USA Network (Canadian TV channel)
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | 9 Channel Nine Court, Scarborough, Ontario |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | 2953285 Canada Inc. (CTV Specialty Television, Inc. - 80% and managing partner) (Warner Bros. Discovery - 20%, via Discovery Communications, Inc.) |
| Sister channels | CTV CTV 2 CTV Comedy Channel CTV Drama Channel CTV Life Channel CTV Nature Channel CTV Sci-Fi Channel CTV Speed Channel CTV Wild Channel Oxygen Noovo (French language) |
| History | |
| Launched | December 31, 1994 |
| Former names | Discovery Channel (1994–2025) |
| Links | |
| Website | USA Network Canada |
USA Network is a Canadian discretionary specialty television channel owned by 2953285 Canada Inc., a joint venture between CTV Specialty Television, Inc. (consisting of Bell Media & ESPN Inc. that owns 80%; with ESPN's 20% ownership stemming from that subsidiary's ownership of sister network TSN; ESPN is not believed to be involved in the operation of the channel) and Warner Bros. Discovery (which owns the remaining 20% via its holding company Discovery Communications, Inc.). Based on the American channel of the same name, it primarily carries a general entertainment format focusing on television series, films, reality, and sports programming.
The channel was launched on December 31, 1994 by Labatt Communications as Discovery Channel, a Canadian version of the American cable network of the same name; as with its namesake, it primarily aired factual programming relating to topics such as science, technology, and nature, with a mix of original Canadian productions (including a daily news magazine that aired from its launch through 2018) and imported programming. By the 2010s, mirroring similar shifts by its American parent, the network shifted to primarily airing reality-style programs, and later added reruns of scripted programming (particularly police procedurals) from other Bell Media channels.
In June 2024, Rogers Sports & Media announced that it had acquired the Canadian rights to all Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) factual and lifestyle brands beginning January 1, 2025, including Discovery Channel. Bell subsequently announced that it would enter into a licensing agreement with NBCUniversal for two of its Discovery-branded channels, with Discovery being relaunched as USA Network on January 1, 2025. A new iteration of Discovery owned by Rogers concurrently launched the same day.
As a former Category A service, Discovery Channel was required to be carried on the basic service of all digital cable providers across Canada. The channel was, and still is as USA Network, typically offered optionally at the discretion of cable or satellite providers.