Category 2 channels are Canadian television channels defined by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission which may be carried, optionally, by all digital cable television and direct broadcast satellite providers. A television station is a type of radio station that broadcasts both audio and video to television receivers in a particular area. ... The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC, in French Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes) was established in 1968 by the Canadian Parliament to replace the Board of Broadcast Governors. ... Digital television (DTV) uses digital modulation and compression to broadcast video, audio and data signals to television sets. ... Cable television or Community Antenna Television (CATV) (and often shortened to cable) is a system of providing television, FM radio programming and other services to consumers via radio waves transmitted directly to people’s televisions through fixed coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional... Direct broadcast satellite, or DBS, is a relatively recent development in the world of television distribution. ...

Unlike both older specialty television services licensed prior to digital channel capacity expansion, and Category 1 channels, Category 2 channels are not protected as to format. They are licensed to broadcast within defined formats which are not provided by or overly close to an existing protected channel, but their formats are not protected themselves and need not protect other Category 2 channels. Category 1 channels are Canadian television channels defined by the Canadian Radio_television and Telecommunications Commission that must be carried by all digital cable television and direct broadcast satellite providers that have the capability to do so. ...

It is expected that most or all Canadian cable and satellite specialty channels will henceforth be licensed as Category 2 channels.