YTV (Canadian TV channel)
Encyclopedia
YTV is a Canadian
English-language
Category A specialty channel
aimed at youth
, available nationwide through cable
and satellite television
. Presently it is wholly owned by Corus Entertainment
and Shaw Media
. The "YTV" name is thought by some viewers to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television", however the channel's website denies this. The channel operates two time-shifted feeds, East (Eastern Time
) and West (Pacific Time
).
and a company known as CUC Broadcasting
, which would later be 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.
After Corus took control of the channel in 1999, YTV began to use a Nickelodeon
-style "gross-out" factor in its branding, with much less slime, with its mantra (and former slogan) being "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 thus presumably the "official" logo features this arrangement on a red screen of a stylized purple television set. The channel's advertisements often focus on promoting the brand through crude humour.
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 much sleeker packaging with barely any gross-out tactics. In the spring of 2006, this look was adapted for the entire station.
In September 2009, the logo was slightly changed. It featured new colours of the logo, and the background of the YTV logo was simplified. There aren't as many variations to the bumpers as before. Now there are many large, opaque digital on-screen graphics
telling you which programs are coming next, and promotions of the programs.
s such as Smallville
. Until recently, it aired a significant number of British sitcoms in late night; the last one removed was My Family. Among its claims to fame, it was the first to air the first completely computer-animated series, ReBoot
, and to broadcast the North American premiere of Sailor Moon
. While some of the shows are for a very young audience, others are for older and mature teenagers, with some of the shows dealing with mature and adult themes.
While it produces or commissions a substantial portion of its programming, YTV also acquires and airs most of the original series of the similar American
service Nickelodeon
, which was not available in Canada until 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 productions. However, rights to some Nickelodeon live-action series have been given to Family Channel from the 1990s to the mid-2000s.
Other blocks, such as "Limbo" and "Bionix
", have been created for the specific purpose of designating programming intended for older or specific audiences. Without similar advertising restrictions being applied, these blocks are unhosted.
. "The Treehouse" aired many shows such as Wishbone
, Bananas in Pyjamas
, Once Upon a Hamster, The Big Comfy Couch
, Fraggle Rock
, Take Part, and PJ Katie's Farm
.
This segment originally did not have a specific name, and ran from 10AM EST until switching over to "The Afterschool Zone". The original hosts were PJ Jen and PJ Chandra. PJ Gord acted as a substitute for both this block and "The Afterschool Zone". "The Treehouse" block has since been spun off into its own specialty channel, Treehouse TV
.
.
, 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.
and aired many of YTV's most popular shows. Some of "Shift's" programming included ReBoot
, Are You Afraid of the Dark?
, Beasties
(known originally as Beast Wars, the name still used in the USA), and Goosebumps
. Shift was hosted by Aashna and Paul. It was dropped in favour of extending "The Zone" by one hour.
) from a colourful set featuring pipes and video screens. Shaun 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 (eventually forming writer/producer team "The Membrains"), 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 Jetsons
, The Flintstones
, Garfield
, and Huckleberry Hound
. When Snit later left "Snit Station", this block became known as the "Vortex" block.
, Stressed Eric
, Home Movies
, Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
and Downtown
. Limbo originally aired from 8:00 p.m. EST to 12:00 a.m. EST, but was eventually pushed back to 1:00 a.m. EST to 5:00 a.m. EST before being cancelled.
, Are You Afraid of the Dark?
, Freaky Stories
, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
, The Animal Show with Stinky and Jake, and The Big Comfy Couch
. This programming block later became obsolete as Treehouse TV, YTV's dedicated children's channel, became widely available. It is now replaced by Play Time.
. Unlike its predecessors, "Vortex" was exclusive to Saturday mornings. "Vortex" was also based mainly on action cartoons, not unlike Cartoon Network
's "Toonami
" block. It ended on June 24, 2006 upon Paula's departure from YTV, and was temporarily replaced by "The Zone Summer Weekends", a weekend edition of The Zone hosted by Sugar
and Carlos - although the shows remained the same until Crunch launched in September 2006.
was YTV's action programming and anime
block airing from September 10, 2004
-February 7, 2010
. For the final time, 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.
(DJ) or video jockey (VJ). Current hosts of these segments have since dropped the moniker of PJ.
as well as a persistent run of the improv series Whose Line is it Anyway?
, but because YTV's standards for content had not been firmly established at the time, both series endured excessive censorship.
Although prime time programming slowly became more focused, programs such as Are You Being Served?
, Keeping Up Appearances
, and Yes Minister
found cult audiences in late night time slots, and aired free of time and content edits for years as more focus was placed on younger audiences viewing at earlier hours. However, in 2003 when YTV began marketing their late night hours towards older youth viewers, it was finally decided to remove the remaining shows from the schedule.
, YTV was pressured to remove the series from their line-up due to its violent content. Despite not actually being 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 ever aired on the network until 2011, but commercials for toys and videos were advertised on the network. Fox
and the CanWest Global System stations became the only broadcasters of the series in Canada. Later versions of the series ran on Family from 2003 to 2010. The newest series, Power Rangers: Samurai, airs on Nickelodeon Canada
(a sister station of YTV) and on May 7th, 2011, it began airing on YTV, effectively bringing back the franchise to the network that had barred it.
