YTV (TV channel) facts for kids

YTV is a Canadian English language specialty channel that launched on September 1, 1988. It is owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. YTV is dedicated to kids and family-oriented programming. The channel's name was originally thought to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television", though the channel's website has denied this.

YTV operates two time shifted feeds, running on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules, and is available in over 11 million households in Canada as of 2013.

Programming

In addition to original programming, YTV was aimed at children and young teenagers from 9—16. It has historically acquired and co-produced programs with the U.S cable network Nickelodeon.

Programming blocks

Current programming blocks

• The Zone - Airing weekday afternoons from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST, The Zone features both animated and live action TV series; it is hosted by Jason Agnew and Tyra Sweet.
• The Zone Weekend - A weekend morning version of The Zone hosted by Jason Agnew; airing from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST.
• Big Fun Movies - A movie block that airs films Monday to Thursdays 7:00 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., and weekends at both 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. EST. It is hosted by Duhin Nanda on Sundays.

Seasonal programming blocks

• Mucho Marcho - This block airs movies every March.
• Fang-Tastic - This block airs Halloween specials and movies every October.
• Merry Everything - This block airs holiday specials and movies all December long. It was previously known as "Big Fun Holidays" from 2009 to 2011 and "Merry 6mas" from 2012 to 2016.

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. This block aired shows such as Wishbone, Bananas in Pyjamas, Once Upon a Hamster, The Big Comfy Couch, The Adventures of 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) and launched on November 1, 1997.
• The Alley - This 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 30-minute 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, Marrett 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 - This aired in a morning time slot. It was co-created and produced by Kim Saltarski who also played the character Bobby Braceman. 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 under the same name, instead hosted by PJ Katie (Jennifer Racicot) and Zeke, a curious creature from outer space (performed by puppeteer Todd Doldersun).
• The Vault - This image spot campaign launched in 1997 with YTV's push towards an older demographic. "The Vault" was aimed towards teens with its visual aesthetic, which played heavily on metal, machinery, shock imagery, and electronics. The programming featured on such promos included ReBoot, Transformers: Beast Wars, Deepwater Black, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• YTV Shift - This primetime block aired programs such as ReBoot, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Transformers: Beast Wars, and Goosebumps. "YTV Shift" was hosted by Aashna Patel and Paul McGuire.
• Brainwash - A weekend programming block that aired on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It was hosted by Carrie Funkwash (musician and puppeteer Ali Eisner) and Ed Brainbin (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. It featured programs such as Bump in the Night, Astro Boy, Sailor Moon, and The Pink Panther.
• Spine-Chilling Saturday Nights - A Saturday night block revolving around YTV's darker shows, this 1998 block served as the prototype towards The Dark Corner. Programming consisted of Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• Whiplash Wednesdays - Aired on Wednesdays after The Zone; this block focused on superhero and action TV shows. Its branding focused on strange warrior characters getting titular whiplash from kicks, chops, and punches.
• Snit Station - This replaced "Brainwash" in the weekend morning slot and was hosted by Stephanie Broschart and YTV's robotic mascot, Snit. "Snit Station" programming included Animaniacs, The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Garfield and Friends, and Huckleberry Hound. When Snit later left "Snit Station", this block became known as the "Vortex" block. "Snit Station" was produced by Christine McGlade.
• Limbo - Introduced in 2000, this was YTV's first block for teenagers. It featured programming such as Daria, Stressed Eric, Home Movies, Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married, Treasure and Downtown. "Limbo" originally aired from 9:00 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 in 2001.
• The Dark Corner - A programming block that aired on Saturday evenings, this block featured TV shows such as Goosebumps, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Freaky Stories, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
• YTV Jr. - This weekday programming block aired commercial-free preschool programs such as Rupert and Nanalan. This programming block later became obsolete as Treehouse TV, YTV's dedicated children's channel and sister network, which has become widely available; it was later replaced by a block called "YTV Playtime".
• YTV PlayTime - This aired weekdays 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EST and was aimed at preschoolers; it consisted of various animated TV series. Unlike YTV's other blocks, YTV Playtime was broadcast commercial-free, except for ads for its own shows.
• Vortex - This 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.
• Bionix - This block was YTV's action programming and anime block airing from September 10, 2004 – February 7, 2010. The block aired Friday nights until July 19, 2008, when it was moved from Fridays to its new timeslot on Saturdays, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST. In September 2009 it switched to Sunday nights, where it aired from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. EST until it was discontinued on February 27, 2010.
• 3 Hairy Thumbs Up - This was YTV's former movie block, airing on weekend afternoons. It was the last YTV programming block to use the "Keep it Weird" slogan.
• ZAPX Movies - This was a movie block that aired after "3 Hairy Thumbs Up" (later "Moovibot") on Sundays (formerly Saturdays) and was hosted by Simon Mohos. The block was discontinued in 2011, when YTV launched a new weekend movie block called "Big Fun Movies".
• Big Fun Fridays - A primetime block that aired Friday nights at 6:00 p.m. EST, with a movie at 7:00 p.m. EST. In Fall 2009, it was expanded into "Big Fun Weeknights".
• Moovibot - This replaced "3 Hairy Thumbs Up" in 2008 and featured a CGI-animated robot as its "host". It was discontinued in 2009, when "ZAPX" was expanded to include three movies airing back-to-back on Sunday afternoons.
• Nickelodeon Sundays - A Sunday morning block that aired Nickelodeon series such as SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents, Back at the Barnyard, and iCarly.
• Big Fun Weeknights - A primetime block airing weeknights from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EST, featuring live action comedy series from both YTV and Nickelodeon.
• CRUNCH - This was a Saturday morning programming block dedicated to animation on YTV, launched in 2006 and ending in 2013. It was hosted by Ajay Fry and later Andy Chapman before its end in 2013.
• Famalama DingDong - A four-day block with both Teletoon and Disney Channel beginning on February 12, 2016. Programming from YTV included movies and new episodes of various YTV shows.
• YTV's 630 - This weeknight block aired live action series at 6:30 p.m. EST.

