TORONTO – Leonard Asper’s Anthem Media Group Inc. plans to launch EdgeSport, a sports channel featuring the best in extreme action programming.
Anthem listed no timeline for the launch, which it mentioned in its submission to the CRTC’s TV Policy Review. EdgeSport will broadcast AMA Super Cross, World Snowboard Tour, and ASP Surfing, as well as the most important tournaments and leading events in these fields. The service will provide documentaries, films, athlete profiles and biographies – and will also be available in a multiplatform distribution.
EdgeSport would be the third programming service for AMGI, a Canadian company that also owns Category B independent programming services Fight Network and the FNTSY Sports Network. Leonard Asper, former Canwest Global CEO is president of Anthem Media Group.
“Anthem hopes to bring even more programming services to the Canadian broadcasting system which will further the range of choices available to Canadian consumers,” stated AMGI. “These programming services will create compelling and diverse Canadian content. This content will satisfy Canadians at home while at the same time bringing a Canadian perspective to the world through the licensing and broadcast of that content in a variety of nations. All of which employs Canadians and encourages investment in broadcast infrastructure.”
Anthem supports the Commission’s idea that measures, such as imposing distribution requirements, undue preference provisions or other measures such as those set out in the VI Code, are needed to ensure the availability of non-vertically integrated programming services with BDUs.