. From the beginning this was regarded as a surprising move, as the mature nature of the series was a noticeable contrast to most of the station's acquisitions, and clearly catered towards an older audience despite seeing many late afternoon airings. However, it quickly became one of their highest rated programs, and YTV apparently took on a strong commitment to airing the series uncut and in its entirety. This was demonstrated most blatantly when one parental complaint was mockingly read on-air by former The Zone host Paul McGuire
.
YTV's broadcast continued even after Buffy was moved to UPN
in the United States, not only making the US broadcast more widely available in Canada, but also gradually leading to a notable increase in violent and sexual content. Regardless, for its entire run Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired before the Canadian watershed
of 9:00 p.m. ET. The only exception was the season six episode "Seeing Red
" which was premiered at 9:00 p.m. ET in 2002 due to extreme content.
on YTV garnered a reasonable amount of positive attention from Canadian sci-fi fans, but controversy arose in 2000 with YTV's decision to not acquire the rights to the show's second season and skip the cliffhanger finale to the first season. Apparently, the promotional materials from the Jim Henson
company used to pitch the series to various networks misleadingly depicted it as being youth oriented due to its use of puppets. As such, the general direction of the series was a considerable contrast to YTV's expectations, and was ultimately deemed too "adult" for the network. This decision resulted in considerable fan outrage, and while the series eventually found a home on SPACE
, many believe that the series was never able to attract its potential audience as a result of the initial cancellation.
in August 1995, YTV has become a central hub for anime fandom
in Canada. While Sailor Moon still remained their most popular and influential franchise (enough to provoke the final seventeen episodes of Sailor Moon R to be dubbed specifically for the Canadian market) franchises such as Dragon Ball and Pokémon
saw massive success on the station in following years. However, in 2000, YTV's confusion in attempting to market Gundam Wing, which had proven to be a monumental hit on weekday afternoons in the United States on Cartoon Network
's Toonami
block, posed significant problems for the medium's exposure in Canada. Although the movie based on the series, Endless Waltz, (which was aired before the actual series) was shown completely uncut, YTV's decision to air an edited version of the series at 11:30 p.m. EST on weeknights due to uneven market research conducted through an online poll, essentially cut the series off from mainstream viewership.
This contributed to the complete lack of many well known anime series being run on YTV for the next several years. However, this changed in late 2003 when InuYasha
premiered on the network. Its popularity with teen viewers brought about the creation of the "Bionix" block in 2004, which aired on Friday nights. While some minor, inconsistent content edits occurred in programs like Gundam SEED as a result of this new focus (although the edits were few and nowhere near as severe as on American channels like Cartoon Network
), the block has gradually matured with its content and tone falling more in line with that of Adult Swim
. YTV's decision to air Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
in 2005 met with some controversy due to the show's content and adult nature. Despite airing at midnight, the episode "Jungle Cruise" was skipped due to its gruesome theme and content.
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 Snit's voice, 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.
Current anime series on YTV include Pokémon
, Beyblade: Metal Fusion
, and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
.
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 program, 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 license until August 31, 2013. The license 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 has not apply for an extension to launch this channel and have failed to launch this channel before January 2010 and has failed to launch this channel within the 36 months period.
and Shaw Cable were the only providers to offer the service. The service offered old and new anime programs that did not air on YTV itself. The video on demand service was previously titled "YTV Anime On Demand". Effective December 17, 2009, Bionix On Demand became defunct, and was replaced by YTV On Demand.
feed called YTV HD simulcasting the east coast standard definition
feed. The channel broadcasts in 1080i
picture format.
, YTV Events, Chapters and Indigo book stores, Canadian newsstands, and subscriptions.
Big Fun Party Mix CDs contain many songs from YTV's Hit List, plus performances by the station's own Nuclear Donkey.
The Big Rip is a site for online games. The first game GalaXseeds, was launched on February 14, 2007.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
English-language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Category A specialty channel
Specialty channel
A specialty channel can be a commercial broadcasting or non-commercial television channel which consists of television programming focused on a single genre, subject or targeted television market at a specific demographic....
aimed at youth
Youth
Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...
, available nationwide through cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
. Presently it is wholly owned by Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment conglomerate.Corus is a leading Canadian specialty television and radio producer, with additional assets in pay television, advertising services, television broadcasting, children's book publishing and children's...
and Shaw Media
Shaw Media
Shaw Media is the television broadcasting division of Shaw Communications. Shaw Media owns the Global Television Network, which broadcasts via 11 television stations, as well as various specialty channels including HGTV Canada, Showcase, Food Network Canada, and History Television.Despite also...
. The "YTV" name is thought by some viewers to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television", however the channel's website denies this. The channel operates two time-shifted feeds, East (Eastern Time
North American Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
) and West (Pacific Time
Pacific Time Zone
The Pacific Time Zone observes standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time . The clock time in this zone is based on the mean solar time of the 120th meridian west of the Greenwich Observatory. During daylight saving time, its time offset is UTC-7.In the United States...
).
History
Launched on September 1, 1988, 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 CableRogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
and a company known as CUC Broadcasting
CUC Broadcasting
CUC Broadcasting was a Canadian media company. Primarily a cable television distributor which operated under the name Trillium Cable, CUC was also a minority investor in other smaller cable companies, including Northern Cable and UMG Cable....
