Razer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about the television network named Razer. For other meanings see Razer (disambiguation).
| Razer | |
 |
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| Type | Digital cable specialty channel |
|---|---|
| Country |  Canada |
| Availability | National |
| Owner | CHUM Limited |
| Launch date | October 18, 2001 |
| Past names | MTV Canada |
| Website | www.razer.ca |
Razer is a Canadian category 1 digital cable specialty channel, which describes itself as a "young adult-controlled entertainment and information community, supporting what matters to young adults". It debuted in its present form on June 30, 2005, replacing the Craig Media incarnation of MTV Canada (another channel, owned by CTV, has relaunched under that name). It is owned by CHUM Limited.
The station focuses in on trends in entertainment, TV, movies, music, videogames, fashion, technology, sports and leisure. It claims it "champions interactivity and empowers you, allowing you to pick programming, host shows, and participate and contribute to Razer." It also claims that "Razer lives on TV, on the web and in ways not yet invented."
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[edit] History
On November 24, 2000, the CRTC announced the licensees of the new, much-sought Category 1 digital services. Craig Media was granted a licence for a youth lifestyle service known as Connect. One of the licence's conditions was that the channel could not devote more than 10 per cent of its schedule to the airing of music videos, in order to avoid direct competition with CHUM's MuchMusic.
Nonetheless Craig quickly reached an agreement with Viacom to carry MTV programming, prompting a pre-launch name change to MTV Canada. It launched on October 18, 2001. Canadian programs that aired on MTV Canada included Pepsi Breakout, Versus, MTV Select (later renamed 969) and more, while foreign MTV programs that aired were Punk'd, TRL, The Real World and more.
CHUM soon complained to the CRTC that MTV Canada was violating its conditions of licence, becoming a direct competitor to MuchMusic. Craig was forced to make changes to reduce its percentage of music-related programming. However these changes were soon rendered moot as Craig was acquired by CHUM Limited in December 1, 2004, prompting Viacom to exercise its right to cancel the contract with Craig if a change in control were to happen. Plans to rebrand the channel as Razer were announced on June 9, 2005. CTV acquired the rights to MTV programming later in the year, launching its own MTV channel (previously known as talktv) in early 2006.
[edit] Noted Programs
- 969
- America's Dumbest Criminals
- America's Next Top Model
- Basilisk
- Breakout
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
- Clone High
- Cops, Cars & Superstars
- Cowboy Bebop
- Dawsons Creek
- Drop In
- Drop the Beat
- The Electric Playground
- Extreme 16mm
- Freshman on Campus
- Greg the Bunny
- Happy Tree Friends
- Hardcore Candy
- Kontrol
- Ride Guide
- Ride with Funkmaster Flex
- Roswell
- Samurai 7
- Samurai Champloo
- Scare Tactics
- The Wrong Coast
- Trinity Blood
- Under Attack
- World Famous for Dicking Around
- World of Stupid
- Vans Triple Crown
- twice-weekly hit movie night called The RazerFlick
Although initial releases about the station indicated that they were planning to incorporate anime programming into their lineup, anime would not appear on the station until July 2006 with the debut of Basilisk, Samurai 7, and Trinity Blood. Originally the Canadian dubbed Air Master was meant to air on the station upon its launch. However, Toei discontinued their DVD release of the series and subsequently pulled the television rights away from CHUM.
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
| CHUM Limited (pending sale to CTVglobemedia) |
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Television channels: Citytv | A-Channel | Bravo! | CP24 | Drive-In Classics | FashionTelevisionChannel | MuchMusic | MuchMoreMusic | MuchVibe | MuchLOUD | MuchMoreRetro | MusiquePlus (50%) | MusiMax (50%) | PunchMuch | Razer | SexTV: The Channel | SPACE | Star! | TV Land |
