YTV (TV channel)

YTV (pronounced "Why TV?") is a Canadian English-language Category A cable and satellite television specialty channel that is owned by Corus Entertainment. Its programming consists of original live-action and animated television series, movies, and third-party programming from the U.S. cable channel Nickelodeon and other distributors. YTV operates two time-shifted feeds, running on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules. It is available in over 11 million Canadian households as of 2013.^[1]

The "YTV" moniker was originally thought by some viewers to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television"; however, the channel's website has denied this,^[2] despite the fact that the network originally branded itself as a youth network at launch.

History

The channel was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1987.^[3] Launched on September 1, 1988 at 7PM EST with a preview special by John Candy, YTV was the successor to two prior special programming services operated by various Ontario cable companies beginning in the late 1970s. The two largest shareholders in YTV were two cable companies, Rogers Cable and CUC Broadcasting, which was later acquired by Shaw Communications. By 1995, through various acquisitions and trades, Shaw had secured full control of YTV; it was spun off as part of Corus Entertainment in 1999. The channel continues to be owned by YTV Canada (used for YTV and its sister network Treehouse TV), now wholly owned by Corus Entertainment under its Corus Kids division.^[4]

In 1998, YTV began to use a Nickelodeon-style "gross-out" factor in its branding, with much less slime, and began using the slogan "Keep It Weird". Over the years, YTV used a number of different on-air logos, featuring the same arrangement of white letters on various bizarre and imaginative creatures. The logo used on production credits, and presumably the "official" logo, features this arrangement on a red screen of a stylized purple television set. The channel's advertisements often focused on promoting the brand through crude humour.

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 6 to 17 with travel, humour, games and STEM, were approved on September 18, 2008.^[5] The YTV Oneworld license was used to launch Nickelodeon Canada.^[6]

In the fall of 2005, a new post-6:00 p.m. advertising style was developed for older audiences, which used a much simpler logo and sleeker packaging with barely any gross-out tactics. In the spring of 2006, the simple logo first appeared on YTV's promos and even appeared on credits of newer original programming. In 2007, this look was adopted for the entire channel. In September 2009, the logo was changed slightly: it featured new colours, and the background was simplified. Variations to the bumpers were reduced. Instead, there are large, opaque digital on-screen graphics telling viewers which programs are coming next, and promotions of the programs. In September 2012, the logo was changed aesthetically.

In 2013, after Corus Entertainment completed their acquisition of the TELETOON Canada Inc. networks, YTV began airing reruns of select Teletoon programming, including original and acquired series. In turn, the channel's anime series, such as Pokemon and the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, along with both the second season of Oh No! It's An Alien Invasion and Power Rangers, began airing on Teletoon.

On October 6, 2014, the channel underwent a brand refresh, with new graphics and bumps created by Eloisa Iturbe Studio. In addition, the channel updated its logo by having it face upwards to the left instead of directly to the audience.^[7]

Programs of note

British sitcoms

In its early years, YTV filled its schedule with relatively old and obscure acquired programs. British sitcoms were used to fill prime-time slots, and remained on the channel's late-night schedule for well over a decade, including the North American premiere of Red Dwarf and the improv series Whose Line is it Anyway?.

Programs such as Are You Being Served?, Keeping Up Appearances, and Yes Minister were broadcast in late-night time slots, and aired free of time and content edits. However, in 2003 when YTV began marketing its late night hours towards older youth viewers, it decided to remove the remaining shows from the schedule.

Power Rangers

In 1993, YTV obtained the Canadian broadcast rights to the action-adventure series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which aired weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings on the channel, trailing the American broadcast by several months. However, complaints were sent to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council about the violent content, and YTV was pressured to remove the series from its lineup. Although not a member of the CBSC board, YTV complied and pulled the series before the end of its first season. While a phone-in poll was conducted to see if viewers wanted Mighty Morphin Power Rangers back on YTV, no further installments of the Power Rangers series aired on the channel.

Though commercials for Power Rangers toys and videos were shown on YTV, Fox became the only broadcasters of the series in Canada. Later versions of the series ran briefly on Family from 2003 to 2010. Through its program distribution agreement with Nickelodeon U.S., the Power Rangers franchise began airing on YTV sister channel Nickelodeon Canada with the debut of Power Rangers: Samurai; that series later began airing on YTV on May 7, 2011, effectively bringing the franchise back to the channel that had previously barred it.

