'''NetStar Communications Inc.''' (previously '''Labatt Communications Inc.''', and currentlysubsequently [[CTV Specialty Television|CTV Specialty Television Inc.]]) was formed by [[Labatt Brewing Company]] to hold that firm's broadcasting assets, which included [[The Sports Network|TSN]], [[Réseau des sports|RDS]], [[Viewers Choice]], and [[Discovery Channel (Canada)|Discovery Channel]]. In 1995, when the parent company was sold to the foreign brewing conglomerate [[Interbrew]], a consortium of four Canadian investors—[[Stephen Bronfman]] (22.5%), [[Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec|the Caisse]] (22.5%), [[Reitmans]] (16.5%), and senior management (6.5%)—along with [[ESPN]] (32%), took over the company.<ref>[http://www.broadcastdialogue.com/pdfs/newsletters/1999/nl19990121_6_32.pdf Broadcast Dialogue newsletter, January 21, 1999] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304175349/http://www.broadcastdialogue.com/pdfs/newsletters/1999/nl19990121_6_32.pdf |date=March 4, 2009}}</ref>
After a takeover attempt by [[CanWest Global]] that was vetoed by ESPN, CTV announced a friendly bid to take over NetStar Communications in early 1999, with CRTC approval on March 24, 2000. After acquiring Netstar, the CRTC required CTV to divest itself of either Netstar's TSN or their own [[Sportsnet]]; they chose to sell the latter to [[Rogers Media|Rogers]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rogers Media {{!}} History of Canadian Broadcasting|url=http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/listing_and_histories/rogers-media|access-date=2021-05-03|website=broadcasting-history.ca}}</ref>
