Comedy Gold, formerly known as TV Land Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that was owned by Bell Media focused on sitcoms and sketch comedy programs from the 1970s to 1990s. The channel was originally launched in 2001 as a Canadian version of the American channel TV Land by Craig Media and Viacom. Craig's interest was acquired by CHUM Limited, the owner of the Citytv system in 2004 upon the acquisition of its assets. In the years following the acquisition of CHUM by CTVglobemedia and later Bell Media, TV Land Canada was renamed to Comedy Gold and became a sister network to The Comedy Network. After the sale to WOW Unlimited and aborted attempt for relaunch, Comedy Gold ceased operations in 2019. History On November 24, 2000, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granted Craig Media (previously known as Craig Broadcast Systems Inc.) permission to launch a national Category 2 digital specialty channel tentatively known as Retro; a channel described as being "devoted to classic television programming". In August 2001, before the channel had launched, Craig Media announced it had reached a deal with U.S.-based MTV Networks, to launch Retro as a domestic Canadian version of the American classic television-focused cable channel, TV Land. The channel was launched in September 2001 as TV Land Canada, with a slate of programming focusing on classic American sitcoms and dramas. MTV Networks purchased a minority share in the service months later. In April 2004, CHUM Limited announced it would purchase Craig Media for CAD$265 million; Craig's 80.1% interest in TV Land was included in the sale. The sale was subject to CRTC approval and was approved on November 19, 2004. The transaction was completed on December 1, 2004. In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (later CTVglobemedia) announced that it would purchase CHUM, including TV Land Canada, for an estimated CAD$1.7 billion. The sale was approved by the CRTC on June 8, 2007, with the transaction completed on June 22. On June 21, 2010, it was announced that TV Land would be rebranded as Comedy Gold, becoming an offshoot of The Comedy Network, effective August 2, 2010. The rebranded channel shifted focus to classic American sitcoms from the 1970s through the 1990s including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Murphy Brown, and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Viacom sold its stake in the channel back to CTV after the rebrand took place.