, which would later be acquired by Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications
Shaw Communications is Canada's largest telecommunications company that provides telephone, Canada's fastest Internet and television services as well as broadcasting and soon Wifi. Shaw is headquartered in Calgary, Alberta...
. 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.
After Corus took control of the channel in 1999, YTV began to use a Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
-style "gross-out" factor in its branding, with much less slime, with its mantra (and former slogan) being "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 thus presumably the "official" logo features this arrangement on a red screen of a stylized purple television set. The channel's advertisements often focus on promoting the brand through crude humour.
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 much sleeker packaging with barely any gross-out tactics. In the spring of 2006, this look was adapted for the entire station.
In September 2009, the logo was slightly changed. It featured new colours of the logo, and the background of the YTV logo was simplified. There aren't as many variations to the bumpers as before. Now there are many large, opaque digital on-screen graphics
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
telling you which programs are coming next, and promotions of the programs.
Programming
YTV's schedule is primarily children's and teen programming, with target audiences ranging from pre-schoolers to young adults. At the upper-end of this range are repeats of dramaDrama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
s such as Smallville
Smallville (TV series)
Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...
. Until recently, it aired a significant number of British sitcoms in late night; the last one removed was My Family. Among its claims to fame, it was the first to air the first completely computer-animated series, ReBoot
ReBoot
ReBoot is a Canadian CGI-animated action-adventure cartoon series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001. It was produced by Vancouver-based production company Mainframe Entertainment, Alliance Communications, BLT Productions and created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace,...
, and to broadcast the North American premiere of Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
. While some of the shows are for a very young audience, others are for older and mature teenagers, with some of the shows dealing with mature and adult themes.
While it produces or commissions a substantial portion of its programming, YTV also acquires and airs most of the original series of the similar American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
service Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
, which was not available in Canada until 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 productions. However, rights to some Nickelodeon live-action series have been given to Family Channel from the 1990s to the mid-2000s.
Programming blocks
Since the station launched, YTV has been well known for dividing their broadcasts into distinct programming blocks for a variety of reasons. An unnamed programming block which later became "The Treehouse"; and "The Afterschool Zone", now known simply as "The Zone", were the first and second blocks established in the station's early years. This was done primarily as a tactic to comply with Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) restrictions on advertising in children's programming: popular imported programming would run a few minutes short due to fewer ads being permitted compared to US stations. Instead of filling the time with public service announcements or other filler material, the idea of devoting several minutes between programs to interaction between live-action hosts was utilized, and has proven successful to this day.Other blocks, such as "Limbo" and "Bionix
Bionix
Bionix was a late night anime program block on the Canadian television channel YTV. From September 2009-February 7, 2010, it aired on Friday nights around 4:00pm to 2:00am and Saturday mornings/afternoons from 6:00 am to 9:00 am and 12:00am to 3:00pm , beginning on September 13,...
", have been created for the specific purpose of designating programming intended for older or specific audiences. Without similar advertising restrictions being applied, these blocks are unhosted.
Current blocks
- The Zone
- Big Fun Weeknights
- Crunch
- Big Fun Movies
- YTV PlayTime airs during school time and is aimed for mostly, preschoolers, kindergarten & 1st-grade children. It mostly plays animated content. Unlike YTV's other blocks, YTV Playtime is commercial-free.
- Ultimate YTV - a block airing shows such as iCarlyICarlyiCarly is an American sitcom that focuses on a girl named Carly Shay who creates her own web show called iCarly with her best friends Sam and Freddie. The series was created by Dan Schneider, who also serves as executive producer. It stars Miranda Cosgrove as Carly, Jennette McCurdy as Sam, Nathan...
, True Jackson, VPTrue Jackson, VPTrue Jackson, VP is an American television sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon from November 8, 2008 to August 20, 2011. The series starred Keke Palmer, Ashley Argota, Matt Shively, Danielle Bisutti, Greg Proops, Robbie Amell and Ron Butler. The theme song was written by Toby Gad and Keke Palmer and...
, SpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
, and more.
The Treehouse
"The Treehouse" was a daily programming block aimed at children. It was hosted by PJ Todd, PJ Krista, and PJ Katie, and featured puppets known as The FuzzpawsThe Fuzzpaws
The Fuzzpaws are a group of seven puppets which co-hosted the Treehouse programming block on YTV in the 1990s. When the block was canceled in 1998, in favor of an unhosted block called YTV Jr, the Fuzzpaws got their own show as well as their own briefly marketed toy line...
. "The Treehouse" aired many shows such as Wishbone
Wishbone (TV series)
Wishbone is a television show which aired from 1995 to 1998 and reruns from 1998 to 2001 in the United States featuring a Jack Russell Terrier of the same name. The main character, the talking dog Wishbone, lives with his owner Joe Talbot in the fictional modern town of Oakdale, Texas...
, Bananas in Pyjamas
Bananas in Pyjamas
Bananas in Pyjamas is an Australian children's television show that premiered in July 1992 on ABC Television. It has since become syndicated in many different countries, and dubbed into other languages. In the United States, the "Pyjamas" in the title was modified to reflect the American spelling...
