 Logo used since 2014 | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | National (also available in Jamaica, previously available in the Bahamas until September 2020) |
| Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Timeshift service | YTV East G3 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Rogers Media (1988–1998) CUC Broadcasting (1988–1995) Shaw Communications (1995–1999) Corus Entertainment (1999–present) |
| Parent | YTV Canada, Inc. |
| Sister channels | Treehouse TV |
| History | |
| Launched | September 1, 1988; 37 years ago (1988-09-01) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| StackTV | Internet Protocol television |
YTV is a Canadian English languagediscretionaryspecialty channel and the flagship property of YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary ofCorus Entertainment.[1] The channel launched as a joint venture betweenRogers Media andCUC Broadcasting on September 1, 1988.Shaw Communications acquired CUC's 34% stake in 1995, followed by Rogers' remaining interest in 1998, before Shaw's media division was separated as Corus Entertainment in 1999. YTV's name was initially thought to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television", though the channel itself has denied this claim as confirmed on their website.[2]
Programming on YTV is targeted at children and young teenagers, and has included live-action and animated series, films, and third-party content from international markets. From the mid-1990s until 2025, YTV acquired the majority of its programs from the American cable networkNickelodeon, while also carrying select series fromWarner Bros. Television andCartoon Network. In 2009, Corus launched aCanadian version of Nickelodeon under license from Viacom (later ViacomCBS/Paramount Global, nowParamount Skydance), which served as a sister network to YTV until its shutdown on September 1, 2025 for over 15 years.
YTV operates two time-shifted feeds, running on bothEastern andPacific Time Zone schedules. As of 2013, the channel is available in over 11.0 million households in Canada.[3]
Development of the channel began in October 1986 as part of a round of applications for new specialty channels on cable.[4] The application would broadcast an 18-hour schedule, with children's programming during the daytime and family programming at night.[5] During the bidding process, it was set to compete with another applicant, Young Canada Television, which withdrew from the competition in June 1987. YTV would use the evening daypart for "alternative programming", including repeats of classic CBC shows.[6] To cater to a law stipulating 60% of Canadian content, the channel would air reruns ofPolka Dot Door,Mr. Dress Up,Cucumber,The Friendly Giant,You Can't Do That on Television,The Littlest Hobo andLorne Greene's New Wilderness, as well as reruns of American series such asThe Munsters,Dennis the Menace,My Three Sons,Lassie,Flipper andThe Monkees.[7] The license was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on December 1, 1987, byRogers Cable andCUC Broadcasting.[8][9] The channel's intended target audience was children whose parents did not allow them to watch television.[10]
The channel launched on September 1, 1988, at 7:00 p.m. with the first program being a special celebrating the launch of YTV, hosted byJohn Candy.[11] At launch, Rogers held 75% of the channel while CUC owned 25%.[9] Its launch was marked by programming issues, as some of the purchased shows did not arrive on time. The schedule was expected to go "on order" on September 18, until then, the network added a scrawl informing viewers of the schedule changes, which were made after they were printed on the press.[12] Kevin Shea was its founding president.[13] At launch, the Canadian offer included shows such asRainbow Country,Stars On Ice,The Forest Rangers,Smith & Smith andYou Can't Do That on Television, reruns of American series, mostly westerns, such asThe Lone Ranger,Roy Rogers andBonanza, as well as European (mostly British) imports such asRobin of Sherwood andHayley Mills.[14]Filmation animated series, such asHe-Man and the Masters of the Universe andGhostbusters, were also part of the schedule based on the fact that these were "evergreen" shows whose popularity persisted over constant reruns, as well as the popularity of the franchises among the core demographic. One month into its inception, the channel introduced original productions: music showsYTV Rocks (a one-hour music show featuring studio commentary) andYTV Hits (a weekend music show) and two co-productions: game showsTrivial Pursuit andWild Guess, and the acquired British seriesS.W.A.L.K., about a teenage girl's fantasies while trying to struggle with her family life.[15] This was followed in late October byTeam Tamers, a wildlife-themed game show, presented byNeil Crone.[16] Most of the original programming was seen during 4pm and 8pm; there were also plans to produce shows for teens.[17]
In December, CRTC refused YTV to change its license and increase advertising sales. The license also suggested that the evening drama programming would feature "a major protagonist that is a child, youth under the age of 18 years, puppet, animated character or creature of the animal kingdom", as well as rejecting shows whose main characters were comic book superheroes or mythological heroes. YTV criticized the latter and aimed at obtaining an advertising limit of twelve minutes per hour.[18] YTV started airingSanta Calls, a live, half-hour Christmas call-in special, on December 19, airing nightly at 7pm until December 23.[19]
