In the 1980s, a precursor to Bravo existed called
C Channel. The service was boasted as a national commercial-free
pay television channel that focused on arts programming. C Channel launched on February 1, 1983, before it went bankrupt and ceased operations five months later on June 30 of that year due to its inability to attract a sufficient number of subscribers at a price of $16 per month. Over 10 years later, another attempt at an arts-based channel was proposed when
CHUM Limited applied to the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a license to operate Bravo. In June 1994, CHUM's application for Bravo was approved, citing its nature of service as focusing on "performance and drama programming, as well as documentary and discussion".
Bravo was launched on January 1, 1995, licensing the name from
Rainbow Media, who partnered with CHUM to launch MuchMusic USA (later known as
Fuse TV).
Sale to CTVglobemedia/Bell Media In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (later called
CTVglobemedia) announced that it would purchase CHUM for an estimated
CAD$1.7 billion, included in the sale was Bravo The sale was approved by the CRTC on June 8, 2007, and the transaction was completed on June 22, 2007 while the Citytv stations were sold to
Rogers Media. After CTVglobemedia's purchase of Bravo, the channel increasingly shifted its focus toward more television and film dramas (such as
Criminal Minds), and lessened its focus on arts programming. On September 10, 2010,
BCE Inc. (a minority shareholder in CTVglobemedia) announced that it planned to acquire 100% interest in CTVglobemedia for a total debt and equity transaction cost of $3.2 billion. The deal was approved by the CRTC on March 7, 2011, and was finalized on April 1 of that year, on which CTVglobemedia was rebranded Bell Media. a
high definition simulcast feed of Bravo, which broadcasts in the
1080i resolution format, was launched later that year on October 6, 2011. While under Bell Media ownership, Bravo unveiled a new on-air logo and new on-air presentation in 2012 as part of an extensive network rebranding. On June 6, 2013, Bell announced that Bravo would become the company's first network to implement a
TV Everywhere service, which would allow subscribers of participating television service providers that carry Bravo to stream
video on demand content as well as a live feed of the Bravo channel via the Bravo Go
app. Bravo adjusted its programming strategy in 2017, aiming to build upon the premiere of ''
The Handmaid's Tale'' by adding more series that were "smart but bold", and series that appeal to women without "alienating" male audiences. On June 7, 2018, it was announced that Bravo would be re-branded as "CTV Drama", as part of a re-branding of several Bell Media specialty channels under the
CTV name. The following year, it was revealed the channel would rebrand as
CTV Drama Channel on September 12, 2019. Bell also announced a commitment to order 20 made-for-TV film adaptations of
Harlequin novels from Harlequin Studios, which would air on CTV Drama Channel and
Vrak. In June 2024, Rogers announced a licensing agreement with Comcast subsidiary
NBCUniversal to relaunch the
Bravo brand in Canada in September of that year. On August 28, 2024, Rogers confirmed that
OLN would relaunch as Bravo on September 1. ==Programming==