, Once Upon a Hamster, The Big Comfy Couch
The Big Comfy Couch
The Big Comfy Couch is a Canadian children's television series about Loonette the Clown and her doll Molly, who solve everyday problems on their "Big Comfy Couch". It aired from 1992 until early 2006. Re-runs of the show are still being aired on Treehouse TV. It was produced by Cheryl Wagner and...
, Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock
Fraggle Rock is a children's live action puppet television program series created by Jim Henson. The central characters were a set of "Muppet" creatures called Fraggles. The show ran from January 10, 1983, to March 30, 1987, on CBC Television in Canada, ITV in the UK, HBO in the United States,...
, Take Part, and PJ Katie's Farm
PJ Katie's Farm
PJ Katie's Farm was a Canadian children's television program featuring the live-action manipulation of model magic puppet figures, characters, Dippé the Cat, Bryce the Collie Colie, Rosebeekee the Magenta Hamster, Delilah the Cow, Darcy the Goose, Blue the Horse, Ed the Rabbit, Demmy the Rooster,...
.
This segment originally did not have a specific name, and ran from 10AM EST until switching over to "The Afterschool Zone". The original hosts were PJ Jen and PJ Chandra. PJ Gord acted as a substitute for both this block and "The Afterschool Zone". "The Treehouse" block has since been spun off into its own specialty channel, Treehouse TV
Treehouse TV
Treehouse TV is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel with programming targeted towards preschoolers that was launched on October 17, 1997. Its name comes from YTV's old children's programming block, The Treehouse...
.
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 GrogsGrogs (YTV)
Grogs were the different puppet characters on various YTV programming blocks between 1992 and 1994. They were created by 21 year olds Jason Hopley and Jamie Shannon in their first professional puppeteering job. The duo later founded The Grogs puppet company, and went on to do other puppet based...
.
YTV News
YTV News was a 30 minute news show. It aired on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays, and was advertised as being the only national, youth-oriented TV Newsmagazine. YTV News was hosted by Janis MackeyJanis Mackey Frayer
Janis Mackey Frayer is a Canadian journalist. She is currently the CTV National News South Asia Bureau Chief based in New Delhi. She was the network's Middle East Bureau Chief from 2003-2009....
, 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
CTV News
CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name CTV News is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations , which are closely tied to the national news division...
, and was briefly rebroadcast on CTV on weekend mornings, albeit with the title Wuz Up.
The Breakfast Zone
"The Breakfast Zone" (or "B-Zone") was aired in a morning time slot as the name implies. Originally hosted by PJ Jenn and PJ Paul, with Aashna soon replacing Jenn, 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 re-branded as the "B-Zone", hosted by Taylor, and then re-branded again as the popular "B-Zone", hosted by PJ Katie (Jennifer Racicot) and Zeke, a curious creature from outer space (performed by puppeteer Todd Doldersun).Shift
"Shift" was broadcast in primetimePrime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
and aired many of YTV's most popular shows. Some of "Shift's" programming included ReBoot
ReBoot
ReBoot is a Canadian CGI-animated action-adventure cartoon series that originally aired from 1994 to 2001. It was produced by Vancouver-based production company Mainframe Entertainment, Alliance Communications, BLT Productions and created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace,...
, Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Are You Afraid of the Dark? may refer to:* Are You Afraid of the Dark?, a 1992 television series* Are You Afraid of the Dark? , a 2004 novel by Sidney Sheldon...
, Beasties
Beast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
(known originally as Beast Wars, the name still used in the USA), and Goosebumps
Goosebumps
Goosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novels written by American author R. L. Stine and first published by Scholastic Publishing. It is a collection of stories that feature semi-homogenous plot structures, with fictional children being involved in scary situations...
. Shift was hosted by Aashna and Paul. It was dropped in favour of extending "The Zone" by one hour.
Brainwash
"Brainwash" was a former weekend programming block that aired on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. It was hosted by Carrie (musician and puppeteer Ali Eisner) and Ed (Shaun MajumderShaun Majumder
-Life and career:Majumder was born in Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador to a European descended mother from Newfoundland and an Indian father. He started his entertainment career as an announcer for the YTV game show CLIPS, and soon was hosting the network's popular morning kids show Brain...
) from a colourful set featuring pipes and video screens. Shaun 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 (eventually forming writer/producer team "The Membrains"), 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
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
, and The Pink Panther
The Pink Panther (character)
The Pink Panther is the main and title character in the opening and closing credit sequences of every film in The Pink Panther series except for A Shot in the Dark and Inspector Clouseau. His popularity spawned a series of theatrical shorts, merchandise, a comic book, and television cartoons...
. Brainwash was eventually replaced with Snit Station.
Snit Station
"Snit Station" replaced "Brainwash" in the weekend morning slot and was hosted by Stephanie Broschart and YTV's robotic mascot, Snit. "Snit Station" programming included AnimaniacsAnimaniacs
Steven Spielberg Presents Animaniacs, usually referred to as simply Animaniacs, is an American animated series, distributed by Warner Bros. Television and produced by Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. Animation. The cartoon was the second animated series produced by the collaboration of Steven...
, The Jetsons
The Jetsons
The Jetsons is a animated American sitcom that was produced by Hanna-Barbera, originally airing in prime-time from 1962–1963 and again from 1985–1987...
