YTV (Canadian TV channel)
YTV is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment.[1] The channel and its programming is targeted at children and young teenagers; its name was originally thought to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television", though the channel's website has denied this.[2]
![]() | |
Country | Canada |
---|---|
Broadcast area | National |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
Programming | |
Picture format | HDTV 1080i (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SD feed) |
Timeshift service | YTV East G3 |
Ownership | |
Owner | Corus Entertainment |
Parent | YTV Canada, Inc. |
Sister channels | Nickelodeon Treehouse TV |
History | |
Launched | 1 September 1988 |
Links | |
Website | www |
Availability | |
Streaming media | |
StackTV | Internet Protocol television |
The channel was launched on September 1, 1988 by owners Rogers Media and CUC Broadcasting upon launch. In 1995, Shaw Communications acquired CUC's 34% stake and in 1998, it acquired Rogers' remaining interest of the channel, before Shaw's media division was spun off to form Corus Entertainment in 1999. Under Corus ownership, YTV sources most of its programming from U.S.-based Nickelodeon and launched its own dedicated TV channel several years later.
YTV operates two time shifted feeds, running on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules, and is available in over 11.0 million households in Canada as of 2013.[3]
History
The channel was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1987 by Rogers Cable and CUC Broadcasting.[4][5]
The channel launched on September 1, 1988 at 7:00 p.m., with the first program being a special party celebrating the launch of YTV, hosted by John Candy.[6] At launch, Rogers held 75% of the channel while CUC owned 25%.[5]
In 1995, Calgary-based Shaw Communications acquired CUC's stake of 34% ownership of YTV. Shaw acquired Rogers' remaining share in 1998 to take full control of it. In 1999, the media assets of Shaw were spun off to form Corus Entertainment.[5]
Two Corus specialty channel applications for YTV extensions, YTV POW!, an internationally sourced kids' action, adventure and superhero genre, and YTV OneWorld, targeting children from age 9 to 17 with travel, humour, games, and STEM were approved on September 18, 2008.[7] The YTV Oneworld license was used to launch Nickelodeon Canada.[8]
On January 11, 2011, a high-definition feed was launched.[9]
Programming
Current YTV original programming include hosted programming blocks, such as The Zone. In addition to original programming, YTV has historically acquired and co-produced programming with the U.S cable network Nickelodeon.[10]
Current programming blocks
Former programming blocks
- The Treehouse (1994–98)
- YTV Jr. (September 7, 1998 – 2002)
- YTV PlayTime (2010–12)
- Bionix (September 10, 2004 – February 7, 2010)
- CRUNCH (September 9, 2006 – September 28, 2013)
- Big Fun Weeknights
- Big Fun Fridays
- 3 Hairy Thumbs Up (October 19, 2002 to August 31, 2008)[16]
- Moovibot (September 5, 2008 – September 6, 2009)
- ZAPX Movies (September 11, 2005 – November 7, 2010)
- Vortex (YTV) (September 15, 2001 – June 24, 2006)
- Brainwash[17]
- Snit Station[18]
- Limbo (2000-2001)[19]
- Toon Town Alley
- The Alley
- The Breakfast Zone (1995–1996)[20]
- The B-Zone[21]
- The Vault (1997)
- YTV Shift[22]
- Spine Chilling Saturday Nights (1998)
- The Dark Corner[23]
- Whiplash Wednesdays
- Nickelodeon Sundays[24]
- Famalama DingDong
Program jockeys
Prior to the mid-1990s, YTV called their program jockeys "PJs" in the same vein as disc jockey (DJ) or video jockey (VJ). Current hosts of these segments have since dropped the moniker as of the mid-1990s.
Current program jockeys
Past program jockeys/hosts
- Meisha Watson [27]
- Carlos Bustamante
- Lisa Gilroy[28]
- Victor Verbitsky
- Stephanie "Sugar" Beard
- Elizabeth Becker[29]
- Jenn Beech, also known as "PJ Jenn"
- Stéphanie Broschart [30]
- Andrew Chapman
- Rachael Crawford
- Laura DaSilva [31]
- Emily Agard
- Ali J. Eisner, also known as "Carrie Funkwash"
- Janis Mackey Frayer, also known as "PJ Jazzy Jan"
- The Grogs, puppeteers Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley
- Phil Guerrero, also known as "PJ Fresh Phil"
- Laurie Gelman (née Hibberd)
- Daryn Jones
- Pat Kelly, also known as "Random Pat"
- Krista Jackson, also known as "PJ Krista"[32]
- "PJ Simon"[33]
- Paul McGuire
- Simon Mohos[34]
- Ajay Fry
- Paula Lemyre[35]
- Shaun Majumder, also known as "Ed Brainbin"[36]
- Aashna Patel, also known as "PJ Aashna"[37]
- Joyce Quansah [38][39]
- Jennifer Katie Racicot, also known as "PJ Katie"[40]
- Michael Quast, also known as "Michael Q"[41]
- Anand Rajaram, the voice of Snit on Snit Station[42]
- Atul N. Rao, Snit's voice & puppeteer on The Zone
- Rob Stefaniuk, also known as "PJ Rob"
- "PJ Rockin Chan"
- Marty Stelnick, puppeteer [43]
- Phil McCordic, also known as "PJ Taylor"
- Todd Doldersum, also known as "PJ Todd"
- Gordon Michael Woolvett, also known as "Gord the PJ Man"
- Russell Zeid
- Honey Khan
- Cory Atkins
- Exan AuYoung[44]
- Mark McAllister
- Wilf Dinnick
- "Tarzan" Dan Freeman[45]
- Shauna MacDonald
- Adrian Pryce [46]
Related services
Treehouse
Treehouse is a Category A cable and satellite specialty channel which airs programming targeted to preschoolers, from 2 to 5. It launched on November 1, 1997.[47] 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.
