Launched October 1, 2009 Country Canada | Owned by Blue Ant Media Broadcast area National | |
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Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
(2013-present)
480i (SDTV)
(2009-present) Slogan Real. Music. Television. | ||
Aux (stylized as AUX) is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel and corresponding website owned and operated by Blue Ant Media. Aux is programmed to offer music video and music-related programs profiling new and emerging artists in alternative, hip hop, indie rock, indie pop and other genres.
Contents
History
Aux originally started out as a website, built on an Internet television model, and a programming block on another Glassbox-owned television channel, BiteTV (which became Makeful in August 2015). Both the website and the programming block launched on November 24, 2008.
Glassbox Television received approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch Aux as a national English-language category 2 specialty channel on March 6, 2009. The channel was launched on October 1, 2009 exclusively on Rogers Cable (in Ontario and New Brunswick, and shortly thereafter in Newfoundland and Labrador). Later, other providers such as Shaw Cable, Shaw Direct, EastLink, and Source Cable launched the channel on their systems.
In April 2010, the CRTC denied an application by Glassbox to launch a French-language version of Aux, as Astral Media had filed an intervention against the Glassbox application suggesting that the channel would be in competition with the established music video networks MusiquePlus and MusiMax.
Aux HD
On June 4, 2013, Aux HD was launched as a high definition simulcast of Aux's standard definition feed on EastLink. It is also available on Bell Fibe TV and Cogeco.
Programming
Original programming on Aux has included: ExploreMusic with Alan Cross, Master Tracks, Aux Weekly, Talk Show Night At Juicebox Manor, Cypher, Band Foto, Strange Notes (hosted by George Pettit of Alexisonfire), Volume, Camera Music, the alt.sessions, Hard, Something New, Garageland.
Collaborations
In February 2009, Aux participated with CBC Radio 3 and Exclaim! to launch X3, a new collaborative cross-promotional platform which sees all three outlets air or publish feature content spotlighting a particular "Artist of the Month". X3 artists of the month have included K'naan, Malajube, Thunderheist, Japandroids, Apostle of Hustle and The Rural Alberta Advantage.