Blue Ant Media


Blue Ant Media Corporation is a Canadian multinational media company founded in 2011 by former Alliance Atlantis executive Michael MacMillan. Headquartered in Toronto, it has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Sydney, Halifax, and Ottawa.
The company has interests in domestic and international television production, broadcasting, streaming, and publishing, with most of its properties being focused primarily on factual content.
Blue Ant Media has expanded primarily via acquisitions, with its earliest investments including Glassbox Television and High Fidelity HDTV. In 2025, it acquired multiple studios from Boat Rocker Media and went public as part of a reverse takeover.

History

In 2011, former Alliance Atlantis executive Michael MacMillan founded Blue Ant Media. The company was named in reference to the "Blue Ant" trilogy by American-Canadian sci-fi writer William Gibson, since an in-universe company named Blue Ant was portrayed in the novels as being "the company of the future".
MacMillan explained that his goal for the company was to be a producer and distributor of content across multiple platforms, and "not just have individual pieces of content" but be "deep experts" in niche markets with advertiser appeal.
Blue Ant's first investment was to buy a29.9% stake in specialty broadcaster Glassbox Television, owner of specialty networks such as AUX, Bite TV and Travel + Escape — with the option to increase this stake to 75% pending CRTC approval. Glassbox founder Jeffery Elliott was retained as Blue Ant's head of television and digital, joined by former Glassbox CEO Raja Khanna.
On December 21, 2011, Blue Ant Media announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire specialty broadcaster High Fidelity HDTV, initially acquiring 29.1%, with the remaining stake to be purchased after CRTC approval. The acquisition was completed on August 1, 2012.
While awaiting completion of the acquisition of High Fidelity HDTV, the Canadian firm announced a 25% investment by Torstar. At that time, Khanna became head of television and digital after Elliott left the company.
On August 17, 2012, Blue Ant announced that it would buy the specialist channel Bold from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for an undisclosed sum, subject to government approval. After initially acquiring a 15% stake in Canadian publisher Quarto Communications in the summer of 2011, it bought the remainder of the company the following year, which had been renamed Cottage Life Media.
In November 2014, seven months after acquiring a minority stake in the digital media company and multi-channel network Omnia Media, the firm bought a majority stake in Choice TV, marking their first international expansion. In December 2015, Blue Ant Media Corp. and Smithsonian Networks teamed to launch Blue Skye Entertainment, a new UK-based company exclusively focused on 4K content.
In December 2016, Blue Ant partnered with BBC Worldwide to relaunch radX as BBC Earth.
In May 2017, Blue Ant Media bought the Asia-Pacific broadcaster Racat Group, including factual producer NHNZ, Singapore-based studio Beach House Pictures, Sydney-based Northern Pictures, developer Runaway Play, and a majority stake in ZooMoo. The purchase was considered to be complementary to the Blue Ant's factual and nature-oriented programming.

Expansion and acquisitions (2018–2024)

In February 2018, Omnia Media was renamed Blue Ant Digital Studios, coinciding with the launch of several new original series on Facebook Watch, and an accompanying expansion beyond video gaming content. In October 2018, Blue Ant acquired the Toronto-based Saloon Media.
In 2020, Blue Ant Media sold its Asian linear networks aside from Love Nature, including Blue Ant Entertainment, Blue Ant Extreme, and ZooMoo, to Rock Entertainment Holdings, a new company led by Blue Ant's then-head of Global Networks & Kids Ward Platt. In October, Blue Ant Media announced its acquisition of the Canadian technology news website MobileSyrup.
In December, BAM entered the free ad-supported streaming television market by launching HauntTV, a channel devoted to horror and supernatural programming, on The Roku Channel in Canada. It has since launched several additional FAST channels in Canada and the United States; including CrimeTime, TotalCrime, Homeful, and HistoryTime.
In February 2021, Blue Ant sold its majority stake in New Zealand factual production company NHNZ to producer Julie Christie. It was rebranded as NHNZ Worldwide, with Blue Ant Media retaining a 45% stake in the rebranded company and continuing to own NHNZ's catalogue.
The following month, it expanded its partnership with BBC Studios by relaunching Treasure HD as BBC First. A de facto successor to Corus Entertainment's BBC Canada, the channel had originally been founded by Alliance Atlantis, of which the founder of Blue Ant was an executive.
When it was acquired along with its bookstore in June 2022 and its founders joined Blue Ant, the British distributor Drive Media Rights was merged into its distribution arm, Blue Ant International. In September, Blue Ant Media announced their acquisition of CTV marketplace company Media Pulse, which became a standalone unit within the company.
In January 2023, Blue Ant partnered with World of Wonder on a U.S. FAST channel devoted to international versions of RuPaul's Drag Race.
In August 2023, Blue Ant announced its acquisition of Canadian production company MarbleMedia, and plans to merge their studio operations into a single division; the acquisition would increase Blue Ant's involvement in scripted content. Following the completion of the purchase, MarbleMedia's co-founders Mark Bishop and Matthew Hornburg were named the new co-presidents of Blue Ant Studios, leading the non-scripted and scripted units respectively.
In February 2024, Fremantle acquired a majority stake in Beach House Pictures, including the entirety of Blue Ant's stake. In June 2024, Blue Ant sold MobileSyrup to ZoomerMedia. In August 2024, Blue Ant sold its digital brand Animalogic to Toronto-based digital media company UnderKnown.