, The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
, Garfield
Garfield
Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. Published since June 19, 1978, it chronicles the life of the title character, the cat Garfield ; his owner, Jon Arbuckle; and Arbuckle's dog, Odie...
, and Huckleberry Hound
Huckleberry Hound
The Huckleberry Hound Show is a 1958 syndicated animated series and the second from Hanna-Barbera following The Ruff & Reddy Show, sponsored by Kellogg's. Three segments were included in the program: one featuring Huckleberry Hound; another starring Yogi Bear and his sidekick Boo Boo; and a third...
. When Snit later left "Snit Station", this block became known as the "Vortex" block.
Limbo
"Limbo" was YTV's first block for teenagers and featured programming such as DariaDaria
Daria is an American animated television series produced by Paramount Television, and created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn for MTV. The series focuses on Daria Morgendorffer, a smart, acerbic, and somewhat misanthropic teenage girl who observes the world around her...
, Stressed Eric
Stressed Eric
Stressed Eric is a British/American/New Zealand cartoon series that was produced by Absolutely Productions for the BBC Two television channel in the United Kingdom and the Television New Zealand. The series revolves around Eric Feeble, a middle class man who is always stressed, because of his...
, Home Movies
Home Movies (TV series)
Home Movies is a dialogue-driven American animated series that originally aired from 1999 to 2004. The plot surrounds eight-year-old Brendon Small , who makes films with his friends Melissa Robbins and Jason Penopolis in his spare time...
, Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married
Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married
Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married is an international best selling 1996 novel by Irish author, Marian Keyes. It chronicles the life of Lucy Sullivan, a 26-year-old perpetually broke, unlucky-in-love office worker from London, who has a penchant for bad boys, a needy, alcoholic and flawed father, a...
and Downtown
Downtown (TV series)
Downtown was an animated series on MTV on urban life, based on interviews with real people. The show follows a diverse and multiracial cast who live in New York City, and presents their everyday lives through quirky, humorous, and imaginative perspectives from the characters...
. Limbo originally aired from 8:00 p.m. EST to 12:00 a.m. EST, but was eventually pushed back to 1:00 a.m. EST to 5:00 a.m. EST before being cancelled.
The Dark Corner
A former programming block that aired on Saturday evenings, "The Dark Corner" featured many of YTV's darker shows, such as GoosebumpsGoosebumps
Goosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novels written by American author R. L. Stine and first published by Scholastic Publishing. It is a collection of stories that feature semi-homogenous plot structures, with fictional children being involved in scary situations...
, Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Are You Afraid of the Dark? may refer to:* Are You Afraid of the Dark?, a 1992 television series* Are You Afraid of the Dark? , a 2004 novel by Sidney Sheldon...
, Freaky Stories
Freaky Stories
Freaky Stories is a Canadian television series, which was originally broadcasted by YTV in English and Canal Famille in French...
, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
YTV Jr.
"YTV Jr." boasted 40 hours of commercial-free programming per week and was aimed at the pre-school demographic. "YTV Jr.'s" programming included RupertRupert Bear
Rupert Bear is a children's comic strip character, who features in a series of books based around his adventures. The character was created by the English artist Mary Tourtel and first appeared in the Daily Express on 8 November 1920. Rupert's initial purpose was to win sales from the rival...
, The Animal Show with Stinky and Jake, and The Big Comfy Couch
The Big Comfy Couch
The Big Comfy Couch is a Canadian children's television series about Loonette the Clown and her doll Molly, who solve everyday problems on their "Big Comfy Couch". It aired from 1992 until early 2006. Re-runs of the show are still being aired on Treehouse TV. It was produced by Cheryl Wagner and...
. This programming block later became obsolete as Treehouse TV, YTV's dedicated children's channel, became widely available. It is now replaced by Play Time.
Vortex
"Vortex" aired on YTV from 2001 to June 24, 2006. It was formerly hosted by Stephanie Broschart, who left in 2003 and was replaced by Paula LemyrePaula Lemyre
Paula Lemyre is the former host of YTV's Saturday morning programming block, Vortex. She graduated from Bayview Secondary School and is an alumna of Ryerson University of Toronto where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1997...
. Unlike its predecessors, "Vortex" was exclusive to Saturday mornings. "Vortex" was also based mainly on action cartoons, not unlike Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's "Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
" block. It ended on June 24, 2006 upon Paula's departure from YTV, and was temporarily replaced by "The Zone Summer Weekends", a weekend edition of The Zone hosted by Sugar
Stephanie Beard
Stephanie Beard is a Canadian actress, voice actress and television and radio personality. Her radio host persona goes by Suga BayBee, and as co-host of The Zone, she was called Sugar.Beard was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
and Carlos - although the shows remained the same until Crunch launched in September 2006.
Bionix
BionixBionix
Bionix was a late night anime program block on the Canadian television channel YTV. From September 2009-February 7, 2010, it aired on Friday nights around 4:00pm to 2:00am and Saturday mornings/afternoons from 6:00 am to 9:00 am and 12:00am to 3:00pm , beginning on September 13,...
was YTV's action programming and anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
block airing from September 10, 2004
2004 in Canadian television
- Events :- Debuts :-1950s:*Country Canada *Hockey Night in Canada *The National -1960s:*CTV National News *Land and Sea...