In fall 2014, following both Corus Entertainment's full acquisition of the TELETOON Canada Inc. networks and YTV's addition of select Teletoon programming, the Power Rangers franchise, along with both YTV's remaining anime programming and Oh No! It's an Alien Invasion! beginning with its 2nd season, moved to Teletoon, starting with new episodes of Power Rangers Super Megaforce.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

In 1997, YTV premiered the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer one week before it began airing concurrently in the United States on The WB. The mature subject matter of the series catered to an older audience, but YTV aired the series both uncut and in its entirety, and often in the late afternoon. It became one of the highest-rated programs on the channel. One parental complaint was mockingly read on-air by former "The Zone" host Paul McGuire.

YTV's broadcast continued even after Buffy the Vampire Slayer moved to UPN in the United States, not only making the U.S. broadcast more widely available in Canada, but also gradually leading to a notable increase in violent and sexual content. For its entire run, Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired before the Canadian watershed of 9:00 p.m. EST. The only exception was the season six episode "Seeing Red", which premiered at 9:00 p.m. EST in 2002 due to extreme content.

Farscape

In 1999, YTV broadcast the North American debut of the Farscape sci-fi series, but in 2000 it did not acquire the rights to the show's second season and skipped the cliffhanger finale to the first season.

Anime

YTV hosted the North American broadcast premiere of Sailor Moon in August 1995. The final 17 episodes of Sailor Moon R were dubbed specifically for the Canadian market. Series such as Dragon Ball and Pokemon were broadcast on the channel in following years. In 2000, YTV broadcast Gundam Wing, airing an edited version of the series at 11:30 p.m. ET on weeknights.

In late 2003, InuYasha premiered on the network. Its popularity with teen viewers brought about the creation in 2004 of the Bionix block, which aired on Friday nights and included Gundam SEED. YTV aired Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex at midnight because of its adult content; it did not air the "Jungle Cruise" episode.

On September 29, 2006, YTV Canada Inc. announced it had applied to the CRTC for permission to launch a Category 2 English-language specialty channel called The Anime Channel. The proposal included minimum 85% animated and related programming and maximum 15% information-based programming, targeted at adults over the age of 18. A meeting with the CRTC was held on November 14, 2006. On January 30, 2007, CRTC approved the application for the licence to run until August 31, 2013.^[8] The licence allowed the channel to allocate not less than 65% of the broadcast year to anime programs, not more than 35% of the broadcast year to anime-related programs, not less than 85% of the broadcast year to programming from categories 7(d; theatrical feature films aired on TV), 7(e; animated television programs and films) and 7(g; other drama), with no more than 15% of the broadcast year dedicated to information-based programs. Corus Entertainment failed to launch this channel within the required 36-month period and did not apply for an extension.

Between the end of "Limbo" and the beginning of "Bionix", YTV launched the Anime Master forum. The Anime Master character is portrayed as a red-suited masked ninja, dubbed in the voice of YTV's robotic mascot, Snit, and has made a few guest appearances in "The Zone" and "Vortex" segments. Live-action show hosts have also done interviews in Anime North, most of the guests being voice actors for popular animated shows on the channel. The interviews were shown in the live action segments between programmes (called Animinutes), or as a separate block. In 2009, YTV moved the Bionix block from Friday to Saturday nights, cutting down the length and number of anime series on the block significantly. On February 7, 2010, the Bionix block ended.

For more than four years after that, YTV's anime programming targeted only younger audiences.

On September 2, 2014, following both Corus Entertainment's full acquisition of the TELETOON Canada Inc. networks and YTV's addition of select Teletoon programming, the channel's remaining anime programming (along with both the Power Rangers franchise and Oh No! It's an Alien Invasion!) moved to Teletoon.

Programming

YTV's schedule primarily features children's and teen-oriented programming, with target audiences ranging from children to young adults. At the upper end of this range are repeats of dramas such as Smallville. It aired a significant number of British sitcoms in late night, My Family for example, but these have been dropped. It was the first channel to air the first completely computer-animated series ReBoot, and it broadcast the North American premiere of Sailor Moon. While some of its shows are targeted at a younger audience, others are intended for older teenagers, with some of the shows dealing with mature content and adult themes.

