Canal+ was a Spanish commercial television channel operated by Sogecable, before its eventual sale to Telefónica. It was available on the digital satellite television and IPTV platform Movistar+.

History

Canal+ began its trial transmissions on June 8, 1990 and it launched as a regular channel on September 14 of the same year on the platform of the same name. In 1997, new channels using the Canal+ brand were launched in Spain, following the launch of Canal Satélite Digital. Just as on the other markets where Canal+ was present, the channels were named after colours: Canal+ Rojo (Canal+ Red) and Canal+ Azul (Canal+ Blue). A special channel broadcasting content in 16:9 aspect ratio was launched later, but it was replaced by a time-shift channel in 2001. In 2003, the colour channels were replaced with the second channel called Canal+ 2 and three dedicated movie channels and three dedicated sports channels. In 2005, the Spanish government agreed to a change in the license terms for the channel. The permission to change the channel from a mostly encrypted channel to a 24-hour free-to-air channel was officially given by the council of ministers on 29 July 2005. From November 2005, its analogue terrestrial frequencies were given to Sogecable's new channel named Cuatro ("Four"). A High-definition version of Canal+ (Canal+ HD) began airing in 2008. In 2010, it became the first Spanish channel to offer 3D TV through Canal+ 3D. Around the same time, Canal+ begun to be offered in other pay-TV operators in Spain outside of Digital+, and in 2011 the channel was renamed as Canal+ 1. Since 2011 Canal+ began broadcasting HBO series like Game of Thrones, Mildred Pierce, Luck, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood and Hung. That deal ended in 2016 when HBO confirmed its launch in Spain. On 8 July 2015, following the creation of Movistar+, cable providers outside of Movistar+, stopped carrying the channel, and it reverted back to its original name of Canal+. From 1 February 2016, it was replaced by a new channel, #0 (Cero).

Programming

Sources:

Original programming

Acquired programming