Bell Media has quietly rebranded its 18-year-old specialty channel M3 (which has also formerly gone by the names MuchMoreMusic and MuchMore) as the lifestyle brand Gusto, completing a process that began earlier this year.
CHUM Limited originally launched M3 as MuchMoreMusic in 1998, positioning it as an offshoot of its MuchMusic channel catering to older viewers. It was rechristened MuchMore following CTVglobemedia’s 2009 acquisition of CHUM, and subsequently renamed M3 in 2013, with an emphasis on original programming.
Announcing the switch on the M3TV.ca website, Bell Media described Gusto as a destination for “inspirational food and lifestyle content” including cooking, entertaining, travel and home renovation.
Bell is moving the M3 shows Below Deck and Younger to the E! network, while Pretty Little Liars is moving to Bravo and M3 Music moves to Much.
M3 attracted $12.2 million in national advertising revenue last year according to the CRTC, a 3.2% decline from $12.6 million in 2014. Its subscriber base has fallen for three straight years, from 6.3 million in 2012 to 5.8 million in 2015.
Bell struck a deal with Ottawa-based Gusto Worldwide Media, earlier this year giving it exclusive Canadian rights to the three-year-old venture. The deal gives Bell the right to produce exclusive 4K programming for the channel. Gusto retains program rights in all markets outside Canada.
Speaking with Marketing at the time of the deal, Gusto Worldwide Media president and CEO Chris Knight said that Gusto programming would harken back to the early days of the Food Network, when it focused on food shows, cooking and travel.