While it produces or commissions a substantial portion of its programming, YTV also acquires and airs most of the original series broadcast by the similar American service Nickelodeon, which was not available in Canada until Corus launched a domestic version of the channel on November 2, 2009. Because of strong contractual ties, YTV has exclusive access to all Nickelodeon animated titles, and to date has aired every one of these programs. However, rights to some Nickelodeon live-action series were given to Family Channel from the 1990s to the mid-2000s.

Programming blocks

Since the channel was launched, YTV has divided its programming into distinct blocks for a variety of reasons. An unnamed programming block which later became "The Treehouse", and "The Afterschool Zone", now known as "The Zone", were the first two blocks established in the channel's early years. This was done primarily to comply with CRTC restrictions on advertising in children's programming: popular imported programming would run a few minutes short because fewer ads are permitted in Canada than in the U.S.. Instead of filling the time with public service announcements or other filler material, the several minutes between programs were devoted to interaction between live-action hosts.

Other blocks, such as "Limbo" and "Bionix", have been created for the specific purpose of designating programming intended for older or specific audiences. Since there are no corresponding restrictions on advertising, these blocks are unhosted.

Current programming blocks

• The Zone - airing weekday afternoons from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST/PST, The Zone is the channel's flagship programming block featuring a mix of animated and live-action series; hosted by Carlos Bustamante, Victor, Lisa Gilroy & Mark "Suki" Suknanan
• The Zone Weekend - a weekend morning version of The Zone hosted by Mark "Suki" Suknanan; airing from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST/PST.
• Big Fun Movies - a movie block featuring three (and sometimes four or one on Friday and Saturday) films running back-to-back, airing on Friday nights at 7:30 p.m. EST/PST, Saturday nights at 8:00 p.m. EST/PST, and Sunday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. EST/PST. It is hosted by Carlos Bustamante.

Seasonal programming blocks

• Mucho Marcho - This block airs movies every March.
• Fang-Tastic - This block airs Halloween specials and movies every October.
• Merry 6mas - This block airs holiday specials and movies all December long every night at 6:00 p.m. EST/PST.

