E!

The current incarnation of E! is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Based on the U.S. cable network of the same name, E! is devoted to entertainment programming including news, film, television, celebrities and fashion. Comcast / NBCUniversal licenses the name and programming for the channel under a brand licensing agreement, but it doesn't hold an ownership interest. The network was originally launched in 1999 as the similarly formatted Star!, under the ownership of CHUM Limited. In 2010, the channel reached a deal to license the name and branding of the U.S. E! network (following a short-lived incarnation as a television system formerly known as CH). History The channel was licensed in 1996 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and was launched on September 10, 1999 as Star!, which was originally owned by CHUM Limited. In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (later renamed CTVglobemedia) announced that it would purchase CHUM for an estimated $1.7 billion CAD, including Star!. The sale was subject to CRTC approval and was approved in June 2007, with the transaction completed on June 22, 2007. That fall, Star!'s daily entertainment news program Star! Daily was cancelled and replaced with its CTV-produced competitor, etalk. As a result of the changes, the Citytv stations were sold to Rogers Media that same year.