-February 7, 2010
2010 in Canadian television
- Events :- Debuts :Series currently listed here have been announced by their respective networks as scheduled to premiere in 2010. Note that shows may be delayed or cancelled by the network between now and their scheduled air dates.- Ending this year :...
. For the final time, the block aired on Sundays from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. EST from September 2009
2009 in Canadian television
- Events :- Debuts :- Ending this year :- Television shows :-1950s:*Hockey Night in Canada *The National -1960s:...
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 it's host left and YTV abandoned the 'Keep It Weird!' campaign, the block remained unnamed for a while until Big Fun Movies replaced it.Program jockeys
Until the mid-1990s, YTV called their program jockeys "PJs" in the same vein as disc jockeyDisc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
(DJ) or video jockey (VJ). Current hosts of these segments have since dropped the moniker of PJ.
Current
- Carlos Bustamente hosts "The Zone"
- Andy Chapman hosts "Crunch"
- Laura DaSilva hosts Big Fun Movies
Past program jockeys
- Simon Mohos
- Joyce Quansah
- Ajay Fry
- Stephanie Beard (Sugar)Stephanie BeardStephanie Beard is a Canadian actress, voice actress and television and radio personality. Her radio host persona goes by Suga BayBee, and as co-host of The Zone, she was called Sugar.Beard was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
- Paula LemyrePaula LemyrePaula Lemyre is the former host of YTV's Saturday morning programming block, Vortex. She graduated from Bayview Secondary School and is an alumna of Ryerson University of Toronto where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1997...
- Phil Guerrero, also known as PJ "Fresh" Phil
- Paul McGuirePaul McGuirePaul McGuire is a host on Canada's CMT network.-Biography:He was brought up in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada where he attended York University.Since 1994, He worked on YTV's live events, and later switched to CMT....
, also known as PJ Paul - Daryn JonesDaryn JonesDaryn Jones is a Canadian comedian and television personality. In 2006 he became the host of MTV Canada's flagship series MTV Live, alongside co-hosts Nicole Holness and Paul “The Intern” Lemieux....
- Jenn BeechJennifer BeechJennifer Beech is a Canadian television host. She is the daughter of In the early 1990s she appeared on YTV as "PJ Jenn." She left YTV in 1994 to become the host of BBS Master Control which consisted of a line-up of children's programming from Walt Disney Animation Studios...
, also known as PJ Jenn - Jennifer Katie Racicot, also known as PJ Katie
- Shaun MajumderShaun Majumder-Life and career:Majumder was born in Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador to a European descended mother from Newfoundland and an Indian father. He started his entertainment career as an announcer for the YTV game show CLIPS, and soon was hosting the network's popular morning kids show Brain...
(Ed Brainbin) - Anand RajaramAnand RajaramAnand Rajaram is a Canadian actor, writer and director.Anand Rajaram was born in New Delhi, India, and has a bachelor's degree in drama and theatre arts from the University of Waterloo...
, who voiced Snit - Taylor (Phil McCordic)
- Gordon Michael WoolvettGordon Michael WoolvettGordon Michael Woolvett is a Canadian-born actor from Hamilton, Ontario Canada, best known for his work as Seamus Zelazny Harper on the television series Andromeda . Previous to Andromeda he starred in another science fiction TV show, Deepwater Black...
, also known as Gord the PJ Man - PJ Todd
- PJ Krista
- Pat KellyPat Kelly (comedian)Pat Kelly is a comedian from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He was trained at Loose Moose Theatre in Calgary, and was a host for YTV, a Canadian cable channel featuring children's programming...
- Janis Mackey FrayerJanis Mackey FrayerJanis Mackey Frayer is a Canadian journalist. She is currently the CTV National News South Asia Bureau Chief based in New Delhi. She was the network's Middle East Bureau Chief from 2003-2009....
, also known as PJ "Jazzy" Jan - Shandra, also known as PJ "Rockin" Shan
- Aashna Patel, also known as PJ Aashna
- Stephanie Broschart
- Ali Eisner
- The GrogsGrogs (YTV)Grogs were the different puppet characters on various YTV programming blocks between 1992 and 1994. They were created by 21 year olds Jason Hopley and Jamie Shannon in their first professional puppeteering job. The duo later founded The Grogs puppet company, and went on to do other puppet based...
, puppeteers Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley - Marty Stelnick, puppetee
- Atul N. Rao, the puppeteer of the original Snit
- Laurie GelmanLaurie HibberdLaurie Hibberd is a Canadian television personality and entertainment news reporter. She is married to Michael Gelman; they have two children. As of 2007 she was working on two Canadian-based talk shows, The Mom Show and Doctor in the House...
- Michael Quast, also known as Michael Q
- Elizabeth Becker
- Rachael CrawfordRachael CrawfordRachael Crawford is an actress known primarily for her role in Show Me Yours as Dr. Kate Langford...
Programs of note
As an early specialty station with a focus on an ambiguously defined area such as youth programming, YTV has incorporated many unique and niche programs into their schedule over the years.British sitcoms
Due to a general lack of original programming for specialty services in its early years, YTV often filled its schedule with older or more obscure types of acquisitions not normally seen on other services. One of the most well known additions has been British sitcoms, which were initially used to fill prime time slots, but due to popular demand remained prominently on the station's late night schedule for well over a decade. Highlights included the North American premiere of Red DwarfRed Dwarf
Red Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
as well as a persistent run of the improv series Whose Line is it Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
, but because YTV's standards for content had not been firmly established at the time, both series endured excessive censorship.
