YTV

YTV is a Canadian English-language Category A cable and satellite television specialty channel that is owned by Corus Entertainment. Its programming consists of original live-action and animated television series, movies, and third-party programming from the U.S. cable channels Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, as well as other distributors. YTV operates two time-shifted feeds, running on both Eastern and Pacific Time Zone schedules. It is available in over 11 million Canadian households as of 2013.

The "YTV" moniker was originally thought by some viewers to be an abbreviation for "Youth Television"; however, the channel's website has denied this, despite the fact that the network originally branded itself as a youth network at launch.

History
The channel was licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1987. Launched on September 1, 1988, at 7 PM EDT with a preview special by John Candy, YTV was the successor to two prior special programming services operated by various Ontario cable companies beginning in the late 1970s. The two largest shareholders in YTV were two cable companies, Rogers Cable and CUC Broadcasting, which was later acquired by Shaw Communications. By 1995, through various acquisitions and trades, Shaw had secured full control of YTV; it was spun off as part of Corus Entertainment in 1999. The channel continues to be owned by YTV Canada (used for YTV and its sister network Treehouse TV), now wholly owned by Corus Entertainment under its Corus Kids division.

In 1998, YTV began to use a Nickelodeon-style "gross-out" factor in its branding, with much less slime, and began using the slogan "Keep It Weird". Over the years, YTV used a number of different on-air logos, featuring the same arrangement of white letters on various bizarre and imaginative creatures. The logo used on production credits, and presumably the "official" logo, features this arrangement on a red screen of a stylized purple television set. The channel's advertisements often focused on promoting the brand through crude humour.

Two Corus specialty channel applications for YTV extensions, YTV POW!, an internationally sourced kids' action, adventure and superhero genre, and YTV OneWorld, targeting children from age 6 to 17 with travel, humour, games and STEM, were approved on September 18, 2008. The YTV Oneworld license was used to launch Nickelodeon Canada.

In the fall of 2005, a new post-6:00 p.m. advertising style was developed for older audiences, which used a much simpler logo and sleeker packaging with barely any gross-out tactics. In the spring of 2006, the simple logo first appeared on YTV's promos and even appeared on credits of newer original programming. In 2007, this look was adopted for the entire channel. In September 2009, the logo was changed slightly: it featured new colours, and the background was simplified. Variations to the bumpers were reduced. Instead, there are large, opaque digital on-screen graphics telling viewers which programs are coming next, and promotions of the programs. In September 2012, the logo was changed aesthetically.

In 2013, after Corus Entertainment completed their acquisition of the TELETOON Canada Inc. networks, YTV began airing reruns of select Teletoon programming, including original and acquired series. In turn, the channel's anime series, such as Pokemon and the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, along with both the second season of Oh No! It's An Alien Invasion and Power Rangers, began airing on Teletoon.

On October 6, 2014, the channel underwent a brand refresh, with new graphics and bumps created by Eloisa Iturbe Studio. In addition, the channel updated its logo by having it face upwards to the left instead of directly to the audience.