Télétoon Rétro

Télétoon Rétro is a defunct Canadian French language Category B specialty television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel was based on the former Télétoon programming block Télétoon Retro and was dedicated to broadcasting French-dubbed animated series that had premiered on television at least 10 years prior to their airing on Télétoon Retro. Along with its English language sister station, Teletoon Retro, combined, both were available in over 9 million Canadian households as of 2013, having the most subscribers among the digital Canadian specialty channels.[1]

For the English-language version of this channel, see Teletoon Retro.
Télétoon Rétro
Final logo, 2013-2015
CountryCanada
Broadcast areaNational
SloganToujours drôle
(Always Funny)
HeadquartersMontreal, Québec
Programming
Language(s)French
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerCorus Entertainment
Sister channelsTeletoon Retro
Télétoon
Teletoon
Cartoon Network
YTV
Nickelodeon
Treehouse TV
History
LaunchedSeptember 4, 2008 (6 years, 362 days)
ClosedSeptember 1, 2015
Replaced byLa Chaîne Disney

History

Télétoon Rétro initially started as a programming block on Télétoon. On November 24, 2000, TELETOON Canada Inc. (at the time, an equal joint venture between Corus Entertainment and Astral Media) was granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch TELETOON RETRO, described at the time as "a national Category 2 specialty television service with English- and French-language feeds. The service shall present classic cartoons from Canada and around the world, including animated movies, specials, series and shorts which commenced production at least ten (10) years prior to their exhibition by the licensee."[2] The channel did not commence operation and the licence expired.

Plans to launch the channel arose again in 2005, when on October 21, TELETOON Canada Inc. was given approval again to launch TELETOON Rétro, this time as a singular French channel with no English language feed.[3]

The Télétoon Rétro logo used from September 4, 2008 to February 4, 2013.

The channel was launched on September 4, 2008[4] as Télétoon Rétro, promoted with select programs airing on Télétoon on Saturday and Sunday nights at 7:00pm EST.[5] An English-language counterpart, Teletoon Retro, had already been on the air since October 1, 2007.

Along with Teletoon Retro, Télétoon Rétro rebranded on February 4, 2013. On March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral Media's 50% ownership interest in TELETOON Canada Inc. The purchase was in relation to Bell Media's pending takeover of Astral, which had earlier been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012, but was restructured to allow the sale of certain Astral Media properties in order to allow the purchase to clear regulatory hurdles.[6] Corus' purchase was cleared by the Competition Bureau two weeks later on March 18.[7] On December 20, 2013, the CRTC approved Corus' full ownership of TELETOON Canada Inc.[8][9] and it was purchased by Corus on January 1, 2014.[10]

On March 24, 2014, Télétoon Rétro launched Télétoon Rétro HD, a high definition simulcast of the standard definition feed.

On April 16, 2015, Corus Entertainment announced that it had acquired long-term, Canadian multi-platform rights to Disney Channel's programming library; the cost and duration of the licensing deal were not disclosed. Alongside the licensing deal, Corus announced that it would officially launch a Canadian version of Disney Channel; the service will consist of linear television channels in English and French, along with TV Everywhere and video-on-demand services for digital platforms.[11][12]

It was decided that instead of launching a new channel to coexist with Télétoon Rétro, Télétoon Rétro itself would be rebranded as the French language Disney Channel. On September 1, 2015, Télétoon Rétro was replaced with Disney La Chaîne, to coincide with the launch of its English language counterpart, Disney Channel.[13][14][15]

References
  1. "TELETOON Canada Inc. | TELETOON Retro Now Nine Million Subscribers Strong". Newswire.ca. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
  2. Decision CRTC 2000-697; CRTC; 2000-12-14
  3. Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2005-510 CRTC October 21, 2005
  4. FRENCH-LANGUAGE TELETOON RETRO TO LAUNCH WITH BROADVIEW, BroadView Software press release, 09-04-08
  5. Teletoon Retro launches for francophones, MediaInCanada.com, 06-12-08
  6. BCE to sell assets to Corus as part of Astral deal, The Globe and Mail (via Reuters and The Canadian Press), March 4, 2013.
  7. The Canadian Press (uncredited staff) (March 18, 2013). "Competition Bureau clears Corus acquisition of Astral assets". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  8. Vessing, Etan (December 20, 2013). "Corus/Teletoon Deal Approved by CRTC". Kidscreen. Brunico Communications. Retrieved December 21, 2013.
  9. "Press Release - Corus Entertainment Receives CRTC Approval on TELETOON Canada Inc., Historia and Séries+ Acquisitions". Corusent.com. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  10. "Press Release - Corus Entertainment Completes Purchase of Historia, Séries+ and TELETOON Canada Inc". Corusent.com. January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  11. "Corus Entertainment and Disney/ABC Television Group Join Forces in Landmark Licensing Agreement" (Press release). Corus Entertainment. CNW Group. April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  12. "Corus Entertainment snaps up Disney content from DHX Media, plans to launch Disney channel in Canada". Financial Post. Postmedia Network. April 16, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
  13. "Corus speciialty services - Ownership chart" (PDF). CRTC. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  14. "Corus trading Télétoon Rétro for La chaîne Disney". Cartt.ca. Retrieved 13 August 2015.(subscription required)
  15. Pay and Specialty - La chaîne Disney (formerly TÉLÉTOON Rétro (Français)), CRTC Financial Summaries, 06-23-16
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