The TVA Group plans to sell its 50% interest in the "Mystery TV" specialty channel and its 51% interest in "The Cave" specialty channel to Shaw Media. Mystery TV airs suspense and crime dramas, while The Cave offers lifestyle and entertainment programming.
A licence transfer request was submitted late last year to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), seeking approval of the transfer.
Pending CRTC approval, the proposed transaction could be finalized in the spring of 2012.
Financial details for the sale were not disclosed.
A subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., TVA Group Inc. also operates SUN News, a national broadcaster of specialty English-language news and op-ed programming.
In its third quarter financial results, TVA reported a net loss of $2.86-million, compared with a profit of $5.33-million in the same period a year ago.
The losses were due in part to costs associated with TVA's launch of three new specialty channels: Sun News; the French-language sports channel TVA Sport; and a new service for women, Mlle.
With new and additional carriage deals anticipated for its properties, company officials have said the specialty channels will be profitable in three to five years.