Pay television
"Pay television" services were launched in Canada in the early 1980s but were largely unsuccessful in their original form. Many shut down, and two (TSN and MuchMusic) converted to specialty services as that format became more successful. However, movie-oriented premium services, including English-language The Movie Network and French-language Super Écran (which are both divisions of Bell Media), have become very successful and very profitable, more so in recent years thanks to the shift towards digital television and the success of original series from sources such as HBO.