Eastlink drops Corus channels in carriage dispute

Showcase, HGTV, Food Network, YTV and Cartoon Network are among the channels being removed June 27.

A carriage dispute has led cable provider Eastlink to drop 34 channels owned by Corus.

In a notice Eastlink posted to its website and sent to customers this week, the company said it would drop Corus’ specialty cable channels, which include Showcase, History, HGTV, W Network, Food Network, OWN, YTV, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Treehouse, among many others. Global OnDemand will also be removed, though Global, as an over-the-air network, was not included on the list.

The change will be effective June 27.

For current subscribers to the Corus channels, Eastlink is offering to replace them with seven channels owned by Blue Ant: BBC Earth, BBC First, Cottage Life, Love Nature, Makeful, Smithsonian and Travel & Escape.

According to Eastlink, the decision came after it was unable to reach an agreement with Corus regarding carriage of its channels. Details of the dispute have yet to be publicly shared. The CRTC has rules that prevent carriers from this type of action in carriage negotiations, but they can only be enforced if one of the parties has made an application before the regulatory body.

As of Friday, no requests or filings by either party have been published by the CRTC. Corus has yet to comment on the dispute.

Based in Nova Scotia, Eastlink has roughly 250,000 cable subscribers across Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

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