Pop was originally launched on 29 May 2003 by Chart Show Channels (CSC) Media Group as
Toons&Tunes. Toons&Tunes was then later rebranded as its current name,
Pop (formerly stylized as
pop and
POP!) in the following month. In September 2003, a timeshift sister network -
Pop Plus, was launched. Originally, the network focused on music videos with animated programming also part of the schedule, but with the numerous music video network options on British television at the time, this focus was quickly abandoned in 2004, when the animated content became much more prominent. Music videos continued to be carried on and off until 2010, before eventually being abandoned entirely. Initially, the channel broadcast animated content sourced from
Granada Media's programming library under a six-month non-exclusive deal, before transitioning to content sourced mainly from
DIC Entertainment and
Nelvana. In 2004 they launched
Tiny Pop, a preschool channel and its content is for ages 0 to 7. The name Pop was chosen owing to a gap between the preschool and commercial music markets, as well as an attempt at joining another lucrative market, advertisements for toys and video games, in an attempt made by CSC to diversify its assets. The programming began to expand in August 2003, when it signed a non-exclusive six-month agreement with Granada Television (just before the creation of the current
ITV plc). In the channel's early years, links were presented by Rorry, formerly known as Tricky, an animated lime green dragon who used to host a Saturday morning show in the autumn of 1997, but was repurposed for the Pop channel. Tricky spoke with a northern English dialect, while Rorry spoke in a different voice with a Scottish accent, both versions were animated live through computer cues. He was accompanied by Purrdy, a dragon/cat hybrid who also appeared in the original
Tricky programme on
ITV, it was sometimes followed by a programme known as "The Cheeky Monkey Show" which features the live links of the animated coloured monkeys known as "The Cheeky Monkeys". On 10 August 2007, a one-hour timeshift service - Pop +1 was launched on Sky, alongside Tiny Pop +1. On 11 October, the channel was launched on
Virgin Media, alongside Tiny Pop. On 1 February 2011, Pop was removed from Virgin Media to make way for the cable launch of
True Entertainment. On 20 March 2014, Pop was launched on
Freeview. Prior to April 2016, Pop was only available in areas where there is a local TV channel. On 14 July, Pop +1 was relaunched on Sky, replacing Kix +1. On 1 April 2016, Pop moved to a wider coverage nationwide freeview mix, becoming available to over 90% of the country. The capacity vacated by Pop on the local multiplex was used to transmit
Kix from 7 April 2016. Pop +1 moved to LCN channel 128, to release 127 for use by Kix, but was otherwise unaffected, continuing to broadcast locally to Manchester only until its eventual withdrawal from Freeview. On 1 September 2020, Pop rebranded its on-air identity, with the premiere of
Bakugan: Armored Alliance. And on the same day, starting with
Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the network became the new British home of the
Pokémon anime, moving from its previous broadcasters, ITV1 and
CITV, of over 20 years. On 9 November 2022, Narrative Entertainment announced the launch of a new FAST channel, Pop Kids, to stream on
Samsung TV Plus, the new FAST network airs shows from Pop and Tiny Pop. On 19 July 2023, Pop reverted to broadcasting on the local-TV multiplex, switching places with sibling film channel
Great! Romance. In September 2023, it was announced that Pop Kids would split into two FAST channels, with
Tiny Pop getting its own channel, and with Pop replacing the current FAST channel. On 1 December 2024, the terrestrial broadcast versions of Pop and Tiny Pop were replaced by
hybrid streaming channels on
Freeview.
Closure as a linear channel On 4 November 2025, Narrative Entertainment announced that both Pop and Tiny Pop’s linear television feeds, as well as the Pop Player, would close in December. Pop and Tiny Pop moved to the FAST feed, available on various services such as
Freeview and
Samsung TV Plus, after the closure. ==Programming==