Proposal and preparation (1992-1996) YTV was originally intended to be the Canadian distributor of Cartoon Network, applying for a licence at the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in late 1992. The original target was to launch the channel in late 1993 at earliest. The arrival came at a time when US cable networks were beginning to encroach Canadian cable, which, according to YTV's president Kevin Shea, could open new avenues for Canadian producers. By early 1994, the planned Cartoon Network distribution licence was replaced by a new project, Fun TV. The new network was supposed to be owned by Rogers and CUC, owners of YTV, animation studios
Nelvana and
Cinar and the Toronto-Dominion Bank. The Cartoon Network output would later be given to another proposal owned by the backers of Family Channel. A new proposal was mooted in January 1996. 53.3% would be owned by the backers of Family Channel, 26,7% by YTV and 10% each by
Cinar and
Nelvana, who had supported Fun TV. It promised to spend CA$42 million on Canadian animated productions over a seven-year period. The bid was not comparable to the US Cartoon Network, justifying that Turner's channel was attached to
Hanna-Barbera's library and was mainly seen as nostalgia, according to Nelvana's chair Michael Hirsh. The new channel would cave some nostalgia, but would concentrate on newer titles, with emphasis on productions from all over the world. There would also be Japanese animation and adult animated titles, comparable to
Fritz the Cat, at night. Regulations suggested that it would cater to children from 6am to 6pm (commercial-free 3pm-6pm), families from 6pm to 10:30pm (including one animated movie during prime time) and a nightly news magazine about animation. On September 3, 1996, Teletoon was one of the 23 licensed channels to be approved by the CRTC, The channel was part of the "Gang of Four", referring to the first four of the 23 channels (the other three being
CTV News 1,
History Television and
The Comedy Network) set to launch. These channels were already negotiating pricing conditions with the cable companies.
As Teletoon (1997–2023) The English-language version of Teletoon launched on October 17, 1997. The channel was originally owned by a consortium of other Canadian specialty services, including
Family Channel acting as managing partner at 53.3% (
Superchannel/
WIC and
The Movie Network/
Astral Media),
YTV at 26.7%, (
Shaw Communications), along with the Canadian animation studios
Cinar and
Nelvana with 10% each. Shaw spun off its entertainment assets as
Corus Entertainment in 1999, which subsequently acquired WIC's stake in Family Channel among other assets as part of its breakup later that year, Corus acquired Nelvana in 2000. Teletoon was licensed as a bilingual service in both
English and
French, being one of only two Canadian specialty services with such a license; the channel maintains two feeds under the license, with the French feed operating under the branding
Télétoon. 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 that there may be differences in their programming due to market differences (including Quebec's prohibition on
advertising to children) and program rights. As a condition of the license, Teletoon committed to devoting 40% of its programming to
Canadian content in its first year of operation, gradually increasing by five per cent yearly to 60% by 2002. Over a similar timeframe, it also committed to similarly have at least half of its programming financed by, and commissioned from third parties unaffiliated with its owners. By 2001, the channel had invested over $96 million into 98 original productions since its launch; Teletoon's director of original programming Madeleine Levesque stated that "I don't think any other broadcaster has contributed so much, so well, so fast." On March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral's stake in Teletoon, giving it full ownership. The sale was part of divestitures tied to Astral Media's proposed sale to
Bell Media, which had earlier been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012 for competition reasons. Corus's purchase was cleared by the
Competition Bureau two weeks later on March 18; the transaction was approved by the CRTC on December 20, 2013, and completed on January 1, 2014. The channel was subsequently brought under the new Corus Kids division as part of a reorganization in February 2014, alongside YTV and Nelvana. Teletoon and its sister networks would maintain separate management from YTV.
As Cartoon Network (2023–present) On February 21, 2023, Corus announced that Teletoon would be rebranded as Cartoon Network on March 27, 2023; the
existing Cartoon Network channel concurrently relaunched under Cartoon Network's sibling brand
Boomerang (which is devoted to library programming and classic franchises); the Teletoon brand would continue to be used for its companion streaming service
Teletoon+, and
its French-language feed. ==Programming==