YTV (Canadian television)

:See YTV for more meanings of the initials.

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YTV is a Canadian specialty television service aimed at children, available nationwide through cable and satellite television. Presently it is wholly owned by Corus Entertainment. "YTV" presumably stands for "Youth Television", although YTV itself denies this.

Related Topics:
Canadian - Specialty television service - Children - Cable - Satellite television - Corus Entertainment

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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. Not surprisingly, then, the two largest shareholders in YTV were two cable companies, Rogers Cable and a company known as CUC which would later be acquired by Shaw Communications. By about 1995, through various acquisitions and trades, Shaw had secured full control of YTV; it was spun off as part of Corus in 1999.

Related Topics:
September 1 - 1988 - 1970s - Rogers Cable - Shaw Communications - 1995 - 1999

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YTV's schedule is primarily children's programming, with target audiences ranging from pre-schoolers to young adults. At the upper end of this range are repeats of dramas such as Smallville and Gilmore Girls. Until recently it aired a significant number of airs British sitcoms in late night; it now only airs My Family. Among its claims to fame, it was the first to air the first completely computer-animated series, ReBoot.

Related Topics:
Drama - Smallville - Gilmore Girls - Sitcoms - My Family - ReBoot

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YTV's flagship programming block is The Zone, aired on weekday afternoons; Carlos Bustamente and Stephanie "Sugar" Beard currently host the interstitial segments.

Related Topics:
The Zone - Stephanie "Sugar" Beard

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While it produces or commissions a substantial portion of its programming, YTV also acquires and airs mosts of the original series of the similar American service Nickelodeon, which is not available in Canada. Like Nickelodeon, YTV has also used the "gross-out" factor in its branding, albeit with much less slime; its mantra (and former slogan) is "Keep It Weird". It has recently gained a strong Anime element in an attempt to appeal more to teens, picking up anime shows from major US sources like Cartoon Network and 4Kids TV, and it also has picked up shows from other countries, most notable from the UK.

Related Topics:
American - Nickelodeon - US - Cartoon Network - 4Kids TV

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Generally YTV uses a number of different on-air logos, featuring the same arrangement of white letters on various imaginative creatures. One common current example as of 2005 is seen at right. The logo used on production credits - and thus presumably the "official" logo - features said arrangement on a red screen on a stylized purple television set, as viewed at an angle.

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