Acquisition of Boat Rocker Media assets and reverse takeover (2025–present)

On March 24, 2025, Blue Ant Media announced that it would acquire Jam Filled Entertainment, Insight Productions, and Proper Television from Boat Rocker Media to expand its children's and unscripted businesses. As part of this acquisition, Blue Ant Media would perform a reverse takeover of Boat Rocker and go public on the Toronto Stock Exchange as Blue Ant Media Corporation. Boat Rocker shareholders would hold a 26.5% stake in the company's stock. The remainder of Boat Rocker outside of the acquired assets was sold to its management for CA$18 million, becoming a private company held by its lead executive team. The transaction was completed on August 1, 2025.
On October 2, 2025, Blue Ant Media announced that it had acquired the documentary-oriented streaming service MagellanTV for $12 million. On November 26, 2025, Blue Ant announced that it would acquire Vancouver-based television and telefilm producer Thunderbird Entertainment for $63 million.

Assets

Specialty channels (Canada)

  • BBC Earth
  • BBC First
  • Cottage Life
  • Love Nature
  • Makeful
  • Smithsonian Channel
  • T+E

    Streaming

  • MagellanTV
  • FAST channels
  • * Love Nature
  • * Crime Time
  • * Declassified
  • * Drag Race Universe
  • * Haunt TV
  • * HistoryTime
  • * Homeful
  • * Love Pets
  • * Total Crime
  • * Nature Moments
  • * Nature Time

    Studios

  • Blue Ant Studios
  • Insight Productions
  • Jam Filled Entertainment
  • Proper Television
  • Thunderbird Entertainment
  • * Atomic Cartoons
  • * Great Pacific Media

    Proper Television

Proper Television is a Toronto-based studio focused on non-scripted programming, including reality and documentary-style programs. It was formed in 2004 by Canadian producer Guy O'Sullivan after leaving the BBC; its productions have included adaptations of international reality formats, such as Canada's Worst Driver, Come Dine with Me Canada, The Great Canadian Baking Show, and MasterChef Canada.
In June 2013, Proper Television acquired BuzzTaxi Communications to expand into distribution, with the company renamed Proper Rights.
In April 2017, O'Sullivan died at the age of 49. In September 2017, Proper Television was acquired by Boat Rocker Media; its production operations would continue as an independent division, while Proper Rights was folded into Boat Rocker Rights. O'Sullivan was jointly succeeded by Proper's former vice president of production Lesia Capone, and creative director Cathie James. In 2025, Proper Television was acquired by Blue Ant.
Filmography

Print

  • Cottage Life

    Former

  • A.Side TV
  • Animalogic
  • Antenna Pictures
  • Beach House Pictures
  • Blue Ant Entertainment
  • Blue Ant Extreme
  • Choice TV
  • CinemaWorld
  • HGTV
  • Love Nature
  • Makeful
  • MobileSyrup
  • NHNZ
  • ZooMoo

    Filmography