Although prime time programming slowly became more focused, programs such as Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served?
Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
, Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances
Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom created and written by Roy Clarke for the BBC. Centred on the life of eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket , the sitcom portrays a social hierarchy-ruled British society...
, and Yes Minister
Yes Minister
Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
found cult audiences in late night time slots, and aired free of time and content edits for years as more focus was placed on younger audiences viewing at earlier hours. However, in 2003 when YTV began marketing their late night hours towards older youth viewers, it was finally decided to remove the remaining shows from the schedule.
Power Rangers
In 1993, YTV obtained the Canadian broadcast rights to the sensationally popular action adventure series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers on their channel, which played to a receptive audience on weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings, trailing the American broadcast by several months. However, due to a handful of complaints sent to the Canadian Broadcast Standards CouncilCanadian Broadcast Standards Council
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council is an independent, non-governmental organization created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to administer standards established by its members, Canada's private broadcasters....
, YTV was pressured to remove the series from their line-up due to its violent content. Despite not actually being 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
Power Rangers
Power Rangers is a long-running American entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live action children's television series featuring teams of costumed heroes...
series ever aired on the network until 2011, but commercials for toys and videos were advertised on the network. Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
and the CanWest Global System stations became the only broadcasters of the series in Canada. Later versions of the series ran on Family from 2003 to 2010. The newest series, Power Rangers: Samurai, airs on Nickelodeon Canada
Nickelodeon (Canada)
Nickelodeon is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the U.S. cable network Nickelodeon. It is wholly owned by Corus Entertainment, with its name licensed from MTV Networks International, a division of Viacom....
(a sister station of YTV) and on May 7th, 2011, it began airing on YTV, effectively bringing back the franchise to the network that had barred it.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
In 1997, YTV premiered the popular series Buffy the Vampire Slayer one week before it began airing concurrently in the US on the WBThe WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
. From the beginning this was regarded as a surprising move, as the mature nature of the series was a noticeable contrast to most of the station's acquisitions, and clearly catered towards an older audience despite seeing many late afternoon airings. However, it quickly became one of their highest rated programs, and YTV apparently took on a strong commitment to airing the series uncut and in its entirety. This was demonstrated most blatantly when one parental complaint was mockingly read on-air by former The Zone host Paul McGuire
Paul McGuire
Paul McGuire is a host on Canada's CMT network.-Biography:He was brought up in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada where he attended York University.Since 1994, He worked on YTV's live events, and later switched to CMT....
.
YTV's broadcast continued even after Buffy was moved to UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
in the United States, not only making the US broadcast more widely available in Canada, but also gradually leading to a notable increase in violent and sexual content. Regardless, for its entire run Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired before the Canadian watershed
Watershed (television)
In television, the term watershed denotes the time period in a television schedule during which programs with adult content can air....
of 9:00 p.m. ET. The only exception was the season six episode "Seeing Red
Seeing Red (Buffy episode)
"Seeing Red" is episode 19 of season 6 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In North America, this episode was transmitted to UPN affiliates a week early by accident...
" which was premiered at 9:00 p.m. ET in 2002 due to extreme content.
Farscape
In 1999, the North American debut of FarscapeFarscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
on YTV garnered a reasonable amount of positive attention from Canadian sci-fi fans, but controversy arose in 2000 with YTV's decision to not acquire the rights to the show's second season and skip the cliffhanger finale to the first season. Apparently, the promotional materials from the Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
company used to pitch the series to various networks misleadingly depicted it as being youth oriented due to its use of puppets. As such, the general direction of the series was a considerable contrast to YTV's expectations, and was ultimately deemed too "adult" for the network. This decision resulted in considerable fan outrage, and while the series eventually found a home on SPACE
Space: The Imagination Station
Space is a Canadian Category A specialty channel owned and operated by Bell Media. It features science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming including films, documentaries, scripted television series and more...
, many believe that the series was never able to attract its potential audience as a result of the initial cancellation.
Anime
Ever since hosting the North American broadcast premiere of Sailor MoonSailor Moon
Sailor Moon, known as , is a media franchise created by manga artist Naoko Takeuchi. Fred Patten credits Takeuchi with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls, and Paul Gravett credits the series with "revitalizing" the magical-girl genre itself...
in August 1995, YTV has become a central hub for anime fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
in Canada. While Sailor Moon still remained their most popular and influential franchise (enough to provoke the final seventeen episodes of Sailor Moon R to be dubbed specifically for the Canadian market) franchises such as Dragon Ball and Pokémon
Pokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
saw massive success on the station in following years. However, in 2000, YTV's confusion in attempting to market Gundam Wing, which had proven to be a monumental hit on weekday afternoons in the United States on Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
's Toonami
Toonami
Toonami was a registered trademark of Cartoon Network, used initially for action-oriented programming blocks on Cartoon Network television channels worldwide, mostly showing American cartoons and Japanese anime, originating in the United States on March 17, 1997 and ended on September 20, 2008.The...
block, posed significant problems for the medium's exposure in Canada. Although the movie based on the series, Endless Waltz, (which was aired before the actual series) was shown completely uncut, YTV's decision to air an edited version of the series at 11:30 p.m. EST on weeknights due to uneven market research conducted through an online poll, essentially cut the series off from mainstream viewership.
