While Telelatino is primarily a digital channel, it is available on analogue in parts of Ontario and Quebec. The channel, known as TLN, was launched in 1984 and is licensed to provide a national program service in Italian, Spanish, English and French. 100% of the programming is required to serve an ethnocultural audience, with a minimum of 75% in third languages, and no more than 25% in English or French. Telelatino is required to spend at least 23% of its previous year’s gross revenues on Canadian programming. It provides a broad range of family programming, including news, sports, music, drama and children’s programs. Telelatino was founded by Emilio Mascia and was originally licensed as a pay-per-view operation, but within a few years, Rogers and other major cable companies began carrying Telelatino on their basic service. Corus Entertainment acquired a controlling interest in the channel in 2001. In March of 2019, the CRTC approved Corus’ sale of its 50.5% stake in Telelatino back to existing stakeholders in the company, including president Aldo Di Felice.
Ownership: Corus
Start Year: 2004