![]() | |
Country | Canada |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Nationwide |
Headquarters | Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Knowledge West Communications (80%) BBC Studios (20%) |
Sister channels | Knowledge Network |
History | |
Launched | November 5, 2001 (22 years ago) |
Closed | December 31, 2018 (5 years ago) |
BBC Kids was a Canadian specialty television channel carrying programming for children and teenagers. [1] It was a joint venture between Knowledge West Communications, which managed the network and held the majority 80% interest and was a subsidiary of Knowledge Network, with BBC Studios licensing the BBC brand and holding the remaining 20% in the joint venture. Originally an ad-supported network, it transitioned to non-commercial operation when it was transferred to Knowledge.
In November 2000, Alliance Atlantis was granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch BBC Kids, described as "a national English language Category 2 (what is the current category B) specialty television service devoted to top-quality educational and entertaining programming for children and youth (ages 2-17). It will feature programming primarily from the UK and around the world. 65% of the programming will target children ages 2 to 7, and 35% will target youth ages 8 to 17." [2]
The channel launched on November 5, 2001 as a joint venture between Alliance Atlantis and BBC Worldwide, the BBC's overseas operating arm. [3] [4] As was its remit, it primarily sourced its programming from networks and producers from the United Kingdom, though its programming sources were never exclusively limited to those of the BBC. This also included international co-productions, including Tots TV , Mr. Bean: The Animated Series , and Australian The Sleepover Club . It also broadcast a small amount of Canadian and Anglo-Canadian co-productions (including past-produced Alliance programming co-produced with a U.S. network such as PBS, Disney Channel, or Viacom's Nickelodeon for U.S. broadcast) to meet CRTC Canadian content regulations and quotas.
On January 18, 2008, [5] a joint venture between Canwest and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners known as CW Media, [6] acquired control of BBC Kids through its purchase of Alliance Atlantis' broadcasting assets, which were placed in a trust in August 2007. [7] It then became a part of Shaw Communications on October 10, 2010 after it acquired Canwest outright with the GSCP stake in CW Media. [8]
Shaw's ownership would be short-lived due to regulatory requirements to sell some former CW Media assets, and that process started on December 22, 2010 with early due diligence with a then-undisclosed sales partner. [9] On January 17, 2011, Knowledge Network Corporation, a Crown corporation of the Government of British Columbia, announced it had finalized an agreement to purchase the channel through a subsidiary called Knowledge-West Communications Corporation from Shaw Media. BBC Worldwide would retain its existing interest. [10] The sale was completed on April 29, 2011, and with it and CRTC approval, it converted from a commercial network to a non-commercial service, while relocating operations from Toronto to Burnaby in suburban Vancouver.
The transaction resulted in a decision by cable providers in The Bahamas and Jamaica (which generally import Canadian channels onto their services for the convenience of snowbirds visiting the West Indies) to drop the network at the end of 2011. [11] [12]
On October 2, 2018, a joint statement from Knowledge Network and BBC announced the channel would cease operations at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve 2018. [13] Though there was no reasoning for the closure said originally, then-Knowledge chief Rudy Buttignol subsequently cited the end of the CRTC's traditional protection of small and independent networks to allow for broader discretionary services without any programming restrictions. Knowledge continues to carry programming from the BBC, and CBBC/CBeebies programming as a part of Knowledge Kids, including programming from BBC Kids merged onto the Knowledge schedule. [14] On January 10, 2019, the CRTC revoked the channel's license at the request of Knowledge. [15]
Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Shannon, and Sydney.
BBC Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that mostly broadcast television series originally produced by the BBC, the public-service broadcaster of the United Kingdom. The channel was owned by Corus Entertainment and BBC Studios (20%).
CTV 2 is a Canadian English-language television system owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The system consists of four terrestrial owned-and-operated television stations (O&Os) in Ontario, one in British Columbia and two regional cable television channels, one in Atlantic Canada and the other in Alberta.
Cartoon Network is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers.
CKVU-DT is a television station in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, serving as the West Coast flagship of the Citytv network. It is owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media alongside Omni Television station CHNM-DT. The two stations share studios at the corner of West 2nd Avenue and Columbia Street in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Vancouver; CKVU-DT's transmitter is located atop Mount Seymour in the district municipality of North Vancouver, with additional transmitter link facilities on the roof of the Century Plaza Hotel in Downtown Vancouver.
Comedy Gold, formerly known as TV Land Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that was owned by Bell Media focused on sitcoms and sketch comedy programs from the 1970s to 1990s.
IFC is an American basic cable channel owned by AMC Networks.
CJNT-DT is a television station in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, part of the Citytv network. Owned and operated by network parent Rogers Sports & Media, the station maintains studios inside the Rogers Building at the corner of McGill College Avenue and Cathcart Street near the Place Ville Marie complex in downtown Montreal, and its transmitter is located at Mount Royal Park, near downtown Montreal.
Jetix was a children's entertainment brand owned by The Walt Disney Company. The brand was for a slate of action/adventure-related programming blocks and television channels. Jetix programming mainly originated from the Saban Entertainment library, airing live-action and animated series with some original programming. The channel's target audience was older children and adolescents aged 8–15
Knowledge Network, also branded as British Columbia's Knowledge Network, is a Canadian publicly funded educational cable television network serving the province of British Columbia. It is owned by the Knowledge Network Corporation, a Crown corporation of the Government of British Columbia, and began broadcasting on January 12, 1981. Michelle van Beusekom is the CEO.
Slice is a Canadian English language discretionary service channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts reality shows targeting young adult women, typically dealing in subjects such as fashion and lifestyles. In addition to original programming, Slice is better-known for airing shows acquired from the U.S. cable network, Bravo.
Showcase is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. Launched on January 1, 1995, the channel primarily airs scripted and dramatic television series.
Discovery Kids was a Canadian English language category 2 digital cable specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment and Discovery Communications.
IFC was a Canadian English language specialty channel. The channel was owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel broadcast independent films, documentaries, and television series. Its name was licensed from the American company AMC Networks, the owner of IFC. The channel ceased operations on September 30, 2019.
Fine Living was a Canadian pay television channel owned by CW Media, Corus Entertainment, and Scripps Networks Interactive.
BBC First is a Canadian English language high definition discretionary television channel owned by Blue Ant Media. It is a localized version of the international BBC First service, which broadcasts a variety of drama, comedy, and film programming originating primarily from the BBC.
In 2007, significant ownership changes occurred in Canada's broadcast television industry, involving nearly every private English-language network and television system. In addition to the shuffling of network affiliations and mergers involving various networks, several new television stations and rebroadcast transmitters also signed on the air.
Crime & Investigation is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Mystery Partnership, a division of Corus Entertainment.
BBC Kids is the international children's brand of BBC Studios, and has been applied to a number of TV services. It draws from the long history of children's programming on the BBC, and is strongly related to the CBBC channel in the United Kingdom.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)