ABC Spark

As Scream

In November 2000, Corus, on behalf of a corporation to be incorporated, was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a television channel called HorrorVision, which would be devoted primarily to the horror and thriller genres.[4]

The channel was launched as Scream on September 7, 2001, as a joint venture between Corus Entertainment and Alliance Atlantis. Programming on Scream focused primarily on horror, thriller, suspense films and television series. On January 18, 2008,[5] a joint venture between Canwest and Goldman Sachs Alternatives known as CW Media,[6] acquired 49% of Scream through its purchase of Alliance Atlantis' broadcasting assets, which were placed in a trust in August 2007.[7]

As Dusk

On September 9, 2009, Scream was re-launched as Dusk, shifting away from horror and "gore" to focus more broadly on paranormal and suspense-driven programming (such as Supernatural and mainstream film premieres such as Along Came a Spider), to appeal to a broader viewer demographic such as women.[8]

On October 27, 2010, ownership changed once again as Shaw Communications gained a 49% stake in Scream as a result of its acquisition of Canwest and Goldman Sachs' interest in CW Media.[9][10]

The last program aired on Dusk was the 1990 film Ghost, which was aired in a 24-hour marathon on March 22. As after the movie was finished, the network was relaunched as ABC Spark at 6:00 am ET on March 23.

As ABC Spark

Announcement and launch

The announcement of the formation of ABC Spark occurred on October 26, 2011, as part of a program licensing agreement between Corus Entertainment and The Walt Disney Company.[11] The network was branded as ABC Spark to avoid any confusion with Astral's Family Channel, which then held the rights to programming from ABC's sister network, Disney Channel.[12] The channel's broadcast licence, tentatively known then as Harmony, was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in February 2012.[13]

Selected ABC Family programs that were set to air on ABC Spark began airing in preview blocks in advance of the network's launch on January 26, 2012, through sister channels YTV, W Network, and CMT.[14] The channel was owned by Corus (51%) and Shaw Media (49%) at launch on March 26.[15] At the same time, on February 10, 2012, Dusk revealed through an announcement via its Twitter and Facebook accounts, that it would be ceasing operations on March 23, 2012.[16][17] A statement later announced on the channel's website stated the channel was being shuttered for strategic reasons to concentrate on "areas of expertise."[18] Corus later indicated more specifically, through CRTC filings, that Dusk was rebranded to ABC Spark, such that Shaw Cable and Shaw Direct could carry the latter while complying with the CRTC's "3:1 ratio" policy (which limits the proportion of speciality channels carried from companies affiliated with a particular service provider).[19]

Shortly after the channel's launch, the CRTC published notice of a pending application to transfer the ABC Spark licence to the numbered company which previously owned Dusk, which is 51% owned by Corus and 49% owned by Shaw Media.[20][21] However, on March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Shaw Media's 49% ownership interest in ABC Spark, in a larger transaction that would see Corus also acquire Shaw's 50% interest in Historia and SériesPlus, while Corus would sell their 22.58% stake in Food Network. In total, Shaw would receive net proceeds of approximately $95 million in cash.[22] The sale of the portion of ABC Spark closed in April 2013.[3]

Expanded relationship with Disney; first original series

In April 2015, Corus Entertainment announced that it would expand its relationship with Disney, and Corus acquired the rights to Disney Channel's programming and related brands, which resulted in the launch of a Canadian version of Disney Channel, and re-launched versions of Disney Junior and Disney XD after DHX Media decided against renewing their agreement to broadcast the programs in Disney's programming catalogue.[23][24]

In October 2015, ABC Family announced plans to change its name to "Freeform" in January 2016.[25] ABC Spark did not adopt the Freeform name, but it did adopt the on-air imaging used by the U.S. network.

By the end of October 2015, ABC Spark had its first original series entitled Cheer Squad, a docu-reality series which first premiered on July 5, 2016.[26]

Closure

On July 10, 2025, Corus announced that they would close ABC Spark alongside a selection of children's channels (Nickelodeon, Disney XD, Disney Jr. and La Chaîne Disney) at midnight on September 1.[27] Despite the closure, Corus confirmed that it would continue to air Disney content on its English-language counterpart, but discontinue airing Nickelodeon programming on YTV and Nick Jr programming on Treehouse. The last program to air before its closure was the movie "This Is 40", after which the channel switched to a slate stating "This channel is no longer available".