ERT World (Canada)
| ERT World | |
|---|---|
|
ERT World logo | |
| Launched | November 2001 |
| Owned by | Odyssey Television Network |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) |
| Country | Canada |
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Formerly called |
Odyssey II ERT Sat |
| Sister channel(s) |
Odyssey MEGA Cosmos |
| Website | ERT World Canada |
Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Bell TV | Channel 714 |
| IPTV | |
| Bell Fibe TV | Channel 890 |
ERT World is a Canadian exempt Category B Greek language specialty channel and is owned by Odyssey Television Network. It broadcasts programming from ERT World and local Canadian content produced by Odyssey TV. It launched in November 2001 on Rogers Cable.
Programming on ERT World Canada includes news, talk shows, documentaries, sports, cultural programs and more. ERT World is the international service of ERT, Greece's public broadcaster. ERT World is also unofficially referred to as OTN2.
History
ERT World Canada was licensed by the CRTC on December 14, 2000 as Odyssey II.[1]
Since its inception in 2001 up until 2003, Odyssey II (as it was then known) featured programming from Greece's top private network - MEGA Channel. In the summer of 2003, a dispute arose between Odyssey Television Network and the North American distributors of MEGA Channel and the programming was subsequently pulled. A short while later, OTN2 began airing programming from ERT World which subsequently led to the channel being renamed ERT World Canada.
In June 2013, ERT World was shut down in Greece by the Greek government due to a restructuring of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation. The government had announced that a new, smaller public broadcaster would launch in early 2014 and it would feature an international feed for Greeks abroad. Due to continued political instability in Greece and several changes in government, the public broadcasting service has gone through significant turmoil. As of 2016, there is still no indication of when or if ERT will re-launch their international service. Due to the loss of programming, ERT World Canada has been airing programming from Greek Cinema since the shut down of ERT World, on a temporary basis.
On July 30, 2013, Rogers Cable replaced ERT World Canada in their lineup with Alpha Sat, a private network from Greece.
On August 30, 2013, the CRTC approved Odyssey Television Network's request to convert ERT World Canada from a licensed Category B specialty service to an exempted Cat. B third language service.[2]