins airing on Treehouse.
6Almost 7 million people watch the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships final on TSN and RDS.[1]
11YTV and Family Channel both launch high-definition simulcasts of their east coast video feeds, effectively becoming the first children's networks in Canada to air in HD. These feeds are available through all major television providers in Canada. The latter also undergoes a major rebranding.

February

Date Event
7Niagara News TV, a Category B regional news channel serving the Niagara Region, begins broadcasting in Niagara Falls on Cogeco Cable digital channel 556. The channel would later indefinitely suspend operations on April 18, 2011, because of "technical difficulties" cited by owner Peninsula Broadcasting Corporation's president Frank Thibault, with plans to resume operations by fall 2011.[2]

March

Date Event
1Corus Entertainment relaunches Viva as the Canadian version of the Oprah Winfrey Network.

April

Date Event
12A combined 3.2 million people watch the 2011 federal leaders debate on the three main networks.[3]
18Category B channel Sun News Network debuts, with Toronto independent station CKXT-DT and its Hamilton, Ottawa and London translators being effectively turned into a full-power broadcast relay of the network in Southern Ontario.

May

Date Event
2Mlle, a French-language Category B service aimed at women owned by Groupe TVA, launches.

June

Date Event
1WildBrain TV launched as Disney XD; the WildBrain-owned specialty channel, formerly owned by Astral Media (licensed separately from premium channel Family Channel, which held programming from the U.S. Disney XD's sister network Disney Channel until 2015) was aimed at an audience between 7 and 15 years old. As Family was previously licensed as a premium television service, and like the channel itself and unlike its sister channel Family Jr. and, at the time, unlike its former sister channels The Movie Network and MPix, and like their former joint venture Teletoon (co-owned with Corus Entertainment at the time) and their BC CBC affiliates, the channel ran commercials during programs.
158.7 million people watch Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals on CBC.[4]
24OLN is launched in high-definition.

August

Date Event
2Launch of W Network in high-definition.
27The state funeral for opposition leader Jack Layton airs live on all the main television networks.[5]
29The A television system, as well as Alberta-based educational/entertainment service Access rebrand as CTV Two. At the same time, CJAL-TV (channel 9) in Edmonton and CIAN-TV (channel 13) in Calgary, which both relayed Access' programming over-the-air sign off the air as Access is licensed as a satellite-to-cable undertaking.
31Analog television is switched off in all of Canada.

September

Date Event
7The 2011 Gemini Awards air on CBC Television.

October

Date Event
3Rogers Communications launches CityNews Channel, a Category B 24-hour regional cable news channel available in Ontario, based out of the studios of Citytv flagship station CITY-DT.
31FX Canada launches across the country, the Rogers Communications-owned Category B channel primarily carries original programming from the U.S. cable network FX.

November

Date Event
1Toronto station CKXT-DT (channel 52) and its Hamilton and London, Ontario transmitters shut down. CKXT's Ottawa transmitter shut down more than two months earlier on August 31. The move by owner Quebecor Media was due to a CRTC inquiry in early July on the company's usage of the CKXT signal to simulcast Sun News.

Television programs

Programs debuting in 2011

Series currently listed here have been announced by their respective networks as scheduled to premiere in 2011. Note that shows may be delayed or cancelled by the network between now and their scheduled air dates.

ShowStationPremiere Date
The Adventures of Chuck and Friends Treehouse TV January 3
InSecurity CBC January 4
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Treehouse TV January 5
Almost Naked Animals YTV January 7
The Marilyn Denis Show CTV January 10
Being Human Space January 17
Skins The Movie Network/Movie Central
Blackstone APTN January 25
Mr. Young YTV March 1
Funny as Hell HBO Canada March 11
My Babysitter's a Vampire: The Series Teletoon March 14 (English)
February 28 (French)
Endgame Showcase March 14
Splatalot! YTV
Scaredy Squirrel April 3
Wipeout Canada TVtropolis
Til Debt Do Us Part: Home Edition HGTV April 7
Decked Out
Top Chef Canada Food Network
King Showcase April 17
XIII: The Series April 20
Combat Hospital Global April 21
Really Me Family April 22
Debra! Family June 4
Picnicface The Comedy Network August 31
Intervention Canada Slice September 9
Michael: Tuesdays and Thursdays CBC September 14
Cover Me Canada September 18
Crash Canyon Teletoon at Night
Recipe to Riches Food Network and Global October 19
The West Block Global November 6

Programs ending in 2011

ShowStationEnd date
Carl² Teletoon January 23
Make the Politician Work CBC February 27
Total Drama World Tour Teletoon April 24
Météo+ TFO April 28
Kid vs Kat YTV June 4
Dan for Mayor CTV September 13
Hiccups
So You Think You Can Dance Canada
How to Be Indie YTV October 24
Being Erica CBC December 12

Made for TV movies & miniseries

ShowStationPremiere Date
The Kennedys History Television April 10
John A.: Birth of a Country CBC Television September 19

Deaths

DateNameAgeNotabilitySource
January 8 Peter Donaldson 57 Known best for his stage work, he had recurring guest spots on Road to Avonlea, Street Legal, and Emily of New Moon, starring as John Adams in Liberty! The American Revolution. [6]
March 26 Roger Abbott 64 British-born Canadian sketch comedian, best known for his years on radio and television program Royal Canadian Air Farce (1975–2010). Also co-executive produced XPM (2003). [7]
April 4 Wayne Robson Canadian television, film and stage actor best known for playing the part of Mike Hamar, an ex-con on The Red Green Show. He won Gemini Awards for And Then You Die (1987) and The Diviners (1993). [8]
April 17 Michael Sarrazin 70 Canadian film and television. Recurring role on The City. Guest spots on The Virginian, Wojeck, Street Legal, Murder, She Wrote, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. [9]
June 9 Claude Léveillée 78 Singer appearing on French television as an actor. [10]
July 5 Gordon Tootoosis CM 69 Canadian film, television, and theatre actor of Cree and Stoney descent, Order of Canada winner. In 2011, he co-starred in Blackstone, a series for APTN and Showcase. Television roles include Albert Golo on North of 60, for which he was twice nominated for a Gemini Award, and the voice of Mushom in Wapos Bay: The Series, for which he shared a Gemini Award. Guest spots include MacGyver, Northern Exposure, Lonesome Dove: The Series, and Smallville. [11]
September 15 Frances Bay 92 Canadian-born American actress (Seinfeld, Happy Days, The Middle) [12]

Television stations

Debuts

Date Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes/References
August 1 Bellingham, Washington (USA)
(Vancouver, British Columbia)
KBCB-DT2 24.2 Estrella TV
August 18 KVOS-DT2 12.2 TheCoolTV (not to be confused with Canadian cable channel CoolTV)
October 3 Toronto, Ontario CityNews Channel (cable-only) CityNews

Network affiliation changes

Date Market Station Channel Old affiliation New affiliation References
April 18 Toronto, Ontario CKXT-TV/DT 52 (analogue)
66 (digital)
Independent Sun News Network (simulcast)
April 25 Bellingham, Washington (USA)
(Vancouver, British Columbia)
KVOS-TV 12.1 Independent MeTV [13][14]

Closures

Date Market Station Channel Affiliation Notes
November 1 Toronto, Ontario CKXT-TV/DT 52 (analog)
66 (digital)
Sun News Network

See also

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI