Ici ARTV was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as la Télé des Arts as a joint venture between the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Télé-Québec, Bell Globemedia, Arte (through Arte France, a joint venture of France Télévisions, Radio France and INA, both historically and formerly known as the ORTF and the French state) and L'Équipe Spectra.

On December 10, 2013, the network was re-branded as "Ici ARTV" as part of a plan to unify the CBC's French-language outlets around a single brand.

In regard to satellite providers, Ici ARTV must be offered in a package that contains the greatest number of French language services.

Ici ARTV carries a variety of original programming related to arts and culture including popular TV review show C'est juste de la TV, a local version of the Actors Studio called Viens voir les comédiens, cultural news program ARTVStudio, multiple visual art showcase programs and bande-dessinée show BDQC.

ARTV also airs reruns of various Radio-Canada original series including Les revenants, La galère and Musée Eden and nostalgic programming like Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie and Le temps d'une paix.