Télétoon Rétro was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
Category B specialty television channel that was owned by
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
. The channel was based on the former
Télétoon
Télétoon (styled as TĒLĒTOON) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Teletoon Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment. Its name is a portmanteau of " télévision" and "cartoon". As of 2013, along with its Englis ...
programming block ''Télétoon Retro'' and was dedicated to broadcasting French-dubbed
animated series
An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...
that had premiered on television at least 10 years prior to their airing on Télétoon Retro. Along with its
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
,
Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro was a Canadian specialty channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment that was based on the Teletoon programming block. The service was dedicated to broadcasting classic animated television programs as well as some live-action se ...
, combined, both were available in over 9 million Canadian households as of 2013, having the most subscribers among the digital Canadian specialty channels.
History
Télétoon Rétro initially started as a programming block on Télétoon. On November 24, 2000, TELETOON Canada Inc. (at the time, an equal
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
between Corus Entertainment and
Astral Media
Astral Media Inc. was a Canadian media conglomerate. It was Canada's largest radio broadcaster, with 84 radio stations in eight provinces. Astral was also a major player in premium and specialty television in Canada, with 23 specialty channels ...
) was granted approval by the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC; french: Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, links=) is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasti ...
(CRTC) to launch ''TELETOON RETRO'', described at the time as "a national Category 2 specialty television service with English- and French-language feeds. The service shall present classic cartoons from Canada and around the world, including animated movies, specials, series and shorts which commenced production at least ten (10) years prior to their exhibition by the licensee."
[Decision CRTC 2000-697]
CRTC; 2000-12-14 The channel did not commence operation and the licence expired.
Plans to launch the channel arose again in 2005, when on October 21, TELETOON Canada Inc. was given approval again to launch TELETOON Rétro, this time as a singular French channel with no English language feed.
The channel was launched on September 4, 2008 as Télétoon Rétro, promoted with select programs airing on Télétoon on Saturday and Sunday nights at 7:00pm
EST. An English-language counterpart,
Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro was a Canadian specialty channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment that was based on the Teletoon programming block. The service was dedicated to broadcasting classic animated television programs as well as some live-action se ...
, had already been on the air since October 1, 2007.
Along with
Teletoon Retro
Teletoon Retro was a Canadian specialty channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment that was based on the Teletoon programming block. The service was dedicated to broadcasting classic animated television programs as well as some live-action se ...
, Télétoon Rétro rebranded on February 4, 2013. On March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral Media's 50% ownership interest in TELETOON Canada Inc. The purchase was in relation to
Bell Media
Bell Media Inc. ( French: ) is a Canadian company formed by the amalgamation of several companies.
Establishment (2011–13)
On December 9, 2011, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its majority stake in Maple Leaf Sports ...
's pending takeover of Astral, which had earlier been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012, but was restructured to allow the sale of certain Astral Media properties in order to allow the purchase to clear regulatory hurdles. Corus' purchase was cleared by the
Competition Bureau
The Competition Bureau (french: Bureau de la concurrence) is the competition regulator in Canada. It is an independent Canadian law enforcement agency that ensures that markets operate in a competitive, innovative manner.
Headed by the Comm ...
two weeks later on March 18. On December 20, 2013, the CRTC approved Corus' full ownership of TELETOON Canada Inc.
and it was purchased by Corus on January 1, 2014.
On March 24, 2014, Télétoon Rétro launched Télétoon Rétro HD, a
high definition simulcast of the
standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
feed.
On April 16, 2015,
Corus Entertainment
Corus Entertainment Inc. is a Canadian mass media company. Formed in 1999 as a spin-off from Shaw Communications, it has prominent holdings in the radio, publishing, and television industries. It is headquartered at Corus Quay in Toronto, Onta ...
announced that it had acquired long-term, Canadian multi-platform rights to
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
's programming library; the cost and duration of the licensing deal were not disclosed. Alongside the licensing deal, Corus announced that it would officially launch a Canadian version of Disney Channel; the service will consist of linear television channels in English and French, along with
TV Everywhere
TV Everywhere (also known as authenticated streaming or authenticated video on-demand) refers to a type of subscription business model wherein access to streaming video content from a television channel requires users to "authenticate" themselv ...
and
video-on-demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
services for digital platforms.
It was decided that instead of launching a new channel to coexist with Télétoon Rétro, Télétoon Rétro itself would be rebranded as the French language Disney Channel. On September 1, 2015, Télétoon Rétro was replaced with Disney La Chaîne, to coincide with the launch of its English language counterpart,
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
.
Pay and Specialty - La chaîne Disney (formerly TÉLÉTOON Rétro (Français))
CRTC Financial Summaries, 06-23-16
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Teletoon Retro
Retro
Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...
Former Corus Entertainment networks
Television channels and stations established in 2007
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2015
Digital cable television networks in Canada
Children's television networks in Canada
Defunct Canadian television channels
French-language television networks in Canada
2007 establishments in Canada
2015 disestablishments in Canada
Classic television networks