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon is a Category B cable and satellite specialty channel that was launched on November 2, 2009, and is based on the U.S. cable channel Nickelodeon. Like its counterparts in the U.S. and elsewhere, Nickelodeon airs programs aimed at children to younger teenagers, targeted at 7—11. including both live action series and animation.
Vortex on Demand
In July 2005, Corus Entertainment partnered up with Comcast Corporation to launch a cable video-on-demand service called "Vortex on Demand" in the United States. The deal consisted of 393 30 minute animation TV series from the Nelvana library; it aired programs such as Cadillacs & Dinosaurs and Medabots.[48][49] The service was discontinued in mid-2007.
Bionix On Demand
In 2008, Corus Entertainment began offering a video-on-demand service called "Bionix On Demand" to Canadian cable providers. Rogers Cable and Shaw 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.[50]
YTV GO
YTV GO was a TV Everywhere mobile app available on the App Store and Google Play Store. It was available at no extra charge to all subscribed customers of Access Communications, Bell Satellite TV, Cogeco, Shaw Cable, Shaw Direct, Telus, and VMedia. It offered episodes of various programming from YTV. The app operated between September 2015 and May 1, 2019.[51][52]
Related businesses
- Whoa! magazine, YTV's official magazine, began publication in 1999[53] by Creative House, a joint venture between the channel, Today's Parent Group and Paton Publishing.[54] It was distributed through Pizza Hut, YTV events, Chapters and Indigo bookstores, Canadian newsstands, and subscriptions.[55] Three issues were released in its first year, followed by four in 2000 before the magazine officially became a quarterly (spring, summer, fall, and winter) in 2001.[54][56] The magazine celebrated its fifth anniversary with a spring collector's issue in 2004.[57] In 2007, the magazine became available as an e-zine on YTV.com.[58] Building on that, in 2008 two additional issues (six for the year) were published as online exclusives.[59] In 2009, YTV ended its association with the magazine.[60] Patton relaunched Whoa! as a magazine/blogging platform without the YTV branding that same year, before ceasing publication in 2011 and shutting the site down in 2012.[60][61]
- Big Fun Party Mix was a series of compilation cassettes/CDs containing songs from various tween approved artists, as well as tracks featured in YTV's Hit List and The Next Star, plus performances by the stations band "Nuclear Donkey". Universal Music Canada published 11 entries from 2000 to 2009.[62][63]
- Yabber.net was a moderated online chat room operated from 2001 to 2004. The site hosted live chats between viewers and celebrities, voice actors, YTV hosts, and staff. Upon its closure, YTV.com absorbed some of its functionality.[64][65]
- The Big Rip was an online portal for browser-based massively multiplayer online games for preteens. Developed by Corus Entertainment and Frima Studio, it launched February 15, 2007.[66] Frima later assumed complete control of the portal before ceasing updates in 2010 and later shutting down the site.
- YTV Spills was a follow-up quarterly magazine to Whoa! produced in association with The Magazine between 2010 and 2012.[67][68]
- Keep It Weird is a YouTube channel featuring various productions by Nelvana, another division of Corus Entertainment, along with past Nickelodeon series, channel promos, and YTV originals.[69] It launched in 2015 under the name Nelvana Retro and was later rebranded to YTV Direct in 2016 before assuming its current name in 2018.[70]
International distribution
References
- "Ownership Chart 32b" (PDF). Retrieved March 28, 2014.
- "About YTV.com". November 10, 2006. Archived from the original on January 24, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- "YTV Canada Inc. | YTV Fast Forwards to Fall with Eight Side-Splitting New Series". Newswire.ca. June 27, 2013. Archived from the original on September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
- Decision CRTC 87-903 CRTC December 1, 1987
- "YTV | History of Canadian Broadcasting".
- "YTV First Night (launch special, September 1, 1988)". youtube.com. RW-TV: RetroWinnipeg. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- Staff. "Radio/Television Station Group History: Corus Entertainment Inc". The History of Canadian Broadcasting. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- Nickelodeon Canada set to launch; Media in Canada; September 29, 2009
- "Bell Satellite launches YTV and Family Channel in high definition". Digital Home. January 12, 2011.
- "YTV and Nickelodeon: A brand-driven partnership".
