Defunct Canadian pay television channel (2011–2025)
This article is about a Canadian television channel formerly known asDisney XD that is operated by WildBrain and launched on June 1, 2011. For the defunct Canadian television channel that used the Disney XD name, seeDisney XD (Canada).
Television channel
WildBrainTV
Final logo used from March 1, 2022 to October 23, 2025.
The channel first launched on June 1, 2011, under the ownership ofAstral Media. It initially operated as a localized version ofDisney XD, under license fromDisney Channels Worldwide, as a sister network toFamily Channel. Following the acquisition of Astral Media byBell Media, Disney XD was divested toDHX Media (now WildBrain) in 2014.
In 2015,Corus Entertainment acquired the rights to programming fromDisney Channel and its siblings (later launching a newCanadian Disney XD channel), resulting in DHX's existing Disney XD channel being rebranded asFamilyCHRGD (abrand extension of Family Channel with a similar positioning) in October 2015. The channel adopted its final branding on March 1, 2022, and it shut down on October 23, 2025.
Disney XD logo used from June 1, 2011 to October 9, 2015
In April 2009,Astral Media, through its subsidiaryThe Family Channel Inc., was grantedCRTC approval for a newcategory 2 service under the working name "Family Extreme". The new service would feature "programming from around the world devoted to entertainment, humour, travel, games, science and technology and targeted toward children aged 6 to 17 years and their families".[2] Astral later announced that it would launch a Canadian version ofDisney XD on June 1, 2011. Operating under the Family Extreme license, the service expanded upon Family's relationship as a licensee ofDisney Channel programming.[3]
In 2012, the channel premiered its first original series,Slugterra. After theCompetition Bureau approvedBell Media's acquisition of Astral, Bell announced on March 4, 2013, that Disney XD, as well as its sister networks and Astral's French-languageMusiquePlus andMusiMax would be divested.[4] On October 27, 2013, the channel premiered its first original movie,Bunks, produced byFresh TV.[5]
On November 28, 2013,DHX Media announced that it would acquire Disney XD and its sister networks for $170 million.[6][7] The acquisition was approved by the CRTC on July 24, 2014,[8][9] and closed on July 31, 2014.[10]
Family CHRGD logo, which was used from October 9, 2015, to March 1, 2022
On April 16, 2015, it was announced thatCorus Entertainment had acquired Canadian rights toDisney Channel's program library; alongside the launch of aCanadian version ofDisney Channel, Corus stated that it would launch other Disney branded channels in the future, which eventually included a newDisney XD. In anticipation for this transition, DHX concurrently announced that its Disney-branded networks would be rebranded as spin-offs of Family Channel by November 2015, with Disney XD tentatively being rebranded asFamily XTRM.[13][14]
On August 20, 2015, DHX announced the fall lineups for its networks, revealing the official rebranding for Disney XD asFamily CHRGD.[15] Its lineup was to feature new seasons of the network's existing original series, in addition to new shows produced by DHX subsidiaries and other studios (such as the aforementionedFangbone!), as well as new program supply agreements withMattel,[15] and later in the year,DreamWorks Animation.[16] The rebranding occurred on October 9, 2015.[1][13]
On March 1, 2022, Family CHRGD rebranded as WildBrainTV, with no change in programming.[17]
On December 18, 2024, WildBrain announced that it would sell a two-thirds majority stake of its television operations (including Family Channel) to IoM Media Ventures, a Halifax-based company founded by former WildBrain CEO Dana Landry.[18]
In April 2025, WildBrain stated that it would be renegotiating aspects of the agreement, citing factors such as a decision byBell Canada not to renew its carriage agreements for WildBrain's channels.[19][20]
On August 25, 2025, WildBrain announced that it was unable to renew its carriage agreements withRogers Cable. It therefore announced plans to close all of its specialty channels in the near future, as the decline in these carriage agreements meant the channels had lost most of their value and were "no longer commercially viable".[21] All four networks shut down at 5:59 a.m.Eastern on October 23, though some providers stopped their carriage of the channels at midnight several hours earlier.[22]
