Bell Media has inked a content and licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Global TV Distribution for the channels USA Network and Oxygen True Crime.
The deal will see USA Network replace Bell Media’s Discovery channel, while Oxygen True Crime will take over Investigation Discovery. The takeover will happen on Jan. 1, 2025, following the end of Bell Media’s agreement with Discovery licence-holder Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The deal marks the first time that USA Network and Oxygen True Crime will be available as channels in Canada, according to a news release. Original programming has previously been licensed to existing Canadian channels.
On the same day, Bell Media will also rebrand its other Discovery channels to match its CTV-branded offerings. Animal Planet will be CTV Wild, Discovery Science will become CTV Nature and Discovery Velocity will change to CTV Speed.
The Canadian USA Network will continue to host Discovery’s Canadian originals like Highway Thru Hell (pictured) and The Mighty franchise, in addition to airing series such as Suits and The Traitors. Meanwhile, Oxygen True Crime will continue Canadian originals such as Forensic Factor and Fear Thy Neighbour.
The deal follows Bell Media’s settled legal dispute with WBD after the U.S. mediaco had signed over the Discovery rights to its competitor Rogers Communications. As a result, Bell Media inked an expanded content deal with WBD, holding rights to HBO and Max originals for the foreseeable future and setting a development deal for original Canadian programming.
Rogers will be launching six channels on Jan. 1, 2025, including Discovery and Discovery ID, while content from Motor Trend, Animal Planet and Discovery Science will be made available on its streaming service Citytv+.
This article originally appeared on PlaybackOnline.