GlassBOX Television has recently announced its acquisition of CTVglobemedia cable channel travel + escape, for “an undisclosed sum.”

This is the latest CTVglobemedia channel to be offloaded.  SexTV and Drive-In Classics were previously sold to Corus Entertainment in 2009, becoming W Movies and The Sundance Channel in the process.  The CRTC has not yet approved the sale of travel + escape to GlassBOX.

GlassBOX made a successful pitch to the CRTC last year for TREK TV, which treads travel + escape’s current ground.  t + e is a canny acquisition by GlassBOX, since it’s the first channel GlassBOX won’t have to build from scratch.

travel + escape has a long history.  The original broadcasting licence slotted t + e as Travel TV.  CTV Travel launched on September 7, 2001.  On October 30, 2006, CTV Travel was rebranded travel + escape, as part of an effort to appeal to a younger audience.

To be honest, travel + escape is one of CTVglobemedia’s bastard children.  I’m amazed it still exists.  OLN duplicates much of what t + e does on a larger cable platform.  It will be interesting to see what GlassBOX does with its new acquisition, assuming the CRTC approves this deal.

This comes on the heels of CTVglobemedia’s relaunch of two of its cable channels.  CourtTV Canada will become Investigation Discovery, while Discovery Civilization will become Discovery Science.  It’s nice to see CTVgm clean house, even if everything it does right now is to modernize the Discovery brand in Canada.  I wonder if CTVglobemedia will let go of TV Land and/or BookTelevision next.

Playback Online reports that CityTV has renewed Conviction Kitchen for a second season.  The Cineflix Productions show debuted on CityTV September 13, 2009.

Felons appearing on Conviction Kitchen (note the title’s double meaning) try to establish a high-end restaurant in three weeks, with no prior culinary experience.  Marc Thuet is co-owner/executive chef, while Biana Zorich is his business partner.  The show is at once a social experiment and promotion for Thuet’s businesses.

According to NOW Magazine, Conviction Kitchen‘s second season will shoot in Vancouver this April.  The show airs in America on Discovery Networks’ Planet Green.

I normally don’t post news about reality television, but Conviction Kitchen is surprisingly good for its genre.  The show’s emphasis is on how a restaurant is actually run.  Thuet stuns, kills and skins a sheep in the first episode.  Conviction Kitchen does not go for the glamour.

Knowing CityTV’s track record, I give Conviction Kitchen its sophomore season before it’s thrown onto the junk heap with The Collector, Blood Ties, Less Than Kind and Ed the Sock.  I have no idea how Murdoch Mysteries remains on that network.  I’m assuming a blood pact with Baal.