OLN

OLN
OLN logo
Launched	October 17, 1997
Owned by	Rogers Media
Picture format	1080i (HDTV) (2011-present) 480i (SDTV) (1997-present)
Country	Canada
Broadcast area	National
Headquarters	Toronto, Ontario
Formerly called	Outdoor Life Network
Website	http://www.oln.ca/
Availability
Satellite
Bell TV	Channel 411 (SD)
Shaw Direct	Channel 457 (SD)
Cable
Available on most Canadian cable systems	Check local listings, channels may vary
IPTV
Bell Aliant TV	Channel 102 (SD)
Bell Fibe TV	Channel 411 (SD)
MTS	Channel 176 (SD)
Optik TV	Channel 119 (SD)
SaskTel	Channel 128 (SD)

OLN (formerly Outdoor Life Network) is a Canadian English-language Category A specialty channel. OLN primarily broadcasts factual-based action and adventure-related programming. OLN is wholly owned by Rogers Media, although the "OLN" name continues to be licensed from Bonnier Group, publishers of Outdoor Life magazine.^[1]

History

Licensed in September 1996 as Outdoor Life by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the channel launched on October 17, 1997 as Outdoor Life Network. Its initial owners were Baton Broadcasting (later CTVglobemedia, now Bell Media), Rogers Media, and the Outdoor Life Network in the U.S., which was later acquired by Comcast.

It was announced on November 16, 2007, that Rogers would acquire the remaining interests in OLN from both CTVgm and Comcast,^[2] leaving Rogers as the sole owner of OLN. The deal was approved by the CRTC on July 7, 2008. It closed on August 1, with Rogers taking operational control on August 31.

Programming

OLN was based on an American channel of the same name which had launched earlier in 1995. Unlike its U.S. counterpart, which had no restrictions on the types of sports it could carry, OLN in Canada is not permitted to air professional "stick-and-ball" sporting events, such as National Hockey League games, per its Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) licence,^[3] though it has aired events such as the 2000 European Football Championship and the annual Tour de France, which both take place outside. As a result it did not follow the U.S. channel's lead in adopting the "Versus" name in 2006, nor has it carried a significant amount of the U.S. channel's programming since that time. Versus became the NBC Sports Network in 2012.

The channel is also a participant in the successful bid by Bell Media / Rogers Media for the Canadian broadcast rights to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Noted programs

• RC-TV
• Beyond Survival
• Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura
• Departures
• Descending
• Ed's Up
• Man v. Food
• Mantracker
• Monsterquest
• Operation Repo
• Survivorman
• UFO Hunters
• The Dudesons
• Storage Wars
• Note: series list is current as of August 4th 2011

OLN HD

On June 24, 2011, Rogers launched OLN HD, a high definition simulcast of OLN. It is currently available on EastLink and Rogers Cable.^[4]

Logos

1997–2003	2003–2005	2005–2011	2011-present

References

External links

• OLN

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