Former programming blocks

• The Treehouse - This block was a daily programming block aimed at preschoolers; it was hosted by PJ Todd, PJ Krista, and Jennifer Racicot (PJ Katie), and featured puppets known as The Fuzzpaws. "The Treehouse" aired many shows such as Wishbone, Bananas in Pyjamas, Once Upon a Hamster, The Big Comfy Couch, Dudley the Dragon, Fraggle Rock, and PJ Katie's Farm. This segment originally did not have a specific name, and ran from 10:00 a.m. EST until switching over to "The Afterschool Zone". The original hosts were Jenn Beech and Shandra. Gord Woolvett acted as a substitute PJ for both this block and "The Afterschool Zone". "The Treehouse" block has since been spun off into its own specialty channel, Treehouse TV, which was licensed in 1996 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)^[9] and launched on November 1, 1997.
• The Alley - The Alley was the original weekend morning programming block, which was hosted by the existing PJs from the weekday segments, along with the Grogs.
• YTV News - This series was a half-hour news program aimed at children; it aired on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, and was advertised as being the only national, youth-oriented television newsmagazine. YTV News was hosted by Janis Mackey, Marret Green, Exan, Honey Khan, Cory Atkins, Mark McAllister, and Wilf Dinnick, who covered many stories from Canadian elections to world issues. Viewers of YTV News were encouraged to create their own news editorials about themselves and send them in to be broadcast. YTV News shared facilities with CTV News, and was briefly rebroadcast on CTV on weekend mornings, albeit with the title Wuz Up.
• The Breakfast Zone - "The Breakfast Zone" (or "B-Zone") aired in a morning time slot. Originally hosted by Jenn Beech and Paul McGuire, with Aashna Patel soon replacing Beech, the block was intended as a morning version of "The Zone", but functioned more as a long-running single program than an actual block. Programs started at much more arbitrary times as the banter between the live-action hosts became more of a central focus than mere filler material. The block was later rebranded as the "B-Zone", hosted by Taylor, and then rebranded again as the "B-Zone", hosted by PJ Katie (Jennifer Racicot) and Zeke, a curious creature from outer space (performed by puppeteer Todd Doldersun).
• Shift - This primetime block aired many of YTV's most popular shows. Some of "Shift's" programming included ReBoot, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Beasties, and Goosebumps. Shift was hosted by Aashna Patel and Paul McGuire. It was dropped in favour of extending "The Zone" by one hour.
• Brainwash - A weekend programming block that aired on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It was hosted by Carrie (musician and puppeteer Ali Eisner) and Ed (Shaun Majumder) from a colourful set featuring pipes and video screens. Majumder left the show in 1997 and was replaced by Peter Oldering. The concept was created and originally produced by Kim J. Saltarski and Atul N. Rao, later produced by Karen Young. Brainwash had many slogans such as "Put a spin on your reality", "Headaches are an excellent source of iron", and "YTV's laundromat of choice". The theme was a play on the name using bubbles, washing machines, and brain visuals. Brainwash was similar to "The Zone", but was much longer. It featured programs such as Bump in the Night, Astro Boy, Sailor Moon, and The Pink Panther. Brainwash was eventually replaced with Snit Station.
• The Snit Station - "Snit Station" replaced "Brainwash" in the weekend morning slot and was hosted by Stephanie Broschart and YTV's robotic mascot, Snit. "The Snit Station" programming included Animaniacs, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Garfield, and Huckleberry Hound. When Snit later left "Snit Station", this block became known as the "Vortex" block. The Snit Station was produced by Christine McGlade.
• Limbo - "Limbo" was YTV's first block for teenagers and featured programming such as Daria, Stressed Eric, Home Movies, Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married and Downtown. Limbo originally aired from 8:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. EST, but was eventually pushed back to 1:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. EST before being cancelled.
• The Dark Corner - A programming block that aired on Saturday evenings, "The Dark Corner" featured many of YTV's darker shows, such as Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Freaky Stories, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• YTV Jr. - "YTV Jr." boasted more than 40 hours of commercial-free programming per week, unlike The Treehouse, its ad-supported predecessor, and was aimed at preschoolers. "YTV Jr.'s" programming included Rupert and Nanalan'. This programming block later became obsolete as Treehouse TV, YTV's dedicated children's channel and sister network, which has became widely available; it has since been replaced by a new block, YTV PlayTime.
• The Vortex - "The Vortex" aired on YTV from 2001 to June 24, 2006. It was hosted by Stephanie Broschart, who left in 2003 and was replaced by Paula Lemyre. Unlike its predecessors, "Vortex" was exclusive to Saturday mornings; the block was based mainly around action-themed cartoons. It ended on June 24, 2006 upon Lemyre's departure from YTV, and was temporarily replaced by "The Zone Summer Weekends", a weekend edition of The Zone hosted by Stephanie "Sugar" Beard and Carlos Bustamente; however, the shows remained the same until Crunch was launched in September 2006, then ended in September 2013. The block was produced by Christine McGlade.
• Bionix - This block was YTV's action programming and anime block airing from September 10, 2004-February 7, 2010. The block aired on Sundays from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. EST from September 2009 until the block's demise. Bionix originally aired on Friday nights, and later on Saturday nights, and was a main source for anime programming on YTV.
• 3 Hairy Thumbs Up - 3 Hairy Thumbs Up was YTV's movie block until 2006, when YTV replaced it with Zapx. After its host left and YTV abandoned the "Keep It Weird!" campaign, the block remained unnamed for a while until Big Fun Movies replaced it.
• Big Fun Weeknights - a primetime block airing weeknights from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST/PST, featuring live-action comedy series from YTV and Nickelodeon.
• CRUNCH - CRUNCH was a Saturday morning programming block dedicated to animation on YTV.
• YTV PlayTime - YTV Playtime aired during school time (weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST/PST) and was aimed at preschoolers; it consisted of animated series. Unlike YTV's other blocks, YTV Playtime was broadcast commercial-free, except ads for its own shows.
• Famalama DingDong - a four-day block with the main Teletoon network and Disney Channel (other Corus Kids channels aired different blocks) beginning on February 12, 2016. Programming from YTV included movies and new episodes of popular YTV shows. YTV was the first of the three channels to air the special and the last channel to air it on February 15, 2016, after Teletoon.

