![]() Logo used since 2013 | |
Country | Canada |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Nationwide |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English Audio described |
Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to letterboxed 480i for the SDTV feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Corus Entertainment |
Parent | YTV Canada, Inc. |
Sister channels | YTV Nickelodeon |
History | |
Launched | November 1, 1997 |
Links | |
Website | treehousetv fr |
Treehouse TV (commonly known as Treehouse) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel that launched on November 1, 1997, as the first full-day preschool-oriented channel in Canada. [1] It is owned by YTV Canada, Inc., a subsidiary of Corus Entertainment, and was named after sister network YTV's former programming block, "The Treehouse".
When Treehouse TV first launched, it aired daily from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m., [2] before switching to a 24-hour schedule sometime before 2003. In addition to producing its own original series, the channel carries third-party preschool programs from various international markets. Much like YTV, the majority of Treehouse's acquired content has come from U.S.-based Nickelodeon (through its Nick Jr. preschool brand), alongside shows from Sesame Workshop and PBS Kids.
As of 2011, Treehouse TV was available to over 7.5 million homes across Canada. [3]
YTV introduced a daily programming block for children in 1994, which came to be known as "The Treehouse". [4] In lieu of commercials, breaks between programs on the block featured segments hosted by three program jockeys ("PJs") [5] named PJ Katie, PJ Krista, and PJ Todd, who made crafts, played games, and held contests from a tree house–themed set. [6] [7]
The PJs' co-hosts were a group of stuffed animal puppets called the Fuzzpaws. On Fridays, PJ Katie would act out stories with clay animals. These segments were eventually spun off into the series PJ Katie's Farm . [8]
In early 1996, it was announced that YTV was looking to "break part of [its] audience off with a separate network aimed at viewers under the age of 6." [9] The network's president, Patricia Macdonald, said she had "done a lot of research that led us to the conclusion that the kids market is underserved." [10] On September 4, 1996, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved YTV's request to launch a new channel called Treehouse TV. [11]
The new channel eventually debuted on Saturday, November 1, 1997, at 8:00 a.m. EST. For a few months, The Treehouse block on YTV continued to air alongside the channel. In 1998, the Treehouse block was replaced by YTV Jr., an unhosted block.
Like the Treehouse block, the Treehouse channel was commercial-free, opting instead to show interstitial shorts in between shows. These shorts featured a new set of characters who lived in Treetown. Despite the PJs (program jockeys) from the original Treehouse block not returning for the Treehouse channel and while the PJs and the Fuzzpaws from the block (and possibly other PJs from other YTV programming blocks such as 'The Zone' and 'B-Zone') would join Tansy, Rosabelle and the Treetown toys about an hour after the block concludes on YTV for a live 2-hour block from 4pm to 6pm ET each weekday and from 8am to 10am ET each weekend on the channel's early months on air, PJ Katie's Farm reran on Treehouse throughout 1999. [12]
In March 2005, Corus Entertainment began offering a video on demand service called Treehouse On Demand to cable providers such as Rogers Cable and Cogeco, delivering content from Treehouse TV. [13] It is offered as a free service to customers who subscribe to each providers digital cable service. Some providers such as SaskTel offer it as a standalone premium subscription service. Between June 2015 and May 2019, Corus operated TreehouseGO, a TV Everywhere service available on iOS and Android devices. [14] [15]
In 2011, Corus launched a standalone subscription video on demand service for iOS. [16] It was later rebranded to Treehouse Classic before a 2016 revamp dropped the "Classic" branding. [17]
On February 5, 2013, Nelvana, Corus Entertainment's animation division, launched the Treehouse Direct channel on YouTube. [18] On March 2, 2015, Treehouse TV launched its own YouTube channel. [19]
On July 19, 2019, Corus Entertainment filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against an Oklahoma-based medical marijuana dispensary chain, known as "Treehouse Dispensary", alleging the chain "wilfully copied and is using a confusing similar imitation" of the Treehouse TV logo. An attorney for the dispensary contested the claims and said that the business "categorically denies that its logo infringes on any existing trademarks in the United States." [20] [21] Corus won the lawsuit through a default judgment the following December. [22]
On July 4, 2022, the CRTC announced plans to renew the license of Treehouse TV, along with those of Boomerang, Adult Swim, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Télétoon, YTV, Disney Channel, La Chaîne Disney, Disney Junior, and Disney XD, for another two years (licenses not valid as of August 31, 2024). [23]
Treehouse airs a mix of live-action and animated programming targeted at preschoolers and young children, primarily those aged six and under. Notable sources include Nickelodeon via Nick Jr., Sesame Workshop and PBS Kids.
On August 18, 2025, amid the cuts at parent company Corus Entertainment, all remaining Nickelodeon programming would be dropped from both YTV and Treehouse after September 1, the same day YTV's dedicated Nickelodeon channel ceases operations. [24]