In January 1989, YTV announced it would boost its production budget, with the primary goal of developing new shows. One of the ideas was a teen drama series akin toDegrassi to cater to the 12–15 demographic.[20]YCDTOTV had become one of its most popular shows within weeks of launch. Beginning February that year, in line with its tenth anniversary, the show had aired two times a day.[21]Bonanza moved to midnights in mid-February, due to the CRTC's recommendations per the age of actorMichael Landon, who grew throughout the course of the series. YTV aired the series because he played Little Joe, who in early seasons was an adolescent.[22] In June, it planned the creation of the Youth Achievement Awards; its first edition was scheduled for November.[23] On July 3, it started airingPicture Pages, a series created byBill Cosby.[24]
A full year after launching, it had become the most watched specialty channel in Canada, available in 5.3 million households, almost the entirety of the amount of cable-connected households in the country. New for the 1989–1990 season was a variety show,Rec Room, as well as a co-production agreement withThames Television to produceSpats!, set in a fictional Canadian fast-food chain. Other new shows included a five-year output agreement with theBBC, chief among the shows wasDoctor Who, starting with available reruns of early episodes, as well asThe New Leave It to Beaver. The Youth Achievement Awards were scheduled for November 3.[25] On January 29, 1990, the channel was carryingRocky and Bullwinkle in its schedule.[26]
By March 1990, its staff had risen to 140 (up from the original 30) and its revenue base had risen to CA$20 million. Officials said that they could initially reach the figure in 1995. What started as a channel that was unable with American prime time, Family Channel, the video market and CRTC demands had become one of the most profitable on Canadian cable.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had become its most popular show, with its merchandise including in Canada.[27] It had also produced a topical program for adults,Positive Parenting, withDebbie Van Kiekebelt.[28] There were also plans to become the new carrier of the CBC seriesSwitchback, which YTV would finance and would also air on four CBC stations too.[29] The network carriedCartoon All-Stars to the Rescue on April 21, alongside over-the-air networks, as part of a simultaneous showing with the United States and Mexico.[30]
For its 1990–1991 season, the channel would begin using its signature program jockeys on September 3; there was also the Canadian-French co-productionThe Adventures of the Black Stallion andManiac Mansion; as well as three original productions for teens:Rock 'n' Talk (beginning September 3),R.O.S. (Ross Oliver Show, from September 9) andStreetNOISE (September 21).[31] The network had surpassed Cancon limits by December 1991, in terms of hours produced and revenue. Revenues for that year were expected to fall in the CA$28–29 million region, up from CA$27 million in 1990.[32] Negotiations were underway with CTV to produce a newscast for the channel in January 1992.[33]
Unusual for such a channel, it announced a pre-emption of its regular programming on March 10, 1992, to carry the CRTC hearings live, with opening remarks from PJ Jazzy Jan, who would explain some of the topics before starting the telecast (9am to 7pm).[34] The press criticized its reliance on American "junk shows", which became more popular than the original productions and special events.[35] In the hearings, YTV executives wanted the channel to start airing productions featuring superheroes, which were excluded per the original license contract. This concernedWayne Gretzky, who thought that the network could end up airing violent programming (along the lines ofTerminator). It also planned to increase the age limit for primetime protagonists from 18 to 21.[36] In August, YTV obtained a rate increase from 32 to 35 cents a month in Anglophone markets and from 8 to 9 cents a month in Francophone markets. At the same time, its license was renewed for another seven years.[37] A pilot edition ofYTV News aired on October 20, ahead of the launch of the full service early next year. This consisted of a one-hour special,Referendum 102692, concerning thethen-upcoming referendum of the Charlottetown Accord.[38] Negotiations withTurner Broadcasting System'sCartoon Network started in early November, it began Canadian distribution for the American channel by late 1993. YTV's president said that, with the arrival of American cable networks to Canada, Canadian producers could benefit from the move. The move implied the creation of a second channel, keeping YTV as it was for its existing output.[39] The first edition ofYTV News aired on February 28, 1993 at 12pm.[40] In September 1993, it carriedMTV'sThe Real World.[41] Kevin Shea resigned as president on November 17;[42] he was appointed president and CEO ofAtlantis Films next January.[43] By December, the channel had addedMighty Morphin Power Rangers to its schedule.[44] The plan to launch a Canadian version of Cartoon Network was later replaced by Fun TV, of which YTV was one of its shareholders (the channel would eventually becomeTeletoon later on and would launch in 1997).[45]
