Toronto, Canada – The wait is finally over. BBC Earth officially arrives in Canada as a commercial-free channel on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 with a slate of treasured programming that connects viewers to the extraordinary sights, stories and characters of our natural world. This launch will include the highly anticipated Canadian premiere of Planet Earth II on Saturday, February 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT (amended premiere date), simulcast with BBC AMERICA in the U.S. Beginning at noon that day, audiences will be treated to a marathon of original Planet Earth episodes, as well as an hour-long documentary, Planet Earth II: The Making Of at 8 p.m. ET/PT. BBC Earth will be available coast-to-coast via a national free preview, providing Canadians free access to all of BBC Earth’s premium, exclusive programming for the channel’s first three months. Additional landmark, Canadian premieres on BBC Earth will include The Hunt and Forces of Nature.

“We’re kicking off the launch of BBC Earth in Canada with a three-month free preview event that gives millions of Canadian viewers access to the channel’s truly breathtaking entertainment,” said Jamie Schouela, EVP, Canadian Networks, Blue Ant Media. “Highlighting the launch schedule is our exclusive premiere of Planet Earth II, which promises to be a must-see event for audiences of all ages.”

New series and specials:
Planet Earth II (Canadian Premiere), launches Saturday, February 18 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
It’s been over a decade since the debut of the original, ground-breaking Planet Earth series, which captivated an audience of more than half a billion people with its unprecedented views of life on Earth. Filmed in 40 different countries over several years, Planet Earth II is a six-part, hour-long, natural history series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough that reveals our planet from a completely new perspective using significant advances in both filming technology and our understanding of the natural world. Set to a beautiful score by Hans Zimmer and his team, the series travels through jungles, deserts, mountains, islands, grasslands and cities, to explore the unique characteristics of Earth’s most iconic habitats and the extraordinary ways animals survive within them.

Forces of Nature (Canadian Premiere) airs on Thursday, March 9 at 11 p.m. ET/PT
This four-part documentary series, hosted by UK-based professor and physicist, Brian Cox, takes viewers on a tour of the most spectacular sights on Earth and delves into our deepest understanding of the universe to reveal how the planet’s beauty is created by just a handful of forces. Beautiful cinematography and thoughtful narration illustrates how we experience Earth’s natural forces, including shape, elements, colour and motion. Although we can’t immediately feel the motion of Earth’s fundamental forces, the series explains how we witness the consequences, such as tidal bores surging through the Amazon rainforest or the intense and ruinous power of hurricanes.

The Hunt (Canadian Premiere) Coming this Spring
Narrated by Sir David Attenborough, The Hunt illustrates in dramatic detail the strategies predators use to catch their prey as well as those the prey use to escape. Each episode in this seven-part series centers on one of our planet’s key habitats, from open grasslands and dense forests to the Arctic and the open ocean. Many of the stories include rarely seen animal behaviour such as polar bears using meltwater pools in the ice to stalk seals; Arctic foxes leaping to catch auks mid-flight; and killer whales hunting humpback whale calves in tropical waters.

Packed with great programming every night of the week, BBC Earth’s launch schedule also includes:

•  Bang Goes the Theory airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET/PT
• Lands of the Monsoon airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT
• 9 Months that Made You airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT
• Wonders of the Universe airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT
• David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities airs Saturdays at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT
• Human Universe airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT

BBC Earth will broadcast in Canada in HD and will replace Blue Ant Media’s existing radX channel. The commercial-free channel will offer customized sponsorship opportunities and work with Blue Ant Media’s in-house ad and creative agency to align advertisers with this iconic brand in Canada.

About BBC Earth

BBC Earth is a global factual brand which seeks to inspire audiences in the UK and worldwide with the most incredible sights, stories and characters from the natural world. Since launch the brand has grown across multiple platforms including branded blocks on television, live events, social media, visitor attractions, theatrical releases for cinema and giant screen films and online. In Canada BBC Earth is a partnership  between Blue Ant Media and BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of BBC.

About Blue Ant Media

Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international media company that creates and distributes content worldwide across multiple platforms, including streaming video, linear television, digital, magazines and live events. Global brands include Love Nature, an international linear and SVOD offering, with the world’s largest library of 4K wildlife and nature content; and Omnia Media, a leading digital video network focused on gaming and maker lifestyles. The company’s broadcast portfolio includes a robust offering of Canadian and New Zealand-based media brands. Blue Ant Media’s distribution business, Blue Ant International, offers a catalogue of 2,200+ hours of premium, unscripted content worldwide, which includes the largest 4K natural history library on the market. Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto (Canada), with offices located in Los Angeles (US), London (UK) and Auckland (NZ). blueantmedia.ca