YTV (Canadian TV channel)
YTV is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel and the flagship property of YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. The channel launched as a joint venture between Rogers Media and CUC Broadcasting on September 1, 1988. Shaw Communications acquired CUC's 34% stake in 1995, followed by Rogers' remaining interest in 1996, before Shaw's media division was separated as Corus Entertainment in 1999. YTV's name was initially thought to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television", though the channel itself has denied this claim as confirmed on their website.
Programming on YTV is targeted at children and young teenagers, and has included live-action and animated series, films, and third-party content from international markets. From the mid-1990s until August/September 2025, YTV acquired programs from the American cable network Nickelodeon.
In 2009, Corus launched a Canadian version of Nickelodeon under license from Viacom, which served as a sister network to YTV until its shutdown on September 1, 2025.
YTV operates two time-shifted feeds, running on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules. As of 2013, the channel is available in over 11.0 million households in Canada.
History
Background
Development of the channel began in October 1986 as part of a round of applications for new specialty channels on cable. The application would broadcast an 18-hour schedule, with children's programming during the daytime and family programming at night. During the bidding process, it was set to compete with another applicant, Young Canada Television, which withdrew from the competition in June 1987. YTV would use the evening daypart for "alternative programming", including repeats of classic CBC shows. To cater to a law stipulating 60% of Canadian content, the channel would air reruns of Polka Dot Door, Mr. Dress Up, Cucumber, The Friendly Giant, You Can't Do That on Television, The Littlest Hobo and Lorne Greene's New Wilderness, as well as reruns of American series such as The Munsters, Dennis the Menace, My Three Sons, Lassie, Flipper and The Monkees. The license was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on December 1, 1987, by Rogers Cable and CUC Broadcasting. The channel's intended target audience was children whose parents did not allow them to watch television.Early years
The channel launched on September 1, 1988, at 7:00 p.m. with the first program being a special celebrating the launch of YTV, hosted by John Candy. At launch, Rogers held 75% of the channel while CUC owned 25%. Its launch was marked by programming issues, as some of the purchased shows did not arrive on time. The schedule was expected to go "on order" on September 18, until then, the network added a scrawl informing viewers of the schedule changes, which were made after they were printed on the press. Kevin Shea was its founding president. At launch, the Canadian offer included shows such as Rainbow Country, Stars On Ice, The Forest Rangers, Smith & Smith and You Can't Do That on Television, reruns of American series, mostly westerns, such as The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers and Bonanza, as well as European imports such as Robin of Sherwood and Hayley Mills. Filmation animated series, such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and Ghostbusters, were also part of the schedule as they were shows whose popularity persisted over constant reruns particularly with the core demographic. One month into its inception, the channel introduced original productions: music shows YTV Rocks and YTV Hits and two co-productions: game shows Trivial Pursuit and Wild Guess, and the acquired British series S.W.A.L.K., about a teenage girl's fantasies while trying to struggle with her family life. This was followed in late October by Team Tamers, a wildlife-themed game show, presented by Neil Crone. Most of the original programming was seen during 4pm and 8pm; there were also plans to produce shows for teens.In December, CRTC refused YTV to change its license and increase advertising sales. The license also suggested that the evening drama programming would feature "a major protagonist that is a child, youth under the age of 18 years, puppet, animated character or creature of the animal kingdom", as well as rejecting shows whose main characters were comic book superheroes or mythological heroes. YTV criticized the latter and aimed at obtaining an advertising limit of twelve minutes per hour. YTV started airing Santa Calls, a live, half-hour Christmas call-in special, on December 19, airing nightly at 7pm until December 23.
In January 1989, YTV announced it would boost its production budget, with the primary goal of developing new shows. One of the ideas was a teen drama series akin to Degrassi to cater to the 12–15 demographic. YCDTOTV had become one of its most popular shows within weeks of launch. Beginning February that year, in line with its tenth anniversary, the show had aired two times a day. Bonanza moved to midnights in mid-February, due to the CRTC's recommendations per the age of actor Michael Landon, who grew throughout the course of the series. YTV aired the series because he played Little Joe, who in early seasons was an adolescent. In June, it planned the creation of the Youth Achievement Awards; its first edition was scheduled for November. On July 3, it started airing Picture Pages, a series created by Bill Cosby.
A full year after launching, it had become the most watched specialty channel in Canada, available in 5.3 million households, almost the entirety of the amount of cable-connected households in the country. New for the 1989–1990 season was a variety show, Rec Room, as well as a co-production agreement with Thames Television to produce Spats!, set in a fictional Canadian fast-food chain. Other new shows included a five-year output agreement with the BBC, chief among the shows was Doctor Who, starting with available reruns of early episodes, as well as The New Leave It to Beaver. The Youth Achievement Awards were scheduled for November 3. On January 29, 1990, the channel was carrying Rocky and Bullwinkle in its schedule.
By March 1990, its staff had risen to 140 and its revenue base had risen to CA$20 million. Officials said that they could initially reach the figure in 1995. What started as a channel that was unable with American prime time, Family Channel, the video market and CRTC demands had become one of the most profitable on Canadian cable. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had become its most popular show, with its merchandise including in Canada. It had also produced a topical program for adults, Positive Parenting, with Debbie Van Kiekebelt. There were also plans to become the new carrier of the CBC series Switchback, which YTV would finance and would also air on four CBC stations too. The network carried Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue on April 21, alongside over-the-air networks, as part of a simultaneous showing with the United States and Mexico.
For its 1990–1991 season, the channel would begin using its signature program jockeys on September 3; there was also the Canadian-French co-production The Adventures of the Black Stallion and Maniac Mansion; as well as three original productions for teens: Rock 'n' Talk, R.O.S. and StreetNOISE. The network had surpassed Cancon limits by December 1991, in terms of hours produced and revenue. Revenues for that year were expected to fall in the CA$28–29 million region, up from CA$27 million in 1990. Negotiations were underway with CTV to produce a newscast for the channel in January 1992.
Unusual for such a channel, it announced a pre-emption of its regular programming on March 10, 1992, to carry the CRTC hearings live, with opening remarks from PJ Jazzy Jan, who would explain some of the topics before starting the telecast. The press criticized its reliance on American "junk shows", which became more popular than the original productions and special events. In the hearings, YTV executives wanted the channel to start airing productions featuring superheroes, which were excluded per the original license contract. This concerned Wayne Gretzky, who thought that the network could end up airing violent programming. It also planned to increase the age limit for primetime protagonists from 18 to 21. In August, YTV obtained a rate increase from 32 to 35 cents a month in Anglophone markets and from 8 to 9 cents a month in Francophone markets. At the same time, its license was renewed for another seven years. A pilot edition of YTV News aired on October 20, ahead of the launch of the full service early next year. This consisted of a one-hour special, Referendum 102692, concerning the then-upcoming referendum of the Charlottetown Accord. Negotiations with Turner Broadcasting System's Cartoon Network started in early November, it began Canadian distribution for the American channel by late 1993. YTV's president said that, with the arrival of American cable networks to Canada, Canadian producers could benefit from the move. The move implied the creation of a second channel, keeping YTV as it was for its existing output. The first edition of YTV News aired on February 28, 1993 at 12pm. In September 1993, it carried MTV's The Real World. Kevin Shea resigned as president on November 17; he was appointed president and CEO of Atlantis Films next January. By December, the channel had added Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to its schedule. The plan to launch a Canadian version of Cartoon Network was later replaced by Fun TV, of which YTV was one of its shareholders.