TVOkids (short for TVOntariokids and stylized as tvokids) is the

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

for most of the

children's programming Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...

aired by

TVOntario TVO Media Education Group (often abbreviated as TVO and stylized on-air as tvo) is a publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario ...

(TVO) in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It was launched on April 1, 1994 and runs from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. The brand also operates two 24-hour online live streams, one which features regular TVOkids programming (which is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

from broadcast television during operating hours), and another dedicated to its original series ''

PAW Patrol ''PAW Patrol'' is a Canadian computer-animated children's television series, children's television series created by Keith Chapman. It is produced by Spin Master, Spin Master Entertainment, with animation provided by Guru Studio. In Canada, the ...

''. These channels are targeted at preschoolers and elementary school ages from 2 to 11.

Hosts

Since its inception in 1994, TVOKids has had numerous hosts. In chronological order, the hosts of TVOKids are:

Patty Sullivan Patricia "Patty" Sullivan (born March 17, 1968) is a Canadian television presenter and actress. She is best known for hosting the TVOKids programming block on TVOntario from 1994 to 2003 and the Kids' CBC block on CBC Television from 2003 to 201 ...

Kevin Brauch Kevin Jeffery Brauch (born January 18, 1968Kevin Brauch states his birthday in the episode of The Thirsty Traveler, Taiwan in Toronto, Ontario) is a Canadian television presenter. Early life and career Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Brau ...

Joseph Motiki Joseph Frederick Motiki (born July 31, 1972) is a Canadian television host, actor, and performer. He is best known for hosting the TVOntario children's block '' The TVOKids Crawlspace'' and the Food Network game show '' Ice Cold Cash''. Early li ...

, Rekha Shah,

Julie Zwillich Julie Zwillich ( ) is a Canadian and American television personality. She is the host of Food Network Canada's '' Summer's Best'' and CBC's ''Surprise! It's Edible Incredible!'' She became a television personality in 1997 with the debut of '' S ...

, Gisèle Corinthios,

Phil McCordic Phil McCordic is a Canadian actor, host, director, producer, and writer. He has created children's programming for YTV, CBC Television, and TVOntario. Kids (via their parents) are welcome to interact with him and ask him science questions on h ...

, Julie Patterson,

Nicole Stamp Nicole Stamp is a Canadian television host, director, actor, filmmaker, playwright, and voice actress. Career Stamp works as a host, producer, and director, having started her career at TVOntario, where she co-hosted TVOntario's afternoon bloc ...

, Milton Barnes, Mark Sykes, Jackie English, Ryan Field, Kara Harun, Drew Dafoe,

Dalmar Abuzeid Dalmar Abuzeid (born October 23, 1990) is a Canadian actor. He initially became known for portraying Danny Van Zandt in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' from 2004 until 2010. Since ''Degrassi'', he has appeared in a variety of television series ...

, Cassius (Cass) Crieghtney, Melissa Peters, Daniel Fernandes, Mickeey Nguyen, Laura Commisso, Monica Brighton, Greg Liow, Lucas Meeuse and Matt Nethersole. The current hosts are Laura Commisso, Matt Nethersole and Monica Brighton.

Programming blocks

That TVO Kids Show

That TVO Kids Show was launched on August 26, 2019. It is hosted by Laura and Lucas. It is live, on-air, from Monday to Sunday, from 4:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. It does not air on holidays. During each episode, a different password code is given to audience than going to live stream via webcam or phone for today topics or feature showcase.

School Age

School Age (formerly known as "The Crawlspace" and "The Space") is the name of the after school programming block. It airs nonstop episodes of various TV series with a host block in between each episode, varying in length. The Crawlspace launched on April 4, 1994, and was originally hosted by

and

. School Age currently airs Monday to Friday, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST and on Saturday and Sunday, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST. It is currently hosted by Matt, Greg Liow, Laura Commisso, and Lucas Meeuse.

Preschool

TVOKids' preschool block, (formerly "The Nook" and ''

Gisèle's Big Backyard ''Gisèle's Big Backyard'' is a Canadian children's television series, which aired on TVOntario from 1998 to 2019. Hosted and produced by children's entertainer and educator Gisèle Corinthios as a continuation of her earlier series ''The Nook'', t ...

''), airs weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; it features interstitial segments hosted by Gisèle Corinthios and several puppets, including Sticks the Squirrel (Jason Hopley), Jay the Blue Jay (

Ali Eisner Ali J. Eisner is a Canadian puppeteer, composer, director, photographer, creative producer and writer for children's television.

), Melvin the Skunk (Marty Stelnick), This (Ryan Field), That (

Frank Meschkuleit Frank Meschkuleit (born 1962) is a Canadian voice actor, puppeteer and comedian known for his role as Toopy on the Canadian television series '' Toopy and Binoo''. Meschkuleit began his performing career as a mime, and broke into puppeteering w ...

), and Polkaroo. Polkaroo's trio of "''

Polka Dot Door Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

'' Friends" Dumpty, Humpty, and Marigold also appear in smaller-than-human doll size rather than larger-than-human suits. This is their first re-appearance since ''

Polka Dot Shorts ''Polka Dot Shorts'' is a Canadian children's television series produced by TVOntario, which has been broadcast around the world. It was created, produced, and edited by Jed MacKay. Approximately 180 episodes were produced from 1993 to 2001, all ...

'' ended in 2001. TVO ended production of new Gisele's Big Backyard segments in May 2016.

Logo

File:tvokids-logo.svg, Until 2022, shown here is the original 2015 version. The logo has been slightly modified by adding new colors in 2019. File:Tvokids-logo.png, TVOKids has introduced new logo as part of TVO's big rebrand shown here below.

Programming

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tvokids TVOntario original programming Television programming blocks in Canada preschool education television networks 1994 establishments in Ontario