- "Fam Fun | Schedule and Full Episodes on YTV". YTV. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- The Afterschool Zone Gord the PJ Man Monday, Sept. 2, 1991
- "The Zone | Schedule and Full Episodes on YTV". YTV. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "YTV LAUNCHES NEW SUNDAY MOVIE BLOCK BIG FUN MOVIES WITH HOST LAURA". Newswire. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
- "BIG FUN MOVIES | Schedule and Full Episodes on YTV". YTV. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "3 Hairy Thumbs Up - Great Movies on YTV". March 14, 2006. Archived from the original on March 14, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "YTV - Brain Wash". April 12, 1997. Archived from the original on April 12, 1997. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "YTV - Shows - Snit Station". April 13, 2000. Archived from the original on April 13, 2000. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "YTV skews older with new after-bedtime block". Kidscreen. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "The Breakfast Zone". IMDb. January 30, 1995. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "YTV - B-Zone". April 12, 1997. Archived from the original on April 12, 1997. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "YTV - YTV Shift". April 12, 1997. Archived from the original on April 12, 1997. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "YTV - Dark Corner". June 8, 2002. Archived from the original on June 8, 2002. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
- "Corus announces YTV, Discovery Kids and Treehouse fall skeds". Kidscreen. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
- "The Zone | Schedule and Full Episodes on YTV". YTV. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- "BIG FUN MOVIES | Schedule and Full Episodes on YTV". YTV. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
- "License Hey Meisha!". www.heymeisha.com.
- "Host". LISA GILROY. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- "Elizabeth Becker » Directors Guild of Canada". www.dgc.ca. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- "Stéphanie Broschart". IMDb. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- "Laura DaSilva-Reporter Demo Reel". YouTube. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- "The Oral History of 1990s YTV". Torontoist. December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "YTV The Treehouse [PJ Krista & PJ Simon] (July, 1998)". YouTube. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "ZAPX movies: The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl". YTV. August 10, 2009. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009.
- "Paula Lemyre". IMDb.
- "Shaun Majumder". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "Aashna Patel". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "Joyce Quansah". Linkedin. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "YTV Promo - The Zone (2008)". YouTube. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "Jennifer Racicot". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "Michael Quast". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "Anand Rajaram". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "Marty Stelnick". IMDb.
- "Exan Auyoung". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "Tarzan Dan". IMDb.
- "Adrian Pryce". IMDb. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
- "Corus Entertainment 2000 Annual Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 21, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- "CORUS ENTERTAINMENT AND COMCAST LAUNCH VORTEX ON DEMAND" (Press release). Toronto, Philadelphia: Corus Entertainment. July 7, 2005. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "Select on Demand". Comcast. May 16, 2007. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "YTV Anime On Demand". YTV. Archived from the original on November 5, 2006.
- "Corus Entertainment Q4 2015 Anaylst Call Transcript" (PDF). Corus Entertainment. October 22, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- "Service Update: May 1 - Corus Apps Decommission". Shaw Communications. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- "Whoa Magazine". February 29, 2000. Archived from [www.whoamagazine.com/ the original] on October 9, 1999. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
{{cite web}}
: Check|url=
value (help) - "YTV goes glossy". Playback. February 8, 1999. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "Watch Out For Increased Distribution Of Ytv Whoa! Magazine This Spring". Corus Entertainment. April 5, 2002. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "YTV WHOA! Magazine Grows Up Into a Quarterly as Kids' Magazines Flourish on the Newsstands". Corus Entertainment. June 21, 2001. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "YTV Whoa! collector's issue will be published in honour of our 5th anniversary!". Paton Publishing. Archived from the original on March 25, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "YTV's Whoa! gets clickable". Media in Canada. April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "YTV Whoa - Paton Publishing". Paton Publishing. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "The New Whoa! Magazine". Paton Publishing. Archived from the original on December 8, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "Whoa! Magazine". Paton Publishing. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "YTV CD is #1 Selling Compilation in Canada". Corus Entertainment. March 27, 2001. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "WHO WILL BE THE NEXT STAR? NEW YTV TALENT SERIES PREMIERES FRIDAY, JULY 18 AT 6 P.M. ET/PT". Corus Entertainment. July 3, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "YTV launches kids Web site". Broadcaster Magazine. April 1, 2001. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "Yabber.net Homepage". Yabber. Archived from the original on June 14, 2004. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "CORUS ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHES UNPARALLELED ONLINE GAME-WORLD FOR TWEENS" (Press release). Toronto: Corus Entertainment. February 15, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "I wrote this whole magazine! I am the Anna Wintour of YTV! (If Vogue = mostly iCarly posters.) Msg me if you know kids & want copies!". Twitpic. July 29, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "YTV's Spills Magazine on Behance". Behance. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "YTV Direct". Youtube. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "Watch Nelvana Retro Now!". YTV. Archived from the original on June 16, 2015. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
- "Flow Cable channel lineup". Flowjamaica.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- Cable Bahamas channel lineup Archived August 19, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
External links
- Official website
- Official Site as of 1997 at the Wayback Machine (archived April 12, 1997)
- Museum of Broadcast Communications: YTV at the Wayback Machine (archived April 28, 2009)