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

The Zone and The Zone Weekend are co-hosted by Spencer Litzinger and Tyra Sweet.

Past program jockeys

Related services

Treehouse

Treehouse is a Category A cable and satellite specialty channel which airs programming targeted to preschoolers, from 2 to 5. It launched on November 1, 1997. The channel's name is taken from YTV's now-defunct children's programming block, The Treehouse. Treehouse is carried nationwide throughout Canada and it broadcasts its programming without commercial interruption.

Nickelodeon

Nickelodeon is a Category B cable and satellite specialty channel that was launched on November 2, 2009, and is based on the U.S. cable channel Nickelodeon. Like its counterparts in the U.S. and elsewhere, Nickelodeon airs programs aimed at children to younger teenagers, targeted at 7—11. including both live action series and animation.

Former

Vortex on Demand

In July 2005, Corus Entertainment partnered up with Comcast Corporation to launch a cable video-on-demand service called "Vortex on Demand" in the United States. The deal consisted of 393 30 minute animation TV series from the Nelvana library; it aired programs such as Cadillacs & Dinosaurs and Medabots. The service was discontinued in mid-2007.

Bionix On Demand

In 2008, Corus Entertainment began offering a video-on-demand service called "Bionix On Demand" to Canadian cable providers. Rogers Cable and Shaw Cable were the only providers to offer the service. The service offered older and newer anime programs that did not air on YTV itself. The video-on-demand service was previously titled "YTV Anime On Demand". Bionix On Demand was discontinued on December 17, 2009, and was replaced by YTV On Demand.

YTV GO

YTV GO was a TV Everywhere mobile app available on the App Store and Google Play Store. It was available at no extra charge to all subscribed customers of Access Communications, Bell Satellite TV, Cogeco, Shaw Cable, Shaw Direct, Telus, and VMedia. It offered episodes of various programming from YTV. The app operated between September 2015 and May 1, 2019.

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. It was distributed through Pizza Hut, YTV events, Chapters and Indigo bookstores, Canadian newsstands, and subscriptions. 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. The magazine celebrated its fifth anniversary with a spring collector's issue in 2004. In 2007, the magazine became available as an e-zine on YTV.com. Building on that, in 2008 two additional issues (six for the year) were published as online exclusives. In 2009, YTV ended its association with the magazine. 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.
• Big Fun Party Mix was a series of compilation cassettes/CDs containing songs from various tween approved artists, as well as tracks featured in YTV's Hit List and The Next Star, plus performances by the stations band "Nuclear Donkey". Universal Music Canada published 11 entries from 2000 to 2009.
• Yabber.net was a moderated online chat room operated from 2001 to 2004. The site hosted live chats between viewers and celebrities, voice actors, YTV hosts, and staff. Upon its closure, YTV.com absorbed some of its functionality.
• The Big Rip was an online portal for browser-based massively multiplayer online games for preteens. Developed by Corus Entertainment and Frima Studio, it launched February 15, 2007. Frima later assumed complete control of the portal before ceasing updates in 2010 and later shutting down the site.
• YTV Spills was a follow-up quarterly magazine to Whoa! produced in association with The Magazine between 2010 and 2012.
• Keep It Weird is a YouTube channel featuring various productions by Nelvana, another division of Corus Entertainment, along with past Nickelodeon series, channel promos, and YTV originals. It launched in 2015 under the name Nelvana Retro and was later rebranded to YTV Direct in 2016 before assuming its current name in 2018.

International distribution

• Jamaica - distributed on Flow Cable systems.
• Bahamas - formerly distributed on Cable Bahamas systems channel 307. Removed from the channel line up as of September 2020 due to the programming lineup changes.

See also

In Spanish: YTV para niños