This contributed to the complete lack of many well known anime series being run on YTV for the next several years. However, this changed in late 2003 when InuYasha
InuYasha
, also known as , is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi. It premiered in Weekly Shōnen Sunday on November 13, 1996 and concluded on June 18, 2008...
premiered on the network. Its popularity with teen viewers brought about the creation of the "Bionix" block in 2004, which aired on Friday nights. While some minor, inconsistent content edits occurred in programs like Gundam SEED as a result of this new focus (although the edits were few and nowhere near as severe as on American channels like Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
), the block has gradually matured with its content and tone falling more in line with that of Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
. YTV's decision to air Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
is an anime television series produced by Production I.G and based on Masamune Shirow's manga Ghost in the Shell. It was written and directed by Kenji Kamiyama, with original character design by Hajime Shimomura and a soundtrack by Yoko Kanno...
in 2005 met with some controversy due to the show's content and adult nature. Despite airing at midnight, the episode "Jungle Cruise" was skipped due to its gruesome theme and content.
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
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
, dubbed in Snit's voice, and has made a few guest appearances in The Zone and "Vortex" segments.
Live action show hosts have also done interviews in Anime North
Anime North
Anime North is a non-profit, fan-run anime convention, held every year in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its major attractions, activities and events include a Masquerade, a Dealers Room, an Artists Alley, Guest of Honor presentations, Gaming , Panel Discussions, Video Presentations, Contests, and Dances...
, 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.
Current anime series on YTV include Pokémon
Pokémon (anime)
, abbreviated from , is a children's TV anime series, which has since been adapted for the North and South American, Australian and European television markets...
, Beyblade: Metal Fusion
Beyblade: Metal Fusion
Beyblade: Metal Fusion, known formally as , its Japanese name, is a Japanese manga production by Takafumi Adachi. It is also an anime production based on the original. It is currently being serialized by the monthly CoroCoro Comic ....
, and Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
is a Yu-Gi-Oh! series which aired in Japan between April 2, 2008 and March 30, 2011, following the previous series, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, and was succeeded by Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal, on April 11, 2011...
.
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 program, 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 license until August 31, 2013. The license 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 has not apply for an extension to launch this channel and have failed to launch this channel before January 2010 and has failed to launch this channel within the 36 months period.
Bionix On Demand
In 2008, Corus Entertainment began offering a video-on-demand service called "Bionix On Demand" to cable providers. Rogers CableRogers Cable
Rogers Cable Inc., a subsidiary of Rogers Communications Inc., is Canada's largest cable television service provider with about 2.25 million television customers, and over 930,000 Internet subscribers, in Manitoba, Southern & Eastern Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.The...
and Shaw Cable were the only providers to offer the service. The service offered old and new anime programs that did not air on YTV itself. The video on demand service was previously titled "YTV Anime On Demand". Effective December 17, 2009, Bionix On Demand became defunct, and was replaced by YTV On Demand.
YTV HD
On January 11, 2011, YTV launched a high definitionHigh-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
feed called YTV HD simulcasting the east coast standard definition
Standard-definition television
Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as...
feed. The channel broadcasts in 1080i
1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
picture format.
Related businesses
Whoa! magazine, YTV's official magazine, is published four times a year (spring, summer, fall and winter). Whoa! is distributed through Pizza HutPizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
, YTV Events, Chapters and Indigo book stores, Canadian newsstands, and subscriptions.
Big Fun Party Mix CDs contain many songs from YTV's Hit List, plus performances by the station's own Nuclear Donkey.
The Big Rip is a site for online games. The first game GalaXseeds, was launched on February 14, 2007.
International distribution
- JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
- distributed on Flow Cable systems. - Bahamas - distributed on Cable Bahamas systems.
See also
- Disney Junior (English)
- Disney Junior (French)
- Disney XD (Canada)Disney XD (Canada)Disney XD is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel. It is wholly owned by Astral Media. The channel launched on June 1, 2011 in both standard and high definition, as well as a video on demand platform....
- Family
- Nickelodeon (Canada)Nickelodeon (Canada)Nickelodeon is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the U.S. cable network Nickelodeon. It is wholly owned by Corus Entertainment, with its name licensed from MTV Networks International, a division of Viacom....
- Teletoon (English)
- Télétoon (French)Télétoon (Canadian TV channel)Télétoon is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel that specializes in animation programming. Télétoon is owned by Teletoon Canada Inc; a 50/50 partnership between Astral Media and Corus Entertainment...
- Teletoon Retro (English)Teletoon RetroTeletoon Retro is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the Teletoon programming block Teletoon Retro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
- Télétoon Rétro (French)Télétoon RétroTélétoon Rétro is a Canadian French language Category B specialty channel. It is based on the Télétoon programming block, Télétoon Rétro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
- Treehouse TVTreehouse TVTreehouse TV is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel with programming targeted towards preschoolers that was launched on October 17, 1997. Its name comes from YTV's old children's programming block, The Treehouse...