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

• Carlos Bustamante sometimes hosts "The Zone" and Big Fun Movies. Mark "suki" Suknanan hosts the "Zone Weekend" and sometimes "The Zone". Lisa Gilroy and Victor Verbitsky both sometimes co-host "The Zone".

Past program jockeys

Related services

Current

YTV HD

On January 11, 2011, Corus Entertainment launched a high-definition feed called "YTV HD", which simulcasts the East Coast standard definition feed.^[11] The channel broadcasts in the 1080i picture format and is available through all major service providers.

YTV GO

YTV Go is a mobile app available on the App Store and Google Play Store. It is available for all subscribed customers of Access Communications, Bell TV, Cogeco, Shaw Cable, Shaw Direct, Telus and VMedia. It offers episodes of YTV's popular shows.

YTV On Demand

YTV On Demand is a VOD service of YTV. It offers episodes of YTV's popular shows.

Treehouse TV

Treehouse TV is a Category A cable and satellite specialty channel which airs programing targeted to preschoolers. It launched on November 1, 1997.^[12] The channel's name is taken from YTV's now-defunct children's programming block, The Treehouse. Treehouse TV is carried nationwide throughout Canada and, unlike YTV and Nickelodeon, 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, including live-action series and animation. Unlike YTV and like Treehouse TV, Nickelodeon operates on an Eastern Time Zone schedule and, unlike YTV and Treehouse TV, Nickelodeon is Corus' only part ad-supported/part commercial-free service.

Former

Bionix On Demand

In 2008, Corus Entertainment began offering a video-on-demand service called "Bionix On Demand" to 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.^[13]

Related businesses

• Whoa! magazine, YTV's official magazine, began publication in 1999 by Creative House, a joint venture between the channel, Today's Parent Group and Paton Publishing.^[14] It was distributed through Pizza Hut, YTV events, Chapters and Indigo book stores, Canadian newsstands, and subscriptions.^[15] 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.^[14][16] The magazine celebrated its fifth anniversary with a spring collector's issue in 2004.^[17] In 2007, the magazine became available as an e-zine on YTV.com.^[18] Building on that, in 2008 two additional issues (six for the year) were published as online exclusives.^[19] In 2009, YTV ended its association with the magazine.^[20] 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.^[20][21]
• Big Fun Party Mix is 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 channel's Nuclear Donkey house band. Universal Music Canada published 11 entries between 2000 and 2009.^[22][23]
• Yabber.net was a moderated online chatroom operated between 2001 and 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.^[24][25]
• YTV Spills was a followup quarterly magazine to Whoa! produced in association with The Magazine between 2010 and 2012.^[26][27]
• YTV Direct is a YouTube channel featuring various productions by Nelvana, another division of Corus Entertainment, along with past Nickelodeon series, channel promos and YTV originals.^[28] It launched in 2015 under the name Nelvana Retro.^[29]

International distribution

• Jamaica - distributed on Flow Cable systems.^[30]
• Bahamas - distributed on Cable Bahamas systems.^[31]

References

External links

• Official website
• Official Site as of 1997 at the Wayback Machine (archived April 12, 1997)
• Museum of Broadcast Communications: YTV

Children's television in Canada
Current Preschoolers' services	Disney Junior Family Junior Telebimbi Télémagino TeleNiños Treehouse Yoopa
Current Children and teens services	ABC Spark BBC Kids Cartoon Network Disney Channel English French Disney XD Family Channel Family CHRGD Nickelodeon Teletoon English French Vrak YTV
Defunct services	Discovery Kids HSTN Teletoon Retro English French
Additional resources on North American television North America List of local television stations in North America DTV transition North American TV mini-template Canada Canadian networks List of Canadian television networks List of Canadian television channels List of Canadian specialty channels Local Canadian TV stations List of United States stations available in Canada 2001 Vancouver TV realignment 2007 Canada broadcast TV realignment Mexico Mexican networks Local Mexican TV stations United States American networks List of American cable and satellite networks List of American over-the-air networks Local American TV stations (W) Local American TV stations (K) 1994 United States broadcast TV realignment 2006 United States broadcast TV realignment List of Canadian television stations available in the United States Insular Areas TV