The channel primarily broadcasts factual and reality programming on lifestyle topics such as cooking, home improvement and real estate, along with scripted drama series.

The channel was established in 1998 as MuchMoreMusic, a spin-off of the youth-oriented MuchMusic, by its owner CHUM Limited, the owner of Citytv, targeting an older demographic with adult contemporary and classic music videos, along with music news programs, concert specials, and pop culture programming (usually sourced from the U.S. network VH1, which shared a similar positioning).

Under Bell ownership, and following the lead of its parent network, the channel adopted a general entertainment format and began to heavily downplay music programming outside non-peak hours (similar to Much at the time).

[2] On August 31, 1993, MuchMusic and CITY-TV co-founder Moses Znaimer announced on-air a proposal by CHUM Limited to launch a specialty channel called MuchMoreMusic as an adult music/lifestyle channel, quoted as offering music more "familiar, tuneful, [and] melodic" for an audience who "could do with a little less rock and rap and metal".

[7] In January 1996, the next round of licensing began, drawing another 44 applications; CHUM submitted nine of these, including MuchMoreMusic and the French-language adult contemporary channel, now called MusiMax (formerly MusicMax).

[8] The new application, delivered by MuchMusic programmer Denise Donlon on May 8, 1996, incorporated video testimonials by a number of Canadian musicians, including Anne Murray, Bruce Cockburn, Burton Cummings, Celine Dion, David Foster, Lawrence Gowan, Dan Hill and Marc Jordan, attesting to the need for the channel; Donlon conceded, in a Canadian Press article, that a number of Canadian musicians were no longer filming music videos because MuchMusic was not able to accommodate every music genre equally.

In January 1999, Globe and Mail critic John Doyle commented on the channel's invariant hosting at the time, remarking that it "appears to be staffed by one person only, Jana Lynne White.

[12] In September 2003, MuchMoreMusic launched a sister digital network, MuchMoreRetro, which focuses exclusively on classic music videos.

In July 2006, Bell Globemedia (later called CTVglobemedia) announced that it would purchase CHUM for an estimated CA$1.7 billion, including MuchMoreMusic.

The changeover took effect at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with the first edition of the newly branded morning video flow series Juiced!

[23] Programming on CTV Life Channel consists of cooking, home improvement and real estate, along with scripted drama series.