In 1994, the stakes of YTV's ownership was changed, with CUC now owning 34% and Rogers now owning 66%. However, in 1994, Rogers announced its plans to sell YTV and the Canadian Home Shopping Channel to another group.[46] In May, Atlantis Communications emerged with a sale proposal, which would result in an acquisition of a 30% stake if the sale was approved.[47] It acquired 40% of the shares in June at the price of CA$18 million, up from the previous month's proposal worth CA$11 million.[48] The acquisition was approved in July.[49]
During the brief period with Atlantis, the channel started its relation withNickelodeon, beginning to air animated series from the American network, such asRocko's Modern Life andRugrats.[50] In addition to the Nickelodeon cartoons, the channel premieredReBoot.[51] On November 1, 1994, YTV voluntarily removedPower Rangers from its schedule while reviewing its content. The show also aired onGlobal, where there were talks of its removal.[52] The removal from the cable network was revealed to be "temporary".[53]
Calgary-basedShaw Communications was in talks of acquiring CUC's stake of 34% ownership of YTV. The sale was approved in February 1995.[54] That winter, the network started airingShort Circuits, a series of CGI-animated fillers to use during its regulated commercial breaks.[55] Patricia McDonald became YTV's new president on July 17, replacing Terry Coles.[56] On September 20, Rogers announced a CA$113 million acquisition of Shaw's cable head-ends in British Columbia. In exchange, Shaw got YTV andNew Country Network, as well as CTV affiliateCFCN.[57]
By June 1996, Shaw had taken full control of YTV.[58] In order to stand out from an increased number of competitors, YTV began to reposition itself as a tween channel.[59] For its 1998 revamp, the network launched 57 new programs as well as "a number of new products such as board games, software, and toys based on the YTV characters", coinciding with its tenth anniversary.[60]
In 1999, the media assets of Shaw were separated to formCorus Entertainment.[9][61]
YTV had new challenges with its licence revision in 2006. Its target audience had started fleeing to other platforms, especially on-demand services, and the channel was also planning to change some of its requirements, such as the removal of pre-school programming, the removal of the protagonist rule it had since its founding, the maximum hours of Canadian dramas per week and the minimum percentage of non-Canadian programming from outside North America.[62] This led to plans to de-regulate the licence in 2007.[63]
Two Corus specialty channel applications for YTV extensions, YTV POW!, an internationally sourced children's action, adventure and superhero genre, and YTV OneWorld, targeting viewers from age 9 to 17 with travel, humour, games andS.T.E.M. were approved on September 18, 2008.[64] The YTV Oneworld license was used to launchNickelodeon Canada.[65]
On January 11, 2011, ahigh-definition feed was launched.[66]
On September 1, 2025, following the closure of the CanadianNickelodeon network, Corus Entertainment's broadcasting rights to Nickelodeon programming on YTV and preschool-aimed Treehouse expired as a result of Corus' continued financial issues. Nickelodeon programming remains available in Canada through YTV On Demand and theParamount+ streaming service.[67]
Current YTV original programming include formerly hosted programming blocks, such asThe Zone. In addition to original programming, YTV had historically acquired and co-produced programming with the American cable networkNickelodeon until 2025.[68] The channel had also aired selectedWarner Bros. Animation andCartoon Network programs that were not carried nor would eventually air on the now-defunct, sister channelTeletoon (which has typically been the main Canadian carrier of Cartoon Network programming).
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Initially, YTV utilized computer-generated graphics in their network IDs, which were normally set against different sky backgrounds that changed depending on the time of day. The channel also started using various slogans ("The Spirit of Youth", "Young as You Are!", "The Youth Channel" and "Canada's Youth Channel") to promote and reflect their youth demographic at the time.
Over the years, the channel continued to revise their branding and promotional material. In 1993, a number of different on-air logos were taken effect, which features the logo's text placed atop of random objects. One logo variant used on production credits features an arrangement of the logo's text placed on a red screen of a stylized purple TV set. In 1994, the YTV text was changed, arranged the same way as before, though with an altered design of the TV background and logotype.
In 1998, YTV started to use a Nickelodeon-style "gross-out" factor in its branding and adopted a new slogan, "Keep It Weird". The logo was changed again in September 2000, with the TV background removed and the YTV text modified. The channel continued utilizing various on-air logos featuring the same arrangement of the logo's text, this time on various bizarre and imaginative creatures. Many of the channel'spromos from this period often focused on promoting the brand through crude humour, often at the expense of the programs being advertised. As this advertising style permeated the station at all hours of the day, it was heavily criticized, especially by older fans of the station.
