Télétoon

History

It was licensed in 1996 by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The French-language channel was the first to be launched, on September 8, 1997. It used the slogan La station de l'animation (The Animation Station, the same as that of the contemporaneous English-language channel), and later added and then switched to Imagine!.

When Télétoon was launched in 1997, it showed more mature fare as the day progressed, with a strong commitment to air diverse and international programming, and the ability to air a great majority of material uncut. A typical broadcast day started with preschool content at 7:00 a.m. EST and ended with adult content after midnight, airing more adult cartoons such as Duckman and various anime programs.

In 1999, Télétoon started airing bumpers with its first mascot, Teletina. These bumpers were made by Spin Productions in Toronto. Several more bumpers using CGI animation with some made by Guru Studio premiered on the channel in 2001. An updated look for the channel, no longer featuring the original logo, was later created for a partial rebranding in 2005. The bumpers were removed in 2007 as part of an on-air rebranding.

On February 5, 2007, Télétoon's on-air appearance and website were dramatically changed, and Le Détour's website was moved to teletoon.com. The look of the channel and the Le Détour block changed.

On September 6, 2011, Télétoon's branding was changed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of co-owner Astral Media and to reflect the transition from analogue to digital television. Télétoon la Nuit's on-air branding was not changed.

Changes in ownership

When launched, the channel was owned by a consortium made up of various other Canadian specialty services and producers; Family Channel acting as managing partner at 53.3% (in a partnership between Astral Media and Western International Communications), YTV at 26.7% (under Shaw Communications), and Cinar and Nelvana with 10% each.

Changes of ownership have occurred since 1999, starting when Corus Entertainment was spun off from Shaw Communications (who had owned a stake of Télétoon through YTV) in 1999. In 2000, Western International Communications (who owned a stake of Télétoon through the Family Channel alongside Astral Media) sold its stake of Télétoon to Corus Entertainment. Corus, in the same year, acquired Nelvana, another company who own a stake of Télétoon. Corus sold the channel to Astral Media in 2001. Through various acquisitions over the years, Cinar Films came to own a 20% stake, and Astral Media and Corus Entertainment each owned a 40% stake. In 2006, Cinar sold 10% of its stake of Teletoon to each of Astral and Corus, leading the two companies to each own 50% in Télétoon.

On March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral Media's 50% ownership interest in Teletoon Canada (owner of Teletoon, Télétoon, Teletoon Retro, Télétoon Rétro and Cartoon Network). The purchase was in relation to Bell Media's pending takeover of Astral. The takeover had been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012, but was restructured to allow the sale of certain Astral Media properties so that the purchase could clear regulatory barriers. Bell filed a new application for the proposed takeover with the CRTC on March 6, 2013. Corus's purchase was cleared by the Competition Bureau on March 18; the CRTC approved the Bell-Astral merger on June 27, 2013. On December 20, 2013, the CRTC approved Corus's full ownership of Teletoon Canada and it was purchased by Corus on January 1, 2014. The channel continues to be owned by Teletoon Canada, now wholly owned by Corus Entertainment under its Corus Kids and Corus Média divisions.

In August 2015, it was announced that Télétoon Rétro would be shutting down, and some series would be moving to Télétoon on September 1.

Programming

Many of the shows broadcast on Télétoon are those shown on its English-language counterpart dubbed into French. At first, both networks had identical schedules, airing the same episode of the same program at the same time. Nowadays, the schedules sometimes differ, because Télétoon carries some translated programs that its English-language counterpart does not, as they are aired on other cable networks. Many of the shows, such as The Simpsons and King of the Hill, are dubbed using local voice-over actors from Quebec, while others, such as Naruto and virtually all series originating from Cartoon Network, are dubbed in France and imported.

Unlike on the English-language version, daytime programming on Télétoon is broadcast commercial-free (other than for promotions for other shows), since much of the French Télétoon's audience is in Quebec. Quebec provincial law prohibits paid commercials during children's programming, generally during the morning and afternoon hours. The channel remains ad-supported during the evening and overnight hours.

Original series

At its inception in 1997, the channel had a stated goal of producing 78 half-hours of original content every year, and it has been active in commissioning programming since then. The licence granted by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1996 required a gradual increase in the portion of Canadian programming on the schedule by about five percent each year starting from 40% in its first year of operation to 60% by 2002. In 1998, network management decided to focus on renewals instead of new shows – adopting a more cautious strategy than launching a significant number of new series, as it had in the prior year. By 2001, however, the station was noted as possibly being the Canadian channel with the highest spending on original production, having invested in 98 series, including 225 half-hour episodes that fall season.

As a bilingual service, Teletoon/Télétoon maintains two separate broadcast feeds, with a single licence for the English- and French-language channels. It is one of only two Canadian specialty services with such a licence. At the original licensing hearing before the CRTC, the network's operators had stated that the two channels "would be similar in nature and programmed with a similar attitude towards them. But for the reasons of rights availability, for the reasons of the question of advertising to children in Québec and for the reason of dealing with the differences in the market, there might be variations in the services offered." To this end, the station implemented a requirement that all original programming be delivered in both languages. By 2007, however, this condition had been relaxed to apply "whenever possible", and over the following years some original series were only shown on one of the channels.

Current programs

This is a list of programs being broadcast regularly.

Upcoming programs

This is a list of programming set to air on Télétoon.

Current

Yearly

Former

Télétoon Sur Demande

Télétoon Sur Demande is a video-on-demand channel featuring series from Télétoon.

Télétoon Jr. Sur Demande

Télétoon Jr. Sur Demande is a video-on-demand multiplex channel and was named after a program block featuring animated series aimed at younger children's; shows included on the Télétoon Jr. Sur Demande channel have included such shows as Caillou, Atomic Betty, George of the Jungle, The Future is Wild and Bobby's World. Unlike Télétoon and Télétoon Rétro, the channel do not feature an English counterpart. It is also not available as a programming block on Télétoon anymore.

Télétoon Rétro

Télétoon Rétro was a Category B digital cable and satellite channel that debuted in Fall 2008. It was named after a program block featuring classic animated series. Télétoon Rétro channel's programs have included The Tom and Jerry Show, The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show, Scooby-Doo, The Flintstones, The Raccoons, The Jetsons, Astro Boy and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. The channel closed on September 1, 2015 and was replaced by Disney La Chaîne.

Since then, Télétoon now airs Télétoon Retro content.

English services

Teletoon and Cartoon Network are the English counterpart and sister channel to Télétoon, respectively. They broadcast most of the shows from its French-language counterpart in English.

Télétoon HD

On March 24, 2014, Télétoon launched a high definition feed called Télétoon HD, which simulcasts the standard definition feed. The channel is available on Cogeco, then on Vidéotron and Bell Fibe TV.