As a response, a new "after 6:00 p.m." advertising style was developed for older audiences, which used a much simpler logo (similar to the current logo used today) and sleeker packaging with reduced "gross-out" tactics. Introduced on September 5, 2005, the simple logo (designed by Troika Design Group) first appeared on YTV's promos and even appeared on credits of newer original programming before being later adopted for the entire channel in September 2006, replacing the creatures that had been used in rotation during the channel's daytime hours.
On August 31, 2009, the logo was changed slightly to have featured new colours, and the background was simplified. Thebumpers were reduced and were later replaced by opaquedigital on-screen graphics telling viewers which programs are coming next, and promotions of the programs. As part of a slightly updated look in September 2012, the colour variants were removed, leaving only the blue variation.
On October 6, 2014, the channel underwent a rebrand, with new graphics and bumpers created by the Toronto-based Eloisa Iturbe Studio. In addition, the channel updated its logo by having it face upwards to the left instead of directly to the audience.[83]
Beginning in September 1990, YTV referred their program jockeys as "PJs" in the same vein asdisc jockey (DJ) orvideo jockey (VJ).[84] These were created in May of that year to circumvent advertising limitations during preschool programming; at the time, it went from 9am to 4pm and were seen as a more viable alternative to filler material.[85] Eventually, hosts of these segments would not refer themselves by the moniker by the mid-1990s. A first in North American television, they became a hit within a few months.[86] On April 29, 2023, Corus fired all of the remaining program jockeys due to cuts from Corus CEO Doug Murphy. However, the last three hosts (Spencer, Kelsey, and Melony) still make appearances on social media.
Treehouse TV (or simply Treehouse) is aCategory A cable and satellitespecialty channel which airs programming mainly aimed to preschoolers ages six and younger. It launched on November 1, 1997.[108] The channel's name is taken from YTV's now-defunct children's programming block,The Treehouse. Treehouse is carried nationwide throughout Canada and it broadcasts its programming without commercial interruption.
In July 2005, Corus Entertainment entered a partnership withComcast Corporation to launch a cable video-on-demand service called "Vortex on Demand" in the U.S. The deal consisted of 393 30-minute animated series from theNelvana library; it aired programs such asCadillacs & Dinosaurs andMedabots.[109][110] The service was discontinued in mid-2007.
In 2008, Corus Entertainment started offering a video-on-demand service called "Bionix On Demand" to Canadian cable providers.Rogers Cable andShaw Cable were the only providers to offer the service. The service offered older and newer anime programs that did not air on YTV itself. The video-on-demand service was previously titled "YTV Anime On Demand". Bionix On Demand was discontinued on December 17, 2009, and was replaced by YTV On Demand.[111]
YTV GO was aTV Everywhere mobile app available on the App Store and Google Play Store. It was available at no extra charge to all subscribed customers ofAccess Communications,Bell Satellite TV,Cogeco,Shaw Cable,Shaw Direct,Telus, andVMedia. It offered episodes of various programming from YTV. The app operated between September 2015 and May 1, 2019.[112][113]
Along with YTV, Vrak launched on September 1, 1988 asLe Canal Famillie, which began as a French-language version of its now-defunct sister network,Family. In 2001, the channel was renamed to Vrak.TV. On July 5, 2013, due to the acquisition of Astral by Bell Media, Vrak.TV was separated from Family. In 2014, it rebranded as Vrak, while launching a new block calledVrak2. In 2016, the channel changed its demographic to the 13–35 age group due to the success of itsVrak2 block.
On August 16, 2023, Vrak andZ were removed from Vidéotron, the company that made the original channel it was based on in 1982, whilst Bell removedYoopa from all of their television services a day later. Yoopa was shut down on January 11, 2024, and was replaced with a broadcast version of itsparent company'sQub Radio channel.
Two days later on August 18, 2023, Bell Media announced that the channel would be closing on October 1, 2023, owing to "challenges" in the broadcasting sector, declining viewership and regulatory affairs deemed "outdated" by Bell Media.[114] On September 25, the CRTC confirmed it had revoked Vrak's licence at the request of Bell Media,[115] with the channel shut down on October 1, 2023.
Nickelodeon was aCategory B cable and satellite specialty channel that was launched on November 2, 2009, and was based on the American cable channelNickelodeon. Like its counterparts in America and elsewhere, Nickelodeon aired programs, including both live action series and animation, aimed at children to younger teenagers, specifically targeted to ages 7–11.
The channel closed on September 1, 2025, following continued financial pressure occurring at Corus Entertainment.[116]
In September, the cable network introduced the program jockeys to young YTV viewers.
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